I...” She was at a loss for words.
“Sorry,” he apologized, slipping on his scrub top. He held out his hand. “Dr. Bhardwaj, I presume?”
He was going to pretend he didn’t know her.
Which was a lie.
He knew every inch of her. It was still fresh in his mind five years later. The taste of her skin, her scent and the way she’d sighed when he’d nibbled her neck just below her ear.
This was bad.
“Uh. Yes.” She was still staring at him like he was a ghost, an unwanted ghost at that. She took his hand and shook it quickly before snatching it back. “Yes, I’m Dr. Bhardwaj.”
He nodded. “I’m Dr. Valentino. Senior Attending on the pediatric transplant team.”
* * *
Dr. Valentino? His name is Valentino?
Kiri had never known her Latin god’s last name. Of course, she hadn’t stuck around after her one indiscretion in Las Vegas.
A stolen night of passion that had led to a pregnancy, even though they’d used protection. And then that had led to a late miscarriage at twenty-three weeks, which still hurt all these years later. Staring up at the father of her lost baby boy reminded her in an instant of all the things that could’ve been.
Even though the pregnancy had been an inconvenience, she’d wanted her baby. She’d wanted to be a mother so badly. It hadn’t been how she’d planned to start a family, but she’d been thrilled at the prospect of motherhood. And she’d tried to track down Alejandro, but when she’d called his number she’d learned he’d quit and the agent, Ricky, had refused to give her any information about Alejandro’s whereabouts.
Alejandro reminded her of pain.
Yeah, lots of pain. And the wound of losing their child was fresh and raw again.
And he clearly didn’t remember her, which was like a slap across the face.
What did you expect, sleeping with a male stripper?
“Yes, sorry, Dr. Valentino. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Come on, Kiri. Get it together.
She was still in shock.
Alejandro smiled, that charming, sexy smile that had melted down her walls and inhibitions five years ago.
“A pleasure to meet you too. Well, excuse me, Dr. Bhardwaj. I have a consult.”
He wants to finish changing in privacy.
“Of course. Perhaps after your consult we can arrange a meeting to discuss the expectations of your department.”
“Yes. It would be my pleasure.”
“I want you,” she whispered. “And I’ve never wanted a man like this before. Please take me.”
“My pleasure.” And he ran his lips over her body, kissing her in places no one had ever kissed her before.
Kiri turned on her heel and got out of that locker room as fast as she could.
Ugh. You’re the head of the department.
Kiri was angry at herself for turning tail and running. When she’d miscarried she’d promised herself she’d never run from the father if she ever saw him again.
She’d tell him everything she was thinking. Those dark thoughts she’d had as she’d recovered from her loss. Everything that had crossed her mind when she’d learned that her baby was gone.
Turn around.
Alejandro was leaving the locker room. He looked so different in scrubs and a white lab coat. Given that she’d had her one-night stand with him five years ago and he was an attending in pediatric transplants, no less, in a world-class hospital, it meant that he must’ve been a doctor when he’d been dancing.
Which made her angry.
Why had he been doing that? Disgracing himself?
“Dr. Valentino, a moment, if you please.”
He turned.
Ha. You can’t get rid of me that easily.
“Yes, Dr. Bhardwaj?”
“I’d like to join you on your consult.”
He frowned. “Why?”
Good. She had him on edge. She had the power back.
“Why not? I have no patient load yet and I’d like to see how you run your practice. The chief told me you are quite the star when it comes to pediatric transplants.”
Which was true. Though she had a hard time believing it until she saw it for herself. Perhaps because she’d learned long before she’d met Dr. Alejandro Valentino that you really couldn’t depend on anyone but yourself.
And she wanted to throw him off his game.
One thing she had learned while going through her department’s finances when she’d first arrived in Miami had been that Alejandro’s department had a lot of pro bono cases. It was admirable, but the board had made it clear to her in no uncertain terms that the pro bono cases had to stop. The board wanted Buena Vista Hospital to be for the elite of Miami.
All those who couldn’t afford to be a patient at Buena Vista had to be moved to Seaside or County. The aim of the board was to cater to the rich and famous. The “beautiful people,” as one board member had put it.
It was a shame, but she understood that Buena Vista wanted to be at the cutting edge of health and it was a dream Kiri wanted to share.
Perhaps once they had that distinction she could convince them to open up their pockets to pro bono cases once again. Although Mr. Snyder had made it clear that pro bono cases were finished. And she almost wondered why she’d taken the job, because since her arrival it had been a headache dealing with the board of directors. In particular Snyder.
Then again, she’d have felt a bit guilty if she hadn’t taken the job her mentor had put her up for.
“Kiri, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. At your age, you won’t get a position like this in Manhattan. Buena Vista is a world-class hospital. Take the job I trained you for. Snyder is a friend of mine and I know he runs a good hospital and you’ll be treated right.”
She snorted at the memory, because it had been too good to be true.
“Of course. If you want to follow me, you can meet with my patient,” Alejandro said.
She nodded and followed him down the hall. It was awkward walking beside him, both of them pretending that they didn’t know each other. Of course, they really didn’t know each other, other than intimately.
Kiri
