door behind her, leaving behind a sudden awkward silence.
“Look, would you like to go somewhere? Grab an early dinner or something?” Anna asked.
He gazed at her, stunned that some tiny part of him was actually tempted, even though the more rational part of his brain recognized the absurdity of the impulse.
“That’s not a good idea, Anna.”
Somewhere in the depths of her blue eyes he thought he saw a shadow of vulnerability, just the barest hint of loneliness. But she mustered a brittle-looking smile. “Really? Why not? What could possibly be the harm in it? We’re just two old friends catching up over dinner.”
“Two old friends who happen to be standing on opposite sides of a corporate battlefield.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. That doesn’t mean we can’t be civil to each other! You were one of my closest friends, Richard. I told you things no one else in the world knows about me.”
You said you loved me and then you walked away when something better came along.
His bitterness again seemed to sweep up out of nowhere, taking him completely by surprise.
He thought he had dealt with all this years ago. He never would have guessed seeing her would dredge up all those feelings and make them fresh and raw all over again.
He chose his words carefully, not at all eager to reveal too much to her. “I’m sorry, Anna. Even if not for the gray area regarding conflict of interest ethics in seeing you socially, I have other plans.”
She froze for an instant and color climbed her cheeks. “Some other time then, perhaps. It was…great to see you again.”
She headed for the walnut-paneled door. As she reached out to pull it open, he thought she paused slightly. Her gaze met his and if he hadn’t known her so well years ago, he probably would have missed the flash of trepidation there.
He wondered at it for only an instant before he realized what must lie beneath her hesitation. Judging by Tina’s reaction in the boardroom just now, he was willing to bet Anna wasn’t at all popular at Walnut River General Hospital. The antimerger forces were vocal and vociferous in their opposition.
Again that unwanted sympathy surged through him. He might not agree with her position but he couldn’t argue with her convictions. She was only doing her job and she didn’t deserve to be mistreated by employees of the hospital who might oppose her mission here.
“I’ll walk out with you,” he said impulsively.
Her lush, delectable mouth opened a little with surprise, then she rewarded him with a glowing smile that made him far too aware of how the years between them had only added to her loveliness.
Much to his dismay, he suddenly felt a familiar clutch of desire twist his insides. He wanted to reach across the space between them and capture that mouth with his, to see if her skin was as silky as he remembered, if she still tasted heady and sweet.
He had been far too long without a woman. Between Ethan and trying to build his practice, he had little time or inclination left for extracurricular activity.
Maybe he needed to make time—especially since the one woman who stirred his interest in longer than he cared to remember was. Anna Wilder.
It was ridiculous for her to be so grateful Richard was walking beside her. What did she expect, that she would need a bodyguard to help her safely make it through the hospital?
She might be persona non grata around the hospital right now, but she couldn’t quite believe anyone would physically assault her to keep NHC at bay.
Still, she couldn’t deny she found great comfort from Richard’s calm presence as they headed for the elevator. She always had, she remembered now. He had been a source of strength and comfort through high school and college—the one she always turned to for advice, for counsel, for encouragement.
And more.
She pushed the memories away, refusing to dwell on them. She couldn’t think about them right now, when he was only a few feet away looking blond and dangerously gorgeous.
They paused at the elevator to wait for a car and stood in silence, watching the numbers rise. She was just about to ask him about his other clients when she heard a commotion down the hall.
“Hold the elevator. The trauma lift isn’t working.”
Anna sucked in her breath as the familiar voice rang through the hallway. Her insides knotted with dread but she had no choice but to turn her head.
She wasn’t at all surprised to see her sister working an oxygen pump as a team of medical personnel pushed a gurney down the hall. Anna had a quick impression that the patient was a middle-aged woman with her face covered in blood.
Ella faltered for just a moment when she saw Anna but she didn’t break her stride. “Have the ER hold trauma room one,” she told a nurse running beside them. “And alert the surgical team that we’ve got a femoral compound fracture and possible head trauma.”
She snapped out other commands firmly in a crisp, focused tone that reminded Anna painfully of their father, leaving no doubt exactly who was in charge of the situation.
She had never seen her sister in a professional capacity, Anna realized, as a mixture of pride and awe washed through her.
She always knew Ella would kick butt as a doctor. Seeing her in action was all the confirmation she needed. Ella was cool, composed and completely in control—all the things Anna couldn’t quite manage during her single year of med school.
Anna and Richard stepped aside to allow the team access to the elevator. Just before the doors slid closed, Anna’s gaze met her sister’s for only a millisecond.
Everything on the periphery seemed to fade, and for a moment Anna was ten years old again, snuggling in her sleeping bag in a tent in their big backyard next to her sister and best friend while the stars popped out, sharing secrets and popcorn and dreams.
Oh, Ella. I miss you so much, she wanted to whisper, but she could never say the words tangled in her throat, and in an instant, the doors closed and the moment was gone.
She fought back tears, praying her emotions wouldn’t betray her in front of Richard.
“Wow,” he said after a moment. “Hurricane Ella, as usual.”
“Right.” She didn’t trust herself to say more than that as a thousand different regrets pinched at her.
Their rift was largely her fault, one that had been widening for eight years since she left Walnut River, and it had become an unbreachable chasm these days.
If she had told Ella and their brothers about her job with NHC, her involvement in the merger might not have come as such a shock to the other Wilders. Instead, for two long years she had chosen the coward’s way, avoiding their questions when they asked about her work, offering them half-truths and evasions.
She had suspected exactly how they would react. She supposed that was the reason she had deceived them for so long.
“Not
