The Nurse's Pregnancy Miracle Page 9

  Carmen sighed, then said, “Yeah, it’s gotten harder to keep it secret.”

  “At some point it will probably be in your best interests to go public with it.” David shrugged slightly when Carmen threw him a scowl in response to his matter-of-fact statement. “I’m no expert on the press or social media, believe me, but it seems to me they thrive on ferreting out people’s secrets and making a big deal out of them. If you choose to put the news out there, then it won’t have the same impact.”

  “That’s what Milo’s been saying for the last year.”

  Slumped in the corner of the couch, Carmen looked forlorn. Funny how because of her talent and her poise Nychelle had forgotten just how young she really was.

  “I just don’t want the stares and the fuss—or to have it overshadow the music.”

  “It might for a while.” David gave one of his abbreviated smiles. “But Nychelle advises me that you have many dedicated fans, and I’m sure they’ll just want more music, no matter what.”

  “You know my music?”

  Carmen’s expression was skeptical, and Nychelle chuckled. “Yeah, yeah—I know I’m old...”

  Carmen’s stuttering, embarrassed reply just made her laugh harder, and soon David and then, after a few seconds, Carmen joined in.

  * * *

  By the time they left the mansion Carmen seemed in a better frame of mind. As Nychelle drove back toward the clinic David stretched his legs out as far as possible and said, “I think that went well.” Looking at her, he continued, “We make a good team.”

  “Just about now I should probably tell you I’ve been trained to work smoothly with every doctor I come in contact with.” Her lips quirked in a mischievous smile, and there was a twinkle of laughter in the glance she sent him. “But we both know it doesn’t always work out that way.”

  David chuckled, even as his thumb beat an anxious tattoo on his thigh. “Yes, that’s true. I’m just glad we seem to click. I think you did a great job finding out what was going on with Carmen.”

  Nychelle put on her indicator and checked her mirrors. “You did too. So I guess you’re right—we do make a pretty good team.” She sighed. “I feel for her. It’s hard having a disease that you know shortens your life expectancy as well as periodically completely disrupts your life.”

  “That’s true—but sometimes you have to look at the positives too, right? Less than fifty years ago kids with sickle cell rarely lived past their early teens. That’s not the case anymore.”

  “I know. I know... And the new bone marrow transplant treatment is promising. But not for her. She’s an only child, and mixed race, so the chances of her finding a bone marrow match are miniscule.”

  He knew and admired many dedicated doctors and nurses, but Nychelle’s seemingly unending well of knowledge and kindness was touching. Her remark about having a condition of her own had echoed in his head since she’d said it, and although it really was none of his business he had to ask.

  Making his voice as casual as possible, he said, “You’re a wonderful nurse, but I think your greatest asset is actually your empathy. Getting Carmen to talk by opening up about your own life is a good example of that.” When Nychelle didn’t say anything, he went on, “Were you telling the truth about having a medical condition?”

  The car had stopped at a red light, but she didn’t look at him when she replied, “Yes. I wouldn’t make up something like that.”

  Her long, elegant fingers gripped the gearstick hard enough to make her knuckles pale. He should leave it alone. But, try as he might, he couldn’t contain his fascination with the woman beside him, who haunted him even when she wasn’t around. He kept telling himself to stay clear, yet he couldn’t resist the need to know everything he could ferret out about her.

  “So, what kind of condition is it?”

  Nychelle pursed her lips slightly as she put the vehicle in gear and started to drive through the intersection. Then she relaxed, and shot him an impish glance. “Are you telling me you want a long-term intimate relationship with me?”

  Okay.

  The word leaped into his throat and literally froze him to his seat. How easy it would be to say it. And mean it.

  Okay.

  His temperature rose as fantasies of being with Nychelle wound through his head. He imagined silly things, like sharing the Sunday paper in bed, or laughing at a corny joke with her, and it made his heart rate go through the roof. Visualizing other, more important things sent an exciting, erotically charged ache spreading through his veins. Listening to her. Holding her. Making love to her.

  Seeing her grow round with their baby.

  He clenched his teeth as fear shot like ice through his chest, banishing the arousing images. Then his heart clenched with a second jolt of terror.

  Where had that thought come from? Why had it entered his head? Unless it was to remind him how dangerous it would be to get closer to Nychelle? He’d struggled these last few weeks, with memories of Natalie and the time after he’d lost her stronger than they’d been for a long time. Now guilt ate at him for even thinking such a thing.

  David turned his head to stare, unseeing, out the side window, swallowing against the sour taste rising in his throat.

  Nychelle snickered. “Ha! I didn’t think so.”

  Suddenly tired, he battled competing emotions. Guilt and sorrow sat like molten iron in his belly, reminding him that he couldn’t take another chance on love. He’d already had enough pain to last him a lifetime. There was no way he’d chance a repeat of the horrific agony he’d felt after losing Natalie. And yet his chest was tight with fear too.

  Still looking out the window, unable to bear facing her, he asked, “Just tell me this then. Is it life-threatening? Your condition?”

