Wistful Whispers is an irresistible battle of the wills where surrendering to forbidden temptation could cost them everything.
I never promised forever. A good time? Absolutely. Heartbreak? Only if they got too attached.
My reputation as a quiet playboy precedes me—women talk, and my ‘talents’ follow me wherever I go. But I’ve always been upfront. No commitments. No expectations. No complications.
Marcella Delgado is nothing but complications. Brilliant. Fierce. Eight years older. And the attorney trying to take down my boss in a malpractice case. She should hate me on sight—hell, she does. But that doesn’t stop the heat between us from igniting the moment we meet.
She’s heard the stories about me firsthand, right there in the depositions. She knows exactly what I’m good at, and even though she fights it, I can see the temptation in her eyes.
One night. One line crossed. Now my future’s unraveling—and she might be the only thing I don’t want to let go.
For the first time, I want it all.
And I’ll fight like hell to be the man she can’t leave behind.
I crawl into his lap without thinking, straddling him carefully, the towel draping us both like a cloak. My hands frame his face. “You didn’t make the wrong call. He’s the one being reckless, not you. You’re not alone, Seamus. You’re not.”
There’s a war behind his eyes. I kiss his forehead. His nose. His cheek. Then I hold him. Until the shaking stops. Until the shallow breaths even out.
“I hate Caldwell taking up space in your head.” I stroke his chest. “After everything.”
“I can handle the pressure. I always knew the risk that doing the right thing by Miranda could tank my residency.” He palms my lower back and tugs me toward him. “It’s a weird vibe at the hospital. I feel like everyone’s watching me.”
I set down my mug and turn to him. “Because of him?”
He nods, jaw tight. “He’s the head of my program. If he wants to ice me out, doors will close. Slowly. Quietly. I’m working with a lot of other surgeons right now, which is normal during research year…” He exhales, frustrated. “I can feel it. Something’s shifted.”
“Could you switch specialties?” I hate how helpless I sound.
“No. It would be starting over.” He shakes his head. “I’ve come too far. I’m halfway through my residency. I love neurosurgery. I can’t let this derail my dream.”
I struggle to find words. “I’m sorry, baby…”
“Don’t. It’s not your fault.” He puts his finger to my lips. “I made a choice. I’d make it again. I don’t know what comes next. I’ll fight for what I believe in.”
I shift to the side of him, curling one leg under me as I study his face. He’s not just tired. He’s…worn thin. Like something’s slowly eating away at him, and he’s been trying to outpace it for weeks. “Could you transfer? I mean—if Caldwell keeps making things worse, would another school take you?”
He leans his head back and stares up at the ceiling like it holds the answer. “I don’t want to leave Seattle. My family’s here. You’re here. Everything I love is here.”
His words should comfort me, right? He doesn’t want to leave. He’s factoring me into the calculus.
Instead, it makes my mind race.
About Kaylene Winter
When she was only 15, Kaylene Winter wrote her first rocker romance novel starring a fictionalized version of herself, her friends and their gorgeous rocker boyfriends. After living her own rockstar life as a band manager, music promoter and mover and shaker in Seattle during the early 1990’s, Kaylene became a digital media legal strategist helping bring movies, television and music online. Throughout her busy career, Kaylene lost herself in romance novels across all genres inspiring her to realize her life-long dream to be a published author. She lives in Seattle with her amazing husband and dog. She loves to travel, throw lavish dinner parties and support charitable causes supporting arts and animals.
I guess I should type a bio here. I'm FranJessca, or Fran for short. I'm the owner/reviewer behind A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog. I've been reading and reviewing books on my blog since leaving the Navy in 2011, and I will keep doing it as long as possible. My favorite genres will always be Romance & Fantasy, and I read every subgenre underneath those two genres. (Sorry, not a fan of nonfiction, so don't try to convince me to read it.) My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
