she’d be sure to mention the family’s concern in her report.
“You know,” Rafe said, “I’ve been thinking. We’ve asked his friends and business associates to refrain from coming to see him. After all, he was in a drug-induced coma for a month. And then they brought him out of it slowly. For a while, he suffered some confusion, so we knew he wouldn’t want to see anyone other than family. But maybe it’s time to let people know that he’d like to have visitors.”
“I don’t know about that,” Isabella said. “His mood is difficult enough for us to deal with.”
“I’m not saying that we should encourage everyone to visit, but what about one of those women he used to date?” Rafe reached for Melina’s hand. “My lady always puts a smile on my face.”
At that, everyone in the room broke into a grin.
Everyone except Leah.
Somehow, she didn’t like to think of the women Javier used to date before his injury and hospitalization. And why was that?
It wasn’t as though she had plans to date him herself. She’d never get involved with one of her patients.
Oh, no? a small inner voice asked. Then why did her heart drop each time she saw that Javier’s room had been assigned to another nurse?
She didn’t have an answer to that—only to argue that she’d grown fond of Javier. She understood the uphill battle he’d been waging and seemed to have bonded with him somehow.
The fact that he was not only handsome, but personable, and that she found him attractive had nothing to do with it.
That’s not true, that pesky little voice said.
As much as she wanted to object, to defend herself and her feelings, she had to admit that there was something about Javier Mendoza that called to her.
Something she couldn’t explain.
Javier had been surfing the channels on the television in his hospital room for several minutes, but he couldn’t seem to find any shows that interested him.
A tennis match only made him resent the fact that he wouldn’t be able to play for months, if not years. And the news stations reminded him of how much he’d missed during the time he’d spent in the ICU.
Hell, he could hardly remember what his life had been like outside these white walls, and as he thought of his hospitalization and the long road to recovery, frustration swooped down on him again like a hungry vulture unable to wait for his hope to completely expire.
With the dark shadow came the urge to throw the remote across the room, even though he’d never been prone to displays of temper. Instead, he placed his index finger over the red power button, shutting off the TV.
As the screen faded to black, Leah entered the room. Just the sight of his pretty nurse was enough to make his frustration ease and his mood take flight.
Talk about a nice diversion…
A grin tugged at his lips, softening what had been a grimace only moments ago.
At first glance, Leah, who stood about five foot four, wasn’t what Javier would call a striking woman. After all, he’d never seen her wearing anything other than hospital scrubs and a matching pair of Crocs on her feet. But with each passing day, as he looked beyond the loose-fitting clothing that masked her femininity, he’d found a lot to admire.
Her long, straight hair was a pretty shade of auburn, although she usually kept it pulled back with a clip or woven in a single braid. She wore very little makeup—if any. But she had such a wholesome beauty that she really didn’t need any of the usual female props.
He wondered what she looked like on her days off or when she spent a night on the town. In fact, he’d like to know a lot of things about her, like what her life was like outside the hospital.
Was she married?
He certainly hoped not.
As she moved through his room, he wondered if she was dating someone special. It was difficult to imagine men not clamoring to be her one and only. How many women were as comforting, as gentle, as sweet?
A couple of times he’d been tempted to ask if she was single and unattached, but he hadn’t, and he wasn’t sure why. He supposed he hadn’t wanted his nurse to know that he found her that attractive. If he hadn’t been laid up—and barely able to walk—it might be a different story. In fact, the old Javier wouldn’t have thought twice about asking her out. But he was a far cry from the man he used to be.
“I take it there’s nothing good on television,” she said.
“Nope.” He set the remote aside.
“The dinner cart will be here shortly,” she added.
“I can hardly wait.”
Catching his sarcastic tone, she turned to him and smiled. “You’re lucky. The food at San Antonio General is actually pretty good.”
Maybe it was, but his appetite had yet to return. In fact, the only reason he even looked forward to mealtime was because it helped to pass the time from morning to night, making him come one day closer to discharge.
But why focus on all that mundane reality when he had Leah with him?
“Hey, Florence,” he said, using the nickname he’d dubbed her with when he’d first began to see her as a woman and not as his nurse. “I have a question for you.”
“What’s that?” She neared his bed, checking the ice and water level in the small plastic pitcher that sat on his portable tray.
“What does your husband do for a living? Is he in the medical field, too?”
She paused as if his comment had thrown her for a loop. “My husband? I’m not married.”
Javier fought the urge to smile at that news. “Oh, no? I just assumed that a woman like you would have a man in her life.”
Her hand lifted to the boxy pink top she wore and she fingered the stitching along the V-neck.
Was she nervous? Off balance? Flattered maybe?
He liked to think so, even though he wasn’t in a position to follow through at this point.
Before either of them could speak, a woman’s voice sounded in the doorway.
At the cheery “Hello,” both Javier and Leah turned to see a tall, willowy blonde walk into the room carrying an arrangement of spring flowers that hid her face.
Savannah Bennett?
As the blonde lowered the multicolored blooms, he realized that’s exactly who’d come to visit.
“I hope you don’t mind me stopping by,” Savannah said. “I’d been wanting to see you for weeks, but I’d heard that your visitors had been limited to family members.”
No one had told Javier
