His eyes met hers in the mirror. “You’re the same person, Callie, from the left or the right. Whether you have a bandage, a scar or flawless skin. What you have going on here on the outside doesn’t make a difference to who you are on the inside.”
Callie laughed because the only other option was to puddle to the floor and cry. “Do you hear yourself? You make your living off making people beautiful and perfect and you’re lecturing me on what’s on the inside?”
He turned her to face him, but he didn’t back up. His strong, hard body held hers against the counter of the vanity. How many times had she wished for a moment like this? How many fantasies had she conjured up after that heated kiss in his car? If only she’d acted on that kiss and taken what he’d been obviously willing to give. But now she’d never know. She’d never have that intimacy with Noah because she wasn’t the beautiful woman she used to be. Plain and simple.
“I know you, Callie,” he said, holding her gaze only inches away. “I know what you have inside. You’re capable of so much more than giving up.”
“I’m not giving up,” she defended. “I’m taking a break. Of all the times I looked ahead to see my dreams and the obstacles that could get in my way, this was never, ever a thought in my mind.”
“Okay, so you’ve been blindsided.” He pushed away that annoying strand of hair that kept sliding from behind her ear. “Don’t let this define you. Don’t let your insecurities take over and alter your direction in life.”
That overweight teen from Kansas started to rear her ugly head. And at this point in time, Callie would almost rather turn back into the chubby, insecure girl she once was as opposed to the woman who might never reach the one goal she’d had her whole life all because of one marred cheek.
“You have no idea what insecurities I hold, Noah. The person who worked for you isn’t the same person I used to be.”
“The person who worked for me is the real you,” he told her. “I don’t care who you were before or who you think you are now. I can tell you’re a fighter, Callie. I wouldn’t admire you so much if you weren’t.”
Callie’s breath hitched. Noah’s face was so, so close to hers. Two days ago she would’ve taken this opportunity and kissed him, not caring about the possible rejection because she would’ve been confident in his participation.
But now she wasn’t even going there. Besides the fact that her whole face was still very sore, she didn’t think kissing a mummy was on Noah’s Bucket List.
“I agree this is a major speed bump on your path to getting what you want,” he went on as if he had no clue where her thoughts were going. “But I’m not going anywhere and we’ll get through this. When you’re ready for surgery, we’ll explore our options on how to make this as quick and efficient as possible.”
Callie shook her head. “I don’t have that kind of money, Noah. Reconstruction is very expensive. I work on the statements, remember?”
“I’m my own boss. Remember?” he asked with a slight grin. “I meant it when I said I’d stand by you, Callie. I will make sure you have the best reconstruction—and that means me. I won’t trust another surgeon to your needs.”
“Do I have a say in the matter?”
He shrugged. “Did you want another doctor?”
“Of course not, but don’t steamroll me.” She sighed, looked up into his eyes and continued, “Why are you taking me on as a charity case? I couldn’t possibly repay you.”
He took her good hand and held it between his two warm ones. “I’m not looking for payment of any kind. I just want to see you happy. I want to see you reach that dream you so deserve, and I want to make sure you know that I’m here for you and that someone cares enough to look after you.”
Callie’s eyes filled with tears, and she cursed that constant state of vulnerability she’d felt in the past twenty-four hours. Still, no one had ever said such things to her before.
“I don’t deserve you as a friend,” she whispered. “I’m going to be a complete jerk during this process. I’m pretty angry and I don’t want you to bear the brunt of that anger. I can be my biggest cheerleader, but I can also be my own worst enemy.”
“I’m not worried about myself.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “And I’m not worried about you, either, because I’m not going to let you beat yourself up for something that wasn’t your fault.”
She leaned into his touch, not caring if she appeared defenseless or weak. Right now she was both and there was no point in hiding the fact.
“I just keep replaying the accident in my mind,” she admitted as she sniffled against his shirt. “I saw all the brake lights. I started to get over and that semi literally came out of nowhere.”
His hand roamed up and down her back, his chin resting on her forehead. “You don’t have to relive it now, Callie. You’re safe.”
Safe? She’d had nightmares last night while she’d been in the hospital; surprisingly her cries hadn’t woken Noah up as he’d slept in the chair near her bed. She prayed the dreams wouldn’t visit her again tonight.
“It’s impossible not to replay it,” she told him, lifting her head to look back into his eyes. “My life changed in literally seconds. There were so many cars in the accident. I heard there were no fatalities, but I feel as if a portion of me died.”
“You can’t mean that.” He cupped her jaw and leaned down closer to her face. “Don’t even think like that.”
His face was a breath away and he was so angry. She’d read somewhere that passion and anger were similar and one could change to the other in the blink of an eye.
But she was a fool for thinking of passion and an even bigger fool for believing Noah would take this moment and turn it into something sexual.
The muscle ticked in his jaw and Callie knew he was angry so she just nodded.
“I’ll go get the supplies.”
He stalked out and Callie sighed as she sagged back against the counter. This was going to be a long six weeks of recovery.
