her cheeks weren’t pink at the moment, they were as pale as ivory. She wasn’t thinking about the way they’d passed their morning before coming to work.
And he doubted he’d be passing his evening that way either.
* * *
Aware of Brad’s eyes following her progress, she headed for the exam room. She knew he wanted to keep things quiet at work, so why had she gone and done something so stupid? Because it was hard for her to compartmentalize things the way Brad evidently could. He could make love to her by night and then coolly go about his day as if nothing had happened.
And really it hadn’t. Not for him anyway.
Just as she touched the door, the phone at the nurses’ station buzzed.
Damn. So much for a quick exit. Ignoring him and moving back to the central desk, she picked up the phone. “Prenatal, this is Chloe.”
“Hey, Chloe. Guess who?”
The blood drained from her face at the sound of the voice on the other end of the line. “Travis?”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brad’s head swivel her way. She put her head down and stared at an open chart, hoping he’d just go away. Why did the men in her life have to end up being jerks? Although somehow Brad’s words had wounded her much more than Travis’s ever had. Something she didn’t want to dissect at the moment. “Why are you calling me?”
“Why do you think? I made a mistake. I want you to come home.”
This time, rather than the show of tears he’d put on the last time he’d gotten caught, there was an almost sneering quality to his voice that made her skin crawl. As if he knew something she didn’t. “You can talk to my lawyer. We’re through.”
Hopefully Brad had already gone off to see a patient or something.
“Not quite. Did you know your parents pulled their accounts last week?”
What did that have to do with her? “Does that surprise you? It would be kind of a conflict of interest to manage your ex’s parents’ investment funds, don’t you think?”
“No, because we’re going to kiss and make up.”
She couldn’t believe he’d actually said that. “That’s not going to happen.”
“No? I’m sure they...and your lawyer would be interested in knowing that you’re now shacking up with your boss. Along with other more interesting things.”
Was he threatening her? How did he even know about Brad? She glanced up to find the man in question standing in front of the desk, brows lifted in question. She shook her head and motioned for him to go away. He stayed right where he was.
“Good luck with that,” she said. “If you think my parents are going to be railroaded into letting you handle their financial affairs, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“It might be fun to try. How’s that working out, by the way? Is he tired of playing doctor with a terminal patient yet?”
Meaning her. Oh, God. And she’d thought he couldn’t hurt her any more. She should have hung up the second she’d heard his voice. Why hadn’t she? Because she’d wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt anyone else she cared about.
Tears formed in her eyes and she averted her glance, terrified she might break down in front of Brad. He’d already witnessed one freak-out session, she didn’t want to make it two. “He...he isn’t playing doctor—”
Fingers prised hers from the receiver, making her realize just how hard she’d been gripping it. Putting the phone to his ear for a second or two, Brad listened before dropping it back onto the handset.
“I’ll have his calls blocked.”
She twined her hands together, bile rising in her throat. “He threatened to tell my parents about us.”
“Let him.”
She blinked back her surprise. How could he be so calm about it after he’d lectured her earlier for teasing him? It brought to mind what she’d heard her brother say the other morning. “Did you promise Jason you wouldn’t sleep with me?”
“I did.” He didn’t bat an eye.
“Then why did you?”
“I didn’t want you sleeping with someone else to get what you need.”
She nodded. Her voice small, she had to ask the question that had hovered since their first time together. “Did you want me at all?”
He reached over to finger a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. “I think I’ve already answered that question as well. Do you want me to prove it right here?”
Something in her relaxed. Travis knew exactly where to hit her, but Brad knew exactly how to calm her fears. She was almost ready to forgive him for his earlier words. “What about keeping the private and professional lives separate?”
“I shouldn’t have said that, Chloe. I know you’re not going to broadcast it over the hospital loudspeaker.”
She thought about Travis’s call. “I don’t need to, evidently.”
“You want to know what I think?”
Did she? Maybe he thought they should call a halt to things.
“Yes.”
“He was fishing. He doesn’t know anything.”
He paused, his hands dropping to his sides before he continued. “That man damaged something very precious, and I’ll never forgive him for that.”
Chloe swallowed back a wave of emotion. This coming from Brad—a man who, as a boy, had been dealt a hand just as bad as hers. Worse really, because she’d made a conscious decision to marry Travis, whereas Brad hadn’t had a say in who had raised him. “I feel the same way about your parents. I hate what they did to you.”
He stiffened, his face clearing of all emotion. Before he could respond, though, Ginny came round the corner and sat at the desk. Brad nodded at the other nurse and then asked for updates on a couple of patients, casually thumbing through the files in question.
How could he flip the switch on his emotions like that?
A few seconds later he said he had a meeting to attend and walked away. As he waited for an elevator, Chloe got this weird sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that grew as he stepped into one, the doors sliding shut and hiding him from view.
Someday they would be doing this for the very last time. Either Brad would move on or she would, and this part of their relationship would be over for ever. And as much as she hoped otherwise, she didn’t think they’d ever be able to go back to being just friends.
Because she loved him. And she had for a very long time.
