Ensenada Escapade: Destination: Desire, Book 6 by Crystal Jordan Page A

but I’m still a Kirby.”
    “All four of you are bad-asses, in my book.” He winked and started the car. “Note I said four, meaning just the Sisters Kirby. Dinah is a terrifying waste of space.”
    She tucked a limp lock of hair behind her ear. “I was so glad when Mom remarried a very tolerant man who will, God willing, outlive her, thus sparing her daughters from having to figure out how to support her in her old age.”
    “Amen, sister,” Nora murmured. “I don’t know how Stanley does it, but sometimes it’s best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
    “Seriously.” Hazel rested her head against Nora’s shoulder, sighed and closed her eyes. “Take me home, Ben. I want my own bed, a shower, and about fifteen minutes of quality time with a toothbrush.”
    “For all our sakes.” Nora dropped a kiss on the top of her sister’s head, and Hazel chuckled.
    “Everyone seat-belted back there?” He glanced in the rearview, waited until everyone gave him an affirmative and backed out of the parking space.
    Within twenty minutes, he was the only one in the Impala left awake. Or so he thought. Nora turned her head to look at him, though her sister was still crashed out against her shoulder.
    “I think you’ve had your comeuppance for forcing your way onto this little excursion,” she mused.
    He glanced at her. “So you’re not going to TP my condo’s porch or shrink wrap my car when we get home?”
    “Those options are still on the table, of course,” she returned mildly. “But considering you’ve got a few chunks of vomit on your sleeve…”
    He rotated his right arm and saw that she wasn’t joking. Awesome. “Wow, thanks for telling me six hours later.”
    “You’re welcome.” She giggled, and the sound warmed his heart.
    “You had it worse.” He cast a pointed look at her borrowed scrubs.
    She tilted her head in acknowledgement. “I’m a nurse. Trust me, I’ve been splattered with way worse than barf.”
    “The possibilities turn my stomach.” He made a face. “I’ll stick to the law, thanks. I occasionally have to see pictures of horrific crime scenes, but I don’t have to be present for the carnage.”
    She tsked. “Imagine that, someone not in the medical profession being grossed out by the consequences of medical emergencies.”
    “We chose our vocations well, then.” He took a breath, unsure how she’d take what he said next. “You were great today, Nora. These ladies were lucky you were with them when this happened. You knew what to do, helped them keep a level head, and you were a wonderful comfort to them.”
    A long pause followed that, and he wished he could see her expression clearly, but the sun had dropped below the horizon, and the glow of the dashboard lights revealed little.
    “Are you mocking me, Ben? This sounds like the kind of set-ups you used to pull in school—you say something nice, I assume you’re sincere, and then you turn it into a joke at my expense.” Her voice was so even, so lacking in judgment, that he wanted to crawl in a hole.
    “We should talk about that kind of thing some other day, when we haven’t gotten puked on.” He eased his suddenly tight grip on the wheel. “But I’m being sincere. You’re a wonderful nurse, and I’m sorry I ever implied otherwise.”
    He was sorry for a lot of things, but that was also a discussion for another time. A time in the not too distant future, he hoped.
    “Thank you. I take my work very seriously.”
    “So do I.” He chuckled quietly. “See? We do have something in common.”
    “Always the one who has to win the argument.” She shook her head. “I guess you did choose the right profession, Mr. Lawyer.”
    The last topic he wanted to broach was arguing. They did too much of that. He’d rather save it for the courtroom. “I can only hope I’m as a good a lawyer as you are a nurse.”
    “You’re laying it on thick tonight,” she said, sotto voce .
    His teeth locked on a sharp retort.