“Steven, what can I do for you?”
He flashed a smile that suggested he was about to ask for another favor, which I would turn down politely. Or not so politely, if it came to that.
“I heard you were in the building and decided to drop in and see how the ball was coming along?” Steven was good at his job, but he had a crappy poker face. “So?”
I smiled knowingly and waved him in. “Sabrina is asking questions?”
He nodded sheepishly, his cheeks turning a bright shade of pink. “Yes. She trusts you, it’s just…” Clearly, Steven didn’t know how to finish that sentence, especially given she was one of the hospital’s biggest and most consistent donors.
“It’s just that she feels the need to control everything? I get it, Steve.” Everything was on track and I told him as much before handing over the updated budget and contact info. “I’ll do one more round of confirmations before the big day. Otherwise, everything is perfect.”
He nodded, his smile growing wider by the second. “Exactly what I came to hear, Derek. Keep up the good work.”
“Good to see you as always, Steven.”
He turned with a rueful grin. “You’ll be knee-deep in broken bones and MVA injuries in no time, Derek.”
And that was just what I needed. “Good to know.”
“What are you doing here, anyway?” His dark brows crinkled in confusion and I had to suppress a laugh. Only a small hospital like this one would hire an admin with no medical experience.
“I have a few patients I needed to check in on, with follow-up visits. This Hometown Heroes thing is really turning into a whole thing, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Small town fundraising means we all have to be a little creative. And the hospital board is always grateful for new equipment. Grateful enough that they might make room in the budget, finally, for an ER director.” With that little dangling thread, Steven left me alone with my thoughts.
ER director was my dream job and it was pretty much the ceiling when it came to practicing medicine in Tulip, but this was home and I was staying. And ER director came with a nice pay raise and more control of my emergency room. It was the perfect thread to dangle, damn him. Which meant I needed to make sure the whole damn Fall Ball went off without a hitch.
No pressure at all.
The ball was in five days—I just had to make it that long, and then life would return to normal. Well, not quite normal. Maybe next year, when the Hometown Heroes stuff was over and Tulip’s Tribute was complete, then things would go back to normal. For Tulip, anyway.
Thirty minutes later, I had my white coat on over my street clothes as I tapped on the door for exam room three before I entered, wearing my best professional smile. “Hey, Shelby, how are we feeling today?”
Eleven-year-old Shelby Cummings showed off her neon-green leg cast with a big smile. “This thing itches, but it’s really cute.”
“I hear that complaint all the time and it’s a good sign. Itching means healing. Any other complaints?” Shelby shook her head and I got on with the exam while her mother half-listened, her eyes glued to her phone. It might not be the best parenting style, but I much preferred it to the too-friendly, too-involved parents.
“How much longer, Dr. Derek?”
“Looks like you’ll be good in two more weeks. Think you can keep it clean until then?”
She nodded and picked out a pineapple lollipop before jumping off the exam table and exiting the room with a wide smile.
The next two patients were just as easy, even if Karen Hiller was a little too energetic in showing off her cleavage. They were in and out in less than ten minutes each, which meant I had about thirty more minutes before Charles Findley showed up for his final checkup. Hopefully, without his wife.
“Dr. Cahill, any chance you can do a quick suture on a palm? Everyone else is busy and it’s a four-year-old.” Nurse Johnston flashed a sheepish smile as she waited for my answer.
The sheepishness was unnecessary and that was exactly why she came to be, because everyone knew I had a soft spot for kids in need. “Of course. I’m expecting Charles Findley, so have someone page me when he arrives.”
“Thanks, Dr. Cahill. Tommy Adler is in exam room two.”
I found Tommy Adler and his grandmother bent over a coloring book on the exam table, both of them all smiles. “I hear someone is in need of stitches?”
Two sets of eyes, one pair brown and one pair green, stared up at me like they’d been caught doing something wrong. “Yes, Doctor. Sorry, but the pain was too awful—”
I put a hand up to stop the older woman’s explanation. “Don’t be sorry, just tell me Tommy wasn’t coloring with his bad hand?”
