he’d gone out of his way to start conversations, asking her things he could have asked any hospital employee. He’d sat back in the break room with her a few times while she’d quickly swallowed down whatever she’d packed from home.
His sitting with her while she ate should have made her horribly uncomfortable, but instead she’d found herself regretting how quickly her short lunch break had slipped by while they’d talked. He’d asked about her favorite parts of Memphis and, drawing upon her childhood and college memories, she’d told him. No need to tell him that for five years she’d not been to any of those places. Surely, they hadn’t changed that much in such a short time?
Then again, she’d changed that much.
Aged a hundred years, at least.
But for all that, she’d thought their interactions innocent. She’d figured Stone had svelte, glamorous women lined up in droves out there in the real world. Talking with Carly was just a fun way to pass time when he was at work.
Had she really believed that?
Or had she refused to believe anything else because she enjoyed his attention and hadn’t wanted to give it up?
She didn’t lead on men when she had no intentions of following through. So if he was interested then, yeah, she had to put a halt to it right now.
Carly’s throat tightened as she said, “Our discussing that would be an utter waste of both of our time.”
“I’ve time to spare.”
“That makes one of us.” She seriously doubted he had much time to spare, either.
His dark brow arched. “You’re too busy to go to dinner with me tonight?”
“Absolutely.” She took off toward her patient’s room, but he stayed in step beside her.
“Tomorrow night?”
“Busy.”
Her answer seemed to waylay him for a few seconds, but then, still beside her, he asked, “Surely you make time to eat, Carly? I’ll take you to the restaurant of your choice and promise to have you home at a decent hour.” He waggled his brows and gave another crooked smile. “Unless you want me to keep you out past bedtime, that is.”
Oh, my. Not going to happen... But, oh, my, oh, my, oh, my.
She ate in quick snatches after getting home, usually soup or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while Joyce filled her in on the day’s events.
Carly liked uneventful days.
Days in which her mother didn’t have any angry outbursts or falls or screams of pain or significant declines in her failing health. It had been so long since Carly had eaten out at a restaurant that she didn’t have a favorite. Money was tight. Eating out was expensive. There would be time for such luxuries later, after her mother’s life succumbed to her illness.
Just as there would be time for relationships. For real relationships and smiles and going to restaurants with handsome men.
The odds of a man as fabulous as Stone ever asking her to dinner again was next to nil, but, even so, dinner dates, or staying out past bedtime, had to wait.
Carly prayed that would be many years down the road. Those snatches of good spells with her mother were worth everything. They were getting further and further in between, but on a day of clarity Carly’s heart filled with enough joy to tide her over until the next brief glimpse.
Thoughts of her mother, of the fact she wasn’t free to date, that to pretend otherwise with Stone was wrong, made a new wave of guilt hit her. She’d been wrong to ever let things get to this point, but it was too late to undo that now. Other than to put an abrupt stop to his interest.
As difficult as it was going to be, she had to cut all ties with Stone.
“I eat,” she admitted, not that that was in question. She stopped mid-hallway to glare in as much annoyance at him as she could muster. “But not with strangers.”
“I’m not a stranger,” he clarified, not seeming fazed by her glare.
No wonder. It wasn’t easy to glare at a gorgeous man smiling and trying to convince you to go to dinner. Maybe he could see right through her, could see that everything female inside her responded to him. Maybe he saw how much she longed for a different set of life circumstances that would mean she could have her mother and a relationship. No matter. That wasn’t the life she’d been given and she wouldn’t bemoan things she had no control over.
“And, we have eaten together,” he reminded her, his grin full of charm. “In the break room at lunch when I’m lucky enough to catch you there. Plus, we’ve been working together for almost a month. We are not strangers.”
He made a valid argument, but none of which made any impact on why she couldn’t go to dinner.
“A whole month since you came to work at Memphis Memorial? Time does fly.” To make her point, she glanced at her watch, then gave him the sternest expression she could muster. “My patient is due his medication and I am going to administer it now. Thank you for the invitation, but my answer is no and won’t change.” She met his gaze. “I’m sorry if I ever gave you reason to think otherwise.”
He looked ready to say something more, but didn’t attempt to stop her when she moved past him to hightail her way down the hospital-floor hallway.
No matter. She could feel his gaze as she hurried to escape into her patient’s room and away from the most disconcerting man she’d ever met.
Tony had sure never gotten her worked up the way Stone had in the month she’d known him.
One month, four days. That was how long Stone had been at Memphis Memorial.
Not that she was counting.
She shouldn’t be aware the man existed outside that he was a doctor at the hospital where she worked.
But she was aware.
Too aware.
With that thought she bit the inside of her lower lip and fought the urge to cry a little. A lot. No matter.
She had a good life, had her mother, anything beyond that would have to wait for a day she prayed never came.
* * *
Stone Parker wasn’t sure how he’d misread what was happening between him and Carly Evans.
He’d thought they shared a connection, that she felt the spark he felt when he looked at her.
Today was the most direct conversation they’d had about what was happening, but he’d never tried to hide his interest, and he’d thought it was reciprocated. From the moment he’d met her, he’d gone out of his way to bump into her. She’d been pleasant. Cheerful. Smiling a lot. Had often had a sassy rebuttal to things he’d say. Had she just been being friendly? Polite?
After hearing her comment today, he had to wonder.
With her soulful brown eyes that held so much
