NYCHELLE LEANED BACK in her office chair, her heart pounding a mile a minute, and pressed the cell phone tighter to her ear. She’d been as jumpy as a mouse at a cat convention all afternoon, waiting for a call from Dr. Miller’s office. It had finally come, and now she was waiting for the doctor to pick up on her end. The canned instrumental music was no doubt meant to be soothing, but at that moment it was getting on her last nerve. Perhaps it was just as well the call had come now, when she’d been just about to leave the clinic. She was sure no matter what the news was there’d be tears involved.
These last few days she’d been on an emotional rollercoaster worse than any she’d ever experienced before. Normally she was good at compartmentalizing her life, keeping work, family and her personal business determinedly separate. That hadn’t worked worth a damn these last forty-eight hours.
Tuesday morning she’d arrived at Lauderlakes and immediately looked for David’s car in the staff parking lot. When she’d spotted the maroon Audi her heart had seemed about to jump straight out of her chest, and for the rest of the day she’d been on high alert.
It had been exhausting.
There was no good reason to be this het-up over him. None at all. Surely it was her imagination that had her skin tingling every time she was around him?
The frequency of their encounters wasn’t helping. From hardly being aware he existed, it seemed she couldn’t avoid him, and now they were practically living in each other’s pockets. Working together on Doug Comstock’s case and then Carmen’s, sitting on the planning committee for the next health fair—and, of course, going to the gala together.
Every time she thought about that night, and the kiss they’d shared, she shivered. Yet, there’d been no follow-up to that arousing encounter, so why couldn’t she just forget it and move on?
David clearly had.
And she didn’t want any follow-up, right? There was no place in her life for anything like that right now—none. Even if David was interested, which he obviously wasn’t.
After she’d got home on Tuesday night she’d given herself another round of pep talks. She had really wished she could confide in Aliya, whom she knew would give her good advice. Unfortunately her cousin was also prone to saying, I told you so, and wouldn’t hesitate to do so if Nychelle told her there was a man she was even slightly attracted to. That was the last thing Nychelle needed.
In fact, she’d thought, while putting together a salad she really hadn’t wanted to eat, hearing those words at this particular time would no doubt make her burst into tears.
Nope. Didn’t need it—any of it.
All she could realistically do was get over this attraction to David, because the alternative scenarios were too horrible to contemplate. If she continued to harbor these ridiculous longings they not only wouldn’t be friends anymore, but even working with him would become impossible too. The problem was, she wasn’t just in lust with him, she was...
Her mind had gone completely blank and she’d stared down at the greens she’d just tossed with sunflower seeds, cucumber and red peppers.
You’re what, exactly, Nychelle?
Her brain hadn’t been inclined to come up with an answer, shying away and contemplating instead what dressing to put on the salad.
In her mind she’d heard her mother’s voice say, Avoidance, and she’d snorted with irritation. Bad enough to be in this situation, but imagining her mom analyzing her too was ridiculous. Worse was knowing her diagnosis was probably correct. She was ducking thinking about her growing feelings for David, so as not to take the soul-searching to its logical, and no doubt painful, conclusion.
Sitting at the island, she looked around her home, suddenly lonely in a way she’d never been before within its walls. All the contentment she’d felt just a few short weeks ago seemed to have fled, leaving hollowness behind. Yet she couldn’t allow herself to continue this way. She’d made a choice, and it was a good one. That was what she needed to remind herself whenever she started thinking about David. The Plan was in motion and she had to focus on staying healthy, both physically and emotionally. To do the latter she would just have to keep Dr. Heat discreetly at arm’s length. Not rebuff him altogether. That would be too obvious. Just enjoy his friendship and nothing more.
Telling herself that a thousand times had finally had her convinced she was being stupid. It wasn’t David causing her emotional upheaval at all. No. Surely these absurd mood swings, the icy dips and somersaults of her stomach, had nothing to do with him. Stressing about him was just a way to escape thinking about whether the IUI had worked. No doubt the uncomfortable physical reactions were actually about waiting for the next round of tests. After all, which was more important? There was no contest. Being pregnant trumped anything David could offer.
Right?
The excitement of knowing today was the day she would find out whether the IUI had been successful had buoyed her up all through Wednesday morning. That and her new determination had even allowed her to smile and wave at David in passing, although she hadn’t stopped to talk.
The joy of anticipation had lasted up until her dash to Dr. Miller’s office at lunchtime, and then quickly faded as she’d waited, none too patiently, to hear from the doctor. Now her stomach fluttered and rolled with nervous dread.
“Come on. Come on,” she muttered, her hand aching from the strength of her grip on the cell phone.
As if hearing Nychelle’s entreaty, the phone clicked and the music stopped, to be replaced by Dr. Miller’s voice.
“Nychelle. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
And just from the other woman’s tone Nychelle knew what the OB/GYN would say next.
* * *
David paused at the corridor leading to Nychelle’s office, wondering if she was still at work or had already left for the day.
He really wanted to see her.
Which annoyed the hell out of him.
