Winning Back His Doctor Bride (11 page)

* * *

Two days later, James heard the news he'd been waiting for.

Mila wasn't pregnant.

Even as he feigned relief and did his best “that's great news” impersonation as she'd boarded the boat with Leo, something inside kept sending him withering glances. Which was ridiculous.

He did not want babies. Or any kind of child for that matter.

Even as he thought it, an excited Leo pointed as a sea lion popped its head above the water and looked right at them. And although James did his damnedest to ignore the sheer delight on the boy's face as his small hands clutched one of the chrome rails, he couldn't suppress the stab of joy Leo's happiness brought him. Especially when he ducked his head between the slats to get a closer look.

Mila squatted beside the child, murmuring something. Dressed in a white sundress that looked a little too similar to the one she'd worn in the pool, he found himself stealing glances at her flat stomach and imagining what it would look like if things had been different. But they weren't.

She looked relaxed and happy. Too happy.

Because she was relieved she wasn't pregnant?

Damn it!

He spun the wheel a little to the left to keep the boat headed straight down the coast and to take his mind off things he couldn't control. The trek was meant to take just over a half hour. So far, every second had been excruciating.

Time to do something about it.

From what he'd heard, quite a few of the boats that were to take part in the regatta were planning on decorating their crafts for the event. Whether it was white twinkle lights or elegant paper lanterns, it seemed everyone was planning on going all out. He was pretty sure the board expected him to follow suit with the
Mystic Waters
.

He glanced at Mila. “Maybe Leo would like to help us decorate the boat, since he won't able to come to the party.”

Propping her chin on the rail beside Leo's head, he couldn't see her face, but her hand went around the boy's waist and she again said something to him. Leo turned to look at him, eyes wide.
“¿Eso es la verdad?”

“Yes. I'm telling the truth,” he said.

He should be dreading having to spend any more time with Mila and Leo, but today he found himself oddly out of sorts, and he didn't want to examine why.

Instead he focused on the here and now, and found he wanted to decorate the boat. Wanted to see Leo's face as dusk fell and they turned on the lights.

He wanted to see Mila's reaction as well. Speaking of which...

“Freya has been all over me about making sure my tuxedo is ready to go.”

She shifted sideways, still holding on to Leo. “She's been asking about my dress color as well. And if we've practiced our dance. I wonder why?”

“Having the clinics join forces has been her pet project. I think she's worried we're going to mess it up somehow.”

Mila glanced at him, her lips twisting. “Maybe that's why she's offered to go dress shopping with me. Do you think she guessed about our plans to get off the dance floor as fast as possible?”

“I haven't said a word.”

“She knows us pretty well, though.” She ruffled Leo's hair. “Maybe we should rethink things, James. I don't want to embarrass her. Or either of our clinics.”

“And how do we avoid that?” Mila was a good dancer. A little too good, as she'd always gotten a reaction from him. Then again, she pretty much got a reaction anytime she came within ten feet of him. Even now.

“Maybe we should make it good, rather than bad. Live dangerously.”

He had no idea what had gotten into her, but he'd been living dangerously ever since he'd agreed to allow Bright Hope into his clinic.

“Dangerously isn't always the best choice.”

Like forgetting to put a condom on before he had sex with someone? He forgot himself around Mila. He always had.

And maybe that's why she suddenly seemed playful and happy. She was glad he hadn't knocked her up.

Yeah? Well, he was glad too. And if the opportunity arose to have sex with her again, he wouldn't turn it down. He'd just be a whole lot smarter about the execution.

And if they danced for real? Would he be able to resist stealing a kiss or two?

Dangerous. Very dangerous.

Yet Mila herself was calling for a little of that very thing. Did that mean she was open to a few kisses too?

“I guess I'd better let her help me find a dress, then.” Leaving him to wonder exactly what kind of dress she would choose, she turned back to Leo to point out another sea lion that had joined the first. Their heads bobbed in the water, staring at the boat.

“I think they're begging.”

James couldn't blame them. He'd been known to beg for a crumb or two from Mila as well.

“They're out of luck.”

Mila explained to Leo why they couldn't feed the pair. Tourists had learned the hard way by getting nipped by some of the more aggressive creatures. Giving them treats only made them bolder.

