He surged to his feet, clearly short of patience after a night with very little sleep and a stressful wake-up call, and his fierce expression made her take an involuntary step back. ‘Because I’ve reached the point where I’ll take any chance I can get,’ he declared.
Chance? Dani frowned, suddenly feeling as if she’d just lost track of the conversation. ‘What chance?’
‘The chance to tie you to me, of course.’ He looked almost shamefaced at the admission as he dragged impatient fingers through his hair, leaving it sticking up in every direction.
‘Look, Dani, I know I’m far too old for you and—apart from that spectacular lapse last night—you’ve probably never thought of me as anything other than your big brother, but that’s not the way I’ve been thinking about you for so long that—’
‘It was rather spectacular, wasn’t it?’ she interrupted, with her heart taking off like a hot-air balloon inside her, certain that her smile must stretch from ear to ear when she realised just what he’d just admitted. ‘I was so worried that the fact it was my first time would put you off. I never dreamed that making love would be so…’
‘Dani,’ he groaned. ‘Stop it.’
‘Stop what?’
‘Stop looking at me like that,’ he growled.
‘Like what?’ she asked with a pretence at innocence, starting to enjoy this new game between them.
‘You know very well what I mean,’ he grumbled. ‘You look as if you want to…’
‘As if I want to eat you up?’ she suggested wickedly, and he groaned.
‘You can’t say things like that. Not here,’ he insisted with a wary glance towards Caitlin’s door.
‘Why not, if they’re true?’ she asked simply, and because she just couldn’t wait to touch him again, when only moments ago she’d believed that she would have to leave the hospital and put him out of her life for good, she quickly made her way round to his side of the desk.
She was delighted when he immediately pulled her onto his lap to cradle her head against his shoulder, and touched when she realised that his whole body was trembling just as much as hers.
‘Ah, Dani, I really hope you’ve thought this through, that you’re sure…’
‘Josh, this is something very special. It’s not going to go away—ever—and neither am I.’
‘You sound very certain,’ he challenged, tilting her head back so that she was looking up into his face and could see that he was serious.
‘I couldn’t be more certain. Face it, Josh, we’re meant to be together.’ She traced his clever mouth with a fingertip, shivering as she remembered some of the things that mouth had done to her last night. ‘We’ve always been meant for each other,’ she said, aware that the tone of her voice had changed with her growing arousal. ‘We’ve wasted years when we could have been together, making each other happy, and we’re not going to waste any more. Where’s the point when you love me and I love you and—?’
‘They weren’t wasted, Dani, not if they gave you time to qualify for a profession you love. But you do realise that we can’t rush into anything, don’t you? We’ll have to wait until the honeymooners return,’ he pointed out, clearly distracted by her exploring fingers. ‘They’d never forgive us if we made any arrangements without them.’
‘So give them a ring and tell them to hurry back,’ Dani demanded, silently cursing the fact that this conversation was taking place in his office when all she could think about was taking his clothes off again and taking her explorations further. ‘After all, if they don’t get here soon, I’ll be too pregnant to fit into a wedding dress.’
‘You’re that certain that I made you pregnant last night?’ The scientist in him seemed quite fascinated by the idea.
‘Last night, tonight, tomorrow night…’ She shrugged nonchalantly. ‘We’re almost bound to get it right one night if we keep practising.’
‘And you wouldn’t mind that?’ He captured her hand, silently demanding her whole attention for the question. ‘After all your training? And when you’re so close to achieving your goal?’
‘Josh, medicine is my career, my profession, my calling, if you want to label it that. I have confidence that I’m good at it and, anyway, even if I am pregnant, there’s time for me to take this next lot of exams. And I can always return to it sooner or later if I do take time off to have babies. But there is only one thing I really need to make me feel complete, and that’s you.’
‘Oh, Dani, what did I ever do to deserve you?’ he whispered against her lips before he kissed her. And this was a kiss that was different from any that had gone before. It held an acceptance that this really was where they were meant to be.
