Open Heart One Shots (Choices)

Handsome Distraction (AU)

Summary: Cassie Valentine wasn't looking for romance, but then she met a mysterious stranger on a moonlit balcony.

What was it about galas that turned doctors into horny toads?

At any other function, Cassie Valentine would've been annoyed at a loose garter. Tonight, she was grateful for the excuse it gave her to slip away.

The ladies' room was on the far side of the ballroom, which meant dodging any number of intoxicated doctors attending the black-tie event she was hosting as part of the National Medical Symposium's festivities.

Tonight was a labor of love—her first time organizing a major charity gala on behalf of the Valentine Foundation.

The family business might be hotels, but the foundation focused on humanitarian work across several sectors. When she'd pitched healthcare as a cause worth championing, her parents and the board had trusted her.

The special humanitarian award for Dr. Banerji was the result of months of planning, negotiation and tireless work.

Tonight had to go smoothly. Failure wasn't an option.

She spotted the French doors leading to the moonlit terrace and made a hasty beeline before someone else managed to corner her. The spring evening was chilly, and she doubted anyone else would be outside.

Cassie supposed it was old-fashioned of her to wear a garter with her stockings, but there was something so sensual about that little band of lace around her thigh. Of course, she was the only one who knew it was there.

Her last relationship had fizzled before it had truly begun.

Still, she dressed for herself—always had, always would. But a part of her, the romantic who'd grown up on fairytales and handsome princes on white horses, wished she had someone who would see the garter for what it was: an invitation to make her his.

Leaning lightly against the wall, just out of sight of the partygoers, Cassie hiked up the skirt of her ballgown. The fabric fell away from the thigh-high slit, revealing a silk stocking that had slipped down to her knee.

She quickly loosened the garter to adjust the top of the stocking, smoothing the silk with practiced fingers before fastening it again.

Suddenly, the doors to the terrace swung open. A tall man in an impeccably tailored suit stepped out.

Cassie froze, caught mid-adjustment. Her breath hitched as she watched him.

He didn't seem to notice her. Instead, he let out a long sigh, rolled his shoulders, and braced his hands against the balustrade.

Tilting his head back, he stared at the inky sky above, his posture slowly easing as if whatever burden he'd been carrying was finally letting go.

There was something mesmerizing about him. The way the lamplight cast shifting shadows across his face. The tousled waves of dark hair, as if a lover had just run their fingers through them.

It felt voyeuristic, but she couldn't help noticing the way the cut of his pants hugged his hips, or how his jacket skimmed the strong lines of his frame.

If he was a doctor, he certainly didn't look like any of the ones she'd met tonight. And she wouldn't be in a hurry to escape his company.

She must've made a sound, because his head snapped up—narrow-eyed and sharp, his gaze pinned her where she stood. Skirt hiked, fingers tangled in lacy ribbons, one nearly bare thigh on display.

The distance was too far and the light too dim to catch the color of his eyes. But the way they glittered—cold fire, sudden and intense—made her suspect blue. Or gray.

Hunger flashed there, raw and fleeting, before he blinked and it vanished.

Cassie wasn't vain. She knew she looked good tonight—classic, elegant, a little dangerous. If he hadn't noticed, she might've been disappointed.

But she hadn't expected that look.

That kind of look.

And it shook her.

"A gentleman would look away. Or lend a hand," she said, a wry smile tugging at her lips—masking the way her pulse thundered.

His gaze dropped to her thigh, and heat bloomed across her skin, sending every nerve ending spiraling with desire—quick and electric.

The night was still young, and hostess duties awaited her inside. She hadn't planned for this... handsome distraction. But that's exactly what he was.

He stepped forward, hands outstretched—reaching, it seemed, for the lacy ribbons of her garter.

He froze when she arched a single brow, a warning written plainly across her face.

"That was a rhetorical statement, wasn't it?" he said—just a touch too conceited for her liking—as he held up his hands in mock surrender.

Cassie scoffed, equal parts amused and annoyed by his audacity. And arrogance.

Perhaps he was a doctor, after all.

But really, who was this man? And what was he doing turning her perfectly managed night into a slow-burning mess?