Aiden
I walked around the house, trying to think through anything else I might need as the time for everyone to show up drew near. I had supplies for cocktails, and dinner was already underway. The house was clean, as per usual, and the table was set.
All that was missing were my guests.
I was glad to find Peter at the door first. He had been my mentor when I started at the hospital, and we’d become solid friends since that time.
“Aiden. How are you?” Peter walked into the large foyer of my home and extended a bottle of wine. “I brought this. It’s not much, but you know Martha won’t let me out of the house without a gift for whoever I’m visiting.”
I smiled. “Good woman. I haven’t seen her in forever. How is she doing?”
“Good. Still as pretty as the day I married her.” He gave me grin. “Not sure why she’s with me.”
“Yeah, you are an ugly old goat.” I took the wine and walked into the kitchen to the sound of him laughing. “You guys meet in college or what?”
He took a seat at the breakfast nook that ran along the center of the kitchen. “Actually, she was a nurse at the hospital when I first started at St. Mark’s.”
“Really?” I turned and locked gazes with him. “Were the rules different back then?”
“No.” He laughed. “We were just troublemakers. We kept our relationship under wraps for a year or so, and then she decided to go work for someone in private practice, which was great.”
“So you guys snuck around at the hospital?” I worked to open the wine.
“Yep, but don’t try it.”
“Why’s that?” I couldn’t help but prod him a little. He seemed to have always been the staunch pillar of integrity in our department. It was nice to hear that it wasn’t the entire truth.
“Because I know all the tricks and places to hide out. I’ll find you.” He chuckled and walked out of the kitchen when the doorbell rang, leaving me to pour us each a glass of wine.
I could imagine that it would be stimulating, hiding out in various parts of the hospital, stealing kisses, or making love to a girl who had captivated me enough to do such things. Elizabeth’s sweet face moved across my mind’s eye, and I couldn’t help but wonder if her saucy little comments earlier that day hadn’t been exactly what I thought they were. Surely, she wasn’t that innocent and naïve. She played it off well, either way.
Peter returned with Sarah Vant, a tall drink of water and a young doctor who’d been working at St. Mark’s for two years after completing her residency. Her hips swayed from side to side with every step she took, and the heels of her extraordinarily high shoes clicked across my floors.
Her eyes, hazel and hooded with seduction, raked over me as I set the bottle of wine on the counter. “Aiden,” she purred as she drew up to the kitchen island alongside Peter. “Thanks for hosting this little dinner party. It’s been far too long since I had the chance to get out and get dressed up. What do you think?” She gestured down at herself.
Peter and I exchanged a look.
“You clean up well.” I lifted the wine and a third glass. “Care for a drink?”
“Please.” Sarah set her small purse down on the counter and looked back and forth between Peter and me. When I handed her the glass of wine, she lifted it to her full lips and took a long sip, leaving a red imprint from her lipstick on the rim. “So, who else is joining us later? Or do I have the two of you all to myself?”
Sarah, like most doctors at St. Mark’s, had a reputation. But hers was not built on success stories or bedside manner or compassionate patient care. Rather, she was known for her unabashed attraction to me.
And her steadfast commitment to trying to turn me in her favor.
Peter took over and answered in my place. I appreciated it. Sarah was a slippery fish and a woman I was constantly struggling to avoid at the hospital. “A couple of residents and their mentors should be arriving shortly. There’s plenty of fresh blood at the hospital, and Aiden thought it would be good for everyone to get to know each other.”
I didn’t correct him by saying this dinner party had been pushed upon me and the invitations had not gone out of my own volition.
Sarah batted her lashes at me. “Mm. Fresh blood. Fun.”
“Be nice,” I warned.
Sarah scoffed and dismissed me with a wave of her hand. Her nails had been freshly painted red. It seemed a waste of time and money. Doctors weren’t allowed nail polish, and she would only have to remove it before her next shift, which, if I wasn’t mistaken, was tomorrow night. “I’m always nice, Aiden. Right, Peter?”
