Heroes (Hollywood Heartthrobs #1) by Kate Rivers

body. The bandages on her head were gone, and her brown hair fell
gently around her face down to her shoulders. Hearing Dean’s knock, she brushed
it back with a gesture of effortless grace. There was that warm, open smile
again and those bright green eyes. Unlike him, she looked rested, refreshed,
and aglow with health and natural beauty. The book she had been reading lay
abandoned in her lap.
    “Dean,
you’re back,” she said warmly. “Come on in, you’re a breath of fresh air.”
    “I
said I would come to visit,” he answered, recovering from the slight shock of
seeing her so beautifully restored. He’d noticed her eyes and her smile yesterday,
but seeing her like this, she was an extraordinarily attractive woman.
    “I
never said I doubted you,” she replied playfully. “Just glad to see you.” Jane
thought he looked tired, but still terrifically handsome. Poor guy probably
hadn’t slept much, if he’d been spending time with his nephews.
    Dean
sat down on the same chair he’d occupied the previous night. “How’s the patient
today? Still Jane Doe?”
    “Still
drawing a blank on, well, everything, but otherwise I’m fine. My arm will be
back in shape in another six weeks or so. They took a few more scans of my
head, apparently there’s nothing to raise any alarms. Except the memory loss,
obviously,” she answered, in apparent high spirits. “And how are Tucker and
Alec?” she asked.
    “They’re
fine. Kids are resilient, my brother says. I’m impressed you remembered their
names.” Dean was genuinely touched at her regard for the boys. Of course,
regard for Alec was what had gotten her here in the first place, he realized.
    “That’s
good to hear. And don’t be, I can only remember the past eighteen hours so
those memories stand out in blazing clarity.”
    Dean
actually chuckled at that, and was rewarded with Jane’s smile.
    She
nodded in fake solemnity at the flowers he still held. “From one of your many
admirers?”
    “Oh,
no, I mean, I got these for you,” Dean said, feeling foolish.
    “You
didn’t have to do that, but it’s very sweet of you. In a retro Sunday kind of
way,” she added with a grin. “Let me see if I have something to put some water
in.” She got up from the bed, revealing long, toned, and very bare legs beneath
her short robe. Dean felt the absurd need to avert his eyes to keep from
blushing, or worse. Instead he focused on the cloth-bound book on her lap and
the large stack of books of every shape and size on the small table. At least
five appeared to have bookmarks.
    Jane
rummaged through the one small cabinet in the room, finally pulling out what
appeared to be a jar for urine samples. She looked serious. “I think this may
have to do.” She added water to the bottom and arranged the bouquet in it.
    “Looks
nice,” Dean offered, with a raised eyebrow.
    “As
long as no one gets too close,” Jane confirmed with a nod. Dean laughed. Little
creases of wrinkles appeared around his eyes when he laughed. Jane thought they
were quite possibly the most attractive thing she had ever seen.
    “So,
you building a library, or just a book fort?” he asked, gesturing to the stack
of books.
    “Oh,
these? Yeah, the neurologist this morning said I should get some exposure to
books and things, so one of the volunteers took me to see the little library
they keep to read to some of the patients.”
    “And
what, you took the whole lot?”
    Jane
looked indignant. “Only half! It’s just, I started reading one, and I
absolutely loved it, but then I thought, I’ll never get through them all one at
a time. I’ve read the beginnings of half a dozen books today, just trying to
explore as many as I can. No magical jogging of the memory, but I have realized
I love to read, so that’s a start.”
    “Thoughts
so far?”
    “Well,
I want to read them all. But yes, it does seem like some are better than
others. I started Wuthering Heights around lunchtime. It seemed
interesting,