Playboy Doctor (9 page)

In stunned silence, Willow once again found herself alone, trying to make sense of what just happened. She hadn't even been given a moment to decipher his words, read into his tone, or search his eyes for some telltale sign of what was to come. Did he want to discuss where they were headed? Of course not because they headed nowhere. She knew it. He knew it.

Perhaps he needed to tell her that he came to his senses. Saw things her way. Maybe he just wanted to let her down easy. After all, he did try to apologize for his actions and she'd refused the apology. Maybe she didn't get it through her thick head that he believed it never should have happened... and never would again.

Her head spun and her heart thudded more furiously than it had back in the OR during the medical emergency. When it came to Shayne, Willow never knew what to expect.

* * *

Shayne took a brief break in the doctor's lounge for the first time that day. The room served as a place for him to fly in, grab coffee, check email, and dash off. But today, in the quiet of the lounge, he took an extra moment to savor the solitude and collect his thoughts.

Thoughts about Willow.

While he had stayed focused on his patients, Willow was never far from his mind, nor from his side. In the quieter times during the morning, her constant nearness triggered sweeping memories from the evening before. Her skin. Her scent. Her lips. Willow should have been an imposition in his home last night, but he had been the one to welcome her in the form of tender kisses.

From the moment Willow left his flat early this morning, Shayne couldn't help but think about her unexpected revelation of an ex-husband. He'd been talking about changes in life and making decisions about those changes when she divulged the truth about her previous marriage. Her comment revealed an underlying pain, which left him concerned. But Willow had remained silent on the subject today so he kept his concern to himself. For now. Not that they had time to talk about it with the back-to-back procedures. But he'd rectify that later today.

He poured himself a coffee and mentally prepared for the remaining tasks ahead, including ironing out the details for a plan for Baby Jack. Surgery was inevitable. He'd also have to fill Willow in on the details of the case.

Throughout the day, he had enjoyed Willow by his side. Ever the trooper, she'd kept her cool in surgery, despite the complications thrown their way. And they'd had their share. Not the best scenario for someone like Willow returning to the OR after a long absence.

Even in these few, quiet moments alone, his thoughts settled hotly on one vision in white; the nurse named Willow. The one he hadn't been able to keep his hands off of. The one he'd kept kissing last night.

His obsessive thoughts over her confounded him. While he never gave anything less than one hundred percent to his patients, his lack of control over his escalating feelings for Willow left him on edge. The edginess kept his tone extra sharp when snapping orders. He even feared he'd bared his teeth when he snarled at the cocky resident in surgery. His ire rose at learning he'd been lied to in the middle of a procedure.

But afterward, the memory of Willow's kiss eclipsed everything and he was appeased. The very thought of her subdued his agitation, even if only for a while.

He had to convince his mind to stop contemplating every little nuance about her. He had to release all thoughts of her. Starting right now—

An errand boy holding up a plastic garment bag entered the lounge.

"Excuse me, Dr. Edwards?"

"Yes?"

"I have a dry cleaning delivery for you." The young man held up the clear bag with an order slip attached.

Confused, Shayne looked at the order. "I didn't send out laundry."

"Well, someone did. And prepaid for the speedy, same-day service. Tip and everything." The young man handed over the garment bag, spun around, and bowed out.

Shayne lifted the hanger high to get a better look at what it could possibly be.

His collared white shirt.

The one unbuttoned just so last night, torturing him with a curve of Willow's breast. And a teasing of her slender thigh. The sensual memory once again haunted him.

She didn't need to do it. Didn't need to get the shirt laundered to be rid of it so fast. To be rid of
him
so fast. If she thought it would wash away the memory of her in it, then she'd thought wrong. Her efforts were useless. With a low growl, he slung the garment on the back of a chair, and then left the lounge in search of her.

Chapter 7

Willow plopped the file down on the reception desk, not caring how her behavior looked to the staff bustling around her. She couldn't help the frustration lapping through her over Shayne. She'd be facing him soon for a so-called chat but didn't know what to expect. Throughout the day, she'd done everything in her power not to dwell on last night, but nothing worked. How could she have lost control so easily? And with the irredeemable Shayne Edwards, of all people?

To think, she blurted out to him she had an ex-husband.

She didn't care if he knew she'd been married. It was no secret. But the tone to her flippant comment gave a little too much insight; the marriage had been a disaster. When it came to the failed relationship, she wanted to keep the details to herself. But before her internal filter could censor what flew from her lips, the words had catapulted out of her mouth. She cringed.

"Stupid, utterly stupid," she murmured. She didn't need Shayne to know any more about her past than necessary. She'd done a fine job keeping her personal life to herself as she was still coming to terms with her past. She didn't need to drag Shayne into it.

Emmy sidled up beside her, and then nudged her with her hip. "What's utterly stupid?"

Willow pasted on a furtive smile. "Nothing. Just blubbering to myself."

"I've never seen you like this. Did Dr. Edwards do something to you to get you riled up?"

"It wasn't his fault," she said.

"Whoa. What, exactly, wasn't his fault?"

Willow brought her fingers to her temples. "Gosh, Emmy, things just got, well, confusing, last night at his place."

"Double whoa. His place?" Emmy kept her shocked expression on her friend.

"I stayed there last night, with him, at his place. I'm flooded out of my bungalow and you didn't answer your phone, so technically it's all your fault."

The remark got her a laugh. "Nice try, but you can't blame this on me. I was volunteering at a shelter last night. So what
exactly
is my fault? What happened?"

"We accidentally—I mean—it was on purpose I think, but we didn't mean to..."

"You didn't mean to what?" Emmy pressed.

