Page 8 of Caleb
He walks towards me, a tense, professional look on his face.
You’d think I’d be too distracted to notice how sexy he is, but even now, even while I’m fearing for my brother's life, I can’t help but admire his god-like physique.
Those huge, bulging arms which threaten to rip out from his white coat. Those intense green eyes that make my body hum. The memory of his hands on my breasts and his tongue in my mouth has my mouth watering.
“What’s happened?” I say. “Where’s Jake?”
He nods for me to follow him. I walk along beside him, nurses and doctors parting as we hurry along the corridor. “It’s just an infection,” he says. “We've put him on a course of antibiotics. He’ll be fine in a day or two. It’s really nothing to worry about. But we’re going to need to keep him overnight this time. For his own safety.”
“Overnight?” I stop in my tracks. “You know I can’t afford that!”
He grabs me by the elbow and pulls me into an empty room. “I can help,” he says, keeping his voice low. “I’ll pay for his stay here. It’s all my fault anyway. I should never have let him out the first time.”
“Oh, no!” I pull my arm away from him and tap my foot angrily. “I’m not some charity case, Dr. Caleb. You can’t just come around to my house and kiss me, and then not talk to me for a whole week, and then expect me to accept your money. Like I’m some cheap hussy. I may not be rich, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look after my own brother!”
“I didn’t mean…”
“I know exactly what you meant!” I’m yelling at him now. Letting out all the frustration that’s been building up in me ever since he told me he’d be back, but never was. All those lonely nights wondering why he hadn’t called. Wondering why he hadn’t bothered to get in touch. Hating myself for being such a fool. To think a man like this would ever be interested in a woman like me. Some poor, down on her luck girl half his age with enough baggage to weigh down a whole caravan of camels. “You thought you could have your way with me, and then forget I ever existed. You didn’t think you’d see me again. Didn’t think it would be a problem! But now… I don’t know what. Maybe you're guilty. Maybe you’re trying to cover your tracks. Hoping I won’t get you in trouble with the hospital and make you lose your job. Well, you don’t have to worry about any of that. I have much bigger things to worry about than a big, sexy doctor who thought they’d get themselves a bit of chubby ass on the side. I’ll pay your damn hospital bills. If that’s what needs to be done, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.” Tears are running down my cheek like it’s the frigging Niagra Falls. “Now take me to my brother, Dr. Caleb. He needs me.”
6
Dr. Caleb
“Just give me a second, Naomi.”I try to take her hand, but she pulls away from me like my skin is covered in poison. The hurt in her eyes is almost palpable. Like it’s reaching out and grabbing my heart around its fingers, squeezing so tight I can hardly breathe. “I’m not offering to pay the hospital bills because I don’t want to get in trouble. And I’m not doing it to assuage my guilt. I don’t have anything to feel guilty about.”
She shoots me a look that could cut glass. “Okay,” I admit. “I should have called you. I should have found a way to get in touch. But, I’ve been busy! I’m a doctor, for God’s sake. I’ve been here at the hospital the whole time. Working my ass off. And yes, that’s not an excuse. And yes, it sounds totally fucking lame hearing it come out of my mouth. But it’s the truth. And I’ll tell you another thing… every break I’ve had. Every moment where the job has felt so overwhelming I just wanted to curl up in a ball and close my eyes and wish my patient wasn’t quite so ill or quite so injured and that their parents or their loved ones weren’t struggling quite so much, I’ve closed my eyes, and I’ve thought about you. You’ve been the light at the end of the tunnel. And I realize I’ve treated you badly. But that wasn’t my intent. In fact, it’s the last thing I wanted to do. But, I’d get home and I’d fall in my bed and I’d be asleep before I even had a chance to take my clothes off. I’d wake up to the sound of my alarm, my eyes red and bleary and I’d tell myself that when I get the chance I’d phone you and talk to you and I’d tell you how much I’m thinking about you. I’d ask you out on a date. A proper date. Not just a slice of delicious pie in your living room. But somewhere nice. Somewhere with waiters in crisp black suits and foreign accents and food so delicious it makes life itself worth living.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. She’s looking at me now. Finally. But I can tell from the look in her eyes that she’s struggling to believe me.
“All I hear is excuses,” she says, “and like you can see, I’ve got enough on my plate as it is.”
I take a step closer and this time she doesn’t back away. “Please, Naomi, just give me a chance. I need you, too.”
“Ha!” She tilts her head back, but instead of stepping away, she takes a step closer. “It’s all just words.”
I take her cheek in my hand and wipe away the tears with my thumb. “Words are all I have right now. But I’ll back them up. I’ll show you how much I care.”
“But we’ve only just met?” Her voice is small and nervous, like a cute little mouse trying to steal the cheese from a broken trap. Hesitant, yet eager. Full of hope, but not ignorant of the pain it's suffered in the past. “How can you say all these things when we hardly know each other?”
“You’re right,” I admit. “It’s crazy. But sometimes you just know. Call it love at first sight. Call it fate. Destiny. Call it whatever you want. All I know is, the moment our lips collided my life changed forever. You’re my soulmate, Naomi. Don’t tell me you don’t feel it, too. Don’t tell me that wasn’t the best goddamn kiss you’ve ever had.”
She lets out a little giggle. Music to my ears. Her front teeth nibble on her bottom lip. Our eyes meet. Time slows down.
“It was a pretty good kiss,” she whispers.
“The best kiss you’ve ever had,” I say again.
She squeezes the bridge of her nose. “This is mad. I must be going insane! You can’t possibly mean it. You can’t possibly love me.”
I kiss the side of her face. Inhaling her delicious perfume. “Why is that so hard to believe? You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman. You’re intelligent. Fiesty. You don’t back down. You look after your brothers like it's the most important thing in the world. You want the best for them, and you’re willing to sacrifice anything to give it to them. Not only that, but you’re trying to improve your life. You’re studying to become a nurse. A terrible, difficult, wonderful profession. Full of pain and suffering and love and a job that you’ll be amazing at. Not once have I heard you complain. About your father, who’s always away from home.” I lower my voice to just above a whisper. “About your mother, and her illness.
“You’re strong, Naomi. You’re strong, and you’re beautiful and I want you so bad it’s killing me.”
She grabs the hair behind my head and pulls my lips to her mouth. I pick her up and carry her to the bed. She opens her legs, wrapping them around my hips as we kiss.
“I want you, too,” she groans. “But not here.”
“Yes.” I pull away, holding both her hands and smiling like a little boy who’s just hit his first home run.
