March - A Ghost of an Affair

Fanny Press

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Seattle, WA 98127

For more information go to: www.fannypress.com

ellenmarch.jimdo.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.

Cover design by Sabrina Sun

A Ghost of an Affair

Copyright 2014 by Ellen March

ISBN: 978-1-60381-566-6 (Trade Paper)

ISBN: 978-1-60381-567-3 (eBook)

Produced in the United States of America

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M y thanks to whoever is reading this. I hope you enjoy Ghost of an Affair as much as I loved writing it.

Words aren't enough to express my appreciation for the incredible drive and effort from team Fanny Press. They really make me work and I know I'm blessed to have Catherine and Jennifer as editors. I love you ladies. And not forgetting Leanne Holt, my dear if not bossy rock. Love you too, babes!

Diolch Ichi (thank you in Welsh)

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G race glanced up from behind the reception desk, her attention riveted by the dark haired man striding towards her.

She and every other hot blooded female.

A buzz of excited giggles broke through the air. She rolled her eyes, debating whether to make a quick flit to the loo to throw up. Sage had everything. He was blessed with looks to die for, along with an awesome reputation as the best orthopaedic surgeon around.

Along with the personality of a tuna, she thought with an irritating rush of guilt. Because to be the trophy on his arm was what every hot blooded woman wanted. And hed selected her; it was that honour which made her bow down to his arrogance. Grace enjoyed the attention, the piques of jealousy that scoured her way, although she still battled feelings of worthlessness.

She likened herself to a dog at a pound, starved of love, so that one touch, or word, made her feel special. Grace even questioned her morals. Was wanting sex on a regular basis wrong? Maybe she wasnt a good judge of personality. He was perfection and she was flawed, she decided.

When he reached her desk, he leaned over, giving an affectionate kiss to her cheek, skilfully managing to avoid her lips. Hi, honey, sorry I couldnt meet up for lunch. Its been a bitch of a day.

Grace nodded, and cast her gaze around the reception area, where a host of randy women with tongues hanging out grazed over him.

She tried not to smile.

If only they knew.

He looked lush. He looked sexy as hell. He looked as if he could keep going till he fucked her dry.

The truth was he did none of this.

He was boring, old fashioned, and set in his ways. Nothing was ever left to chance; every tiny part of his life was scheduled down to the finest detail. Even down to scratching his ass, she thought sullenly. Sexual frustration had her churning with untapped juices. For him, her well was dry.

None of these thoughts were reflected in the smile that scuttled across her unsatisfied lips. Only eight months ago she had been a member of that gaggle of sex starved bitches.

He was the very picture of sex on legs, a walking advert for the hospital romances that littered the library shelves. Sage Gerret epitomized masculinity; he was the type of man who made you want to rip your clothes off and jump his bones.

His splintering green eyes could smudge over a woman and pin her breathless. He oozed primal hormones. And she was the one hed decided to drip them onto.

Unfortunately, drip was the word. She wanted hot, gushing sex, and when she mentioned itas you do in passing conversationSage had stared at her. Long and hard. Hed studied her features, and shed been tempted to check and see if she were developing horns. Then hed shaken his head and sighed. Grace, life isnt just about sex. You really need to contain your urges.

Shed tried. God how shed tried. Grace had attempted to be the woman he wanted her to be, pushing her sexual needs aside.

When hed first taken her out, she had thought herself the luckiest bitch on the planet. It wasnt long before she realized she wasnt. That he was a controlling, obsessive, boring bastard with an almost clinical need to order his life and hers as he saw fit.

And the worse thing was she allowed him to lead her, to dampen her spirit. Grace wished she could tell him to go to hell. But the words seized in her throat, and she convinced herself he would change. Or shed have to, because either way shed never have the chance to be that special person to another man.

Grace so wanted to be part of a family, to have someone to call her own, even if the arrangement did come with restrictions. Shed either try to lift them or else learn to live with them.

Sage hooked her chin in the palm of his hand, and his thumb slipped across her cheek, giving it a soft stroke. To the outsider it looked a tender gesture. In a way it was, tender with no sex in it.

It wasnt Saturday; it wasnt ten oclock.

Catch you later. A squiggle of a grin contorted his perfect lips. Im looking forward to tonight. He gave her a saucy wink with a sexy flash of promise.

Me too, she said, belatedly realizing it was Friday.

She happened to glance around, heard the wistful sighs and almost didnt stop herself from shaking her head.

He wasnt the reason she took this job.

Shed been drawn to hospital work after her Granny died. The one person in her life who had genuinely loved her, told her she was beautiful, told her she could do anything, be anything she wanted to be. Granny was her fathers motherher father, who had died when she was just a kid. Her mother was nothing like Granny. The messages she got from her mother told her just the opposite. She was a fat, lazy, selfish, slob. No man would ever love her. Her mother, who had since run off, had gotten her message through. After Granny had died when Grace was twenty, shed sought out other old people, thinking she could give back, thank Granny for what she had tried to give her. And now Grace visited the old people in the hospital whenever she could. She loved that they said what they thought, that they didnt have anything to prove to anyone, and they all treated her with respect and were happy to see her.

In particular shed created a bond with sweet Edith McBride, who reminded her so much of her Granny. She was a tiny, silver haired woman with lively blue eyes and a love of life that was infectious. Grace blinked back her tears. She would miss Ediths wicked sense of humour. Her lovely friend didnt have long to live, for her body was ravaged with cancer. The death sentence didnt seem to faze Edieas she liked to be calledand Graces treasured lunch breaks were often spent at her side in the oncology ward. This was the one matter where Grace refused to back down, for Sage often chided her for wasting her time with an old, dying woman. Grace didnt bother to defend or explain what she felt for Edie; she simply ignored his jibes.

Shed sit in silence, listening to Edies life story and her invaluable advice, sad that the woman had no family of her own. But Edie never complained and seemed to prefer to hear about Graces life. Gradually shed told Edie about Sage, about her dreams and aspirations. And the older woman always gave her encouragement.

They talked about anything and everything, yet the one stumbling block was Edies approaching death. Grace refused to discuss death in general; she found it too upsetting. She thought about her friend Amys beliefs. Shed have to speak to her about life after death. Did it exist? Although sceptical, Grace didnt dismiss the possibility outright. If Amy believed, then something had to be there, didnt it? One of the things she most admired in her friend was her intelligence, and she often turned to her in times of need. She was her rock. Between Sage and the hospital, she had lost touch with most of her other friends, but she could always rely on Amy.