Momentous Kisses: Love in Sandy Beach by Jessica Gray

Her siblings longed for the excitement of the city, while Allison avoided it at all costs.
    Maybe her test hadn’t been such a good idea after all?
    Since those thoughts headed down a road that didn’t seem to have a happy ending, she pushed them aside and relaxed to watch the movie with Russell. As the movie loaded, he told her, “The patients at the clinic absolutely love your paintings. One woman even asked if she could be one of them. You should go talk to Mr. Wallace tomorrow.”
    Allison’s heart sang with delight. “Russ, that’s fantastic . Maybe I’ll be able to make a living from my painting after all.”
    The movie started up, but Allison never even made it halfway through it before she was sound asleep, cuddled up against Russell.

Chapter 16
    The next morning Allison still felt sick. She’d fallen asleep during the movie the night before and he’d carried her to bed, but after sleeping soundly all night, she’d awakened weak, nauseous, and pale in the face.
    His stomach twisted with concern and worry about her.
    “Ally, don’t you think you should go see a doctor?” he asked, his worry for her showing in his voice and on his face.
    She shrugged it off. “I’m sure it’s just a bug. I’m not horribly sick; my stomach is a little queasy. Perhaps I picked up a summer flu?”
    “Perhaps. Take it easy today, okay?”
    “I will. Have a good day at work.”
    Russell left with a kiss to her cheek and headed for the clinic, his own stomach slightly queasy in anticipation of the conversation about to happen. He carefully rehearsed his words until he arrived at the clinic, where he searched for his partner Dex and found him in his office, sipping on coffee and looking over patient files.
    “Dex? You got a few minutes?” he asked from the doorway.
    “Sure. Come in.” Dex invited him to have a seat.
    Russell took the chair in front of his partner’s desk and then steepled his hands under his chin, resting his elbows on the corner of the desk. “I’d like to make some changes to the focus of the clinic.”
    Dex sat back in his chair, his eyebrows flickering skeptically. “What kind of changes?”
    Russell steeled himself for his partner’s reaction. He knew Dex wouldn’t embrace his ideas with open arms, but he despised continuing with the status quo any longer. “I want to see the clinic get away from cosmetic surgery for vanity purposes.”
    “What?! Are you crazy? That’s our bread and butter!”
    “It has been, but that’s not what either of us wanted to do when we left medical school,” Russell reminded him.
    “No, but paying off my student loans for the next fifty years wasn’t what we wanted either. Cosmetic surgery is where the money is.”
    “I’m tired of chasing the money!” Russell said, exasperated ,and stood up to pace in front of the desk.
    Dex stood up as well and pushed his hands deep into his pockets. “Russell, we’ve been over this before. There is no way I’m on board with this. I love having you for a partner, but I love my luxurious lifestyle even more.”
    “We’d still earn enough money.”
    “We’d barely scrape by.”
    Russell could feel his jaw tense and abruptly stopped in front of Dex. “Is this all you care about? Money?”
    Dex stared back at him, opening and closing his fists a few times, before he said, “Look, Russ, you need to think this through some more.”
    “I have thought this through.”
    “Then think on it some more, before making any rash decisions. I won’t hold you back, if you wish to leave.”
    Russell shook his head and stormed out of Dex’s office. He was angry Dex wouldn’t even consider his request, and frustrated he hadn’t handled their conversation better.
    He headed for his office, grabbing his white coat and stalking to the exam room, where his first patient of the day was waiting for him: Mrs. Mitchell.
    He took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside. “Good morning, Mrs. Mitchell.”
    “Dr.