“Dr Collins is fine. Fine!” Noah yelled out. “Dr Collins is fine.” The last time was spoken quietly, almost to himself.
The security guard buzzed in again. “Alright, we’ll let you know when the technicians get here.”
Lisa looked at Noah. He’d stopped his pacing and had sat down. He was resting his head against the metal back wall. His eyes were closed and his lips were moving silently. Well at least that was a good thing.
“If you’d let me say something, we could’ve gotten out of here a lot quicker.” Lisa commented as she tapped her fingers on the button panel.
“It’s not a medical emergency.” It sounded like the words were spoken through clenched teeth.
“True, but I can tell you’re struggling being in a confined space.”
“I’m perfectly all right, Nurse Wheeler,” he ground out.
Well okay then, they were back to being all formal with each other. She could get on board with that.
“Fine, Dr Collins, go right ahead and deny you’re anything but fine,” she retorted and walked back to where Noah was, sitting down next to him. Clearly, he still wasn’t going to admit to her that he suffered from claustrophobia.
This was going to be the longest shift ever.
The metal floor was cold and hard beneath her butt. She lasted a few minutes before she wiggled a bit trying to get more comfortable. It didn’t help.
“Here take this.” A rustling sound had her turning her head and she saw that Noah had taken off his white doctor’s coat and was folding it up so that she had a makeshift cushion to sit on. The action left him in only his scrubs, like her. His scrub shirt stretched across his muscles enticingly. The action was the last thing she expected from him in his present state of mind. It was such a gentlemanly gesture and it surprised her that he was conscious of her discomfort. Wasn’t he worried it was going to get all grungy?
“Thanks.”
Their hands touched as he passed his coat to her, the slight tremor radiated from Noah through to her. She wanted the touch to linger. To let him know everything was going to be all right. He was going to be fine. They were going to be fine. What would he do if she did say that to him? Now probably wasn’t the time to try and test those waters.
Resting her head back against the wall, Lisa closed her eyes, mimicking how Noah was sitting. The floor was shaking beneath her. She cracked her eye open and noticed Noah was tapping his foot again. Maybe it would be best to get him talking, take his mind off the confinement with simple conversation.
“Tell me—?”
“Do you have—?”
They both chuckled and it seemed to diffuse a little of the tension that had sprung up between them.
“You first,” she said.
“I was uh—” he cleared his throat, took a deep breath and stilled the foot tapping, but clenched his hands together on his lap before unclenching them. His shoulders relaxed fractionally when he let the breath out. “I was going to ask you what made you decide to become a nurse?”
Not the question she’d been expecting. He kept surprising her. Showing a different, deeper side to him, other than the flirty and self-assured one that always seemed to be an innate part of him and on display for all to see. Was this the real Noah she was seeing? Or was it just because they were in a confined space and he was trying to divert her attention away from his claustrophobia?
Lisa pushed the ridiculous thought aside. He’d be back to his usual flirtatious self in no time. “I’ve always wanted to help people. I started babysitting when I was about eleven, and didn’t even mind it if kids threw up on me. I volunteered at one of the local day care centers helping the younger kids learn their ABC’s and colors every break from school I had. I did think about being a teacher for a while.” She paused and plucked at her scrub pants.
“So, how’d you switch to nursing instead?”
Lisa turned to look at Noah. She took a few moments to check if he was calming down at all. His breathing seemed more even, his hands were loosely clasped in his lap and legs were stretched out in front of him, feet crossed at the ankles.
“It’s not that interesting of a story. Are you sure you want to hear about it?” she asked.
She didn’t know what to do when Noah took hold of her hand, rubbing his thumb gently over the top of her fingers. “Yes, I do.”
White noise filled her ears as her skin flared to life and her blood warmed beneath his soft caress. Never in a million years had she ever thought she’d be this close to Noah Collins.
“Please, Lisa. It’s helping me,” he finished quietly, his first acknowledgement that he was uncomfortable. Not an outright admission of what he was truly going through, but it was close enough.
Finally, there were getting somewhere.
4
Hearing Lisa speak was doing exactly what he’d told her—calming him down. If he didn’t think too much he could almost believe they were having this conversation in a quiet office. Not suspended in tin box surrounded by a cement shaft, where any second the cable could break and they’d plummet to the ground, their bodies smashed to smithereens.
Great, now his heartrate was ratcheting up fifty notches and his anxiety was about to burst out of him.
“When I was fourteen I broke my ankle playing field hockey. It was pretty bad, and I had to have surgery to pin it. I was supposed to be in hospital for a week max. Then I developed a blood infection so I ended up staying for a couple more weeks.” Lisa started talking again and he concentrated on the modulation of her voice. The slight huskiness to it and he wondered if it would deepen when she was in the throes of passion. His dick twitched against his scrub pants and he shifted so she couldn’t see the affect she was having on him.
She shook her head and smiled as if the memory of her hospital stay was a good one and not traumatic. “I was going stir crazy and the nurses were amazing. They kept me occupied when I was bored. Always had a friendly smile and were so cool under pressure when they had to deal with some emergency on the ward. There were a lot of kids there who were really sick, if you know what I mean.
