Although it was a movie that I really wanted to see, I paid no attention to it. As the love story unfolded on the screen, I studied Lance more than the movie, taking note of his chiseled features, piercing green eyes, and testosterone overload. The electricity in the air was so thick between us that you could cut it with a knife. I took a deep breath, forcing my eyes back to the screen without really seeing what was happening, forgetting momentarily that I was married. Then, the lights came up, bringing us both back to reality.
“Thank you,” I said as we walked out of the theater.
“For what?” he asked, amused.
“That was the most fun I’ve had in a very long time.”
“My pleasure,” he returned as we left the theater and walked into the darkness of the night, when he stopped abruptly. “Do you want to catch a bite to eat while we’re here? There’s a restaurant around the corner.”
There were several restaurants in the mall. I thought about it hesitantly. “It’s getting late …”
“Or we could grab some coffee and go shopping,” he added quickly.
“Shopping?” I asked, bemused.
“Yeah, don’t women like to go shopping?” he asked in his sensual British accent.
“Yes, but men usually don’t.”
“Well, I’m not like most men,” he said, taking my hand. When I started to pull away, he added, “I promise to be a gentleman.”
Suddenly, my stomach growled.
“I think your stomach is opting for food,” he said, grinning. “Come on.” Still holding my hand, he pulled me through the mall, passed the shops. I wouldn’t have admitted it, but his hand felt good wrapped around mine.
“You are formidable, aren’t you?” I asked, incredulous.
“Sometimes,” he said, and then my heart melted when he gave me a quick wink.
“I’m not dressed for anything fancy,” I said hesitantly.
Lance laughed, a wonderful sound. “This is a mall. How fancy could it be?” Then, he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “Besides, you look fabulous.”
I laughed. “You lie well.”
He laughed, probably thinking something obscene, but said instead, “Madam, I never lie.” Then, he added, unable to resist, “At least in that way.”
I smacked him playfully on the shoulder, knowing that he was teasing. I had to admit that I was enjoying his company a bit more than I should. My thoughts quickly darted to Steven as another wave of guilt rushed over me, but he was probably already headed to work and he hadn’t even bothered to return my call.
As we walked, Lance noticed my sudden quiet. “Are you well?”
I smiled and took a deep breath. His word choice was odd at times. “I really should be going home …”
“It’s just dinner, Leila,” he said, and the sincerity in his eyes couldn’t be denied. “And if you want to talk, I can listen.”
I smiled. “The things I need to talk about wouldn’t be appropriate to talk about with you.”
“Sometimes it’s good to talk to a stranger …”
“And sometimes it’s not,” I replied, knowing that I should just walk away, but something inside of me wanted to stay.
“I’ll tell you what, let’s just get something to eat in silence and if you decide to talk, then I’ll listen,” he said with a shrug.
“Just listen?”
“What can I say? I’m a good listener,” he said with a shrug. We came to a fancy Italian restaurant and he stopped. “Is this okay?” When he saw me hesitate, he quickly added, “If you feel uncomfortable, we can go somewhere else.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. This is fine,” I said, nodding toward the restaurant. “Let’s go.”
“After you,” he said with an elaborate flourish, letting me lead the way.
The aroma of lush Italian food filled the room—lasagna, pasta, and fresh bread along with the scent of garlic and oregano—and my stomach growled.
“Sorry, sir, but it looks as if we are all booked right now,” the gentleman said, looking down his list, pointing to it with his mahogany hand.
“I think I see an opening” Lance said, pointing to the list with one hand as he discreetly handed the gentleman a bill with his other hand around the podium.
“Of course, sir,” the maitre d’ replied as he led the way. The restaurant was dimly lit with candles flickering on the tabletops, along with fine white china and white tablecloths. The sounds of dishes clanking and waiters talking, giving orders behind the scenes filled the restaurant. I was surprised when we stopped before a secluded table. Hard telling how much Lance had just slipped the maitre d’, but from the look on his face, it must have been a lot. “Let me know if you need anything,” he said, holding the chair for me.