In response, the kid held up a hand wrapped in a bandana. “I can’t bend it.” To prove that, he tried to close his hand and was rewarded with a cry of pain.
“Careful. I’m Dr. Derek, and I’ll get you cleaned and stitched up. Sound good?” Tommy and his grandmother nodded, both watching nervously as I cleaned and disinfected the wound and stitched it up. “You won’t be picking up anymore broken glass I hope?”
“Oh, he won’t,” Grandma assured me. “As soon as he’s healed, Tommy’s new job will be bringing wood to the side of the house, since he loves picking up stuff he shouldn’t.”
Tommy looked away, a pink blush staining his cheeks. “I won’t do it no more, Grandma.”
“I know, baby.” She kissed the side of his head, her eyes and her voice filled with love. “Thank you so much, Doctor.”
“No problem.”
She flashed another grateful smile and shuffled the little boy out of the exam room, giving me a few minutes to get myself together and prepare for Charles Findley. Exiting the exam room, finally, I ran into Nurse Johnston. “Dr. Cahill, Mrs. Findley is here.”
Shit. “And Mr. Findley?”
The nurse rolled her deep brown eyes with a heavy sigh. “Parking the car for the last ten minutes. Sorry.” She shuffled off, understandably trying to get as far away from that news as possible.
Tricia Findley was a headache I didn’t want to bother with until her husband was already in an exam room, so her roaming hands were in full view of him—not that he seemed to mind what his much younger wife got up to, but I did. So I sought refuge in my office.
Maxine
“Do you think Dr. Derek will let me change my cast, since he’s your boyfriend now?” Callie sat in the passenger seat, kicking her legs as she asked thousands of questions on our short trip to the hospital.
“Who said he’s my boyfriend? He’s a friend, honey. Don’t you have friends who are boys?” This was the first time she’d brought up Derek in any capacity other than a doctor since she’d caught the tail end of that kiss.
She nodded. “But I don’t kiss them, Mommy.”
From the mouths of babes, I thought with a wry grin. “It’s not as easy as painting your cast, honey. You might be stuck with this color until it’s time to come off.” And I still hadn’t decided if she would be allowed to attend the Fall Ball. I would be pulling double duty working and being Derek’s date, which left no time to look after a precocious little girl.
Callie let out a dissatisfied huff at that news and, thankfully, let the topic drop. For now.
I took advantage of the quiet, knowing it wouldn’t last long, turning my attention to the mile-long list I had to tackle before this week ended with the Fall Ball. Before I could even start thinking about food for the ball, I had two luncheons to cater, one for the Easton Chamber of Commerce in the next town over and one for a brand-new tech business that had opened on the outskirts of Tulip. Then I had to cater a lunch for a bunch of traveling businessmen convening in the business complex for a day-long conference. This week was a busy one and by the end of it, I would be exhausted and in need of a full day of sleep.
That busy schedule was exactly why I hadn’t seen Derek in almost two days, and it was also the reason I had to squeeze in an appointment to get Callie’s
cast checked out. “We can’t be late, Mommy.”
Callie worried too much, so I didn’t bother telling her that Derek had promised to be free between noon and two, and since it was just past twelve-thirty, we had nothing to worry about. “We won’t be. I promise.”
That seemed to settle her enough that she tossed out random science facts for the remainder of the drive to the hospital, practically bouncing out of the car and through the automatic doors of the hospital. “Hi, nurses!” She waved to the group of blue-scrub-clad women, who waved back with big smiles for my friendly kid.
“Dr. Cahill is expecting us,” I told the nurse in the blue and green sweater with the kind brown eyes.
“I’m getting a check up on my arm,” Callie offered, raising her cast to show off before she leaned in with a whisper, “I’m hoping Dr. Derek will change my cast color.”
“A cutie like you, how could he resist?”
I sent her a grateful smile and she nodded down the hall where some of the officed were located.