Peter smirked. “I don’t know if nice is the right word.”
She rolled her eyes up to my ceiling. “Oh please. I’m downright delightful.”
The doorbell chimed, and Peter, the sneaky bastard, slipped away to answer it, leaving me alone with Sarah.
She eyed me like she was a lion in captivity and I was a raw, juicy steak. “Tell me what’s new with you, Aiden. Anyone special in your life?”
Leave it to Sarah to cut right to the chase. “You know I don’t have time for that.” Or an interest in it.
Although I was straining my ears to listen to Peter answering the door in the hopes it was Elizabeth who’d just arrived. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. She occupied every corner and crevice of my mind. What would it be like to live the way Peter and his wife had during the early stages of their relationship?
The idea of slipping into storage rooms and my office to steal a kiss from Elizabeth’s soft, full lips while on shift set my veins on fire.
“You’re no fun, Aiden,” Sarah mused. She ran her tongue along her bottom lip. “You know my offer still stands, don’t you?”
“You take every opportunity to remind me that it does.”
“Anywhere, any time.”
Good lord, she was ruthless. And so unprofessional.
Peter came into the kitchen with a young resident on his heels, and I was glad for the distraction and an easy way out of my conversation with Sarah. My old mentor gestured at the resident beside him, a young kid with sloppy black hair and an even sloppier grin. “This is Freddy. Freddy, this is Doctor Crawford and Doctor Vant.”
Freddy, all awkward nerves, let out a nervous chuckle and shook both mine and Sarah’s hands. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you both. Dr. Crawford, you’re mentoring Elizabeth Jenkins, aren’t you?”
Who was this kid? How did he know my resident? And what was he trying to pull?
“Yes.” I sipped my wine.
Freddy slid his hands into his jean pockets. “Nice. She’s pretty cool.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Cool?”
Sarah stepped in to assist Freddy as he fumbled for words under my stare. She put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t let Aiden make you flustered, sugar. Let’s get you a glass of wine, shall we? Red or white?”
“Oh, uh, red,” Freddy stammered.
Sarah, never one to not make herself at home, poured Freddy a glass of wine and pushed it into his hands. After he took a sip, she looked from him to me. “I’ve heard a bit about this new resident of yours, Aiden. And I must say I was pretty surprised. I thought you were anti-mentoring?”
“I am.”
Peter shook his head at me. “And I can’t imagine why. You have plenty of knowledge to share.”
I shrugged. “It’s never interested me. My time is better used with my patients and the people who need me. If I wanted to teach, I wouldn’t be at St. Mark’s, now would I?”
Sarah’s lips drew up in a little smile. “So, what’s she like?”
“Who?” I played dumb.
Sarah bit out a laugh. “Your resident. What’s her name?”
“Elizabeth,” Freddy offered.
I wanted to tell him to butt out.
“Elizabeth.” Sarah said her name like she was rolling an old piece of gum around her tongue. “Word in the halls is she’s quite the looker. Is that true?”
“Definitely,” Freddy said.
I shot him a dark look. “She’s objectively attractive.”
Sarah arched a dark eyebrow. “Objectively attractive?”
I sipped my wine to avoid having to provide her with an answer.
Freddy, however, seemed more than willing to talk. “She’s pretty—that’s for sure—but her smarts outweigh it. She’s got a quick mouth, too. And she came highly recommended from Dr. Martin and NYU.”
That caught Sarah’s attention. She stood up a little straighter and shook out her mane of pin-straight, glossy black hair. “Oh? Dr. Martin, huh?”
Freddy nodded vigorously. “Yeah. And that’s gotta count for something, right?”
Sarah licked her red lips. “Indeed.”
9
Elizabeth
I slid into the back of the cab outside mine and Steph’s apartment just before seven o’clock. I was running way behind, and I hoped Aiden didn’t think less of me for showing up at his place at the absolute last minute.
The driver looked over his shoulder at me. “Where to, miss?”