“We only have about ten more minutes before we get to our destination. Do you want to continue? Or do you want to drop anchor?”

Mila glanced at her watch just as a Jet Ski shot by them, hitting them with a spray of water as the craft turned sharply to the right. Both sea lions ducked beneath the surface.

“Damn it.” James shifted to look at Mila and Leo to make sure they were okay before turning back to the idiot who'd cut a little too close to them.

Two people sat aboard the watercraft, and the driver was still hotdogging it, doing circles and zigzags that were more than dangerous. And they were a little farther offshore than he normally saw Jet Skis. It didn't mean they didn't venture out this far but they were almost a mile out.

Even as he thought it, the pair headed back their way, the person on the back lifting a can of something in salute as they raced past and circled James's boat, barely missing the
Mystic
Waters
' bow before speeding away again.

They were going to hurt someone if they kept that up. He debated a moment or two about whether to let it go and leave the pair to their stupidity, but decided it wasn't worth the risk. He picked up his radio and turned the frequency to call the coast guard. Suddenly the Jet Ski cut too sharply to the right, sending the craft skittering across the water in a jagged course. It came back on center for a brief second but the driver must have over-corrected because the craft lurched to the other side and in an instant—still going at top speed—it flipped, tossing both of its passengers into the dark waters of the bay.

“Oh, hell!” Kicking off his shoes and yanking his shirt over his head, he yelled at Mila. “Shut the engine down and take the wheel. Radio the coast guard while you're at it.”

With that, James dove over the side and into the water.

CHAPTER NINE

W
HERE
 
WAS
 
HE
?

Mila spotted one of the Jet Ski's passengers floating on the surface, life jacket in place, but the second one was nowhere to be seen. Neither was James.

But she had other things to worry about right now. Like getting the boat anchored so the light wind didn't cause the
Mystic Waters
to drift farther and farther away from where James was. She ran through the steps in her head, using memories of past anchoring to guide her: Point the bow into the wind. Pay out the anchor chain until it hit bottom. Set the anchor.

She wasn't going to worry about the setting part, and thank heavens that Leo's presence had made James decide to use the boat's engine rather than putting up the sails. She wasn't sure she could have gotten those down by herself. Putting Leo into a chair and telling him to stay there, she followed the sequence she'd set up in her head. Glancing back into the water, she still only saw the lone victim.

James was a great swimmer, but the waters off California's coast were chilly and visibility wasn't the best in this area.

The first victim, a woman, was now feebly paddling toward the boat.

“Can you make it?” Mila called out.

She didn't dare jump in the water and leave Leo—still sitting like she'd asked him to, although his eyes were now wide with fear—alone on the boat. She'd radioed a Mayday a minute earlier. The coast guard was on its way.

The person in the water lifted her head and nodded, long hair streaming down her back as she kept swimming toward the boat. Thank God she was able to move under her own power.

Still no sign of James, though. Her heart pumped in her chest at a frantic pace, trying not to think the worst. It had only been a little over two minutes, but it seemed like forever. God, what if something had happened to him? What if he'd gotten turned around underwater? What if...?

Something breached the surface, and she grabbed the rail before realizing it wasn't a porpoise or, worse, a shark but James. And he had the second person with him. He sucked down several gasping breaths before his eyes met hers. Then, arm wrapped around the man's chest in a rescue hold, he swam toward the boat with powerful strokes, saying something to the other person as he crossed in front of her, but not stopping. There was an ominous stillness about the man he towed.

As soon as they came within reach of the loading ramp at the back of the vessel, Mila motioned for Leo to stay in the chair.
“Espera aquí.”

Hoping the boy would wait, like she'd asked him to, she leaned over the side and grabbed the second victim's arms, while James pushed him up from the waist. Within a minute he'd flopped onto the deck. She went into emergency rescue mode, vaguely aware that James had turned and was swimming back toward the woman.

A boat engine rumbled far off in the distance, but she didn't have time to look to see if it was the coast guard. Instead, she put her head to the accident victim's chest and listened. There was a heartbeat but the man wasn't breathing. She turned his head to the left, debating whether to flip him onto his side to give whatever water was in his lungs an easier exit, but the man probably weighed twice as much as she did. She settled for tilting his head to make sure his airway was cleared and then leaning down to start artificial respiration.