  “No,” she replied, her tone subdued, as though his mood was affecting her. “No, nothing like that.”

  And for a moment, before he resolutely pulled himself together, relief made him literally weak. “Okay. Good. I’m glad to hear it.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  NYCHELLE LEANED BACK in her office chair, her heart pounding a mile a minute, and pressed the cell phone tighter to her ear. She’d been as jumpy as a mouse at a cat convention all afternoon, waiting for a call from Dr. Miller’s office. It had finally come, and now she was waiting for the doctor to pick up on her end. The canned instrumental music was no doubt meant to be soothing, but at that moment it was getting on her last nerve. Perhaps it was just as well the call had come now, when she’d been just about to leave the clinic. She was sure no matter what the news was there’d be tears involved.

  These last few days she’d been on an emotional rollercoaster worse than any she’d ever experienced before. Normally she was good at compartmentalizing her life, keeping work, family and her personal business determinedly separate. That hadn’t worked worth a damn these last forty-eight hours.

  Tuesday morning she’d arrived at Lauderlakes and immediately looked for David’s car in the staff parking lot. When she’d spotted the maroon Audi her heart had seemed about to jump straight out of her chest, and for the rest of the day she’d been on high alert.

  It had been exhausting.

  There was no good reason to be this het-up over him. None at all. Surely it was her imagination that had her skin tingling every time she was around him?

  The frequency of their encounters wasn’t helping. From hardly being aware he existed, it seemed she couldn’t avoid him, and now they were practically living in each other’s pockets. Working together on Doug Comstock’s case and then Carmen’s, sitting on the planning committee for the next health fair—and, of course, going to the gala together.

  Every time she thought about that night, and the kiss they’d shared, she shivered. Yet, there’d been no follow-up to that arousing encounter, so why couldn’t she just forget it and move on?

  Davi
d clearly had.

  And she didn’t want any follow-up, right? There was no place in her life for anything like that right now—none. Even if David was interested, which he obviously wasn’t.

  After she’d got home on Tuesday night she’d given herself another round of pep talks. She had really wished she could confide in Aliya, whom she knew would give her good advice. Unfortunately her cousin was also prone to saying, I told you so, and wouldn’t hesitate to do so if Nychelle told her there was a man she was even slightly attracted to. That was the last thing Nychelle needed.

  In fact, she’d thought, while putting together a salad she really hadn’t wanted to eat, hearing those words at this particular time would no doubt make her burst into tears.

  Nope. Didn’t need it—any of it.

  All she could realistically do was get over this attraction to David, because the alternative scenarios were too horrible to contemplate. If she continued to harbor these ridiculous longings they not only wouldn’t be friends anymore, but even working with him would become impossible too. The problem was, she wasn’t just in lust with him, she was...

  Her mind had gone completely blank and she’d stared down at the greens she’d just tossed with sunflower seeds, cucumber and red peppers.

  You’re what, exactly, Nychelle?

  Her brain hadn’t been inclined to come up with an answer, shying away and contemplating instead what dressing to put on the salad.

  In her mind she’d heard her mother’s voice say, Avoidance, and she’d snorted with irritation. Bad enough to be in this situation, but imagining her mom analyzing her too was ridiculous. Worse was knowing her diagnosis was probably correct. She was ducking thinking about her growing feelings for David, so as not to take the soul-searching to its logical, and no doubt painful, conclusion.

  Sitting at the island, she looked around her home, suddenly lonely in a way she’d never been before within its walls. All the contentment she’d felt just a few short weeks ago seemed to have fled, leaving hollowness behind. Yet she couldn’t allow herself to continue this way. She’d made a choice, and it was a good one. That was what she needed to remind herself whenever she started thinking about David. The Plan was in motion and she had to focus on staying healthy, both physically and emotionally. To do the latter she would just have to keep Dr. Heat discreetly at arm’s length. Not rebuff him altogether. That would be too obvious. Just enjoy his friendship and nothing more.

  Telling herself that a thousand times had finally had her convinced she was being stupid. It wasn’t David causing her emotional upheaval at all. No. Surely these absurd mood swings, the icy dips and somersaults of her stomach, had nothing to do with him. Stressing about him was just a way to escape thinking about whether the IUI had worked. No doubt the uncomfortable physical reactions were actually about waiting for the next round of tests. After all, which was more important? There was no contest. Being pregnant trumped anything David could offer.

  Right?

  The excitement of knowing today was the day she would find out whether the IUI had been successful had buoyed her up all through Wednesday morning. That and her new determination had even allowed her to smile and wave at David in passing, although she hadn’t stopped to talk.

  The joy of anticipation had lasted up until her dash to Dr. Miller’s office at lunchtime, and then quickly faded as she’d waited, none too patiently, to hear from the doctor. Now her stomach fluttered and rolled with nervous dread.

  “Come on. Come on,” she muttered, her hand aching from the strength of her grip on the cell phone.

  As if hearing Nychelle’s entreaty, the phone clicked and the music stopped, to be replaced by Dr. Miller’s voice.

  “Nychelle. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

  And just from the other woman’s tone Nychelle knew what the OB/GYN would say next.