“Please, allow me,” Lance said, reaching for my chair. The gentleman stepped back, and Lance held my chair and waited for me to take my seat.
It was nice, being treated like royalty. I hadn’t had this in a very long time. I opened my menu and settled on a dish when a thought occurred to me. “Did you tell Drake about the other day?”
“What are you talking about?” Lance asked, confused.
“About my indiscretion with you,” I whispered over my menu.
Lance raised an inquisitive eyebrow, intrigued. “We were indiscrete?” he teased, trying not to smile as he closed his menu. “Please, do tell.”
I laughed in spite of myself. “You know … when I slapped you.”
“Oh, you mean when you set me straight?” Lance corrected. “No, I didn’t. Why?”
“Never mind.”
“No, there’s no ‘never mind’ now,” Lance said, his eyebrows pulling together in concern. “What happened?”
“Drake dragged me into his office and chewed me out … royally.”
Sudden anger filled his eyes. “He placed his hands on you?”
“No … yes … well … not like that,” I stammered. “He grabbed me and had me follow him into his office, then gave me a stern talking to.”
“He touched you?” he asked, furious. “How and where did he touch you?”
“He grabbed my arm to stop me.”
He bit his lower lip, trying to suppress his anger. I was suddenly afraid for Drake. “What did he say?” Lance asked, holding back rage that I was sure he was covering well.
“He told me in a roundabout way to ‘play nice’ with you,” I replied, suddenly wishing that I hadn’t said anything.
“So, is this why you agreed to spend time with me today?” Lance asked, still upset as he set his napkin down on the table beside his plate.
“No, of course not,” I corrected, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “Look, I really should go …”
“No, please,” Lance said, placing a hand gently over mine. An electrical current suddenly shot through me. “Stay.”
It was only one word, but it was all I needed. I sat back down.
“What did you tell him?” Lance asked, trying to calm down. He took a sip of his water, but made a face and set it back on the table. “After he told you to ‘play nice.’”“I told him that I would slap any man who deserves it, including him,” I replied, taking a sip of my water, as well.“Good girl,” he said as a smile spread across his face.I lifted an eyebrow, questioning.He shrugged. “I deserved it,” he replied, holding my hand a bit tighter, forcing me to look into his eyes. His hands were cold, but I pretended not to notice. “You should feel free to slap any man who deserves it … including me.”I smiled, suddenly feeling awkward when the waiter approached to take our order. “Good evening,” he said, and then proceeded to tell us the dinner specials and his recommendations.Lance nodded to me.“I’ll have the Shrimp Alfr
I drove home in the dark, trying to steady my heart. What am I doing? I wondered as I pointed my car toward home. I had so much on my mind that it practically drove itself home. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. What the hell am I doing? But there was something about Lance that I just couldn’t describe. Besides his incredible good looks, there was something else about him … I felt secure, treasured … like a princess around him. It was as if he had already placed me on a pedestal, treating me like royalty. I had never been treated like that before, and I knew that I could easily get used to it.When I got home, Steven was gone. Obviously, he had already left for work—if he even came home at all—even though it was Saturday. I should be off from work the next day, but I really had no desire to have a confrontation with Steven, even though I knew that we needed to talk soon.I took a deep breath to steady myself, pulled the car
“I’m taking a break,” I told Rosa after the family left.“Why don’t you go home?” Rosa asked, knowing how hard I had worked to try to save him and she had worked just as hard by my side. We made a good team.“No, not yet,” I said, dead on my feet. “I just need a break and maybe some coffee.”“And some food,” Rosa added, picking up a chart. “Eat something.”“Yes, Ma’am,” I teased, walking away as she scowled.I walked into the waiting room before walking to the cafeteria to see how many more patients that we had and my breath caught. Lance was sitting on a chair, casually reading a magazine. For a moment, I almost walked the other way, but something inside me pulled me to him. My heart beat erratically within my chest as I approached, noticing how handsome he was. The air of confidence about him almost reminded me of a medieval knight, but I quickly
