Opposite Attraction

by Bernadette Marie

  "And your charming smile. " She joked.

  "I am very dashing. "

  She laughed and he placed salad on her plate.

  "What I am very badly trying to say, is I want to be part of your family. I want to have a family like yours. "

  Curtis leaned back in his seat again, draping his arm over the back. He watched her for a moment. "This sounds like a marriage proposal, but I 'm not sure it is me you want to marry. I think you 'd rather marry my family. "

  She swallowed hard. Why couldn 't she just get it out? "Oh, you would think I could say this without messing it up. After all I was trained my whole life to help sell big deals. "

  "Now you 're selling me something? "

  "Me, " she said simply.

  He eased forward. "I am sold on you. "

  She let out the breath that had stuck in her lungs. "Good. Then "

  He1r thought was interrupted by his pager going off on his waist and only a moment later his cell phone rang from his pocket.

  "Are you kidding me? " He silenced the pager and looked at the display on the phone before answering. "Dr. Keller -yes, how many? The clinic? The E.R.? " He let out loud breath. "Fifteen minutes away. "

  Simone sat silent at the table as she listened to him ramble off miscellaneous words. Before he turned off his phone he was already standing, his truck keys pulled out of his pocket.

  He looked down at her seated at the table. "Simone, I 'm so sorry. There was a carbon monoxide leak at some club. The hospital is flooded. I have to go. "

  It was that very moment she understood what Cynthia had said about not wanting to marry Dr. Curtis Keller. He was already married to his job. If he were her husband, this would be the norm. He 'd jump up from dinner and race out the door. What would happen if their son was pitching baseball game or their daughter was in the middle of a dance recital?

  "Simone, I 'm sorry. " He headed for the door and she quickly followed. "Listen, I have no idea what time I 'll get out of there. Or if I 'll get out of there. " He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "If I can, I 'll try to stop back by, but " He was already out the door and hurrying down the steps to his truck. Only a moment later he was gone.

  She watched him speed away before shutting the door and walking back into the kitchen. There sat the meal Regan had prepared -untouched.

  The tears started from the pit of her stomach and burned her chest as they made their way to her eyes. Why did she even think a man like Curtis Keller would want to love someone? He was married to his job and his patients. Only someone like Cynthia who was immersed into that kind of life would understand him. He was good only for quick romps behind barns, a friend with benefits. Curtis Keller wasn 't the father type. He might be compassionate and caring, but not for the people who really mattered -the woman who loved him and the baby who would want to love him too.

  Simone sat at the table and pushed the plate in front of her away. Why did she think she could do this? Why did she come all the way to America only to find out she should have stayed in Paris? Eventually she could have convinced her father he was wrong. Whatever it was that had driven her to Nashville had been a mistake. It was time to realize that it was a lost cause to think that Curtis would choose her.

  Chapter Eleven

  It had taken everything within Simone 's power to not throw dinner in 1the trash. She was mad and normally that meant making a scene. But wasn 't that why she was in Nashville in the first place? In a battle of words with her father she 'd lost her temper, lost everything she 'd ever know, and now sat alone in a horrible little apartment feeling sorry for herself.

  She searched the kitchen for storage containers and packaged up the dinner. If Curtis did show up she 'd feed him. She 'd tell him about the baby, and then decide how she 'd make plans to head back to the life she knew.

  "It smells good in here. " Sam stood in the doorway of the kitchen. "Got any left over? "

  Simone let out a breath and smiled at him. "Of course. Sit down. "

  Sam washed his hands and Simone made him a plate of food as he sat down at the table.

  "Did you eat all ready? "

  She sat down across from him and watched as he cut into the chicken on his plate. "I was trying to impress Curtis. "

  "He got called out on the carbon monoxide call, didn 't he? "

  She nodded.

  "The clinic was packed. " He took a bite. "This is great. You make this? "

  "Regan. " She watched him take another bite. "If the clinic was full, why are you home? "

  "Shift was over, " he said with his mouth full.

  And just like that she knew her fate was sealed. She 'd personally seen Sam work with his patients and he had just as much compassion as Curtis, but Curtis would always run out and back to the job he was married to -Sam would go home to his family.

  "So, " he stood to retrieve the beer from the refrigerator, "what are you doing with the rest of your night? "

  Simone shrugged. "Nothing I guess. "

  "Star Wars marathon is on TV. Want to pop some popcorn and watch? "

  Sam was easy to get along with and she was comfortable with him. Never in her life had she sat on a couch and watched a marathon of movies 1with popcorn. Suddenly her ruined evening didn 't seem so bad.

  "Regan brought a cheesecake. We could just go in after it with two forks. "

  Sam took a pull of his beer and then laughed. "That 's my girl. Go get something on that 's comfy. You look too uptight. "

  He dumped his plate in the sink and headed out to the couch.

