by Laurie Paige
It had taken stern discipline to ignore the feeling when she’d first arrived at one that afternoon. Several emergencies had taken all her attention as day slid into evening, so things had become easier. However, since she wasn’t comatose, she had still been acutely aware of him.
Slipping back into friendship wasn’t as easy as she’d made it sound that morning. She almost groaned aloud as hunger thundered throughout her body, a reminder that she hadn’t nearly had enough—
“You’re going home,” Eric continued, breaking into her thoughts which were becoming more wanton by the second. “You missed dinner and your rest breaks, too. I’ll handle the paperwork.”
“You’ve been here since this morning,” she protested.
A half smile curved his mouth. “Are we going to fight about it?”
Meeting his gaze, heat flushed through her so strongly it caused perspiration to bloom over her face and neck, right down to the tingling points of her breasts.
He glanced down at the beaded tips visible under her E.R. uniform, then back to her eyes. His eyes darkened. With a low curse, he turned away and strode out of the room.
Jenna inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, letting the need dissipate. Eric needed more than passion. He needed a friend, or at least a confidante, with no strings attached.
Yawning, she gathered her belongings, made sure the third shift was fully staffed, then headed for her car.
“Wait up,” a masculine voice ordered.
She couldn’t help the smile that sprang to her lips. “Saving my life doesn’t mean you have to be responsible for me the rest of my life,” she told Eric.
“Maybe not, but as your supervisor, I am concerned that my best nurse get home safe and sound.”
He made sure she was locked inside her car before stepping back and letting her go on her way. She saw him standing in the same place as she stopped before pulling onto the street, his eyes on her car as she departed.
The phone was ringing when she arrived home. “Jenna, what’s going on?” Rachel demanded.
“What do you mean?” she replied cautiously.
“Well, Dr. Thompson’s car was seen at your place last night. And this morning.”
Jenna sighed. “He brought the baby shower things over for me.” There, that was the truth, but it didn’t give anything away.
“It took all night to carry the stuff in?” Rachel’s soft laughter followed on the heels of the question. “Lily and I will meet you for lunch tomorrow. Eleven-thirty at the deli across from the hospital. Okay?”
“No!” Jenna realized she’d spoken too quickly, too sharply when silence ensued. “That is, I, uh, will be busy in the morning. Errands and things, you know.”
“You still have to eat,” Rachel said firmly. She laughed. “Besides, I smell romance in the air. Bryce agrees. Lily and I want to know all about it.”
“Rachel,” Jenna began, then fell silent, not sure how to word her doubts.
“Yes?”
“How did you know it was love when you met Bryce?”
“So, it’s like that,” Rachel said, immediately jumping to conclusions. “I’m so thrilled for you.”
“No, no,” Jenna denied the assumption. “Eric and I are just friends. He isn’t over his wife yet. I think a person needs to talk about the past in order to put things into perspective, don’t you?”
Rachel’s relieved sigh came over the phone. “You’re asking my opinion,” she said happily. “That means you’ve truly forgiven me for the episode with Michael—”
“There was nothing to forgive,” Jenna interrupted. “He was the one at fault, not you.”
“Yes, but Lily and I put you in the middle of our problem. That wasn’t fair, but neither of us was seeing very clearly at the time. Now that our love lives are straightened out, we want to help with yours.”
Her laughter was warm and affectionate, reminding Jenna of their long friendship and shared experiences. “I have no love life,” she lamented, making an effort at keeping her tone amused.
“I think you could change that,” Rachel told her. “From what I know about him, Eric is a very responsible person. He wouldn’t run out on someone who needed him.”
“I think you’re right,” Jenna said. “However, a liability isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
“You’re thinking more along the lines of the love of his life?”
“Well,” Jenna joked in her usual lighthearted manner when things were getting too serious, “the love of the moment was more what I envisioned.”
“Don’t be afraid to fall in love,” Rachel advised seriously. “It’s the most wonderful feeling.”
Laughing, Jenna said good-night and prepared for bed. The smile disappeared as she thought of Eric and her strange relationship with him. It would be easy to fall in love with him, but not with the specter of his first marriage hanging over them. She would try to help him with that. Then they would see what happened next.
In bed with the light out, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from returning to the previous night and the bliss she’d experienced in his arms. He’d been the most wonderful lover she’d ever met, but was he meant for her?
Not unless he was over the tragedy of his past, some wise part of her advised.
CHAPTER 8
“Can you believe this?” Lily asked, gesturing toward the other two, then at herself.
“Believe what?” Rachel asked, taking a seat at the table with her friends.
Lily shook her head reflectively. “Last year we were all so unhappy…well, I was. And Rachel. Jenna was okay until we pulled her into our troubles.”
“Mr. Louse,” Jenna murmured, recalling the two-timer who had almost destroyed their friendship.
“Yeah,” Lily and Rachel said together, then glanced at each other and burst into laughter.
Love, Jenna thought. Her friends were so much in love, they glowed. Their newly found happiness had erased the last bit of hurt and anger between them.
