“Tell us, please.”
Unable to stop herself, Blair glanced toward Oz. He stared straight at her as if he could look into her soul and know every thought, every desire she’d ever had.
“Deep down, bad boys are really, really good.”
His silky voice dripped with sin.
With suggestion.
With pure seduction. As if he was speaking directly to Blair and no one else in the world existed.
With…oh, Lord, Blair’s lungs threatened to burst. Her knees buckled. She grabbed hold of the nurses’ station desk to steady herself.
She didn’t like him. She knew he was a playboy who broke women’s hearts.
No matter how he wielded power over all things female, Oz was too much like Addy’s father for Blair to ever lower the shield protecting her heart.
Still, thank God she wasn’t hooked to one of the monitoring devices.
Protective shield or not, all sorts of alarms would be blaring at the traitorous pounding against her rib cage.
Chapter Two
READY for a break, Oz made his way through the lunch line. Carrying his loaded tray, he grabbed a bottled water, then gave the hospital cafeteria checkout cashier his badge to scan.
“How’s it going today, Gran?” he asked. The blue-haired lady’s real name was Wanda, but Oz had teasingly called her “Gran.” The nickname had stuck.
Gran’s wrinkled cheeks flushed to a rosy shade of pink. “Not bad. My arthritis is flared a little, but when’s it not?”
“You should let Will give you something for that.”
Will Majors was Gran’s primary care physician and a friend of Oz’s. The two had hit it off during Oz’s visits and usually spent time windsurfing or sailing. These days both men had other priorities, Dr Talbot being Oz’s number one.
“He’s tried.” The woman chuckled. “But I’m not going to take medications unless I reach the point where I have to. If I don’t ease up in a day or two, though, I’ll schedule an appointment with Dr Will.”
“Take care, Gran, and keep making men pay you to stand there looking beautiful.”
Beaming, Gran cackled with pleasure.
It was the same conversation they had most days. Oz purposely went through Gran’s checkout line just so he could put a smile on the woman’s face.
Wanting to be alone to revive his sleep-deprived body, Oz scanned the cafeteria to find an empty table. He spotted several of his cardiac unit colleagues at a close-by table.
In particular, he saw Blair.
Pushing a short strand of her wispy dark hair behind her ear, she laughed at something the cardiac nurse manager she sat with said.
Blair.
He wasn’t sure what it was about her that made him seek her out, but he always did. Perhaps he liked to see the pretty flush that rose in her cheeks when their eyes met. Or how she quickly looked away, her breath catching.
He liked Blair. Had from the first moment they’d met. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out. Oz had wanted her from the moment Dr T introduced them. But an affair was all he’d ever want from any woman. All he’d ever allow any woman to expect from him. He suspected, though, that Blair was the kind of woman who’d expect loads more than physical pleasure.
Which was why Oz might look, might tease Blair, but he’d never go further.
Based upon the way her feet kicked into high gear anytime he was near, she’d likely tell him where he could go if he ever did reveal how attracted to her he really was, anyway.
Maybe it was just as well.
With Dr T’s failing health, the last thing Oz needed was to become distracted by a woman. His friend needed Oz to stay focused on the cardiac center and running Dr T’s day-to-day life.
Passing by their table, Oz acknowledged the three nurses. “Hey, Kanesha, Blair, Becky.”
“Dr Manning.” Kanesha flashed her brilliant white teeth in a big smile. “Join us?”
“Please do.” Becky scooted her tray over. “You can sit by me.”
Not so long ago, Oz would have sat next to the blonde nurse, would likely have taken up the constant offer in her eyes. That was before Dr T had gotten sick.
Oz had decided to make his friend’s life as good as possible under the circumstances. Currently, Oz spent all his spare time trying to make that happen, right down to moving hundreds of miles away from his home so he could be with Dr T and work in his place so the man could keep his health insurance. Oz didn’t have time for dalliances with pretty nurses, particularly not ones who worked in the cardiac center.
He glanced longingly toward the empty table in the corner of the cafeteria.
“Come on, Dr Manning, we promise not to bite.” Kanesha patted the empty chair next to her. “We’re not taking no for an answer.”
Reluctantly, he set his tray next to Kanesha’s, across from Blair and Becky.
Kanesha took a sip of her iced tea. “How’s Dr Talbot this morning?”
Why hadn’t he told a corny joke or something before someone could bring up the subject of Dr T? Wherever he went, someone inevitably asked about Dr T. Wasn’t that why he’d wanted to be alone? To not have to dwell on the fact he was losing the only person who’d ever really cared about him? That the man he loved was dying?
The older heart surgeon had been Oz’s saving grace, the one constant good in his life. He had been more than a professor, more than a mentor. He’d been like a father. Much more so than the bastard who’d biologically fathered him.
Oz twisted the lid off his bottled water. “I spoke with Dr T’s nurse after they got home from his chemotherapy. The treatment went okay, but he’s had a rough day.”
He wished his friend would let him go with him to the appointments. Dr T wouldn’t. Not Oz. Not Blair. Not even Stephanie, Dr T’s lady friend.
Blair glanced up, but quickly returned her attention to her food. She’d grown quiet the moment he’d stepped up to the table. Although he’d never figured out why, she didn’t much care for him. Her earlier praise to Mr Duke had caught him off guard, had swelled his chest with pride and made him feel a little light-headed.
Praise from Blair didn’t come easily. He’d found himself wanting more, to have her look at him with admiration, with attraction matching what he felt for her.
Just as well that Mr Duke’s comment about Blair being a “keeper” had reminded him that he and Blair were nothing alike.
“I talked with him this morning before they left. He sounded so down.”