I gave him Aiden’s address he’d given me earlier at the hospital, and he pulled away from the curb while I used the compact mirror in my clutch to apply a little more lip gloss. A bit of extra shine never killed anyone, right?
My nerves were all over the place as we headed toward Manhattan. I was almost as nervous for this silly dinner party as I’d been for my first day at the hospital, and that was a testament to how messed up my priorities were.
Aiden was just a guy. A really handsome, smart, charming, panty-dropping, pussy-melting, hunk of a guy.
I swallowed. That line of thinking wasn’t doing me any favors. Or my panties. Somehow, I was going to have to endure the evening in his company while keeping my composure. This was a work event. It was not a chance for me to see him in another element.
Or to see how he lived. Although I was desperately curious to find out.
As we drew closer to the nicer parts of the city, I tugged my skirt down my knees. The driver kept prattling on about nonsense, like what was playing on the radio and how rarely he got to drive out to these parts. When we turned onto Aiden’s street, I realized why.
This place was a whole other level of fancy and wealthy.
The houses were massive and set far back from the street with long, winding driveways. Some were gated. Others were lined with sweeping trees and lined in rich green lawns that one simply didn’t see very often in New York City. The small residential spaces just didn’t allow for it.
These houses had nicer gardens than my apartment did. By a landslide. They were perfectly groomed and boasted colorful plants worthy of gardening magazines.
“Nice place,” the cab driver muttered as he turned into Aiden’s driveway. It was on an incline, so the car tipped a little, and I gazed out the windshield, leaning into the middle of the backseat to get a better view between the two front seats.
“Holy shit.”
The driver chuckled. “Holy shit is right. Who lives here? Your boyfriend?”
I wish. “My boss.”
Aiden’s house was a two-story modern masterpiece. The first thing I noticed was the glass garage door. It was tinted, showing only the outline of the four vehicles parked inside in a neat row. When the cab driver parked outside the driveway, I found myself wondering what sort of cars were in there.
Sports cars? Luxury cars?
Panty-dropping cars, I thought bitterly. Why can’t I stop thinking about my damn panties?
The rest of the house extended off the garage and went deep into the back of the property. It was dark gray with black trim around the massive windows. I could see straight through the front two windows into the main part of the house. A kitchen, living room, and dining room were all joined and all decorated in a seamless, streamlined, modern style..
I instantly wished I hadn’t started thinking about his bedroom. The only thing I should ever be thinking about Aiden doing behind locked doors was performing surgery—not other things. Steamy things. Curl your toes, make you scream his name to the ceiling sort of things.
“Miss?” I snapped back to reality as the driver looked back at me. “That’ll be twenty-one dollars, please.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry.” I fished my cash out of my clutch and slapped twenty-five dollars in his palm. “Thanks for the ride.”
With my stomach tightening into a coil of nausea-inducing nerves, I slid out of the car, fixed my skirt, and marched my ass up the driveway to the front door. I had to look at this as just another day at work. A time to slap a smile on my face and impress everyone in the room, just like Dr. Martin expected me to do. I wasn’t going to let her down. And I sure as hell was not going to let myself down, either.
I could do this. It was just a dinner party, after all.
My hands were trembling when I stopped at the massive front door. It was black with gold handles and windows on the top half that were tinted and impossible to see through. After I rang the door bell, I strained my ears to listen for footfalls on the other side.
When the door opened, my heart shot into my throat.
“Elizabeth. It’s about damn time.” Aiden cocked his head to the side.
“I’m sorry. My cab driver got lost.” A little white lie never hurt anybody.
He stepped aside, revealing the elegant interior of his home. “Come on in. Let me take your jacket.”
I shrugged out of the loose blazer I’d thrown over my blouse. He took it off me, and his fingers grazed my shoulders. Goosebumps sprang to life on my skin, and I hoped he didn’t notice as he turned to hang my jacket in his entry closet. When his gaze turned back to me, his lips were fixed in a pleasant, professional smile. “Can I get you a glass of wine?”