“Office 1012A is where you’ll find Dr. Cahill. He should be free,” she said absently, glancing down at her watch before barking orders at the loitering nurses.
“Thanks.” I took a moment to smooth the not-yet-wrinkled fabric of my green tunic and checked out my reflection in a passing window, just to make sure I looked presentable. Not that I cared, not really. Derek didn’t seem to have a problem with my appearance or the fact that I dressed more for comfort than for style.
“I’m gonna ask for blue ‘cause Nina says that’s my best color.” She spoke with the same authority Nina did, which only made me smile. It was nice to have friends, especially strong female role models for my bright little girl.
“It has nothing to do with that blue dress you’ve been eyeing?” When she turned to me, Callie wore a bright pink blush that rose from her neck all the way up to her scalp.
“Maybe, but Mommy, it’s so pretty! And it would be perfect for the Fall Ball!”
I groaned and grabbed her hand as a distracted doctor barreled down the middle of the hall, like he hadn’t seen or heard anyone else around. Typical. “Who said you were going to the ball?”
“Mommy,” she whined. “It’s a ball!” As if that somehow made it more important, though I guessed to a little girl who loved dinosaurs, dragons, and princesses equally, it was the height of importance.
“I’ll think about it,” I promised. And I would—sometime between cooking like a madwoman and making sure each job went off without any problems, I would make a decision.
“Mommy, there’s Dr. Derek!” Callie’s loud voice echoed through the mostly empty hallway, and I looked from her lopsided red ponytail to where she pointed.
Derek stood with a gorgeous blond woman pressed up against his body. And to make matters worse, they stood under the one and only flickering fluorescent light in the whole damn hall, as if the universe wanted to highlight my humiliation. Because that’s what it was. No, it wasn’t just humiliation, it was stupidity. I knew who Derek was and, just like my ex, I’d let his charm make me forget.
The woman was—hell, she was exactly what I expected a woman Derek dated to look like. Long blond hair that had been professionally styled, skintight blue jeans that had been painted on to show off the body of someone who regularly spent time inside a gym. The blue and white striped men’s shirt she wore revealed oversized cleavage, and I’d bet that a closer inspection would show those buttons straining over her massive chest. Blond and stacked, of course that was his type. It was everyone’s type.
Her cleavage was pressed against Derek’s chest in an embrace that was well beyond professional and right into the realm of the intimate. Her lips puckered and pressed against his. One. Two. Three. Four.
It took him four full seconds to pull back from a kiss I already knew he would claim he didn’t want, didn’t ask for, blah, blah, freaking blah. Don’t react, I told myself when he finally managed to pull his gaze away from the stacked blond. I refused to make a fool of myself—well, a bigger fool than I’d already been. “Let’s let Dr. Cahill finish up, Callie.”
“But why is he kissing that woman?”
Good question. “That’s his business, Callie. Let’s wait in the lobby with the nice nurses.” It certainly wasn’t my business and I wouldn’t embarrass myself by pretending it was. Thank goodness we hadn’t gone public.
“Dr. Derek!”
I groaned, wishing I was the kind of parent who shouted at her kids when they didn’t listen. I wasn’t, though, and I wouldn’t yell at my daughter for being excited to see someone I had brought into our lives.
Idiot that I was.
He smiled at Callie before returning a wary smile my way. “Callie. Maxine. You’re early.”
“You said between noon and two, so we’re here. For Callie’s checkup,” I reminded him, just in case there was any confusion about the state of our, now dead, relationship. “We’ll be in the lobby when you’re ready.” I turned away without waiting for his response, because I didn’t want to see the guilt lingering in his expression for another second. I couldn’t bear it without snapping, and that was something I refused to do.
“I’m ready now,” he insisted when we were halfway down the hall, more than twenty feet of space now between us. “Mrs. Findley was just leaving.”
Another married woman. I guessed he wasn’t so unlike my ex after all.
The blond pouted and stamped her foot, encased in expensive red leather ankle boots. “But we haven’t finished our talk,” she whined, as if her emphasis wasn’t’ a dead giveaway of what they’d been discussing.