Equally annoying was knowing there was no way to avoid this encounter. Carmen Fitzpatrick’s test results were back and they needed to confer. With them both being tasked with her care, a case conference was inevitable.
He could have sent a message, asking her to come to his office, but he’d put it off all day and finally, when he hadn’t been able to avoid it anymore, he’d accessed the staff schedule online to see if she might still be around. According to that, her last patient had been forty-five minutes ago. Hopefully she was finished with the appointment, but maybe was still writing up her notes.
Decision made, he strode down the corridor, refusing to acknowledge the way his heart raced or the tension building at his nape. When he got to the waiting area outside of Nychelle’s office he was glad to find just one medical assistant there, packing up her bag.
Lena looked up, and her eyebrows rose briefly in obvious surprise. “Dr. Warmington.” She smiled, but it was a questioning smile rather than a friendly one. “What can I do for you?”
“Is Nurse Cory still around, Lena?” He held up the file in his hand.
The medical assistant’s eyebrows dipped momentarily and she shot a quick glance at her watch as she replied, “She’s still in her office, Doctor. Do you want me to ring through and ask if she’s available?”
“That’s okay.”
At David’s words Lena’s hand fell back to her side, but not before she’d snuck another peek at her watch. Ah, yes. Lena was getting married in a few weeks. He remembered hearing her telling some of the nurses in the staff cafeteria.
Giving the woman a smile, he said, “You look like you have somewhere to be. Don’t let me hold you up. I’ll just knock and see if she has time to talk to me.”
Lena grinned, her face lighting up as she grabbed her bag. “Thank you, Doctor. Have a good evening.”
David watched her walk away, then stepped over to Nychelle’s door. Hand poised to knock, he paused and took a deep breath, his heart rate going into overdrive. His reaction to her infuriated him, made him determined to, once and for all, get past it.
They were colleagues—nothing else.
They would never be anything else. He wouldn’t let them be.
With another deep breath, he rapped on the door and then, responding to the muffled reply from inside, unlatched it and pushed it open.
Nychelle was looking out of the window when David stepped through the door, and something about her posture arrested his forward momentum. She was so still she hardly seemed to be breathing and, judging from her reflection in the glass, her usually expressive face was blank. The heat of his resolve bled away, was replaced by a cold spike of surprise.
“Nychelle?” He said her name softly as he stepped completely into the room and closed the door behind him.
She turned to look at him, but the movement was stiff and her eyes were blank, slightly glazed, as though with shock. Did she even know he was there?
It only took a couple of strides to get to her side, to reach out and touch her face. Warmth bloomed beneath his fingers as she leaned her cheek into his palm and closed her eyes. Her face relaxed, and the slight tilt of her lips was beatific. She’d never looked more beautiful, and David’s heart stuttered.
He’d come into her office wanting to get her off his mind, to get over the crazy attraction he’d felt. Seeing her like that, leaning so trustingly into his hand, he realized it would probably never happen. If anything, his feelings would only deepen.
But giving in to them would lead him back down a path he refused to traverse again. Down that road lay the giving of his heart to another, risking the devastation he’d lived through once before and couldn’t imagine surviving again.
The coldness in his belly flooded through him, invading his limbs, making his chest tighten almost sickeningly. Yet although he wanted to step back, he forced himself to stay where he was, concern for Nychelle somehow still foremost in his mind.
Swallowing, he found the wherewithal to ask, “Nychelle, are you okay? What’s happened?”
Her eyelids fluttered and then opened. The glow in her eyes made his heart contract again, but she just shook her head and stepped back. Disappointment making him frown, David let his hand fall back to his side, instead of using it to pull her close the way he wanted to.
“Don’t shake your head at me.” It was little better than a growl, but he couldn’t stop the way annoyance had tightened his throat. “There’s something going on. Tell me.”
Her eyes widened momentarily, her eyebrows rising, no doubt at his demanding tone. Yet her voice was soft and calm when she replied, “I just got some good news.” She lifted her hand, as though to forestall whatever he might say next. “I’m not going to share it. Sorry.”
It wasn’t his place to demand that she tell him, and he had no reason to believe she would feel inclined to tell him even if he did demand it, but he had to swallow again so as not to do exactly that. He scowled at her, torn, and for some reason that made her laugh.
“Thank you,” she said, stepping back, still smiling.
“For what?”
She gave a little shrug. “For being here at this exact moment.”
Confused, he shook his head. “Share your news and I’ll celebrate with you.”
With a chuckle she shook her head again, taking another step back as she did so. “I can’t. But I’m happy you were the one I almost spilled the beans to.”
The radiance of her face, the memories of the trusting way she’d leaned on him and the softness of her smile overcame all his defenses. Something inside him gave way, collapsed, and then was incinerated in a wave of desire so intense it was irresistible.
With a groan of surrender he stepped forward and drew her unresisting form into his embrace. Looking into her stunning eyes, he tried to pull himself back from the brink, but couldn’t get his arms to release her, couldn’t back away.
All good intentions fled as yearning for her overwhelmed him completely.