Between breaths, she chanced a quick glance at Leo, but he hadn't moved from his spot. And now James was helping the Jet Ski's other passenger onto the
Mystic Waters
, then he was back at her side. “Let me take over. The coast guard is almost here.”

Mila didn't argue. Her first duty was to do the best she could for her patient and the best in this situation was to let James do the heavy lifting. She went over to the woman, who had sunk to the deck in a fetal position, softly crying as a cutter with official markings pulled up to the side of the boat.

Mila grabbed the line they tossed her way and tied it off, relaying the situation in brief phrases. “Jet Ski accident with two victims. We're both doctors.”

Not waiting for them to come aboard, she checked the woman's vitals, which were surprisingly normal. She coughed up some water, and Mila helped her lean forward and clear her lungs, all the while trying to contain her own emotions.

She shared James's anger. It had been beyond stupid to race around like the pair had. It was a wonder no one had been killed.

Well...she glanced at where James was still working on the man...it was possible someone had been. As if sensing her thoughts, the woman looked up at her. “Is he...?”

Even after hacking up a good amount of water, the woman's breath reeked of alcohol, and Mila had seen her raise a can of something. It hadn't been soda, judging by how reckless the pair had been in circling James's boat. She bit back several responses before settling for something kinder than what she was thinking.

“James is a wonderful doctor. He's doing everything he can.”

A choking sob came. “We were just out to have a good time. It was only our second date.”

A uniformed man squatted beside them. “Is she stable?”

“For the moment.”

The officer nodded and then turned to the woman. “I need your name. Do you have any ID on you?”

Mila let him take over, glad to be able to get back to Leo, who had to be scared out of his mind with the frantic rescue. When she reached him she gripped the boy's small hand. What if he'd wandered off and had gone over the side while her attention had been elsewhere?

Anger pulsed past the relief, followed by concern. James, who was still busy doing mouth-to-mouth, stopped when the other member of the coast guard produced a manual resuscitator. He helped fit it over the man's mouth, and the officer began squeezing the bag while James felt for a pulse.

A minute later the man convulsed. Once. Twice. Then between James and the coast-guard officer they turned him to the side, just as he vomited massive amounts of seawater across the deck, gasping between bouts. But at least he was now breathing and reacting, and not the lifeless figure he'd presented moments earlier.

Once stable, the pair was transferred onto the coast-guard vessel. One of them shook James's hand and then hers, nodding toward the accident victims. “Thank you for your help. I doubt he would have made it without your quick thinking.”

Mila shuddered. Undoubtedly. The man would have sunk to the bottom of the bay without James bravely diving in after him. For a few moments she'd wondered whether he would end up following the man to a watery grave.

But that hadn't happened. She had to remember that.

James's hair was plastered to his head, his strong chest bare. A rush of emotion went through her. A scary familiar feeling that sliced through her midsection.

It was just relief. It had to be. She couldn't let it be anything else. When she jerked her gaze back to his face, she found him watching her.

The coast-guard vessel pulled away with a last wave from one of the men, but still she couldn't pull her eyes from James's face.

Words tumbled out. “I thought you had...” Her eyes closed as another wave of emotion crashed over her. “When you didn't come up...”

She couldn't seem to finish any of her thoughts. Because they were too awful.

Arms came around her and a hand pressed her head against his chest, holding her there for a minute.

“I couldn't find him.” His words rumbled low and gruff against her hair. “I knew if I came up for breath, I'd lose my bearings and he'd die.”

I thought
you
were going to die.

The sentence rolled through her head, but she didn't dare say it. Leo was still not fluent in English, but she didn't know how much he could or couldn't understand, and she didn't want to upset him more than he already was.

She let her eyes close, her cheek pressed tight against the coolness of James's bare chest, the reassuring beat of his heart beneath her ear.

He hadn't died. And he'd just saved a man's life.

When she finally let her lids part, she realized one of James's hands had reached out to rest on Leo's head and the boy's shoulder was resting against his right leg.

More emotion welled up inside her and suddenly she was crying, trying her damnedest not to sob out loud. But tears leaked and pooled and did all sorts of terrible things to her insides.

“Shh...” Something pressed lightly against her temple. “It's okay.”

