Forbidden Prescription: A Stepbrother Romance by Stephanie Brother Page B

restaurant? Would they go back to his place afterward for sex?
    That was a silly thought. Of course they would.
    Isabella hadn’t had a lot of dating experience. At the age of twenty-seven, she had only been on a handful of dates. She was told that she was intimidating and that it didn’t help her chances of finding a man. She didn’t have the time to care, though. School took over, and she reasoned that she could date once she was established in her career. Besides, if a guy wasn’t secure enough to date a strong, intelligent career woman, she wasn’t interested.
    She pushed the idea of dating from her mind. She basically already turned James down. He wouldn’t ask her again.
    Isabella looked at her calendar. In another ten months or so, there would be a new group of interns in the hospital. Maybe he’d give up on her and prey on one of the newbies then.
    The next morning, she arrived at the hospital a little later again. Talking to James was always an experience, but she wasn’t in the mood for it this time.
    She opened her locker to find a steaming cup of coffee and a note.
    I promised you that I would stop with the expensive gifts. I attached the receipt for your drink as proof. I’d like to talk to you later, in private. I won’t try any funny business, I swear. –J
    She took a sip of the latte. It was sweet and strong. He seemed to know what she liked. She didn’t want a gift from him, but she was appreciative anyway because she wouldn’t have to drink the lukewarm stuff from the giant carafe in the cafeteria.
    She crumpled the note and threw it into the trash can. She had finished up her research and was back with the interns. When she met up with them for rounds, they didn’t look too thrilled to see her.
    “Ah, yes,” Martin muttered to another intern. “The prodigal surgeon has returned.”
    “Ignore him,” Jordan whispered to her. “He’s just mad that he won’t have a chance to get the good surgeries anymore.”
    James, on the other hand, looked pleased to have her back in the group. He was acting strange, though, not meeting Isabella’s eye with his characteristic grin.
    “He looks stressed out,” Jordan pointed out, always the first to pick up on those things.
    “I can’t imagine why,” Isabella added. “He’s got an extra minion to do his bidding now.”
    “I’m glad you’re back, too,” Jordan said. “These fools were driving me nuts. They can’t do anything on their own.”
    Things were changing around the hospital. Enough time had passed since starting the internship that most of the fear had worn off and was replaced by pure competitive spirit. Any morsel of camaraderie that was present at the beginning was now gone. Besides Jordan, the other interns were cold toward Isabella.
    This hardly mattered to her. If there were a good opportunity for her, she’d do anything in her power to get it. She would stab a fellow intern in the back and not feel the slightest bit of remorse. Except for Jordan. She’d feel a little remorse for her.
    The doctors around the hospital were starting to take notice of Isabella. While she wasn’t always a pleasure to be around because she was super intense, it was evident that she was highly skilled as a surgeon. Her time in the research lab gave her the opportunity to make a good name for herself. She worked with different doctors, and her hard work was paying off.
    Outside of work, her social life suffered. When she had the energy to stay awake after work, she only studied. There was little time for socializing with anyone, let alone a man who would take up lots of her precious free time.
    Isabella tried to steal a quick glimpse at James while he was looking at his charts. Despite his lack of sleep, he always looked so well put together. He dressed in designer clothes, while many of the other doctors did their consultations in scrubs. If he decided to leave medicine behind, he could easily model.
    He did look a little different, though. He