Meant for Each Other Read online

  “No, wait. I...”

  Mike ignored her stammering. “See ya, sport.”

  Leah cast a helpless look over her shoulder at Quinton. “I’ll be by tomorrow evening as usual.”

  “Sure.” Grinning from ear to ear, he waved. “You two have a good time, now.”

  The restaurant Mike took her to was a little family-owned place about a half mile from the hospital. Red-and-white checked cloths covered the tables, and in the center of each sat a small vase of daisies and a votive candle.

  Winter had given way to spring. The night was cool but pleasantly so; still, a small fire danced in the fireplace, its cheery glow reflecting in the polished wood floor. Baskets dripping with ivy and ferns hung from the wooden beams spanning the ceiling, and the lush potted palms, ficus trees and scheffleras scattered around the room screened the tables from one another, creating cozy little nooks and the illusion of privacy.

  Though Leah appeared calm, her nerves were still humming when she and Mike sat down at a secluded table in a window alcove. News of this little tête-à-tête would be all over the hospital by morning, she thought as she shook out her napkin and spread it over her lap.

  Mike had not helped. She could still see the avid interest in the faces of the nurses as he had called good-night to them and led her past the floor station with his hand resting at the small of her back.

  In the car on the way to the restaurant she had been quiet, and even now she could not quite bring herself to speak or look directly at him. She had no idea what to say. It was one thing to banter with him when Quinton was there as a buffer, and quite another to make small talk across a candlelit table when it was just the two of them in a secluded corner of a romantic restaurant.

  For something to do, Leah reached for her water glass, but her hand trembled so, the edge clacked against her teeth when she took a sip.

  “Don’t tell me you’re nervous.”

  Over the rim of the glass she looked into Mike’s twinkling eyes. Feeling hot color rise in her neck, she quickly set the glass back on the table. “No, of course not,” she lied.

  “Uh-huh.” His smile was gently mocking.

  He placed his hand over hers where it lay curled in a fist on top of the checked tablecloth. His touch sent a little jolt up her arm, and she jerked back reflexively, but his big hand engulfed her smaller one, holding tight. His skin felt incredibly warm against her icy fingers.

  “Relax. We’re just two friends having dinner together. Nothing to be nervous about.”

  She stared at him across the table, struck by the truth of his words. Yes, as strange as that was, they were friends. Although, throughout the past weeks, the gleam in Mike’s eyes, the way he touched her, the intimate tone of his voice, all made it clear that he would like them to be more. If she was honest, she would like that, too, but it wasn’t possible. Of all the men in the world, he was the last one she could ever have.

  She had gained his friendship under false pretenses and had no right even to that. If he knew the truth he would probably despise her. And she wouldn’t blame him.

  How had she gotten herself into this mess? When she had set the wheels in motion for Mike to be tested she had known there would be risks, but she hadn’t anticipated things would get so complicated. Naively, she had assumed that Mike’s part in the whole affair would be quick and impersonal; he would donate a little marrow, then go on about his business, none the wiser, and with any luck, Quinton would recover. She should have realized that nothing was that simple.

  She gave him a wan smile. “Really, I’m not nervous. Just tired and a little wobbly. One of my patients got me out of bed around two this morning. She delivered at 7:48 so there wasn’t much point in going home.”

  “Aw, a new baby. That’s great.” Mike’s whole face softened and his voice grew warm. “Boy or girl?”

  “Girl. Seven pounds ten ounces, healthy and vigorous. She was screaming her head off the minute she made her entrance.”

  “That’s nice. It must be rewarding to help bring little ones into the world.”

  “It is. I love it.”

  “Yeah,” he murmured, smiling warmly into her eyes. “You know, back when I was deciding on a specialty I was torn between pediatrics and obstetrics. I love babies, but in your job you have to let them go as soon as they’re born. I decided I’d rather be around while they’re growing up.”