Six
Callie took a seat on the small stool in front of the vanity. She wanted to get this doctor/patient time over with. Their bonding moment wasn’t something she was comfortable with because she certainly didn’t want to give him any more ammunition to fuel his pity.
She’d not only been so close to her dream of landing a role, she’d finally gotten Noah Foster to see her as a desirable woman. Now she didn’t even want to know what he thought when he looked at her.
“Sorry.” Noah came back in with supplies and a shirt. “I ran to my room to grab this for you.”
She eyed the shirt and glanced up at him. “A shirt?”
“It’s a button-down,” he explained. “You can’t keep your one arm tucked beneath a T-shirt for six weeks. This way you won’t have to lift your arm over your head. You can just slide it through the sleeve.”
That would be more convenient, but if she needed to change, then…
“I can help,” he offered.
“No.” She sat up in her seat, eyes on him. “I can do it.”
“You’re going to be stubborn, aren’t you?” he asked. “I’ve seen naked women before.”
“Not this naked woman.”
His eyes roamed over her, then back up. “Do you think the way we were headed a few days ago that I never would’ve gotten you naked, Callie?”
Chills spread over her; her skin tingled. She knew exactly where they’d been heading.
“Do you think I wanted to just kiss you like that and leave it?” He stepped closer, just enough for her to have to tilt her head up to keep hold of his warm gaze. “I don’t choose lovers on a whim.”
“Noah…”
He held up a hand, took a step back and shook his head. “Sorry. That was completely out of line. Let’s see what your face looks like.”
Callie released the pent-up breath she’d been holding.
Going to his knees on the plush carpet, he slowly eased the surgical tape from her face and below her jaw to examine the wound. �
�Sorry, I know that pulls.”
“It’s okay.”
She closed her eyes, not because of the pain, but because she couldn’t bear to see his face when he looked at her injury. She hadn’t let him look at her wound in the hospital. She’d been poked enough, and the last person she wanted playing doctor was her very attractive boss.
Biting the inside of her lips, Callie waited in the silence for anything. A hitch in his breath, a mutter of curse words. Anything to indicate his thoughts.
After a moment without the bandage, she finally opened her eyes, but didn’t look at him. “Be honest. I can handle it.”
“I’ll fix this,” he replied, his voice thick.
Callie eased around to look him in the eye. “That’s not what I asked. How bad is it? If I were your patient, what would you tell me?”
His eyes met hers. “You are my patient. This will take some time. I can’t tell you for certain because of the swelling, but if the tissues beneath aren’t too damaged, then we have good odds of minimal scarring. I will do everything in my power to make that happen.”
Callie held his gaze. “You don’t have to do this, Noah.”
“I don’t trust your care to another surgeon.”
“I didn’t mean the surgery,” she corrected. His face was so close to hers now, but if she thought she was hideous before with her bandages, she was certainly grotesque now without. “I mean take care of me. I know I need someone. I just don’t want to be a burden for you.”
A smile flirted around his kissable lips. “We’ve been through this. I’m a doctor and I’m your friend. If I didn’t want to help, I wouldn’t have offered.”
“But you offered out of pity,” she told him, hating that damn word and all the emotions it stirred within her.
“I offered because I don’t want to see you suffer and I want to make sure you get the proper care.” He sighed and turned to grab the ointment. “Now, are you going to let me help or are we still going to argue over the living arrangements for the next several weeks?”
Callie tried to grin, but her face was too sore. “I guess you can win this round.”
“You should know by now that I win all the rounds,” he told her with a full-fledged, double-dimple grin. “As a doctor and a man.”
Callie had to look away. She couldn’t fall under his spell even more than she already had. She couldn’t keep wishing for things that could never be because she didn’t think she could handle any more letdowns.
First things first. Her love life would have to be put on hold…again. She needed to climb back up and see what happened after she recovered and had surgery on her face. Then, maybe, if all worked out she could circle back around to where she and Noah had left off making out in his car. That is, if he hadn’t moved on. What were the chances of him staying single for weeks, months?
In fact, his personal life seemed to be very hush-hush, so it must be busy. Anytime she had tried to bring it up to Marie, she’d gotten the message clearly: his love life was off-limits. But Callie couldn’t imagine what a sexy, young plastic surgeon would keep so secretive.
* * *
Noah put away all the supplies once he was done changing Callie’s bandage. She’d taken her medicine and had asked for some privacy. He was all too happy to oblige.
He shouldn’t have forced his way into her room to change that bandage. She would’ve been fine until tomorrow, but he just had to see how she was doing. The doctor in him knew she was fine, but the man in him, the man who was filled with guilt, had to keep his eye on her to make sure she was okay.
As he started to head back downstairs, he passed by her room and heard the hiss of water running.
What the hell?
He knocked on her door, but got no response. Surely she wasn’t actually trying to shower or take a bath. Was she?
He tried her knob, and when it turned beneath his hand, he eased the door open and called her name. “Callie? Everything okay?”
She didn’t answer, but the sound of the Jacuzzi tub filling with water filtered through from the attached bath.
Damn fool woman. How could she do this on her own with that arm in a sling? Not to mention she couldn’t get her stitches wet.