The Greek Doctor’s Proposal
Molly Evans
Even in simple green scrubs and a tied hair cover, Miklo would have commanded the attention of every woman in the area.
The simplicity of his attire peeled away everything except the man. He didn’t draw attention to himself intentionally, but something about him drew her to him, and she shivered, trying to resist the whisper of attraction that swept over her.
As if sensing her gaze, Miklo turned toward her. His dark brown gaze met hers and she held her breath for a second, startled at the intensity of his stare. He was serious, intense and focused. Only a nod acknowledged her, but that simple gesture released her…
MOLLY EVANS has worked as a nurse from the age of nineteen. She’s worked in small rural hospitals, the Indian health service, and large research facilities all over the United States. After spending eight years as a Travelling Nurse, she settled down to write in her favourite place—Albuquerque, New Mexico. Within days she met her husband, and has been there ever since. With twenty-two years of nursing experience, she’s got a lot of material to use in her writing. She lives in the high desert, with her family, three chameleons, two dogs, and a passion for quilting in whatever spare time she has. Visit Molly at www.mollyevans.com
CHAPTER ONE
Albuquerque, NM, USA
SO MANY times Jeannine Carlyle had walked into a hospital as a nurse. Then for a time she had been a patient. This time as she entered the pediatric ICU of a large teaching hospital, she was going to put the last six months behind her and put her life back together. So much about her had been changed, but being a nurse and wanting to help people had not. Lying flat on her back after a life-threatening miscarriage and months of rehab hadn’t changed that, but had only made her conviction stronger.
After entering the ICU, she approached the nurse manager. “Hi, Arlene.”
“Jeannine, glad to see you here bright and early.” Arlene glanced over Jeannine, assessing her attire. “You found the right color scrubs, I see.”
“Sure did,” Jeannine said, and looked down at her royal blue outfit. “Slightly different than the last place I worked, but I needed new scrubs anyway.” The weight loss she had suffered recently had made her previous scrubs entirely too large. Though spring had blossomed and the weather was warming, she wore a longsleeved T-shirt beneath the scrubs to cover the healing marks on her arms. Trying not to be overly conscious of them, she tried to ignore them, hoping that if she didn’t draw attention to them no one else would notice her disfigurement. There were no scars on her face, but she felt every one of them as if they were all visible. She knew they would heal, but the inside of her that hurt the most might never recover.
“Well, glad to have you on board.” Arlene began to walk down the hall further into the PICU. “We’ll be having grand rounds soon. Our medical director, Dr. Kyriakides, will be presenting a very interesting case we had a few months back. I can introduce you to some of the staff first.”
“Sounds great.” A good way to get to know some of the staff without having to jump in with both feet on her first day on the job. What a relief.
Arlene hesitated outside a large conference-room door. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? Coming back to work, I mean?”
Jeannine felt her stomach slide. “Are
you having reservations about me being here?”
“No, I’m not. Your résumé and references more than proved you’re a very capable nurse. It’s just that the pediatric ICU can be a very emotionally difficult place to work at times.” Arlene’s compassionate gaze searched Jeannine’s face.
“Yes, I know,” Jeannine said, and hoped the redness she felt in her face wasn’t too visible. “But I have to start somewhere sometime, don’t I?” No place was going to be easy, but with her finances having dwindled to next to nothing, she couldn’t afford to be off from work any longer. She needed this job to keep her life going.
“You’re right. But please let me know when you need a break. Look at the schedule and make sure you give yourself adequate time off, not too many days in a row, okay?” Arlene gave her a sad smile. “You’re a strong woman to have survived your ordeal, so I know coming back to work must seem a piece of cake after that.”
Jeannine gave a small laugh. “Maybe not quite a piece of cake, but something I have to do. Starting over, starting fresh, is what I need right now.”