  Leah gazed at him across the flickering candle and felt a strange tightness in her chest. She had never known a man who so obviously and openly loved children.

  In any other man this degree of emotional attachment might be thought of as effeminate, but no one could doubt Mike’s masculinity. He was, in fact, the most masculine man she had ever met, which made his devotion all the more touching. If she ever had children of her own, he was exactly the kind of man she would want to look after them, as a doctor and as a father.

  Her long-standing policy had been to avoid even the most remote contact with Mike, and when asked by new parents to recommend a baby doctor she had always suggested someone else. In the future, however, no matter how things turned out, she knew that he would top her list of preferred pediatricians.

  For the next hour they talked shop over an excellent dinner of chicken Parmesan and salad. They discussed particularly difficult cases each had encountered; the advantages and disadvantages of practicing medicine in a big hospital like St. Francis, of living in a city the size of Houston; the rumor that was going around that Henry Scarborough was leaving his post as hospital administrator; and they speculated on who would replace him if he did. They told each other stories of the crazy things that had happened during their med school and intern days and the antics of the inevitable class clown each had known.

  Mike was a wonderful storyteller. In addition to warmth and a devilish sense of humor, he also had a great sense of drama and timing. Soon Leah forgot about all the reasons she shouldn’t be there with him and began to relax. Before long she was laughing and enjoying herself.

  After coffee, when Mike announced it was time to keep his promise and take her back to her car, she was surprised at how let down she felt. She couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed herself so much.

  On the drive back they continued their conversation, but now there was a subdued quality to their talk. Awareness and a hum of tension ran just below the surface.

  When Mike drove into the dimly lit doctors’ parking lot Leah’s chest grew inexplicably tight. He pulled the Cadillac into the closest free slot to her sporty little Lexus, about thirty feet down the row, and killed the engine.

  “Here we are, back in an hour and twenty-eight minutes. Just like I promised.” His smile was a flash of white in the dark car.

  “Yes,” so we are.” Her gaze flickered away for a moment, sweeping over the shadowy forms of the other cars, before returning to his face. ”Thank you for the dinner, Mike. I enjoyed it.”

  He didn’t move except to hook his arm over the back of the seat, but somehow he seemed nearer, his eyes searching hers through the dim glow given off by the orange halogen lamps in the parking lot. “Good, I’m glad. So did I.”

  He fingered the edge of her coat collar, and Leah sat perfectly still. For an instant she thought she felt his fingers toying with the ends of her hair, but she couldn’t be certain. A little shiver ran down her spine.

  She swallowed hard and twisted her fingers together, her gaze still locked with his. Remotely, she could hear the traffic going by on Fannin Street and the distant whop-whop-whop-whop of a medical helicopter taking off from the helipad on top of the hospital.

  Another car drove into the parking lot, breaking the spell. Leah pulled her gaze from Mike and reached for the door handle. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.”

  “Wait, I’ll walk you to your car.”

  “Oh, no, please, that’s not necessary. Really,” she protested, but she could have saved her breath. He was out of the car and skirting the rear before she step
ped out.

  Side by side, they walked in silence without touching. Now and then the sleeve of his scrubs brushed the sleeve of her spring coat. She felt that gossamer contact as surely as though he’d clamped his hand around her arm.

  “Well, here we are,” she said inanely when they reached her car. The vehicle made a little chirp when she touched the electronic opener. She started to climb in, then paused to look back at him, standing in the wedge between the car and the open door. “Good night, Mike.”

  He stepped closer, bracing one hand on the top edge of the door, the other on the roof, trapping her. In the burnt-orange glow from a nearby halogen lamp his pale eyes glittered. His gaze dropped to her mouth, then to the pulse beating at the base of her throat, and his eyes grew heavy lidded. Leah’s chest squeezed so tight she couldn’t breathe.

  “Good night, Leah,” he said softly, and with a nod, he turned and walked back toward his car.

  Holding on to the door for support, Leah watched him go, relief and disappointment warring within her.

