Why would she run from him?
Then again, he had just jumped down her throat.
Two nurses watched them with unabashed curiosity. Daniel shot them a glare, and they busied themselves.
Raking his fingers through his hair, he took a deep breath. “Look, I’d rather not have this discussion in the hallway of the hospital where I work. As it is, we’ve given the gossipmongers fodder for the next month. I don’t need any help in that department.”
“Fine.” Her expression resigned, Kimberly nodded. “Let’s go somewhere private and get this over with.”
Wordlessly, Kimberly followed Daniel, keeping her eyes focused anywhere other than on the tall man leading her down the path of forbidden thoughts.
She didn’t know exactly how she’d expected him to greet her, but she hadn’t anticipated the hunger in his eyes.
Or how just being in the same room with him would send her body into shock.
During the procedure, she’d literally leaned against the cold wall to keep from sliding to the floor. Her inability to hide her unprofessional reaction had earned her several snide looks from the medical students. No wonder. They’d probably assumed she’d been fighting nausea or dizziness.
For that matter, she had fought nausea and dizziness, but not because of witnessing the pacemaker placement.
If only they’d known the real reason her head had spun, her body had sagged, and her heart had raced.
What had she been thinking to come here?
She should have turned in her resignation rather than face Daniel.
Had she really thought coming face-to-face with Ryan’s father wouldn’t destroy the delicately-knit framework of her life?
No matter how much she’d told herself otherwise, seeing Daniel changed everything.
And why had she attacked his character with her snide comment? Even if Daniel had whisked Angel into his arms and passionately kissed the resident, she had no right to complain.
Yet she’d wanted to complain, loudly and with great gusto.
“This way,” he said, pointing her to the left, where they went through a set of double doors.
She followed him into an area designated for hospital staff only, a back hallway that ran behind the specialty clinics, allowing the doctors easy access to the hospital without having to go through their patient waiting areas.
He punched in a security code on a computerized wall panel that caused an audible click.
They went through the unlocked double doorway, and he led her to an office marked with his name. Unlocking the door, he pushed it open, allowing her to enter first.
Unable to prevent her curiosity to do with everything about him, she made note of the steel and black décor.
A bold, black desk monopolized the room, drawing her attention first. Off to the side were an imposing black leather sofa and two chairs with a magazine-littered chrome-and-glass coffee table between them. She could picture Daniel consulting with a patient there.
Or stretched out, taking a quick nap on the sofa after wrapping up a late-night emergency.
&n
bsp; A bookshelf lined one wall, full of textbooks, a few knickknacks, including several heart models, and a single photo frame. Without taking a closer look, she recognized the woman embracing Daniel.
Leona Travis.
Even across the room she could feel the woman’s eyes boring into her, asking what she was doing, bothering Daniel after all this time. Didn’t she know she still wasn’t good enough for her beloved son?
Daniel’s mother had nothing to worry about. Kimberly wasn’t there to steal Daniel away from his precious career. Far from it.
She risked a sideways peek at him. He watched her with an odd expression on his face and she winced at the sheer force of pent-up longing that came with looking at him.