During the interview process she had had to disclose why she had been out of work for so many months. She hadn’t been on vacation for months at a time and she hadn’t been terminated from her last job. A life threatening miscarriage had forced her to quit her job. Being a patient had given her a whole new perspective on life.
“There is a certain amount of difference between the ER and the ICU, so it may take some adjustment for you. Don’t expect to learn everything at once.”
“I won’t. Moving from ER to ICU will hopefully give me a buffer. Never knowing what was coming through the doors in the ER was always stressful. I didn’t realize how stressful until I left there.”
“Well, in any case, I’m glad you’re here.” She nodded toward the conference room. “Let’s get in there before all the bagels are gone.”
Jeannine grabbed half a bagel and found a seat in the back of the small room crammed with chairs. She nodded to staff members entering the room, but focused on the pastry in her hand.
When an amazingly handsome man entered the room, she nearly dropped her bagel on the floor. Tawny skin and dark hair that fell past his collar, he was broad shouldered and trim in the hips. She didn’t know who he was, but he certainly commanded the attention of everyone in the room. With the long white labcoat, he was identifiable as a high-ranking physician at the hospital. Probably an attending physician or senior resident. She was too far away to read his name badge and several people shuffled past, blocking her view.
“Attention, everyone,” Arlene said, and raised a hand. “Let’s get started. You all know Dr. Kyriakides, I believe. But I want to introduce our newest staff member, Jeannine Carlyle. Jeannine, would you stand up?”
Reluctantly, Jeannine stood and choked down a bite of bagel that was suddenly lodged in her throat. “Hi, everyone,” was all she could think of to say.
How lame is that? she asked herself, and sat again, wishing she could slide under the chair in front of her. But she soon forgot her embarrassment as the physician began his presentation of a pediatric case from a remote Indian reservation in New Mexico. Watching him, listening to the case history and the problems the patient had experienced during his hospitalization, Jeannine forgot for a short time that she was starting a new job, that her life had been completely uprooted, and simply lost herself in Dr. Kyriakides’ voice and the slide presentation.
At the end of the presentation, staff members grabbed the remainder of the pastries and returned to their patients. Jeannine was the last to leave the room as the doctor packed up his computer. “Thanks for the presentation. It was very informative,” she said.
“You’re welcome. You’re the new nurse, right?” he asked, and shook her hand.
The faint smell of his cologne drifted toward her, and she took a step back. “New at this job, but not a new nurse.” Definitely not new to this game.
“Did you just move here or have you been in Albuquerque a while?” He finished rolling up the cables and stowed them in a black computer case.
“No, I worked across town. I needed a new start.”
“That sounds serious. Starting over isn’t very easy, is it?”
“No. It’s not.” Trying to avoid his piercing gaze was impossible. The dark hair and tawny skin gave him away as being of Mediterranean descent, but there was something else to him. Jeannine shrugged. He was none of her business except in a professional way. Beautifully exotic men were off limits to her. Relationships period were off limits to her, since the last one had almost killed her. “I…had a serious injury that took me out of work for a while, but I’m back in action now. Don’t worry, Doctor, I’m up to it.” Was she being defensive already? She didn’t need to tell her life story to everyone she met today, did she?
“Worrying is wasted energy, as far as I’m concerned. And please call me Miklo. I know they like to toss the medical director title around a lot, but I’m a doctor just like the rest. I simply have more paperwork.”
His engaging smile managed to pull her lips into an answering response.
“I’ll try. I’m not accustomed to addressing physicians by their first names. Usually just the residents.”
Miklo looked down at her and smiled. “Then just think of me as a really old resident.”
Against her will, Jeannine laughed at the small joke. But laughing was something she hadn’t done in some time and to be joyful on her first day at work was an unexpected gift. She’d learned to find those gifts in unusual places. “Thank you, Miklo.” She stepped toward the door. “Guess I’ll be seeing you later.”
“Yes, well, welcome to University Hospital.”
“Thanks,” Jeannine said, and left the conference room.