“That was the toughest thing about my stay. Seeing those kids so sick with cancer, knowing that some of them wouldn’t be able to go home, but I would. The nurses always made them smile and forget for a little while the pain they were in.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Anyway, after I was discharged, I knew then that being a nurse was what I wanted to do. But to fulfill the small part of me that wanted to be a teacher, I now volunteer at a local rec center working with dyslexic kids. I help them read and it’s pretty rewarding.” She finished off quietly.
“There is more to you than meets the eye, Lisa Wheeler. I like what I see.” He shouldn’t have been surprised to hear her reasons for going into nursing. The few times they’d worked on patients, he’d been impressed with her calmness, compassion and competency. It was clear, like him, she loved her job.
Noah resisted the urge to wrap his free arm around her shoulder and pull her closer to him. He had no idea if she returned his attraction. Wouldn’t that be the icing on the cake? He finally found a woman who he could imagine a future with, even if it would mean breaking his self-imposed rule, and she wasn’t interested in him at all.
At least talking was keeping his anxiety in check.
Lisa ducked her head, he caught a faint pinkness in her cheeks. “How about you?” she asked, as if she wanted to divert the attention off her and back onto him. “Did you become a doctor to follow in your Dad’s footsteps?”
Everything always led back to his dad. “You know who my father is. Tell me, do you think I had a choice in the matter?” He abruptly let go of her hand and folded his arms across his chest. Where he was once relaxed only moments ago, tension returned, turning his muscles into steel poles. It was impossible to keep the anger out of his voice. No matter how hard he tried, talk of his father always struck a nerve with him.
The chances of Lisa running into his father in the ER was slim. H
e could recall on one occasion when she’d been working when his father had begrudgingly given a surgical consultation. Noah had stood and watched while his father made it clear to everyone within hearing vicinity, that Dr Aaron Collins didn’t give consultations in the Emergency Department. He was only to do it as a favor to his son, a son he was extremely proud of. His father had made sure everyone knew who he was. Working the rest of that shift had been a nightmare and having to face his colleagues the next day had been difficult, but Noah had done it and everyone appeared to have forgotten the scene his father had made. But Noah never had. He made sure never to ask his father for a surgical consult ever again.
“Well, you certainly walk around the ER as if you own the world,” Lisa said wryly. “I guess I figured you enjoyed the notoriety being the son of Perth’s leading surgeon.”
“Oh, great. So everyone thinks I’m this shallow jerk who just basks in the shadow of my father’s successes? That I do nothing?” He groaned. Had he done that? Had he walked around like he owned the world. Was that why, after his father’s boasting, everyone had acted like it hadn’t happened? He worked his ass off every shift. Did no one see that? “This day is getting better and better. Thanks for letting me know.”
Maybe the time had come to look for another job. There were plenty of other hospitals he could work at. Sure, most would be aware of his father’s reputation, but at least he wouldn’t be in the same building as the man.
Embarrassment washed over Lisa. When Noah said it like that she did make him sound like he didn’t lift a finger in the ER. She knew how wrong that was. She’d may not have worked with him on a regular basis but when she had, he worked as hard or maybe harder than some of the other doctors on staff. Was he trying to prove to everyone he was more than his father’s son? With the way he spoke, it certainly sounded like it.
“No, they don’t, and I definitely don’t. You work harder than most every single shift. I’m sorry for what I said, it wasn’t very nice of me.” She held out her hand towards him. “Forgive me?”
For a few seconds Noah just looked at her hand and she wondered if he was going to leave her hanging. He took her hand and gave it a brief shake. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
Noah was being generous, she’d been bitchy again with him. He really didn’t deserve her attitude. “Thank you.”
An awkward silence fell around them. She knew she was to blame for it and so she needed to fix it. Lisa still wanted to know if he’d only became a doctor because of his father.
“Can I ask you another question?” Lisa wiped away a speck of dirt of her pants.
“Sure.”
“Do you regret becoming a doctor?”
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, giving it the sexy, just-out-of-bed look. “No, I love it. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
“Really? It sounded like it wasn’t your first choice in vocation and you were forced into being a doctor.”
“Well yes, my father always pushed for me to go into medicine. I was reluctant, at first, because of what people would think and expect of me. But after my first year in med school, I was shocked to find I really enjoyed it. There’s a definite rush to know your knowledge can save so many lives.” He shook his head ruefully. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t love it as much as I do, though. Feels like my father got the last word. Again.”
Lisa couldn’t imagine what it would’ve been like to have that sort of expectation on her shoulders. Her parents were middle-class citizens, who worked hard for their kids and were rewarded when they all got into university and completed their courses. Her two brothers were on their way to making a name for themselves in the property development market and she was now a nurse.
Her parents’ expectations had been for her and her brothers to try their best and whatever the outcome or whatever career path they chose to follow, they would always have their parents unconditional love and support.
Did Noah have that with his father? Or was his father’s love conditional on him being a doctor and, eventually, a surgeon? With Noah being an only child that had to make the pressure even worse. At least she had her two brothers to take the heat off her.
