opened the cab door and waited for her to step in. He’d barely said two words to her since he’d gotten out of bed and grabbed clothes for them both. He was upset that she’d been going to leave without waking him. What had he expected? That she’d snuggle up next to him as if they were longtime lovers? Or that she’d awaken him with kisses and promises of an early- morning repeat?
Was that what he was used to?
“Where to?” the driver asked, eyeing the heels and gown Eleanor carried then letting his midnight gaze travel over the baggy scrubs she wore. With the drawstring waist they weren’t too bad and she’d rolled up their long legs to make them work.
Without meeting the driver’s gaze, because Lord knew he had to know how she’d spent her night, she spat out the hospital’s address.
Ty slid into the backseat next to her.
The cab smelled of years of use badly disguised with an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.
So how in the world was it that the one scent that stood out in her mind was that of the man next to her? A scent that filled her mind with memories of the night before.
“You okay, darlin’?”
“Fine,” she answered, without glancing toward him. Really, what was she supposed to say? That this was awkward and that, yes, she’d kissed him all over the night before but now she didn’t know what to say to him and would like to crawl under the seat?
At least she hadn’t stuttered.
* * *
Eleanor couldn’t keep her eyes from watering as she sat across from the young couple on the sofa. The young couple to whom she’d just delivered devastating news.
“Did she...?” The young woman’s head bowed, then her tear-filled eyes lifted to Eleanor. “Did she suffer?”
Shaking her head, Eleanor reached over and took the woman’s hand. “No. She died in her sleep.”
The baby’s body just hadn’t been strong enough to maintain life outside her mother’s body. She’d lived a week, but only with the aid of the respirator and numerous other machines performing the bodily functions her tiny underdeveloped body hadn’t been able to.
“I should have been here,” the woman said between tears. “I shouldn’t have left the hospital.”
“Your family wasn’t wrong to want you to go home to get a good night’s sleep. Your body is recovering and needs rest,” Eleanor assured her, squeezing the woman’s hand. Her poor husband had his arm around her but looked as if he was about to burst into tears himself at any moment.
Eleanor spent a few more minutes with the couple then left the room to give them a few minutes of privacy. And to collect her own emotions.
Because she was a mess.
Losing one of her patients always tore her heart to bits, but her heart had already been in tatters before she’d even gotten to the hospital.
“There you are,” Ty said from right behind her.
She faced him, couldn’t help but immediately be struck with the memories of what they’d done only hours before.
“You okay, darlin’?” he asked, looking and sounding the same as he always did. Like handsome, charming Dr. Tyler Donaldson. Because for Ty last night hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary. But he’d probably rightly assumed that for her last night had been extraordinary.
Which was why she had to save face, to pretend she hadn’t seen stars when he’d made her orgasm, to pretend that last night hadn’t been the best time of her life.
Ha. As if she had that many comparisons. A quickie during her freshman year at college with a short-term boyfriend. Short-term meaning he’d dumped her immediately after their one and only time together.
No way was she letting Ty Donaldson do the same. Not when she had to work with him. Already she’d had to field questions from Scarlet and several other coworkers who’d seen photographs of her and Ty in the society pages. The last thing she wanted was her friends and colleagues to feel sorry for her.
“Of course I’m okay.” Which sounded great, but she couldn’t bring herself to look into those gorgeous eyes, neither could she prevent the heat burning her face. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
His expression tightened. “You just left the family, right? The family of your morning code?”
Eleanor fought putting her hands over her face in shame. He’d been talking about work and she’d been... “Yes. You’re right. I—I...”
Oh, please, don’t let the stuttering start. He’d know how nervous she was.
He raked his fingers through his hair, glanced around the unit, then for once seemed at a loss. When his gaze met hers, the fatigue she hadn’t seen earlier was etched on his handsome face. “I have an emergency C-section that came in this morning. Twins. The pediatrician for the second baby’s team isn’t here yet. Go in with me in case there are complications?”
Despite the fact that being anywhere near him was the last thing she wanted, she couldn’t refuse. Not when a baby’s life might be on the line. “Sure.”
In silence they scrubbed and went into the obstetrics surgery room specially designated for preemies. Every second that ticked by, Eleanor felt more and more awkward, more and more as if the nurses must be able to look at her and Ty and know what they’d done.
The first baby was delivered without any major birthing complications, but his Apgar score was only a seven. Ty assessed the baby, cleared his throat and examined him all in a matter of seconds.
Watching him work, Eleanor couldn’t help but admire his skill, his finesse, the way his big hands were so gentle as they handled the baby. Just as they’d been so gentle when they’d touched her.
He was a gentle man and she hadn’t been anything special, just the result of too much champagne and the next notch on his belt. Nothing more.
She closed her eyes, forcing her thoughts from her mind. When she opened them, her gaze immediately collided with Ty’s. He stared at her for a brief moment as if trying to read her thoughts, then that sexy crooked grin of his slid into place as a peace offering of sorts.
But Eleanor couldn’t smile back.
She just couldn’t. Sure, the sight of his generous mouth curved upward made her want to smile back. Instead, she hardened her resolve. He might be used to women thinking he was amazing after a night of his loving, but she needed distance to survive emotionally.
Ty’s smile waned. A nurse spoke to him, pulling his attention away from where he still looked at Eleanor as if he wanted to probe inside her head.
The second baby, another boy, made his entrance into the world. Eleanor focused her attention on the newborn, giving him a thorough once-over and realizing his lungs weren’t as developed as his brother’s.
Telling the nurse her intentions, she gave the baby a few breaths with a manual respirator, hoping to stimulate his lungs, but was unsuccessful in her efforts.