Miklo watched the new nurse go. She was a trim, pretty woman with long blonde hair and blue-green eyes that were filled with pain. She’d said she was starting over, and he knew from his own painful experience that starting over was never easy, no matter the reason.
Life as he had known it had been changed by the death of his wife. Pregnant with their child, they had both died in a tragic car accident three years ago. He’d been working instead of taking Darlene to a baby shower. The grief, the guilt, burned within him still at unexpected times. Like now. Clenching his jaw, he shouldered the heavy computer case and left the PICU. With a quick glance down the hall, he saw Jeannine at the nurses’ station with her head bent over a chart, a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose.
As he left the hospital and went about his day, the image of Jeannine at the desk stayed with him. She seemed to be a lovely woman, and he hoped that her transition was going to be a good one.
CHAPTER TWO
JEANNINE entered the PICU on her second morning to pure chaos. Eyes wide, she watched as Dr. Kyriakides argued with Arlene at the nurses’ station.
“I need someone now.”
“No one wants to go, and I won’t force anyone,” Arlene said. “You can’t drag an unqualified nurse off to such a critical situation. It’s just not safe.”
“So you’re going to let an injured child lie in an ambulance outside and do nothing about it?” Miklo asked. “Any nurse will do in this situation.”
Arlene gasped. “That’s not fair, Miklo. The ER is on divert. All the hospitals are on divert.”
Jeannine stepped forward, uncomfortable but digging deep within herself, challenging the fear that always seemed to live in her lately. “What’s the situation? I have ER experience.” The lump remained in her throat, but she had to conquer her fear some time.
Miklo turned his blazing amber eyes on her. “Put your stuff down and come with me right now.”
Jeannine handed her backpack to Arlene. “Will you hold this for me?”
“Jeannine, wait! I’m not sure you’re up to this your second day here,” Arlene said. “I know you wanted to get back into it, but it’s too soon.”
Miklo hesitated, looking between the two women. “Is she
qualified or not?” he asked Arlene.
“Yes, but—”
He turned from Arlene and placed a gentle hand on Jeannine’s back, propelling her forward with him. “Let’s go. There’s a child that needs us.”
Barreling down the stairs together, they burst into the ER where staff raced back and forth, the intercom paged a physician, and the sound of muffled crying came from behind a curtain. “Where is—?”
“Let’s try the ambulance bay. They were going to try to take him somewhere else, but in between the other hospitals went on divert, too.” Miklo led the way to the ambulance bay.
Jeannine’s attention was completely taken by the small, motionless patient on the gurney beside an ambulance. Miklo reached for the stethoscope that hung from his neck and listened to the little chest with a nod. “Chest seems okay.” He looked at the paramedic, named Charlie, who stood on the other side of the gurney. “What do we have?”
“Male, approximately six years old, involved in an MVA with his mother, who is in the next ambulance.” He looked at Jeannine. “You’re in the wrong hospital, aren’t you?” he asked.
Jeannine swallowed and gave him what she hoped was a confident smile. “Oh, hi, Charlie. Nope. Moved over to the University Hospital just yesterday.” One day on the job and she’d already been caught like a deer in headlights. Nothing used to stop her in her tracks, so this shouldn’t either.
“Well, it’s good to see you again,” he said, and gave a quick grin. “The kid seems stable right now, but there’s no telling what’s under the dressings. There were so many abrasions and lacerations that we just put saline-soaked gauze on him.”
“Good call,” Miklo said.
Jeannine checked the IV bag to ensure the fluids dripped quickly through the line in his small arm. “Unwrapping his face is not going to be good, I’m suspecting,” Jeannine said as she snapped on a pair of gloves and handed a pair to Miklo.
Six Sexy Doctors Part 1 (Mills & Boon e-Book Collections): A Doctor, A Nurse: A Little Miracle / The Children's Doctor and the Single Mum / A Wife for ... / The Playboy Doctor's Surprise Proposal Page 45