  * * *

  David paused at the corridor leading to Nychelle’s office, wondering if she was still at work or had already left for the day.

  He really wanted to see her.

  Which annoyed the hell out of him.

  Equally annoying was knowing there was no way to avoid this encounter. Carmen Fitzpatrick’s test results were back and they needed to confer. With them both being tasked with her care, a case conference was inevitable.

  He could have sent a message, asking her to come to his office, but he’d put it off all day and finally, when he hadn’t been able to avoid it anymore, he’d accessed the staff schedule online to see if she might still be around. According to that, her last patient had been forty-five minutes ago. Hopefully she was finished with the appointment, but maybe was still writing up her notes.

  Decision made, he strode down the corridor, refusing to acknowledge the way his heart raced or the tension building at his nape. When he got to the waiting area outside of Nychelle’s office he was glad to find just one medical assistant there, packing up her bag.

  Lena looked up, and her eyebrows rose briefly in obvious surprise. “Dr. Warmington.” She smiled, but it was a questioning smile rather than a friendly one. “What can I do for you?”

  “Is Nurse Cory still around, Lena?” He held up the file in his hand.

  The medical assistant’s eyebrows dipped momentarily and she shot a quick glance at her watch as she replied, “She’s still in her office, Doctor. Do you want me to ring through and ask if she’s available?”

  “That’s okay.”

  At David’s words Lena’s hand fell back to her side, but not before she’d snuck another peek at her watch. Ah, yes. Lena was getting married in a few weeks. He remembered hearing her telling some of the nurses in the staff cafeteria.

  Giving the woman a smile, he said, “You look like you have somewhere to be. Don’t let me hold you up. I’ll just knock and see if she has time to talk to me.”

  Lena grinned, her face lighting up as she grabbed her bag. “Thank you, Doctor. Have a good evening.”

  David watched her walk away, then stepped over to Nychelle’s door. Hand poised to knock, he paused and took a deep breath, his heart rate going into overdrive. His reaction to her infuriated him, made him determined to, once and for all, get past it.

  They were colleagues—nothing else.

  They would never be anything else. He wouldn’t let them be.

  With another deep breath, he rapped on the door and then, responding to the muffled reply from inside, unlatched it and pushed it open.

  Nychelle was looking out of the window when David stepped through the door, and something about her posture arrested his forward momentum. She was so still she hardly seemed to be breathing and, judging from her reflection in the glass, her usually expressive face was blank. The heat of his resolve bled away, was replaced by a cold spike of surprise.

  “Nychelle?” He said her name softly as he stepped completely into the room and closed the door behind him.

  She turned to look at him, but the movement was stiff and her eyes were blank, slightly glazed, as though with shock. Did she even know he was there?

  It only took a couple of strides to get to her side, to reach out and touch her face. Warmth bloomed beneath his fingers as she leaned her cheek into his palm and closed her eyes. Her face relaxed, and the slight tilt of her lips was beatific. She’d never looked more beautiful, and David’s heart stuttered.

  He’d come into her office wanting to get her off his mind, to get over the crazy attraction he’d felt. Seeing her like that, leaning so trustingly into his hand, he realized it would probably never happen. If anything, his feelings would only deepen.

  But giving in to them would lead him back down a path he refused to traverse again. Down that road lay the giving of his heart to another, risking the devastation he’d lived through once before and couldn’t imagine surviving again.

  The coldness in his belly flooded through him, invading his limbs, making his che
st tighten almost sickeningly. Yet although he wanted to step back, he forced himself to stay where he was, concern for Nychelle somehow still foremost in his mind.

  Swallowing, he found the wherewithal to ask, “Nychelle, are you okay? What’s happened?”

  Her eyelids fluttered and then opened. The glow in her eyes made his heart contract again, but she just shook her head and stepped back. Disappointment making him frown, David let his hand fall back to his side, instead of using it to pull her close the way he wanted to.

  “Don’t shake your head at me.” It was little better than a growl, but he couldn’t stop the way annoyance had tightened his throat. “There’s something going on. Tell me.”

  Her eyes widened momentarily, her eyebrows rising, no doubt at his demanding tone. Yet her voice was soft and calm when she replied, “I just got some good news.” She lifted her hand, as though to forestall whatever he might say next. “I’m not going to share it. Sorry.”

  It wasn’t his place to demand that she tell him, and he had no reason to believe she would feel inclined to tell him even if he did demand it, but he had to swallow again so as not to do exactly that. He scowled at her, torn, and for some reason that made her laugh.

  “Thank you,” she said, stepping back, still smiling.

  “For what?”

  She gave a little shrug. “For being here at this exact moment.”

  Confused, he shook his head. “Share your news and I’ll celebrate with you.”

  With a chuckle she shook her head again, taking another step back as she did so. “I can’t. But I’m happy you were the one I almost spilled the beans to.”

  The radiance of her face, the memories of the trusting way she’d leaned on him and the softness of her smile overcame all his defenses. Something inside him gave way, collapsed, and then was incinerated in a wave of desire so intense it was irresistible.