Envy sliced through her. The three had done everything together nearly all their lives. Why couldn’t she find the ideal man as her friends had?
Images flooded her inner vision—Eric helping her after the accident, Eric bringing lunch, Eric touching her in the most gentle, intimate of caresses…
“Look at her,” Rachel, the most introspective of them, said softly.
Jenna realized her friends were observing her and tried to look nonchalant. “What?” she demanded.
“Your eyes,” Rachel continued, “are those of a woman in love. You’ve really fallen for Dr. Thompson.”
“Eric,” Jenna said automatically, then felt heat sweep over her as Lily and Rachel grinned.
A tiny sound, like that of a very new kitten, caught their attention. Lily leaned over the baby carriage where her daughter had been sleeping. With the skill gained in her career as a pediatrics nurse, she scooped the precious bundle into her arms.
“I was wondering when you were going to wake,” she mock-scolded the infant. “Mama needs relief.”
Jenna felt her own breasts contract as Lily discreetly nursed the baby. She laid a hand on her abdomen where her own child rested safe and sound, waiting until the proper time to make his appearance into the world. Glancing up, she saw Rachel doing the same. They smiled at each other.
“I know,” Lily said, catching their misty-eyed emotion. “It’s like a miracle, isn’t it? The three of us with babies…” Her voice trailed off as her gaze went misty, too.
Jenna blinked rapidly and took a deep breath. “Well, I’ve got to run. It’s almost one.”
“Take your breaks,” Rachel advised, giving her a stern, motherly glare.
“And prop your feet up as often as you can,” Lily continued the advice. “Eric can be a slave driver.”
After paying for her lunch, Jenna headed over to the hospital. No cars or ambulances were parked at the emergency-room portico, so maybe it would be an easy Friday night.
Going inside, she stored
her purse in a drawer at the receptionist desk, locked it, then joined the day-shift staff for a rundown on the day’s happenings. Eric was already there.
Her heart did its racing act, but she smiled calmly, nodded to him, then listened to the report. There were three cases being seen at present, but no true emergencies. People without insurance had no choice but to come to the Emergency Room for treatment.
“That’s it,” the head shift nurse told her, closing the folder on the last patient. “Have fun. There’s a rock concert on for tonight. That usually brings in business.”
Jenna grimaced. After the others left, she went over each case again, noting symptoms and treatment. All was under control. She was aware of Eric standing close by as if waiting for something from her. She concentrated on the files until she’d read every word.
“I want you to take it easy tonight,” Eric said when she finally looked up. “You should sit every chance you get. You need more rest.”
He scooted the desk chair behind her knees. She sat down. He pulled a stool over. She recognized it as one they used so patients could climb up on an examining table.
“It’s from supply,” he assured her when she frowned. “I didn’t steal it from a cubicle.”
“Do you read minds?” She tried to keep a modicum of humor in her tone, but truthfully she felt snappish.
“Only yours. Excuse me.”
He went into his office and answered the phone while she started her nightly inspection of supplies. When she went to dinner at five-thirty, she saw his office was dark. Good. He needed to rest more, too.
At that moment he strolled into the cafeteria, looked around, spotted her at the staff table and came over.
“I’m leaving now,” he said. “I’ll be over in the morning. Is nine too early?”
Her glanced at him in surprise. “Why?”
“To put the baby furniture together.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I’m sure I can figure it out. I’ll go to a baby store and examine the cribs they have set up. First thing Monday,” she added when he didn’t look appeased.
He studied her for a long twenty seconds. “You’re well into your fifth month.”
“Well, duh,” she said to that piece of information.
His sudden smile made her blood go all frothy like a bottle of soda pop shaken vigorously. The bubbles rose to her brain and made her dizzy.
“You should be prepared,” he told her.
Her answering smile disappeared. “If the baby came now, its survival would be pretty risky.”
“I meant…I didn’t mean…” He stopped, his eyes going dark with emotion she couldn’t read. “You’re strong and healthy. So is the baby. There’s no reason you won’t carry to term, but you should be getting everything together so you won’t have to worry about it when the time comes. I thought I could help.”
He walked away. The automatic doors slid open, and he left the hospital.
After a tense couple of minutes, Jenna leaned back in the chair and relaxed. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Eric’s offer of help. Maybe it would be better if she didn’t get more involved with him.
On the other hand, maybe it was better for him if he did help her. Working on the baby bed would force him to face the loss of his own child and perhaps accept that it hadn’t been his fault.
She sighed, not sure where her concern for him ended and where her desire to see him began. Things were already hopelessly tangled between them.
Later, on her break, she called and left a message on his home phone. “Nine would be a good time to come over,” she said. “I’ll have breakfast ready.”
For the rest of the shift, she worried about her motives and the way her insides tightened at the slightest thought of the handsome E.R. physician.
* * *
Jenna glanced out the window for the tenth time in ten minutes. The coffee and omelets were ready to be served. The patio table was covered with a pretty floral tablecloth and a fresh bunch of roses she’d filched from the bushes beside the sidewalk.