"Kiss?" Willow eeked out.

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

Willow buried her face in her hands. "Telling you, okay? Yes. We kissed. But don't worry, it will never happen again. Never."

"Why not?"

"Other than because he's my boss?" Willow drew her worrisome face back up to Emmy.

"Besides being your boss. I mean, did he get out of hand? Do something terrible?"

"Isn't a kiss terrible enough?" she asked.

"So you kissed a gorgeous surgeon. What's so terrible about that?"

Besides making her furiously distracted? Then, no, he hadn't done anything terrible at all. In fact, it had been wonderful.

"Okay, so it wasn't terrible," was all Willow would admit. She toyed with an errant lock of her hair.

"Good. But you would tell me if you were to have trouble with him, right? Because you seem really distracted over one little, innocent kiss."

"Yes, I would tell you," she reassured her friend. But she couldn't reassure her the kiss was so innocent. They weren't exactly talking about a peck on the cheek here. Willow kept the little detail to herself. She grabbed her file folder and flipped through it; anything to avert Emmy's scrutiny.

"Good, because we can't afford another RN to bail on him."

"What? I thought the nurse was dismissed."

"The first one on the first day. The second one who stepped up on the next day couldn't take the pressure and bolted."

"Oh, no one told me."

"Nurses like that really don't want to work for Dr. Edwards. They just want to sleep with him."

The file in Willow's hand flopped open, sending a flurry of papers scattering to the floor. Emmy cast a suspicious eye toward Willow.

"Shoot." Willow scrambled to the floor to pick them up.

"Uh-huh." Emmy
hmphed
. "Having no troubles with him at all, eh? But hey, as long as you're holding your own."

"I am, I am," Willow asserted. What else could she say? That she was hanging by a thread? With a huff, she shuffled the papers back into the file, even though some were upside-down.

"Okay, whatever you say, because with the way he was acting in the cafeteria while getting coffee a half-hour ago..." Emmy's voice trailed off. She waved dismissively. "Nah, forget it."

"And how was he acting?" she asked too quickly. "I mean, not that I'm concerned."

"He was doing things like grumbling to himself. And fidgeting with stuff. Kind of like you're doing right now."

"Oh?" Willow busied her hands by properly arranging the papers in the folder.

"Puh-lease tell me he was fine in surgery and not all fidgety," Emmy teased.

"He was perfect," Willow said a little too breathy.

Emmy snorted. "I'll bet he was."

"Boy, you are annoying today," Willow groused, which only brought another snort from Emmy. "Sheesh, it's like you want us to be together... which is the worst thing that could happen. Why are you loving this so much?"

"I'll tell you why. Because I've never seen a nurse stand up to a doctor like you do with Dr. Edwards. You work with him and you don't let him push you around. You keep him in line and I think he likes it. I think he likes
you
."

Surprised by Emmy's observation, Willow shook her head. "No, he couldn't possibly like me, not in the way you think."

She continued to rearrange the papers. Despite the busywork, apprehension sluiced through her. So maybe their kiss had a bigger effect on the surgeon than she suspected. But then she had to blab about a failed marriage. She didn't want to appear as damaged goods. So far, her cheery disposition had provided a sturdy shell for her fragile emotional interior. But hinting to Shayne about some underlying truth behind her marriage might have splintered a fissure in that shell. What if he pressed for more?

She had moved to Florida for a fresh start and didn't need to be heaving her emotional baggage all over the place. She didn't like to fail at anything. She liked even less for people to know too much about the failures of her past. She didn't need pity or gossip. Not from the rest of the staff and certainly not from Shayne.

"You know, Willow, if you keep shuffling those papers, you're going to wind up with paper cuts and bleed out right here," Emmy said.

Before Willow could respond, the fierce click of heels on the floor caught her attention. She looked up to see a statuesque redhead in a black business suit and high heels approach the desk. A small basket of muffins crooked in her elbow swung with her every step. Willow could smell those muffins from her side of the desk. Blueberry. Definitely blueberry.

"I'm looking for Willow. I have something to drop off for Dr. Edwards." The redhead held up the basket topped with a blue bow. "It's to make up for the other night. We had a mix-up with our keys. But if Willow is busy, perhaps Dr. Edwards is available?"

Willow exchanged a glance with Emmy, and then managed a polite grin. "I'm Willow. You must be Linda. I'm sorry, but Dr. Edwards isn't available. I'd be happy to take those muffins off your hands and be sure to get them to the doctor."

Willow came out from behind the reception desk and stood before the woman.

The towering redhead hesitated but then surrendered the pretty basket. "Please tell him I enjoyed talking to him at the fundraiser. I'm sorry I missed him the other night when I dropped off his keys. And, well, if he has any questions relating to pharmaceuticals, or anything at all, I'm a rep, so he can feel free to call me."

"I'd be happy to do that. But unfortunately, he doesn't handle pharmaceuticals. I will let him know of your offer, though."

Linda stepped back and angled her chin just so. She kept her expression pleasant. "That would be great. Thank you."

"My pleasure. The basket's very thoughtful—I know he'll appreciate it."

Linda glanced around the reception area, probably trying to catch sight of Shayne somewhere in the hall. When no doctor manifested, she nodded a good-bye, then clicked down the hall before entering an elevator.

Willow's heart dipped. She'd just gotten a healthy dose of Shayne's personal life, which left a not-so-sweet taste in her mouth. Linda happened to be gorgeous. The visit served as a chilly reminder of Shayne's heartthrob reputation. Unfortunately, if this encounter with the woman was what she could expect over the next several weeks, she didn't know how much she could endure.