His Leading Lady Page 8

  Claudia’s smile was slow and filled with a motherly pride. “Yes, you definitely do. And I think it’s brave of you to face rejection, all in the name of love—”

  “Uh-uh, I didn’t say love,” he interjected.

  She ignored him. “So what are you going to do now?”

  He inhaled deeply as he thought it over and let the air out in a sigh. “I guess I have to find my runaway coordinator.”

  * * * *

  That was easier said than done. He tried knocking on her apartment door five different times throughout the evening but if she was home, she wasn’t answering. He tried texting and calling—but it was like shouting into a void. She’d gone underground.

  His last hope was lying in a hospital bed. He showed up, flowers in hand, the next day during a break in his rounds.

  “Doctor Handsome,” she called out when she spotted him. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? I’m starting to think they’re never going to let me out of this place.”

  “It’s for your own good,” he said. “I’m sure your doctor just wants to make sure you’re a hundred percent before sending you home.”

  She waved off the comment with a “yeah, yeah” that told him he was saying what she’d already heard a hundred times before.

  Smiling up at him, she asked, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “I wanted to see how my favorite card player is doing.” She was laughing as he walked in, giving him a knowing smile.

  “What did she do this time? Don’t tell me she’s still avoiding your calls.”

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Worse I’m afraid. She ran away from me.” After he recounted the incident at Alice’s office the day before, Ena let out a low whistle. “Oh boy, that girl has got it bad.”

  He blinked. “Excuse me?”

  Shaking her head, she laughed softly. “I can’t tell you how to make things right with our prickly little friend, but I can tell you this—I know exactly where she’ll be tonight if you still want to try.”

  Chapter 5

  Alice stood on the sidelines, trying to revel in her success despite the fact that the hollow, frozen pit in her chest had been replaced by a burning misery. She’d take that numbness over this pain any day of the week.

  With a forced smile, she took in the crowd around her in their period-piece costumes. The invitations to the gala had made it clear that guests were to dress up as an old movie star or their favorite classic character, and some of them had gone above and beyond.

  The theater looked perfect, the attendance phenomenal—she’d even spotted the legendary playboy billionaire Gregory Blanchard wandering around looking like a matinee idol in an old-school tux. This party was officially a success.

  Even shy Tamara, looking eerily like Veronica Lake, seemed to be having a great time, with her roommate Marc at her side. She’d lost sight of Caitlyn, but she’d seemed to be holding up pretty well when they’d talked earlier, considering the fact that she was nursing a broken heart. Maybe this party was exactly what her friend needed.

  Yes, because this party was doing such a stellar job of keeping you distracted. You’ve only replayed the wretched incident at the office, what—a thousand times since you’ve arrived?

  She shoved aside the caustic inner commentary. That was different. She wasn’t nursing a heartbreak, but dealing with a professional nightmare. Of course she couldn’t just brush that aside.

  Her face ached from smiling. Only a few more hours and she could get out of there, put on her comfy pajamas, and curl up in front of a good old movie.

  She bit the inside of her cheek to keep a groan in as she smiled and waved to Meg and Jake, who were passing by on the other side of the lobby.

  What had she done? The panicky voice she’d been trying to silence all day came back with a vengeance. She saw Meg still eyeing her, concern written all over her face, and she forced her smile up a notch. All is well. Nothing to see here. It’s not like I just threw away the opportunity of my dreams in a moment of insanity.

  Maybe she could still salvage this situation. If she could talk to Dixon, make him see that she would be better suited to another project…that was near and dear to Mr. Jamison’s heart. Yeah, because those came along every other day.

  Maybe she could convince Nicholas to step away from the project. He was a busy doctor doing busy doctor things. Surely he didn’t care all that much about a fundraiser…even if it was for children in need…and even if he was a pediatric surgeon.

  Dammit, why did everything about him have to be so…so…nice. It was hard to dislike a guy who spent his days saving kids’ lives. But then add the fact that he not only accepted her horribly rude behavior, but still pursued her anyway…. Who did that? And then he’d smiled at her at the office, like he’d actually been happy to see her.

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  She turned to find Meg at her elbow, hovering beside her.

  “Nothing. Why?”

  Her older sister knew her too well. Meg’s eyes were narrowed in on her. “I’m worried about you. You’ve been acting weird lately.”

  Alice sighed a little too loudly, judging by the looks they got from a passing couple dressed as Clark Gable and Carol Lombard. “I’m fine.”

  “You’ve been saying that for days now, and I don’t believe you. What’s up?”

  She looked at her sister. “You’re the one we should be worried about. Haven’t you had that baby yet? What has it been, eleven months? Get that thing out of there already.”

  Meg ignored her teasing. Really, her sister’s sense of humor had been less and less forgiving the bigger she’d gotten these last few months—particularly when it came to her size.

  “I won’t be distracted—you’ve been avoiding talking about what’s bothering you for too long.” Meg crossed her arms over her chest. “Spill it.”

