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`` just what do you mean ? '' |
`` you are not the type of man who does public displays of affection ... or i should say lust . '' |
`` have n't we already established that you should n't try to typecast me ? |
i do n't fit into any of the preconceived holes you have tried to put me in . '' |
`` there is one hole that you remain firmly lodged in , and that is being a gentleman when it comes to women and sex . '' |
as much as he hated to admit it , she had a point about him being a gentleman . |
he touched her arm , urging her to stop . |
`` yes , i am a gentleman both in public and private . |
but let me address part of your assumption . |
when i am committed to a woman and she is committed to me , there is never a time i would reject public displays of affection or lust . '' |
megan 's lips curved up in a smile . |
`` so what you 're saying is you would actually grab your girlfriend 's ass in public ? '' |
`` yes , i would . '' |
glancing around , he found them happily out of anyone 's earshot . |
`` when i am truly committed to a woman , i have trouble keeping my hands off her regardless of where we are . '' |
`` that 's good to know , '' she replied , with a wink . |
he could n't help the silly grin that filled his face as she hurried down the hall to join up with kristi . |
he was making progress with her , was n't he ? |
surely megan had to be seeing how much she enjoyed spending time with him in the hospital and would soon decide that she wanted more . |
his smile started to fade as he wondered if he was deluding himself . |
with a resigned sigh , he made his way over to the reception bay to sign off on some charts . |
he eased down on a stool and immersed himself in the paperwork , so he did n't have to think about megan . |
`` alpesh ! '' |
a voice across the room shouted . |
he snapped his head up . |
without even looking over his shoulder , pesh knew who the voice belonged to . |
few people in his life addressed him by his full name , and no one in the hospital ever called him by his first name . |
slowly , he rose off his stool and turned around . |
his youngest brother , dev , stalked toward him with a stormy expression plastered on his face . |
as the oldest of his three siblings , he had always felt a responsibility to look out for his two brothers and sister . |
while arjan and shveta had never given him any trouble , dev , as the spoiled baby of the family , had been a challenge for both pesh and his parents . |
after experiencing teenage rebellion and a wayward early adult life , he had managed to get his wild ways under control when he was twenty-five . |
dev had set his sights on a beautiful nurse pesh had befriended when he was still a resident . |
mia martinelli had been through hell with an abusive boyfriend , so pesh was reluctant to pair the two together . |
but at dev 's continued insistence , pesh fixed the two of them up . |
what followed was a three-year courtship and then engagement . |
mia was accepted and loved by all of pesh 's family . |
and then dev had gone and thrown it all away by cheating on mia . |
in her heartbreak , mia had stayed close to pesh , and he wanted her to be happy more than anything else in the world . |
pesh would have liked to have been surprised by his brother 's visit , but ever since he had been summoned to console mia a few days before , he had been anticipating it . |
truthfully , he had been bracing himself for his brother 's wrath . |
`` hello dev , '' he said , in a calm voice . |
shaking his head furiously , dev said , `` i just got a f**king blow off text from mia . |
when i tried calling her back to demand she explain herself , she could n't talk because she was in mexico . |
with aj . '' |
`` yes , i 'm aware of that . '' |
dev 's dark eyes narrowed at pesh 's confirmation . |
`` so it 's true that you went to talk to her ? '' |
`` yes , it is . '' |
`` i ca n't believe it . '' |
he threw up his hands in frustration . |
`` i did n't want to believe anything mia said , especially that it was you who helped her see that she should n't give me a second chance and take me back-that she should make things work with aj . '' |
`` it 's all true . |
you and i both know mia would never lie . '' |
`` but how could you ? '' |
dev demanded , in a strangled voice . |
`` i 'm sorry , but i had to do what was best for mia . '' |
dev 's brows shot up . |
`` and what about me ? |
i 'm your f**king blood . '' |
with a sigh , pesh replied , `` i 'm sorry , my brother , but blood or not , i could n't stand by and let you hurt her again-she 's been through too much . '' |
`` i love her ! '' |
dev shouted , which caused several of the nurses to spin around in shock . |
`` this is not the time nor the place to be having this discussion , '' pesh growled . |
`` i 'm not going anywhere , so you better start explaining yourself before i really start a scene . '' |
pesh shook his head . |
`` fine . |
you want the truth ? |
here is it . |
you only think you love mia . |
you and i both know you can not be faithful to a woman . '' |
`` i could have for mia . '' |
`` you already failed her once . |
she deserved better . '' |
dev narrowed his eyes . |
`` what , are you f**king her now ? '' |
he grimaced at his brother 's choice of harsh words . |
`` of course i 'm not . |
there 's never been anything amorous between mia and myself . |
thankfully , she 's back with the man she loves-the father of her unborn child . '' |
`` but i need her , '' dev insisted , his voice taking on a plaintive tone . |
`` i 'm sorry , but i think it 's best if you moved on . |
most of all , baby brother , i think you need to do a lot of soul searching and maturing before you even think about getting in another relationship . '' |
dev 's eyes widened . |
`` you ... you f**king bastard ! '' |
he shouted . |
pesh was debating calling security to remove his unruly brother when he was knocked off his stool by dev 's right hook to his jaw . |
he tumbled backward and crashed onto the floor . |
before dev could do something like kick him when he was down , megan appeared and wedged herself between them . |
`` i think you better leave before i call security , '' she demanded . |
pesh struggled to his feet as megan came into dev 's line of fire . |
he could n't bear if dev hurt her in his anger just because she had taken up for him . |
dev stared down at megan with a smirk . |
`` so my brother needs some pint-sized pu**y defending him now ? |
word to the wise , sweetheart , do n't waste your time on him . |
he 's only got a boner for his dead wife . '' |
a deep growl erupted in pesh 's throat as he lunged for his brother . |
but he never made it . |
instead , megan 's fist cracked into dev 's jaw . |
the impact did n't take him off his feet , but he did stagger backwards . |
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