  Ten feet or so away, Mike suddenly stopped. For a few seconds he stood perfectly still. “Ah, what the hell.”

  He spun around and marched back toward her with a long, deliberate stride. Confused, Leah watched him, wondering what he’d forgotten. By the time he was close enough for her to see his expression it was too late.

  He did not slow his pace but came to an abrupt halt in front of her, and without a word, he dragged her against his chest and crushed his mouth to hers.

  The kiss was electrifying. Stunning.

  Every cell in Leah’s body hummed; every nerve ending crackled and sparked. For a moment, all she could do was cling to Mike, while her heart boomed and her mind went blank and her body reacted helplessly to the bombardment of her senses, going warm and weak and tingly.

  She felt as though her insides were melting, and she sagged against him. Had her very life depended on it, she could not have resisted. Of their own volition, her arms slipped around his waist and she clutched his back. Helplessly, her mouth responded to his like a flower opening to the sun, and as their tongues entwined in a sensual dance she pressed against him.

  Leah was acutely aware of several things at once—the firmness of his lips rocking over hers; his taste and the pleasant roughness of his tongue against hers; his scent, mixed with a faint antiseptic smell; the coarseness of the cotton scrub against her palms; the heavy pounding of his heart beneath; his heat and hardness pressing against her. The thundering beat of her own heart. Beyond those tactile sensations, nothing else existed for her—no traffic going by, no buzzing street lamp, no cool night breeze whipping her hair around their faces. There was just the two of them...and the hot, thrilling kiss.

  Though masterful and thorough, it was over quickly. Releasing her, Mike drew back only inches and clasped her face between his palms, looking deep into her eyes. Leah’s heart caromed around her chest like a smacked billiard ball as she saw the intense look on his face.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that for years.”

  Surprise shot through her, widening her eyes, but he gave her no chance to speak.

  “That and more,” he continued with unabashed frankness. “Ever since I first met you. And you might as well know, I mean to go on doing it.”

  He released her so suddenly she would have fallen had she not grasped the top of the car door with both hands. She stood there in the small wedge of space, clinging to the vehicle, her face slack with shock as she watched him stalk away through the darkness.

  Slowly, still not taking her eyes from him, she raised her trembling hand and pressed her fingertips to her lips. They were still wet from his kiss and slightly swollen. The cool night breeze feathered over the damp flesh, sending a shiver through her, but she didn’t move.

  Down the row, Mike got into his car, and a second later she heard the engine start. The sound made her jump and jerked her out of her stupor. Still unable to move, she watched his taillights until he turned right at the end of the row.

  Several more seconds ticked by, but finally her legs threatened to give way beneath her. Releasing a long breath, Leah climbed into her own car, but for a long time she merely sat there, gripping the steering wheel with both hands, her gaze still fixed on the point where Mike’s car had disappeared from sight.

  Mike wanted her—had wanted her for years. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. Not in all that time had she guessed. The possibility had never even occurred to her.

  But then, Mike did not know what she knew.

  Slowly, she touched her trembling fingertips to her mouth again and closed her eyes. Dear Lord. What was she going to do?

  Chapter Six

  The next day after office hours Leah made her rounds to check on her new mothers, then headed for Quinton’s room with a determined stride.

  She had given the matter a lot of thought and had reached the decision that this attraction between Mike and her would never do. The only sensible choice she had was to call a halt before things went any further. That he had taken a shine to Quinton was enough of a complication without a romance between the two of them compounding matters.

  That she was attracted to him was irrelevant and pointless. She and Mike could never have a future together. Any sort of relationship between them, even a lasting friendship, given the circumstances, was impossible, and to let this... this flirtation go on would only spell disaster and hurt for both of them. And for Quinton.

  Besides, she couldn’t go through another twenty-four hours like the ones that had just passed.

  All night she had been restless and had gotten little sleep, and today she’d been so preoccupied she’d barely been able to concentrate.