  For a moment, she considered telling Meg everything. Well you see there this guy, and he’s amazing… And he saw me cry! Yeah, no. Meg would never understand. Though they’d grown up in the same broken, toxic home, as they’d grown older it had become rapidly apparent that the sisters had wildly different takeaways from the experience.

  Meg had gone off to college desperate to find the kind of stability and home life she’d never had growing up. And she’d succeeded almost instantly when she’d met Jake her freshman year of college, and had surrounded herself with her close-knit group of friends like Caitlyn, Tamara, and Marc. And now, with the baby on the way, she had it all—the family she deserved. The stability and normalcy she’d always craved.

  But Alice had learned a different lesson way back when. She’d left their broken home knowing that she would never make her mother’s mistakes. There was no way she’d do what she’d done—fall for every guy she met, make herself vulnerable, and hang it all out there, just waiting to get her heart stomped on. What had that done for her mother? Left her crushed and broken and unable to take care of her daughters. That was not the life for Alice. She had a career, friends, and a family in Meg, Jake, and her soon-to-be-born niece. She didn’t need a man and she sure as hell didn’t need love.

  So Nicholas had gotten past her defenses somehow. She could salvage this situation because, when it came down to it, she was strong and she knew what she wanted. The promotion.

  Meg was still watching her with so much concern that it flooded Alice with guilt. Shit, she hadn’t meant to make her sister worry. So rather than delve into the whole story, she said, “It’s a work thing.”

  Meg’s eyes narrowed in a look she knew well—she was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. Well, she was. Just not the whole thing.

  “You didn’t get the promotion that you wanted?” she asked.

  Alice tilted her chin up. “Not yet.” But she would—Nicholas be damned. She was smart and savvy, and she deserved this. For the first time all night some of the tension eased out of her. Yes, she’d made a mess of things in
the office, but it wasn’t too late to fix this.

  She would take on the hospital event and prove herself to Mr. Jamison and there was no way in hell she’d let some guy get in the way of that.

  Meg was looking past her toward the door. “Do you know that guy?”

  Alice turned and froze, her breath rushing out of her lungs. Nicholas was standing just inside the doorway, scanning the crowd. Dressed in his hospital scrubs, he looked ridiculously out of place…and hot. A good foot taller than those around him, he looked like an Adonis come down to reign over mortal men.

  She shook her head at the fantasy. Stupid, Alice. Nicholas is here, and he’s obviously looking for you—deal with it.

  But her feet refused to move, and she found herself staring, lips parted for much-needed air. Something had her frozen in place. Fear, a voice whispered. No, that wasn’t it. Of course it wasn’t. It was just that he had an effect of her, which was…unusual.

  “Are you okay?” Meg asked. “Do you know that doctor?”

  Meg’s familiar voice was the dose of reality she needed to break the spell.

  What had she just been telling herself? That she could deal with this man. He would not get in the way of her success. This was a test—he was a test—but she’d never failed before, and she sure as hell wouldn’t fail this time.

  She took a deep breath and gave Meg a reassuring smile. “Fine. Just fine. I’ll go deal with this guy.”

  Nicholas spotted her as she was walking toward him, her face set in a grim expression. So why the hell did his eyes light up? And why was he grinning at her like that…like he was happy to see her?

  Maybe the man was an idiot—a glutton for punishment. Doctor or not, he clearly wasn’t in his right mind.

  “How did you find me?” It was hard to keep her voice cold and her expression severe when he was giving her that charming smile—like she was the best thing he’d ever seen and not some nasty shrew who’d kicked him out of her apartment and then run away from her own office like a lunatic.

  “Ena told me I might be able to find you here,” he said.

  Ena. Alice’s hands clenched at her sides at her friend’s betrayal. No, not betrayal—Ena probably thought she was doing her a favor by sending the hunky doc her way. She never could get it through her stubborn head that she wasn’t looking for love…or a husband—the two things Ena seemed to think made the world go round.

  “That doesn’t explain why you’re here,” she said.

  His smile never faded despite her less than enthusiastic reception. She wasn’t even entirely sure he’d heard her. He seemed to be too distracted by her outfit to respond. His eyes moved over her body, taking in her auburn hair, which she’d styled in waves around her shoulders, and the form-fitting black satin strapless dress and long black gloves. The way his eyes darkened as they touched on every curve had her traitorous memory flashing back to their night together—to the way his hands have moved over her, relentless and tender at the same time.

  “Are you an old movie buff, or is this part of the job?”

  His words brought her back to the present, but she ignored the question. There was no way she was going to chit chat with this man about her very passionate—and very private—love of old movies. “What are you doing here?” she asked again.

  He took a step toward her and she had to force herself to stand still and not back away. Or worse, run away. Again.

  His voice was so low she nearly couldn’t hear him over the crowd talking around them. “I thought we should talk about what happened yesterday.”

  She pressed her lips together in annoyance as a stubborn childish voice protested. Why did they have to talk about it? She didn’t want to deal with him or work or anything else.

  But that was immature, and worse, it would do nothing to rectify the situation at work. Hadn’t she just convinced herself that she needed to deal with this situation so she didn’t throw her promotion opportunity out the window?