  Simone looked down at her outfit. It was very obvious that she was out of place in Nashville. Even in her own home she was dressed as though she were on parade.

  She 'd found a pair of pajama shorts in the clothes Regan had given her and a loose T-shirt. She knotted her hair on the top of her head and had taken a moment to wash off her makeup.

  Sam was already sitting on the couch, his feet up on the coffee table, when Simone emerged from her bedroom. Star Wars played on the television and the cheesecake sat next to him with a fork stuck in the middle.

  He looked up at her when he heard her. "Couldn 't help myself. I started it. "

  He patted the seat on the couch next to him. He moved the cheesecake to the coffee table and Simone took the seat he offered.

  "Have you seen these movies? "

  She sat stiff and upright next to him. "Of course. "

  "Cool. Sit back and relax. Kick your feet up. " He tucked his arm under her legs and lifted them up. "You need to relax. "

  Simone sat back and tried to loosen up. Old habits were hard to break.

  Sam picked up the cheesecake, handed her a fork, and began digging into the center of the cake.

  Simone took a small bite.

  "You have to dig in. You can 't just take little bites. "

  She laughed. "I did not know there was an art to this. "

  "Pigging out on the couch. Heck yeah. " Sam took her fork out of her hand and dug up a big piece. He held it to her lips like a parent feeding a child. "C 'mon1, open up. "

  Simone parted her lips slightly and inched toward the fork.

  Sam pulled it back. "You can 't do this can you? "

  "Why would I want to? "

  "To be normal. Now open. "

  She opened her mouth a bit wider, but before she knew it he had taken another piece of the cheesecake and shoved it into her mouth like a groom would shove wedding cake into his wife 's.

  An evil laugh emerged from him as Simone wiped at her mouth. "Oh, God, you 're a mess! This is great. How about another? "

  "Are you crazy? ' She wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. What was wrong with this man she shared a home with? "Why did you do that? "

  "Because it was funny. "

  "I do not see the humor, " she said fighting back a laugh as she tried to scrape the smashed cheesecake off of her face.

  "Oh, someday you will. You have to let go a little or you 're going to go crazy when you have
your baby. "

  The humor in the moment was over. Simone sat there on the beat up couch. Her face was covered in cheesecake, and she stared at Sam. Was she over reacting or did he say what she thought he had.

  "I beg your pardon. "

  "You 're almost through your first trimester, right? "

  Simone swallowed hard and tears welled in her eyes. She wiped at the desert that stuck to her skin. "I never said I was pregnant. "

  "You didn 't have to. I work with pregnant women all the time. And I have four sisters. I usually know someone is pregnant before they do. "

  She was finding it hard to breathe. She fought for air, but it was as if her lungs didn 't know what to do with it.

  Sam set down the cheesecake and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Now calm down. Don '1t hyperventilate on me. I 've been known to be wrong in my life. So if I 've said something that "

  "I am pregnant. " It was only the second time she 'd said it aloud to anyone and it wasn 't getting any easier.

  "Okay, okay. Well no need to get worked up. "

  "You cannot tell anyone. "

  He laughed and loosened his grip. "You have about three weeks before I won 't have to. "

  "This is not a joke. " She stood and rushed to the bathroom.

  Sam followed her and when she looked up from the sink where she washed away his practical joke he was standing there leaning against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his chest, and a smirk on his face.

  "Curtis 's baby? "

  "That is none of your business. "

  He held his hands up in surrender. "Whatever, honey. Point is, his baby or not, if you 're gonna be cooking him dinners like the one you did tonight, he 'll want to know. "

  Simone took shallow breaths and tried to remain calm. Sam meant her no harm. Perhaps if she told someone, even Sam, she 'd feel better about it.

  "It happened on the yacht after Carlos 's wedding to Kathy, before he married Madeline. "

  "Uh-huh. " He nodded crossing his arms again.

  "I love him. I fell in love with him in one week. "

  "That happens all the time. "

  "Not to me. " She looked at herself in the mirror. At that moment she hardly recognized herself. "I left him stranded in the ocean on my father 's yacht. "

  "Your father has a yacht? "

  She snapped her head toward him. He had no idea who she was. He 'd put as much faith in her as she 'd put in him.

  Simone nodded. "I am the heir to Pierpont Oil -or at least I was. "

  "No kidding. " His eyes grew wide. "What the heck are you doing in Nashville then? There has to be somewhere better for you to live than here. "

  She shook her head. "My father cut me off from his empire when I told him I was pregnant. "

  "Oh. "

  "I have nothing. "

  Sam moved into the bathroom and pulled her into his arms. Her head rested below his breast bone and his enormous arms could have wrapped around her twice.