“That would be great. I’m nervous as hell.”
He chuckled. It was a deep, sexy, rumbling sound that set my teeth on edge. “Don’t be nervous. There are other residents here. None of which are as clever as you. And for what it’s worth, I think they’re more nervous than you are.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, I’ve been bragging about you all night.”
“You have?” I blinked at him.
Aiden flashed me a smile over his shoulder as I followed him into his house toward the kitchen. “There are a lot of good things to say.”
He dropped his head, and I finally had a moment to soak in the sight of him and fully appreciate him out of his white doctor jacket and scrubs.
His shoulders seemed even more broad in the navy-blue blazer he wore. It tapered inward, showing off his narrow waist and V-cut torso. His shirt, a blue and white checkered button up, suited him well, and he had it tucked into a pair of dark blue jeans with a dark brown belt and the same shade brogues.
Damn. He looks fine as hell.
My admiration of him was cut short when the other dinner party attendees realized I was there. Freddy popped up from where he’d draped himself on Aiden’s black leather sofa to join us in the kitchen. He grabbed my hand as Aiden poured me a glass of red wine and bowed his head toward me. “Thank God you’re here.”
“What’s up?” I asked. Aiden handed me my wine, and I took a sip. That one bottle probably cost a good fraction of my month’s rent.
Freddy’s gaze flicked toward the others at the sofa. There were eight of them. There were a few others gathered around the dining-room table, sipping cocktails and talking amongst themselves, probably about work. The tall, raven-haired, curvy doctor I’d seen in the halls over my first week, Sarah Vant, as well as some others I did not recognize, were having an animated conversation over on the sofas.
Freddy groaned. “I’m way out of my comfort zone here.”
“I don’t think I can help you there, Freddy,” I said. “This isn’t exactly my forte either.”
“Shall we make some introductions?” Aiden interrupted, reaching for me. For a brief moment, I thought he was going to put his hand on my lower back
. And for an even briefer moment, I found myself hoping he did.
But then he let his hand fall awkwardly to his side as if realizing what he was doing.
Freddy and I fell into step behind Aiden as he led us across the open floor plan to the living room and dining room. Everyone on the sofa and at the dining table looked up, and Aiden gestured to me. “Everyone. This is Elizabeth, my new resident. Elizabeth, this is everyone. Dr. Peter Billings, Dr. Sarah Vant, Dr. Trace Woods, and you already know our other present resident, Freddy.”
I smiled politely at everyone and made my way around the sectional to shake their hands as the others at the dining-room table made their way over to say hello. Dr. Vant gripped my hand firmly when she shook it and pulled me an inch toward her. “It’s very nice to meet you, Elizabeth. And about time you got here. Aiden’s been rattling on and on about your wisdom in the OR the other day. And although I’m impressed, I must say, I’m ready to move on to more thrilling topics. Sit.” She patted the empty spot on the sofa beside her.
I almost looked to Aiden for permission to do so or for him to spare me from having to sit next to her. But I could handle this. I’d dealt with my share of mean girls, and Dr. Vant was practically dripping with self-serving entitlement and arrogance.
I sat.
Dr. Vant crossed one leg over the other and smiled pleasantly at me. “So, Elizabeth. Tell me. Where did you get that adorable blouse?”
10
Aiden
“So, tell us again about the working with Dr. Martin. I’ve heard she’s a bitch.” One of the other residents leaned forward at the large dining table we all sat around. There were around twenty of us by the time the servers brought in dinner.
Elizabeth was the center of attention, which she didn’t seem to enjoy nearly as much as I thought she might.
“She was great to me, but I have a hard shell, I guess.” She shrugged and picked up her wine. “There was no beating around the bush with her. You either did what she expected of you, or she would toss you out on your butt. The M.D. program at NYU might not be the top program in the state, but it worked well for me. Dr. Martin forced me to go as far as I could in my training, and I’m grateful for it.”
Between The Sheets Page 6