“I’m sure he doesn’t think that way,” she said, trying to reassure him, when she wasn’t in a position to make those sorts of reassurances.
“Of course he does,” Noah scoffed. “My dad wants me to be a surgeon, but I like the excitement and buzz of the ER. I’m still in his bad books for not doing a surgical residency. But he’ll get over it.” He shrugged. “I’m his only son. His only child. Eventually he’ll realize I’m right.”
They both laughed, and Lisa looked at Noah with new eyes. Perhaps he really wasn’t a bad guy after all. The pressure his father put on him must be hard to deal with, but Noah seemed to face it head on and stomp it into the ground.
“What about your family, are they proud of having a nurse in their midst?” Noah asked.
“Yeah they’re really proud. Mum is always boasting to her friends that I graduated top of my class. Dad doesn’t say much, but I know he cried at my graduation ceremony. As for my brothers, well they’re busy building up their own business, but they paid for me to go on a trip after I graduated and before I started working here.”
“Sounds like a close-knit family. I’m envious.”
“I know I’m lucky. But regardless of what you think, I have no doubt that your family is proud of what you’ve achieved.”
“Maybe.” Noah fidgeted, she guessed his butt was going numb like hers was, even with the extra padding from his jacket. “Seeing as we’re sharing our deep dark secrets, can I ask you something else?”
Her stomach leapt up her throat before quickly falling again. For some reason, his request set her nerve endings on high alert.
“Umm sure.”
Noah leaned a little closer to her, invading her personal space. “Well…” His voice dropped an octave lower, and the sexy tone feathered down her spine, melting her resolve to not give into her attraction to him even further. “What I really wanted to ask earlier was, why a beautiful girl like you doesn’t have a date on Valentine’s Day.”
5
What the what? Did he just call her beautiful? His anxiety must be getting the better of him.
Lisa swiveled so that she could look directly at Noah. The movement brought her almost nose-to-nose with him.
Her mouth dried. She’d always noticed what green eyes he had. Up close, they almost glowed, even in the dull elevator lighting. His nose was straight and patrician, and his lips were full and only inches from hers. Lisa had always thought he was handsome, but this close, he was really breathtaking.
And she had to be dreaming to think he would be interested in her: a first-year nurse from a middle-class family, when he no doubt had his pick of the daughters from society’s finest all clamoring to date him.
Lisa turned her gaze back to the scratched metal doors. He’d called her beautiful, the fact still circulated in her mind. Had he looked closely at her? Had he seen the freckles covering her nose? The nose she’d broken courtesy of another field hockey injury. It was after that she finally gave away the sport. She’d spent more time injured than playing. There was no way she could compete with the women he usually dated. Charlotte had definitely been more his type, tall, beautiful hair, beautiful features. Although she imagined the majority of women Noah dated were more in his income bracket than she or Charlotte were from. It was nice to dream though. He was only being nice and showing interest in her because of the situation they were in. Once they were back to their normal lives, he’d go back to his world and she’d go back to hers. This was a moment out of time.
“Are you okay, Lisa?”
“What?” She gave herself a mental shake. “Sorry! Yes, I’m fine, and no, I don’t have a date because I’m not seeing anyone.”
Oh God, that was the last thing she wanted him to know. “Well? What about you?” she asked in a desperate measure to get the convers
ation off of her single status. “Why don’t you have date? I know you’ve got a parade of women knocking on your door, wanting to go out with you?” After all she’d witnessed Charlotte flirting with him earlier in her shift. Not to mention his reputation around the hospital.
His face screwed up in a grimace, as if the very thought of dating someone on Valentine’s Day was worse than getting puked all over by a drunk. This was an unexpected turn of events. She had to find out more. “I take it you’re not a fan of the Hallmark holiday?”
“I don’t mind Valentine’s Day as a whole, but let’s just say it was easier to say yes to a night shift than having to sit through my mother’s infamous ‘Valentine’s Day Speed-Dating Extravaganza’ at the sailing club.”
Lisa burst out laughing; she couldn’t help it. The thought of Noah sitting through something like a reality tv show was too much to bear. “Speed-Dating Extravaganza? Are you kidding me?”
He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “It’s for charity. I love my mum, but this year I just couldn’t tolerate sitting for two hours while girls fought over wanting to date a doctor while other, really nice, suitable guys who probably have better work hours than I could ever have, sit shooting daggers at me. I’ve been lucky to get out alive the last couple of years I’ve done it.”
Lisa clucked her tongue, faux-sympathetically. “Oh, poor Noah. It’s tough being the handsome doctor everyone dreams about m—.”
A sudden jolt to the lift car had her swallowing the rest of her words and grabbing onto Noah’s strong forearm. The muscles beneath her hand shuddered and tensed. For a few minutes, she’d forgotten how difficult being cooped up in here was for him.
“Oh God, I wish they’d hurry up,” he muttered beside her.
Lisa checked her watch and saw that they’d been stuck for about thirty minutes, although to her it seemed like it had been at least an hour. She certainly wasn’t going to let Noah know that. It would be the last thing he’d want to hear.
Be Mine: Valentine Novellas to Warm The Heart Page 42