  "Listen, I 'm not going to tell a soul. This is for you to deal with. " He stepped back, but kept his hands on her arms. "But listen, you need to be taken care of. Have you seen a doctor? "

  "Once, just for confirmation. "

  He shook his head. "That isn 't going to cut it. You need to have a checkup. "

  "I cannot risk Curtis or his family or Cynthia knowing yet. I am not ready. "

  He rubbed her arms. "Ready or not you 're having a baby. " He dropped his hands and took a step back. "Listen, tomorrow let 's just take a look, okay? Nothing invading, we 'll take our lunch in the ultrasound room and I 'll look and see how the baby is doing. "

  Simone bit down on the inside of her cheek to force herself to keep her composure. "You would do that for me? "

  "Of course. "

  This time she reached for him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you. "

  "Are you going to tell him? "

  Simone stepped back and looked up at him. "I tried tonight, but he was called out. "

  "That 's going to happen a lot. "

  "Cynthia said he lov1ed his job, I just hadn 't realized how much. "

  Sam reached up to her hair and pulled a lingering piece of cheesecake off of a loose strand. "I really don 't know Curtis at all, but I know Cynthia thinks the world of him, so he must be a good person. I think he would do right by you. "

  "I want him to love me. "

  Sam laughed a hearty laugh. "I saw you two on the dance floor last night. He digs you. "

  "I want more than that. "

  He reached across to her and rested his hand on her tight stomach. "You have more than that. Give him a chance. "

  Simone cleaned up again headed back to the living room to watch the movies with her very understanding roommate.

  He 'd cleaned up the cheesecake and was nursing another beer. She sat down next to him and kicked up her feet.

  "Now you look right at home. " He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders as she yawned. "You 're not going to make it through all these movies, are you? "

  Simone leaned into him and rested her head against his chest. "Are you? "

  "Eh, I fall asleep here all the time. " He reached around her with his free hand and pulled the small throw of the back of the couch. He covered her with it as she yawned again. "You know if you 're far enough along we can find out the baby 's sex. "

  She sighed. "I will think about it. "

  Sam kissed the top of her head and she closed her eyes. A weight had lifted from her shoulders by openly talking to Sam about the baby. Perhaps everything would be okay tomorrow. She 'd let Sam do the ultrasound. And then she was most certainly going to tell Curtis.

  Curtis was exhausted. He 'd seen almost one hundred patients in the past three hours and had busted his butt to get back to Simone.

  Now he stood at her front door, looking in the small window that peered into the apartment. He wasn 't sure what he 'd seen unfold, but Simone had sat down on the couch in her pajamas, Sam had gathered her up in his arms, covered her w1ith a blanket and kissed her head before she fell asleep on his chest.

  His jaw hurt from gritting his teeth. Same old Simone, hopping from one man to the other, playing them all for fools. She 'd stabbed him in the heart and reeled him back in again only to cozy up with the nurse. Damn he 'd been stupid.

  Well fire was fought with fire.

  Curtis hurried down the front steps, climbed into his truck, and sped toward Cynthia 's house.

  Chapter Twelve

  Cynthia wasn 't happy when she pulled open the door, that much was for sure by the look in her eyes, which she 'd obviously pried open from a deep sleep. But Curtis didn 't care.

  He quickly moved in, swept her into his arms and took possession of her mouth with his. He kicked closed the front door and a moment later had her pushed up against the wall. He 'd taken her by surprise, but that was when sex with Cynthia was most fun, when it was unexpected.

  Moans resonated from her throat as he skimmed his hands up and under her shirt. He pressed himself against her and that must have been what brought her from a sleep induced haze to fully awake.

  Cynthia 's hands came up between them and she shoved him back hard enough he stumbled.

  She fixed her shirt and pushed the fallen hair out of her face. "What in the hell was that about? "

  Curtis wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. When had she ever questioned his motives before?

  "For the first time ever, you don 't want me? " He wondered when he 'd become a cry baby, because when he said those words aloud he sounded like one.

  "Want you? I was under the impression you weren 't mine to take anymore. "

  "Meaning? "

  "Meaning you and Simone were together. "

  He moved back toward her, but when her eyes narrowed he retreated. "Yeah, well why did I think things were going to be any different? "

  "If you 're going to wake me up in the middle of the night to kiss me senseless and then tell me some sob stor
y over you and your girlfriend you 're going to have to make me coffee. " She headed back toward her bedroom. "I 'm going to brush my teeth. Make it strong or I 'll kill you. "

  Curtis huffed out a breath and went to make the stupid coffee. He 'd come looking for sex. Just raw, going through the motion, hot, heavy, sweaty, forget any other woman existed, in the moment sex. Now he was making coffee and he knew that meant they 'd be sitting at the table talking about Simone. Well he didn 't want to do that. He wanted to forget all about her and absorb himself in Cynthia. It worked best that way.