Momentous Kisses: Love in Sandy Beach by Jessica Gray Page A

Barkin. I’m so glad you had time to see me.”
    “What can I do for you today?” he asked, flipping through her file. The woman had already undergone three facelifts, and the last time she’d had to endure some complications. It would be a huge risk to operate on her again.
    “I wish to have another facelift.”
    Russell raised his left eyebrow. “Another one? Why? You look wonderful.”
    “My husband told me I’m looking old.” She leaned towards him and traced a line from her eyelid to her ear and down to the corner of her mouth. “Can you see all those wrinkles?”
    For God’s sake, the woman was past sixty – how could anyone expect her to have a wrinkle-free face like a twenty-year-old girl? Russell grew impatient and asked with a harsh voice, “Are you happy, Mrs. Mitchell?”
    “Happy?” Mrs. Mitchell asked, furrowing her brow.
    “Yes! Happy!”
    Mrs. Mitchell shook her head. “I’m not exactly sure how this has something to do with my wrinkles, but I guess not.”
    Russell sighed. He wished Allison were by his side. “Were you happy after your last facelift?”
    “God, no. It was awful. I was in acute pain for several months and subsisted on painkillers. I hate needles and operations. The only reason I had that last one was for Richard.”
    She paled at the memories and Russell felt guilty to put her through this, but he wanted her to acknowledge that another facelift would be a huge mistake. A painful mistake.
    “Richard is your husband?”
    She nodded. “Yes.”
    “Do you love him?”
    Mrs. Mitchell raised an eyebrow at the inappropriate question, but slowly answered, “I guess.”
    I guess? What kind of answer is that? You either love someone or you don’t. Russell was tired of it. “Mrs. Mitchell, I’m going to do you a favor and refuse to perform another facelift on you. It’s too dangerous and I won’t risk your health. My suggestion is that you find a man who loves you just the way you are.”
    He pushed himself to a standing position and rushed out of the exam room, leaving a stunned Mr. Mitchell staring after him.
    I wouldn’t want to change even one tiny detail about Allison. I love her the way she is. Not even fifty years from now when she’d be all wrinkly and have a flabby stomach and graying hair. He would still love her just as she was. Yes, even then. The burst of love was almost palpable, and he could have sworn he heard pieces of rock tumbling down when the protective wall around his heart collapsed. I love her!
    He heard a commotion in the hallway and stalked to the door to see Mrs. Mitchell crying to Dex about her meeting with his partner. Dex glared daggers at him and then assured the woman he’d be happy to perform the surgery for her. After his nurse escorted Mrs. Mitchell to the reception desk to get the procedure scheduled, he stomped into Russell’s office, slamming the door after entering it.
    “What the hell is wrong with you?”
    Russell felt his rage rising. How could Dex countermand his decision? In front of the entire clinic? He clenched his fists and inhaled sharply. “Mrs. Mitchell does not need another facelift.”
    “Who cares? She wants it and is willing to pay for it. We’re in business here.”
    Russell folded his arms across his chest. “I told you this morning I want to get away from cosmetic surgery.”
    Dex shook his head. “Then I suggest you find someplace else to do that.”
    Silence filled the office for long moments before Russell nodded his head. “That would probably be for the best. I will of course stay on until you can find someone to buy me out. It shouldn’t be too hard.”
    The tension started to diminish and Dex recovered from his shock. “Are you positive this is what you want?”
    “Yes.”
    “Fine. I’ll start asking around.”
    Russell turned to leave the room, when Dex called him back, “Russ, I’m sad to let you go. We’ve had lots of fun together. But if this is what you want, I’ll do everything to find