Holding her hand up, she studied her trembling fingers and sternly reminded herself that Eric was coming over as a friend, nothing else. Remember that.
It was no use. She thought of him as a lover. Closing her eyes, she pressed her fingers to her temples and blocked out the pictures of him and her together—
A tap on the front door broke up the erotic vision. She wiped her hands down her tan maternity slacks, pasted a smile on her mouth and called out, “Come on in. It’s open.”
His entry brought the scent of his aftershave and the freshness of the outdoors to her. Her heart pounded so fiercely she had to steady it with a hand to her chest.
“You okay?” he asked, his eyes taking in every detail.
She nodded. “Breakfast is ready. I thought we’d eat on the patio.”
That way, they wouldn’t be inside. Alone. With the bedroom a short distance up the stairs. And she wouldn’t be tempted to drag him up there and have her way with him.
A wave of passion spread over her entire body as she retrieved the food from the warm oven.
“The biscuits look good. It’s been ages since I’ve had some. My mother used to make them.” He picked up the basket of warm bread and the pitcher of orange juice.
“Mine, too. I hope I didn’t leave any ingredients out. I can’t remember the last time I made them. Oh, yes, I do. It was when my dad brought up the baby furniture. He wanted gravy and biscuits made the old-fashioned way as opposed to popping them out of a can.”
They carried the food outside and sat at the small table. The neighborhood was quiet. People slept in on Saturday morning, if possible.
“My favorite time of day,” she said. “I like having the mornings to myself.”
“What are you going to do when the baby comes?”
This seemed like a good time to mention her plans. “I want to take six months off, then I’m thinking of working part time for a year.”
“With three twelve-hour shifts, you would get full benefits and still be free most of the week.”
“Well, I want to nurse Stevie for the first…” She let the words trail off as he gave her an odd stare. “What?”
“You’re going to name the baby Steve?”
There were emotional undertones present in the question that she didn’t understand. Was that the name he and his wife had chosen? If she remembered correctly, the child was to have been a girl. But then, people gave kids all kinds of names nowadays, no matter the gender of the baby.
“Steven Alexander. After my father,” she hastened to add, in case he thought…well, she didn’t know what he thought as he continued to study her.
“My middle name is Steven,” he said softly.
“Oh.” Confusion swept over her. “I didn’t know. Really. I don’t think I’ve ever heard your whole name. I mean, at work, it’s always Dr. Thompson. And you sign the forms with your initials, which nobody can read. I mean, you sort of run them together.” She stopped before the hole she was digging for herself got any deeper.
The tension drained from his face, and he smiled in a thoughtful, but natural manner. “Steven Alexander. I like that. It’s a fine name for a fine boy.”
She was relieved. He liked the name. He really did. His expression was sincere, his body relaxed. Also, he’d spoken of her baby without past memories darkening his eyes. That was good. Her idea of forcing him to talk about family life seemed to be working.
“Eat up,” he coaxed. “I want to get the bed together before dark.”
“I have to go to work at one,” she reminded him.
“That’s four hours. It’ll be finished long before then,” he promised.
All the things they could do in that length of time danced through her mind like an endless chorus line. “Well,” she said, flustered by the passion and his nearness, “let’s get to work.”
CHAPTER 9
Jenna held the side of the crib against the end piece while Eric bolted them t
ogether. The task went quickly.
“It’s amazing how fast work goes with someone who knows what he’s doing,” she remarked as they finished.
“Stand back,” he said.
When she let go, the baby bed stood on its own. “Wow, success. I can’t stand it.”
“Do you have a mattress?”
“Yes, over here.” She moved boxes aside. “I bought one on sale a month ago.” She struggled with stuff her father had stacked on top of the mattress.
“Let me do that,” Eric said in scolding tones.
She observed while he unearthed the mattress, then removed the plastic wrapping. He easily lifted it and fitted it into position in the crib.
“Ah, perfect,” she said, bending over the boxes once more. “Dad brought all the baby stuff my mother had saved. I don’t know if it’s any good now.”
Eric nodded. She noticed his expression had changed, becoming more somber as he used a pocket knife to split the wrapping tape on the six large boxes. She found crib sheets, blankets, towels, tiny washcloths and drawstring gowns in one box. In the others were clothing of various sizes, both for girls and boys. The scent of lavender, thyme and mothballs wafted around them.
“This was my brother’s,” she said, holding up a playsuit in bright red. “They aren’t faded or moth-eaten.” She gave the material an experimental tug along the seams. “They look fine, don’t they?”
“Yes.”
She glanced at Eric. His voice had been husky, almost hoarse-sounding. He wasn’t looking at the romper set, but at her. Gazing into his eyes, she recognized the hunger. An answering passion flared in her.
“Eric?” she said, a question and an invitation.
He shook his head slightly, then reached out and cupped his fingers behind her neck. His thumb traced a fiery outline of her lips.
“I don’t know why I thought I could come over here and be around you and not react. It’s impossible.”
“I know,” she said softly, a glow starting inside her. His light touch felt so right. She laid her hands on his chest, wanting to melt into him as their combined heat made her legs weak.