  She drew in a deep breath. This was her chance. Now was the time.

  Taking him by the arm, she steered him toward the theater’s entrance. She didn’t need her sister or one of her curious friends coming over to meet the hot stranger when they were in the middle of talking business. And she’d spotted enough curious looks from Meg to know it was only a matter of time before she pounced.

  He followed her lead, and it wasn’t until they were out in the cold night air, that he stopped and turned to face her with a look of amusement. “Embarrassed to be seen with me?”

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she drew in a deep breath to start talking, but was distracted by the sudden change in his expression. Gone was the amusement, and in its place was something darker…hotter. His eyes were fixed on her breasts and she looked down to see that her arm-cross move combined with her strapless gown had her breasts nearly spilling over, giving him an eyeful.

  She dropped her arms and his gaze shot back up to her face, his face flushed—though whether from embarrassment at having been caught or from desire, she couldn’t tell. Telltale heat crept into her own cheeks at her lapse in poise. Dammit, she did not blush. Or at least she hadn’t until this guy came along.

  Straightening her shoulders, she told herself to shake it off. So she seemed to have a tendency to humiliate herself in front of this man—so what? He would soon be out of her life for good.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” she started. She was about to finish with “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the fundraiser,” but before she could get the words out, she saw his lips twitch with barely concealed amusement.

  “Really? You have a funny way of showing it.”

  He was right, of course. She’d been a bitch—not just when he showed up at the party but more often than not since the moment they’d met. Come to think of it, when she wasn’t being a bitch, she was being a basket case or throwing herself at him like some sex-crazed fiend. So why was he being so nice? And why did he keep calling her, and smiling at her, and—

  “You were saying,” he prompted. Was it her imagination, or was he struggling not to laugh. At her. No one laughed at her. Well, no one who wasn’t her sister or a close friend.

  She cleared her throat and started again. “I’m glad you’re here. We need to talk about how we’re going to handle this fundraiser situation.”

  He outright laughed then, his blue eyes lit up with amusement as he gazed down at her. “Situation?” He drew the word out, making it sound ridiculous.

  “Yes,” she said through gritted teeth. “Obviously we can’t work together—”

  “Why not?” Some of the amusement had faded, but his new intensity was no better.

  She opened her mouth to respond but couldn’t summon up the words. Why not? Because you make me uncomfortable. Because you were supposed to be a one-night stand. Because you saw me cry!

  But she couldn’t admit to any of that, so she stood there mute, trying to think of a good reason. She saw the concern in his eyes, and it made her stiffen. He took a step toward her, reaching out a hand to touch her arm. “I’d like to work with you on this fundraiser,” he said, his voice so soft and gentle it nearly brought tears to her eyes. God, what was it with this man and his direct effect on her tear ducts?

  And every other part of her body. The light touch of his hand on her arm had her stomach muscles tightening, partly with the need to run away but with something else, too. Blood rushed to her head, clouding her mind, and heat pooled low in her belly, making her ache. She was acutely aware of his nearness, as if his body was emitting a gravitational pull. How was it possible that she was getting turned on by the most harmless touch imaginable?

  Jerking her arm away from his hand she took a quick step back and was relieved when he stayed where he was, giving her space.

  “Look, Nicholas, I’m sure you’re a nice guy and all but I don’t mix business with pleasure.” There. That sounded good. Logical, even. “This fundraiser is impor
tant to me. Very important. Perhaps there’s someone else at the hospital I could work with—”

  “It’s important to me, too,” he cut in. “Not only am I passionate about the clinic and its mission, but it’s crucial for the next step in my career.” He ran a hand through his perfect hair. “I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am at the hospital, but I need to get this clinic off the ground if I’m going to prove I can lead a unit of my own.”

  Somehow that blindsided her. While she knew he was a doctor, obviously, it hadn’t occurred to her that he—or anyone, really—could be as career-driven as she was. She tended to assume that it all came so much easier to other people. It always seemed to from where she was standing.

  “Me, too,” she blurted out and then instantly regretted the admission. She did not need this man knowing any more about her life. But he was watching her, waiting for her to explain her stupid remark so she hurriedly added, “I mean this is a big opportunity for me to prove that I deserve a promotion.”

  He studied her for a moment, his expression unreadable. “Well then, why don’t we just work together?”

  Her stomach fell. No! That was not the answer. She managed to keep silent, but he must have read the horror in her eyes because he quickly added, “We’re both adults. And professionals. I think we can manage to put aside whatever awkwardness might be between us to get the job done.”

  He tilted his head down so he was a little closer to eye level. “Don’t you think?”

  What the hell was she supposed to say to that? No, I don’t think I can be mature enough to work with you. I can’t look at you without remembering what you looked like naked. That memory was enough to make her pant for air as lust took control of her body and mind.

  Shit. If he could get over it so easily, so could she. Right?

  They were both distracted by the sound of someone running toward them. Only when the runner reached the glowing lights of the theater’s marquee did she recognize who it was. Ben.