I burst into the stairwell and press my back against the door. With one hand on my heart and the other on my belly, I try to catch my breath. Holy shit! I feel light-headed. Pins and needles dance up my legs. Adrenaline crashes about in my veins.

It's just the way he looked at me.

Those blue eyes are just as intense as they've always been, searing my skin and singeing my soul. My fight or flight instinct kicked into gear. And I chose 'flight'. I faked a beep on my pager and bolted from the room. 

And now, I remember exactly why I've stayed away from this town for so long. I didn't expect that the feeling would still be this strong, though. After all these years, I didn't expect that the weight of those crystal blue eyes baring down on me could still suck all the air from the room. 

My chest shakes on a heavy breath as I drop to the grungy concrete step and try to recite the list of all the reasons why I hate him. He made me fall for him...He took my virginity...He broke my heart...He told me to leave town...

Coming back to Copper Heights was a hasty decision. I didn't think it through. I didn't consider that I'd have to see him and that I might not be able to control my reaction. The puttering of my heart. The quickening of my breath. The bolt of awareness that zapped me straight between the thighs at the sight of him. I hate that he still has this effect on me.

When he swaggered through the hospital's doors earlier, I made a resolution. I promised myself that I'd handle this situation professionally. That I'd hold my head high and show him that I'm over him, that I'm fine, that I'm successful. And maybe he'd come to regret his decision that I wasn't worth keeping around.

Instead, I crumbled the minute he looked at me.

How fucking mature.

"Okay, Angela. You can't do this. You can’t go swooning just because your ex happened to look your way. You're a doctor, not some lovesick puppy. You have lives to save. So, you have to be able to keep your sanity while you and Ben Riggs coexist in the same space." With firm resolve, I rise to my feet and brush grime off the backs of my scrub pants. Shoulders back, chin up—I’m confident and emotionally-equipped to go back into that meeting.

But as I pivot back toward the door, it blasts open and Ben thunders inside.

I freeze. So does he. And we just stand there. We stand there and we stare at each other and I feel like there's a fist curling mercilessly around my windpipe. 

A long, tense moment passes before he speaks. "You're...you." I narrow my eyes at him in confusion, not understanding what he's trying to say. He flashes a smile, causing a pair of prominent dimples to pierce his cheeks. The dimples...I'd almost forgotten about the dimples. Up close, I can’t even handle it. He’s still got his looks. The quintessential boy band heartthrob.

That fist squeezes tighter, still fucking with my air supply.

He shakes his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I just mean—I wasn't sure that it was really you." He takes another step closer.

I hold my spine straight, trying to come off as neutral and unaffected. "Yup, it's me," I say coolly as I swerve around him and wrap my fingers around the cool brass of the door handle.

The familiar scent of his skin hits me like a boot to the chest. But his fingers sliding into the curve of my elbow is what makes my steps falter. Gooseflesh rises along my skin. I turn and pin him with a glare. He’s so handsome, I almost have to squint. It’s like letting my eyes adjust to the direct glare of the sun.

His expression grows serious. "How have you been, Angie?"

His voice is so low, so grave. If it weren’t for the callous way he threw me away all those years ago, I'd think he actually gave a damn about the answer. "I've been fine, Benjamin."

On the outside, I wear an armor of steel. On the inside, I’m struggling to find a coping mechanism. Something to help me deal with the fact that his voice has dropped half a dozen octaves since the last time I heard it. And if I could get my ovaries to stop overreacting to the deep, gritty, delicious sound, that would be great.

I make another attempt to pull the door open but his grasp tightens on my elbow. My nipples are tingling. I really, really wish they weren't.

"We should catch up," he tells me, standing so close that the warmth of his breath tickles my face. "Maybe we can go grab a hot chocolate. There's this place in town—the Broken Cupcake—they make really good hot chocolate. They even have these great, little cherry tarts sometimes. They taste just like Pop Tarts we used to have.” A smile curves his lips at the memory. “Remember those—"

"I don't drink hot chocolate!" I snap. I don't drink hot chocolate since you ruined hot chocolate for me. And you ruined cherry tarts for me. And you ruined love for me. 

Hot chocolate and cherry tarts used to be our thing. We’d have those every afternoon when we were making out in his bedroom instead of doing our homework like we were supposed to. 

Fuck hot chocolate and cherry tarts! Fuck Benjamin Riggs!

His glittering blue eyes broadcast his confusion. "Okay, so maybe we can go for coffee?”

I don’t answer. I just keep on glaring so he tries again.

“…For warm milk?”

My expression doesn’t budge.

“…For a glass of freakin' water?" He angles his head, his whole attention focused on me. "Anything to sit down with you, Gigi..."

Gigi...

A lick of fire flares beneath my skin. Why'd he have to go and call me that? To make me weak? To push me to spend the day replaying on loop the tender moments we shared so very long ago? That's just cruel.

"Thanks for the offer, Lieutenant Riggs, but I don't need a drink. I'm very well hydrated. If you'll excuse me."

His hand falls away from me and he takes a step back. Finally, I'm able to break free of the stairwell. Finally, I'm able to take a breath. I practically run out of the room and down the hallway, back to the safety of the intern's locker room where I collapse onto a bench and try to get myself together.

How am I going to manage living and working in this town when something as basic as oxygen uptake becomes a struggle with this man around?