Page 50 of Hot to Trot

He took her elbow in a comforting gesture. "Let's go to the nurses' desk and see if we can sweet talk one of them into checking for us."

She allowed him to escort her toward the triage desk. Charlie wasn't in sight, but a brunette wearing a sequined hairclip and holding amagazine was.

Adam propped one elbow on the edge of the desk and leaned toward the nurse. He must have startled her, because she gasped as she reared in her chair.

He gave her a toe-curling smile. Damn. Even Scarlet felt like bowing before him and inquiring after his pleasure.

"Hey, Lori." Clearly he'd checked out her name tag. "Can you do me a favor?"

The woman looked at Scarlet, then back to Adam. She visibly warmed to his smile. "What would that be?"

"The girl, Destiny. She's asking about her mother. Any way we can find out how she's doing?"

"The trauma department in Shreveport is always busy. They wouldn't bother with me." Lori glanced around as though searching for someone. "But Doc Grabel put in a call to them ten minutes ago. Let me check with him."

Adam's smile deepened, his green eyes looked warm, almost a caress. Double D-yamn. He was really good at getting women to do his bidding. To prove the point, Lori picked up the phone and punched in a number.

"Thanks, Lori," Adam said softly, with the right amount of intimacy.

He walked a few steps away. Scarlet followed. "Did I see what I think I saw?"

"What's that?"

"You hypnotized that girl into doing your bidding."

"I know how to get things done, Scarlet."

His words teased. And they heated. Which was wrong. She had come to visit an injured girl. Not play flirty games with the man who had told her that very afternoon she was the wrong kind of woman. "So I see."

He stopped smiling. "How's the girl?’

"She's terrified her mother's dead. She's hurt, but doesn't seem to care about her own injuries. I should go sit with her."

He nodded.

She turned toward that section of the E.R. Adam stopped her with one touch. "Hey, Scar?"

She looked over her shoulder at him.

"It's really decent of you to do what you're doing."

"Why wouldn't'I? I may play a vampire-queen bitch on TV and I may be a drama queen in real life. But I have a heart."

Before she got too far away, Lori hung up the phone.

"Her mother is still in surgery," she said. "They'll call when she's out."

ADAM WATCHEDSCARLET disappear behind the curtain, his eyes taking in every square inch of her retreating form. He hadn't expected such generosity from the beautiful actress. He'd typecast her as self-centered and shallow based on her looks and persona. He'd been wrong. And he was an ass.

His past experience with stunners like Scarlet had colored his perception. Sure, Angi and a bevy of honky-tonk heartbreakers like her had given him good reason. He'd taken one look at Scarlet with her too-high heels, glossy red lips, and obvious cleavage and lumped her into a category where she didn't belong. It was a classic case of judging a book by its cover before taking time to read the pages within. And there was little doubt he wanted to read Scarlet's pages.

He just couldn't risk it.

"She's something, huh?" Barry Barlow said, sneaking up beside him.

Adam nodded. "I didn't think she would come."

"She's easy on the eyes even without that smokin' hot catsuit and those black boots she wears on TV. If I weren't married..." Barry trailed off, leaving Adam to draw his own conclusions.

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