It was. Despite their past and everything that had happened between them. In this one moment in time the world had righted itself. It might not stay that way but for now she could revel in the fact that James was alive. And here. Holding her and Leo close.

She took a deep breath and let it back out. “Yes. It's okay.” Before she could stop herself, she stepped up on tiptoe and kissed him, allowing her mouth to rest against his for several seconds before she finally pulled away. If she could have, she would have done so much more than just kiss him. She wanted him to take her down to that cabin so she could show him how glad she was that he was still here. Still alive.

But with Leo that was impossible.

And at the gala?
The tempting thought swirled around and around like a wisp of smoke.

He'd teased her about being dangerous...maybe she should show him just how dangerous she could be. Trying not to let that idea get too firmly entrenched, she used the wide strap of her sundress to mop the moisture from her face. Not very successfully, though.

Not letting go of Leo, James reached over and picked up his discarded shirt and handed it to her. She pressed it to her face, her nostrils catching and holding on to his scent. So achingly familiar.

She wanted another night with him. Just one more. Surely she could do that and then let him go. It wouldn't be an impulsive, crazy dip in the pool but a conscious decision. A reaffirming of life.

As if reading her thoughts, he stared at her for a long time, and then gave Leo's hair a quick ruffle and said, “What do you say we head back and start decorating
Mystic Waters
?”

* * *

James knocked on the door to the cottage two days later. Her nerves were twitching and fretting about what he would think when he saw her. Freya had dragged her to almost a dozen stores in search of the perfect dress. And Mila had to admit the red frothy off-the-shoulder confection showed off her figure to its best advantage. Rosa was already camped out in the living room ready to keep Leo for the night. A decision Mila had made on the spur of the moment after reliving their last few minutes on the boat following the Jet Ski accident. Something had passed between them as he'd held her, and Mila wasn't willing to turn her back on it quite yet. Eventually their interactions would cool down to business luncheons and quick nods in the hallway. But Mila—for good or bad—wanted that night with him...would feel cheated if she didn't get it.

She wasn't pregnant, and she already knew where she stood with him. He'd proved his inability to commit during their engagement, and from the various other women he'd been linked to in the tabloids over the years that was still true. And she definitely wasn't going to let Leo get attached to someone he couldn't trust.

He'd already been through too much, his parents' deaths eerily like her own parents' demise. She was going to ask to adopt him if his uncle didn't come forward.

It was the right thing to do. She was convinced of it.

The knock came again, and Mila sucked down a deep breath. Yes, it was the right thing.

And so was this. If James could have meaningless flings, then so could she. With him. Especially with him since there was no fear that he would press her for more, like Tyler had.

She pulled open the door and waited for his reaction.

It didn't take long. His eyes widened and slid slowly down her body.

“Wow.” James took her hand and twirled her around in a slow three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn. “You look beautiful. But, then, you always did.”

She smiled. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself. Then again, you always did.”

Clad in a crisp black tuxedo, the man looked good enough to eat. And if she got lucky, she planned on enjoying every single bite.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Absolutely.”

Something in her voice must have given her away because he glanced at her sideways, a question in his eyes. “What?”

“Nothing.” Calling out a goodbye to Rosa, along with her thanks, she went ahead of him out the door. “I'm just planning on enjoying tonight.”

He came up close behind her and laid a hand on her bare shoulder, his thumb strumming across her skin. “Enjoying? Or
enjoying
?”

“You'll have to wait and see.”

“I'm intrigued. Care to elaborate?”

Despite her outward bravado, when they passed the pool her face sizzled at the memories that crept up. “Not right now. Maybe after the gala.”

If she had her way, there would be no crowds, no baby monitors. No one but her and James. On that luxurious boat of his.

As if he'd read her mind, he murmured, “I'm going to hold you to that.”

Climbing into his sleek black sports car, Mila settled into the leather seat, feeling a brief second or two of unease as the door shut behind her.

She pushed it back. She could do this. All of it. The party. The fancy food. The wealthy patrons. It was a price she was willing to pay to help people.

And if she held James out as her reward for sticking it out, she would get through the night just fine.

She was pretty sure James would be willing to go along with that plan. Especially after his last comment. The only question was how long they would last before one of them cracked. The way she was feeling right now, it might very well be her.