“That’s because your husband needs to be here as well, like I told you once before.” His voice was firm and assertive, with a hint of annoyance I found hard to believe. More than that, I didn’t care. Men lied, it’s what they did—and they lied even more when they were caught in a lie. Been there, done that, and not interested in doing it again.
The woman, Mrs. Findley, pouted once more just to see if it might change his mind. When it was clear that it wouldn’t, she glared at me and Callie before storming off.
Ten minutes later, Callie chatted with Derek inside an exam room while I kept quiet in my seat beside the door, checking emails until it was time to ask questions. About Callie and nothing else. She was animated, using both hands to gesture wildly while she talked and Derek, liar that he was, listened like he gave a damn. Like he cared what she had to say. But he didn’t. It was all a lie, a stupid, pretty lie. The same one I’d fallen for once before. “How’s it look?” Callie had been fascinated by the x-ray films and requested a copy, which Derek promised to get for her.
I just hoped it wasn’t another lie. “Pretty good,” he told her with an amused tone. “You’re healing very well, Callie. Must be all that broccoli your mama makes you eat.”
“Mommy makes me eat veggies every day.” She emphasized the words like it was the worst thing a person could be forced to do, eating vegetables.
Derek laughed and shook his head, looking at her with the same affection he had a few days ago, except today, I no longer believed that look. “That’s because she’s a good mama.”
“She is,” Callie agreed. “She’s pretty, too.”
His blue gaze slid to mine, heat and fondness lighting up his gorgeous eyes, but I didn’t believe those, either. “Very pretty,” he agreed, like one stupid compliment that made my belly flutter would make me forget that he’d been kissing another woman. A married woman.
“When should I expect the cast to come off?”
He blinked and then frowned at my abrupt question, or maybe it was the ice in my voice. I didn’t know and didn’t particularly care.
“Based on the x-rays, I’d say about three weeks.”
“Great. Is that all?” I stood and shoved my phone and Callie’s tablet back into my purse, waiting for his answer.
“I’d like to explain,” he began, casting a nervous glance at Callie, whose attention was on us like a hawk.
Now wasn’t the time or the place, and as far as I was concerned, there wouldn’t be a good time or place. “This isn’t the time and there’s nothing for you to explain.” We said we wouldn’t see anyone else, and his easy agreement should have been my first clue.
“Maxine,” he pleaded and reached out to me, frowning when I stepped away from his touch. “Please.”
“Come on, Callie.” I held the door open and when she was in the hall, I turned to the man I was pretty sure I’d fallen for, my expression blank. Cold and angry, too. “You don’t need to explain anything, Derek. You are who you are, and I know that asking a man to change is like asking the sun not to shine. Thank you for fitting us in today.”
He frowned. “That’s it? I don’t even get a chance to explain?”
Seriously? “Explain what? That we agreed we wouldn’t see anyone else, yet I find you kissing another woman in the middle of the hospital? That explains itself, I’d say.” I took one final look at him, his deep blue eyes and jet-black hair, such a beautiful contrast to his pale skin. The guilt and sadness in his eyes affected me, but not enough to give him a chance to change my mind. Cheaters were the most charming when they’d been caught, and I wasn’t in the mood to be charmed.
It wasn’t until later, after Callie had gone to bed and all my prep work for the next day was done, that I allowed myself to cry over what could have been.
Over what almost was.
Derek
There’s nothing to talk about. It was the same damn message Maxine had sent me for the past two days. Every call and every text message was met with the same cold response. Nothing to talk about? I scoffed at that, because there was a hell of a lot that we had to talk about—mostly about how she’d gotten the wrong idea.
Well, she’d gotten exactly the idea Mrs. Findley wanted her to get.
But this wasn’t on Tricia Findley; this was on Maxine for not believing me. For not having any faith in me as a man. Or a partner. We still have business to discuss, I responded to her most recent message while I waited for Ginger to bring my breakfast order.
Misters of Love: A Small Town Romance Boxset Page 27