He walked to the open bathroom door and sucked in a breath. Callie stood with her back to him wearing only thin satin panties and her T-shirt, which she was trying to wrestle up her body.
When she cried out in pain, he stepped forward. “Callie, stop.”
She jerked around, her eyes wide. “What are you doing in here?”
“I heard the water and thought you’d need help.” He willed his eyes to stay on her face and not travel down the path of her toned, tanned legs or to the triangle of pink satin between her thighs. “What the hell are you doing trying to have a bath alone?”
“I thought if I soaked for a while it might help the soreness.”
He leaned over and turned the faucets off so he didn’t have to keep talking over the water. “It will, but you can’t do this on your own, remember? That was the whole reason for having someone care for you.”
She eyed the tub, then him. “There’s no way you’re going to help me take a bath.”
The image nearly killed him.
“I need to at least help you out of that shirt and underwear.”
He resisted the urge to swipe his damp hands down his jeans. He was a doctor, for crying out loud. He’d seen more naked women than Hugh Hefner, and here he was in his guest suite afraid to see Callie in nothing but a tan. But no matter the near-naked women he’d seen in his office, none of them had been Callie. None of them conjured up emotions, feelings…hormones…the way Callie did.
“Don’t make this uncomfortable, Noah.” She tried to pull the hem down lower, hiding her flat stomach and the flash of a jewel in her belly button. “I can take a bath. It may be hard, but I won’t overdo it.”
“Nothing has to be hard. That’s the whole reason you’re here.”
God, this was infuriating. He stepped forward and reached for the hem of the shirt, but Callie stepped back.
“Noah, I can’t do this.” Her bottom lip trembled and her eyes filled with tears that nearly dropped him to his knees because he couldn’t handle seeing her so hurt. “I’m a horrifying sight, I have bruises all over me and I’m stuck here until I can be alone. Added to that, I can’t let go of the memory of us kissing and it’s really making staying here, being so close to you, difficult. Please, I’m begging you, let me have what little pride I have left.”
Shocked at her declaration, he remained silent. The woman was blunt, truthful, and he admired the hell out of her.
“You can stay in the bedroom. I’ll close this door and if I need something I promise to yell.” Her chin tilted up as she blinked away the tears. “Can we agree to that?”
Damn, he admired her stubbornness. He had to admit that if the tables were reversed, he’d be pissed to have his independence taken away.
Noah nodded. “I’ll be right outside that door, Callie. Be careful not to get the bandage on your face wet or move your arm too much. You can bend at the elbow, but don’t lift the entire arm up.”
Callie smiled through her watery eyes. “I’ll be careful.”
Hesitating only a moment, Noah reluctantly left the room and shut the door. With just that piece of wood between them, he leaned against it and closed his eyes.
Callie was so much like Malinda. So strong-willed, so independent and stubborn. Why was he attracted to that type?
And that was just their personality. He didn’t even want to think how their physical attributes were similar. Same long, dark red hair, same milky skin tone.
He could admit to himself that when he’d hired Callie, her looks were just another reason. After all, Malinda had only been gone six months and this was just one more way he could hold on to her.
But the longer Callie worked for him, the more he could see the differences between the two women. Callie laughed more, smiled when she spoke and tr
uly had a gift for making a room brighter simply by walking into it.
Noah listened, waiting for her to call for him, praying she did all the while praying she didn’t. He’d go in there in a second if she needed him, but first he’d have to turn on doctor mode. If he went in there as a man—a man attracted to a woman—he’d be a complete jerk and forget about her injured body and take his fill of looking at her, touching her and quite possibly kissing her breathless as he had the other day. God, he wanted his mouth on her again.
And didn’t that make him all kinds of a fool for having these thoughts about an injured, vulnerable woman?
He heard the water slosh and his mind filled with the erotic image of her settling into the oversize garden tub.
“Turn the jets on,” he yelled through the door. “That will help ease the soreness.”
As if he needed another image of her relaxing, now he pictured her with her hair spilling down around her, her head tipped back against the porcelain as the jets brought thousands of bubbles up to the surface.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, but when he checked the caller ID and saw it was his Realtor, he shoved the cell back in. He wasn’t in the mood to hear another piddly offer on the house they were trying to sell. The other two offers were laughable; he wasn’t selling this home just to get rid of it and he sure as hell wasn’t selling it at a loss.
Malinda had chosen this Beverly Hills mansion when they’d decided to move in together. Noah had a home on the other side of town, but this was closer to where she was working as a personal shopper until she caught her “big break.” In love and naive, Noah agreed to move, but he loved his other house so much, he held on to it and rented it out.
He still had that home he could go to, but he just couldn’t say goodbye to the memories he and Malinda had made here…the happy ones.
Noah swallowed the lump of guilt that always settled in his throat when he thought of how he should’ve seen the signs of her abuse earlier. How he should’ve done something…anything. He was a doctor, for pity’s sake. His job was to fix people, but the one person he’d loved and had planned to spend his life with he had failed and she had paid the ultimate price.
Hollywood House Call Page 6
