Secret Lives of Doctors' Wives

Austin, Texas "Oh my God! More blood?" She'd thought it was only a nick. Rosie couldn't believe what had just happened. Pierce had gotten angry so quickly. He'd seemed weird, strung out, not himself at all. Her every breath was a harsh, tortured rasp as she grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her cut finger and the steering wheel. She didn't want to think about her former fiancÉ, or their quarrel, or how quickly the violence had escalated. Perspiration drenched her, not just because it was a hot, sultry August night or because of the champagne she'd drunk with Pierce before the evening had gone wrong. Or because today was her fortieth birthday and maybe she was simply having an early hot flash. She rubbed her head. Her scalp hurt where Pierce's watch had caught her hair. He hadn't cared that he'd hurt her. In fact, he'd smiled. She wrapped the tissue around her finger and applied pressure. When the Beamer's tires squealed, rounding a sharp curve, she gripped the wheel. It wasn't like her to mistreat her car by driving too fast. She was that anxious to get away. Well, at least she was finally over him. No more wisecracks to the other nurses about wanting revenge, to salve her wounded ego because they knew he'd dumped her for Anita. For what it was worth, tonight Mr. Prominent Plastic Surgeon hadn't paid her a dime of the money he owed her, either. Big surprise. She still didn't know why she'd snapped. But for sure, she had bigger problems now than the money he'd owed her. What had she ever seen in Pierce? He was a gifted doctor, and being a nurse, she'd admired that. She'd been having a hard time accepting her grown daughter's lifestyle, so maybe he'd come along when she'd needed to feel successful in other areas of her life. Being seen on the arm of a handsome plastic surgeon had made her feel good. But even before he'd dumped her, the romance had taken a dark turn. Like a lot of Rosie's boyfriends--and there'd been a lot, way too many in some people's opinions, such as her mother's--Pierce had developed the knack for punching the wrong buttons. He brought out the Bad Rosie, just like her mom, Hazel, did sometimes, which was why Rosie should have been delighted when he'd jilted her for a younger woman right before their wedding day nearly a year ago. Okay, so Rosie hadn't been delighted or acted mature, despite her "mature" age. Okay, so maybe that was partly because she'd been feeling romantic about being a bride again, and partly because she'd seen Dr. Pierce Carver as the ticket to the sparkling train car. Rosie's least favorite movie scene of all time, and of course it had to be the one that haunted her, was the opening sequence in Woody Allen's Stardust Memories. In the scene, poor Woody sat in a dark, dirty train car with a bunch of other pathetic losers. Unfortunately, he had looked out the window just in time to see a sparkling train car filled with happy, glamorous people drinking champagne streak by him, and he had despaired. There'd been a lot of times when Rosie would have sold her soul to be in that sparkling car. Pierce had come into her life just when she'd been feeling superguilty about Carmen dancing at The Cellar and neglecting her five-year-old daughter, Alexis, to the point that Rosie had had to take Alexis under her wing. Pierce had seemed glamorous and caring and sure of himself, when she'd been feeling vulnerable because she was getting older and didn't have enough to show for it. When he had jilted her and she'd had to face reality again, she'd had to see a shrink for a while to reclaim her sanity--on a weekly basis, as a matter of fact. So--okay. Okay. Okay. Rosie really had thought she was over Pierce, until he'd called tonight. He'd flattered her and said he was tying up loose ends. He'd promised to pay her the money he owed her, and she'd agreed to give himMajor, Ann is the author of 'Secret Lives of Doctors' Wives ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780778323464 and ISBN 0778323463.