  Sandy had noticed. Several times she had given Leah curious looks. Once, after an examination, when her patient Kim Dayton had begun a litany of the discomforts she was suffering, Leah’s mind had wandered, as it had been prone to do all day. While Mrs. Dayton droned on about her aching back and swollen feet, three-an-hour trips to the bathroom and endless heartburn, Leah had silently grappled with the new and unexpected development with Mike.

  She had been so lost in thought several seconds of silence had ticked by before she realized that her patient had stopped talking and, along with Sandy, was looking at her curiously.

  Leah had saved face by claiming that she had merely been trying to think of a way to ease Kim’s discomfort. That had satisfied her patient but not Sandy.

  “Would you mind telling me what’s going on?” her nurse had demanded the instant they were alone.

  “Guing on? I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Don’t give me that innocent look. You’ve got something on your mind. All day you’ve been walking around in a daze, as though someone had smacked you a good one upside the head. You haven’t heard half of what’s been said. So c’mon. Tell me what’s up.”

  “You’re imagining things,” Leah had insisted, and plucked the medical file from its holder by the door and entered the next treatment room. Sandy had had no choice but to follow her inside, but it had been clear from her expression that she had not believed her.

  Leah grimaced. She knew Sandy’s feelings were hurt, but it couldn’t be helped. Normally, she confided in her friend, but this time she could not. To do so would have meant explaining Mike’s true relationship to Quinton, and that she could not do. Not only had she given her word to her father and Julia, but she was not anxious to reveal her part in the deception.

  Pausing outside Quinton’s room, Leah sighed and tossed her hair back over her shoulders. She should never have listened to Julia. If Quinton’s condition had not been so critical she wouldn’t have.

  From the beginning she had told her stepmother that they were going about this the wrong way, but as usual, Julia wouldn’t listen. Now every day Leah felt as though she were getting mired deeper and deeper in deceit Short of confessing the truth and risking Mike’s anger, perhaps even Quinton’s health, there wasn’t a thing she could d
o to change the situation.

  As usual, Mike was already there, slouched in a chair beside the bed. Tonight he was dressed in a beautifully cut charcoal suit, crisp white shirt and charcoal-and-rust tie, and he looked even sexier than he had the night before in the green scrubs.

  As though drawn by a magnet, the instant Leah stepped into the room her gaze sought him out, but when she found him watching her she quickly glanced away again.

  A sudden, vivid memory of that shattering kiss in the parking lot sent heat rushing to her face, and she felt awkward and embarrassed. Her only defense was to ignore the seductive look in Mike’s eyes and concentrate on her brother.

  “Hi there, sweetie,” she said brightly, half turning her back on Mike. “How do you feel tonight?” She took his chart out of the pocket in the side of the bubble and began to scan it, as much for something to do that would keep her gaze from Mike’s as out of habit.

  “Great. Mike was just telling me all about last night.”

  “What?” She swung around. “You did what?”

  “He told me what a good time you two had,” Quinton answered before Mike had a chance, drawing his sister’s gaze again. His grin stretched from ear to ear.

  Leah bristled like a cornered cat. “Oh, he did, did he?”

  “Yeah. Sounds like you guys really hit it off.” Quinton reined in his smile and tried his best to act casual. “You know, I’ve been thinking. Since I’m so much better, you two don’t have to sit around here with me every evening. I think you should get out and enjoy yourselves more, like you did last night. Maybe take in a movie or something.”

  Surprise and dismay rippled through Leah. Dear heaven. Quinton was shamelessly playing matchmaker. Until that moment she had not realized that he had so much as given a thought to the possibility of a romance between her and Mike. Last night she had assumed his suggestion that she have dinner with him had merely been an awkward impulse. Now she realized how wrong she had been. Her brother’s willingness to forgo his hero’s company, even for an evening now and then, spoke volumes about how much he wanted them to get together.