long list of meaningless one-night-stands or have her name tossed into the hospital’s gossip channels as his latest conquest. But now, things weren’t so clear. He was different than she’d first thought. A caring doctor. A nice guy. A father trying to be a better parent. Maybe—
Loud male voices interrupted her thoughts seconds before two men turned the corner into the back hallway.
“Damn you, Cade,” the older of the two men said, pushing the other man up against the wall. “Do you hear what’s being said about me? People are questioning my integrity and my skill as a surgeon.” Both tall and handsome with dark hair, they could have passed for brothers. “I give you a job and this is how you repay me by trying to ruin my reputation?”
Before they noticed them, Lewis pulled her into an alcove outside a closed janitorial closet door. “This has been brewing for weeks,” he whispered. “Let’s give them a few minutes to work it out.”
“Who are they?” Scarlet whispered back, trying to ignore his close proximity and oh so yummy scent, and the feel of his big, solid, warm body touching hers in so many places.
“The older one is Dr. Alex Rodriguez, the somewhat new head of pediatric neurosurgery,” he said quietly, his mouth right next to her ear, his hot breath making it difficult to concentrate. “The other one is his half-brother, Dr. Cade Coleman, a prenatal surgeon.”
Scarlet peered around the corner.
“Get your hands off of me,” the younger one—Cade—yelled, twisting out of his brother’s grasp. “I didn’t know it was a secret. What’s the big deal? You were cleared of the charges. Nothing sticks to you.”
She turned back to Lewis. “What charges?” she asked quietly.
“From what I’ve heard, Alex was named in a malpractice suit a few years ago after one of his patients died.”
A voice she now recognized as Alex’s yelled, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You always come out on the plus side of things,” Cade replied. “Something bad happens, things get tough you walk away clean and leave others to deal with the mess.”
“So that’s what this is about? Me leaving? You still haven’t forgiven me?”
Scarlet leaned in toward Lewis and whispered, “I don’t think we should be listening to this.”
“If we leave now we’ll interrupt.” Did he have to breathe so hot and heavy with every response? She tried to ignore the warm flush spreading along the right side of her face, down her neck to her chest. “And they’ll know we’re here.”
Alex said, “I couldn’t take it anymore, the verbal and physical abuse. You were so young and your dad loved you so much. If I’d had any idea he would turn on you after I left, I would have stayed. I promise you that.”
“A lot of good that did me then,” Cade said, sounding worn out. “And it means little to me now.”
“There’s nothing I can do to change what happened other than to apologize. I know it doesn’t change anything, but from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry. For leaving. For everything you had to endure because I wasn’t there to protect you or help you.”
Scarlet whispered, “How horrible for both of them.”
Lewis nodded. “Now you understand why I didn’t want to interrupt?”
She nodded. When no one spoke Scarlet peeked around the corner. Both men stood there not looking at each other. Then Alex said, “Can we get past it?” He held out his hand.
Cade looked at it.
Scarlet wanted to scream, “Take it. He’s your brother for heaven’s sake.” Oh how she’d wished for a sibling growing up.
Eventually Cade shook his brother’s hand, and Alex took the opportunity to pull him into a hug. “I love you,” he said.
Cade didn’t reply, but he did pat Alex on the back.
When the men broke apart, they turned and started to walk in her direction. Scarlet ducked back into their hiding spot, sucked in a breath, and tried to blend in with the wall. “They’re coming this way.”
Lewis jumped to action, moving her into the corner, pressing her back into the wall with the front of his body flush against hers.
Okay. Not a bad plan. She’d be well hidden. But what about—?
Her brain ceased to function when he lifted her chin, lowered his head, and set his soft, moist lips on hers.
Just for show, she rationalized, to create a plausible reason for them to be there. In an effort to up the realism of their fictitious interlude she slid her hands up and clasped her fingers behind his neck.
Just playing her part.
His lips separated and his tongue ventured out to explore the seam of her mouth. Looking for entry? Only one way to know for sure, Scarlet created a slim smidgeon of an opening, purely for investigative purposes to see what he’d do.
And hello, Lewis thrust his tongue into her mouth, over and over. Something about the taste made her mouth water, made her body ready, made her want—
He closed his arms around her, deepened the kiss and thrust his hips.
Whoa. Holy hard-on. This was realism run amok. At work.
Scarlet forced her head to the side, breaking the kiss. “We can’t.”
He released her instantly but didn’t move. The sound of their heavy breathing filled the quiet. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I guess I got a little carried away.”
“You guess?” She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back, needing air, but not feeling steady enough to move away from the support of the wall.
He looked down at her and ran a thumb along her lower lip. “You look like you’ve been thoroughly kissed,” he said with the small smile of a man re-living the experience in his mind.
“Perfect,” she snapped, losing patience. “When I’m on my way to meet up with your daughter. What were you thinking?” Scarlet took a tissue from the pack in her pocket and tried to wipe away the remnants of their kiss.
“Well at first I was thinking about hiding you and giving us an excuse to be tucked away in our little nook.” He reached out to touch her cheek. “But you felt so good. And I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long.”
She swatted his hand away. “We’ve known each other for all of eight days and every interaction we’ve had has revolved around your daughter or work. Exactly how long could you possibly have wanted to kiss me?”
“Day three,” he answered without hesitation. “In the cafeteria, when you closed your eyes to imagine me in my underwear.”
“I was pretending,” she lied.
“No you weren’t.” He grinned.
So sure of himself and his appeal. The haze of arousal