When we were walking down the hallway and safely out of earshot, I said, “You were amazing. Did you see the way that she came alive when you spoke to her in her own language? I haven’t see her this excited since she came here.”Lance’s face fell and his expression suddenly turned serious. “How long has she been here?”“For two months now.” I looked down at the linoleum floor and sighed. “She’s no longer responding to treatment.”Lance nodded. “I didn’t think so,” he said, and then he turned his attention to the hallway ahead of us as his eyebrows pulled together. “How much time does she have?”I let out an exasperated breath. “I can’t be sure. That’s one thing that I don’t like about being a doctor. I wish I could save all of my patients, especially ones like her, young with her whole life ahead of her,” I said, as we walked toward
The next morning, I hurried downstairs, in a rush to get to work to see him, poured myself a cup of coffee, and darted out the door, headed toward work.I pulled into the parking lot as thoughts of Lance filled my mind, conflicted about what to do. There weren’t many men like him anymore with his chivalry and kindness. I loved watching him with Crissy last night and I was sure that he would make good on his promise to visit her again. I took a deep breath, pushed the images of Lance from my mind, and headed into the hospital.“Morning,” I said as I passed the receptionist.She nodded cheerfully, then turned her attention to a patient who was checking in, one I was sure I’d see later.After depositing my purse in my locker and donning a lab coat and my stethoscope, I headed out to the floor, but Drake called out to me when he saw me come in. “Dr. Reynolds, I’d like for you to follow me please.” He walked down a cor
The rest of the day passed uneventfully until sundown, but I couldn’t help but wonder about Crissy and what role Lance had played, if any, in her recovery. As I promised Drake, I had said nothing about it to anyone. Drake kept watching me throughout the day, frowning as he passed, but I brushed it off and focused on my work. He was always upset about something. Throughout the day, I couldn’t help but think of Lance and how he had connected with Crissy. It’s impossible that he had anything to do with her recovery, isn’t it? But Drake’s reaction made me wonder how Lance could have been involved. I pushed the thought aside and went back to working with patients.I headed toward the waiting room to see how many patients were waiting, when I spotted Lance, sitting in a far corner of the room. My heart involuntarily leapt when I saw him, and then took in his magnificent features, his firm chin, his dark brown hair, high cheekbones and stunning green ye
Well, it was obvious that I wasn’t going to get any answers from him tonight, so I picked up my fork and cut a piece of my steak. I was suddenly so hungry that I could have just picked it up and eaten it with my bare hands if Lance hadn’t been there. I laughed at the thought.Lance leaned back and gave me a sly grin as he cut another bite of his steak. “May I ask you a personal question?”The look in his eyes was so sweet that I couldn’t help but smile. “It depends upon the question.”“How do you like to be fucked?” His question was anything but innocent.My mouth fell open and I almost choked on my steak, shocked as I leaned back a bit. “Excuse me?”Then, he looked at me through his lashes and said in a low voice, “Perhaps you didn’t hear me correctly. How, my dear, do you like to be fucked?”My breath quickened, shocked by the question as I remembered both
“Well, I don’t believe it,” Rosa said loudly, stopping me as she crossed her arms. “It’s not midnight yet and you’re leaving already. Good for you!”“Yeah, well, I have to get home,” I lied, in a hurry to see if Lance was waiting outside as promised.“Have a good night,” she called to me over her shoulder, walking toward an examining room.Hearing his voice in my head—speaking of fucking me—I rushed past the girls at the front desk, through the automatic glass doors, and into the parking lot. I would deal with the consequences later.Outside, it was dark. Only the light streaming down from the streetlamp hovering over the parking lot made seeing possible, casting eerie shadows over the black pavement. The sound of a lone siren screamed in the distance, but it quickly faded. I jumped at a rustle along the pavement, but took a breath, relieved when I saw that it was only a stray w