Rafael's One Night Bombshell. Tina Beckett

Embarrassment is a small price to pay to make sure things don’t get more awkward than they already are.

      “Can I say something?”

      He glanced up, the baby still tucked close. “Of course.”

      “That night at the bar was... Well, I wasn’t myself. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m not looking for a relationship.”

      A frown appeared. “You made that pretty obvious when you came in with an engagement ring and handed me a fake name. But, just for the record, I agree with you. It was a one-time thing. Not to be repeated.”

      The quick stab of pain was unexpected, but necessary. So were her next words. “As long as we’re both clear. And I’d appreciate your keeping what happened between us.”

      “I wasn’t planning on writing any journal articles or using you as a reference on my résumé, if that’s what you’re worried about.” This time his voice was a little harder than it had been. She ignored it.

      “Great. It sounds like we’re on the same page. Now, I’ll take the baby, if you’re done examining him.”

      As he handed Renato back to her, Cassie breathed an inner oath to herself. As of this moment she was going to stay true to her word and watch her Ps and Qs with this man.

      Although, if she were very, very lucky, there would be no more Zika cases at her hospital, and no reason to see a certain epidemiologist ever, ever again.

       CHAPTER TWO

      BONNIE CORNERED CASSIE in the cafeteria a few hours later, dropping into the seat across from her. “So what was that all about?”

      Her friend was everything she wasn’t. With untamed red hair and a personality to match, they were about as opposite as they could be. And yet they’d been friends since elementary school—their friendship the only stable thing in an unstable childhood. Bonnie had dared her to do some outrageous stunts during the course of their lives, most of which had been turned down with a shocked “Are you insane?” Her friend was the one, though, who had talked her into going to medical school, saying she had the “smarts.” Working at the same hospital with her was both fun and, at times, extremely scary. Like right now.

      She decided to play it cool. “What was what, Bon?”

      “Um...that CDC man thinking I was you? He may have said my name, but he was staring right at you.”

      “Was he?” Hadn’t she just asked Rafe not to mention their little tryst? She gulped. Well, he probably didn’t have someone like Bonnie grilling him. He seemed like a loner.

      Her friend propped her arms on the table, leaning forward and giving her a dark glare. “If you could have seen the look on your face when he said he’d already met ‘Bonnie’ you wouldn’t bother using that innocent act on me. I can see right through it. What happened?”

      “I picked him up at a bar.” Yep. She would just keep what had happened to herself. She gave an internal eye-roll.

      “You...what?”

      Cassie couldn’t prevent a laugh. “Okay, so if your face looks anything like you say mine did, then I’m in big trouble. Close your mouth, silly.”

      Bonnie obliged with an audible click of her teeth. “Okay, just let me wrap my head around this for a second. I cannot imagine you picking up anyone. Especially so soon after Darrin. Where did you go?”

      “Mad Ron’s. And it was the same night as the break-up actually. I yanked the ring off on the way through the door.”

      “Wow. Just wow.” Her friend snagged a grape from Cassie’s plate and looked at her with something akin to envy. “This is probably the only impulsive thing you’ll do in your entire life, and I didn’t even get an invitation. Or a video.”

      “Um... I don’t think you would have wanted an invitation, and certainly not a video, for part of it.” Most of it, actually. Her friend knew how to keep a secret so there was no harm in letting her in on it. Right?

      Bonnie popped the fruit into her mouth, chewing for a few seconds. “Maybe not. But I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. That still doesn’t answer my question, though. Why did he think I was—” She stopped, eyes widening. “Oh, wait. You gave him my name. You...you impersonated me.”

      “I didn’t impersonate you. I would have had to wear a wig and get a personality transplant to do that. I just didn’t think I’d ever see the man again. And if he turned out to be some kind of weird stalker...”