“How was your day?” Professional, Charity, be professional.
“Interesting.” His fingers ran lightly over his chin. “I have to tell you something.” He leaned slightly closer to her.
“What is it?” she whispered in a quiet airy voice. Her entire body was tuned into his. She could feel goose bumps start to rise on her bare arm.
“Last night…”
“Yes?” Her breath quickened.
“That place. That food was amazing! I ordered it again for lunch.”
She straightened. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” His head tilted to the side. “What did you think I was going to say?”
“Nothing.” She waved her hand, wondering if other people noticed the room had grown warm. “I had no idea.”
“Charity!” Her father motioned her to come over. “Come meet Dr. Skyrt. He’s very interested in helping with the fundraiser gala.”
She nodded in his direction and gave one last glance at Elijah. “Duty calls.”
Her father introduced her to the older English doctor. He was witty and charming, but best of all, wanted to put money toward the hospital. Charity gave him her business card and promised to be in touch.
She glanced around the room. Most people were on their second, or even third drink, and chatting amongst themselves. She cleared her throat and raised her voice. “Everyone, help yourself to pizza and there are platters of snack foods on the table over there.” She pointed to the far wall. “I should probably introduce myself. I’m Charity Thompson, and yes, my father is Dr. Thompson.” She smiled at her dad, playing the part of the good daughter. It only had to be believable.
“Some of you may already know, Dr. Thompson is turning sixty-five…” She glanced at her dad and winked. “Am I allowed to tell them your age?”
He smiled and nodded, playing the part of the loving father.
“Yes, so with that milestone, instead of retiring, my father would like to throw a massive party to raise money for the hospital.” A question crossed her mind. “Do you have an intention on where you plan to use the monies raised?”
“I do. The oncology floor needs new equipment and whatever else we can do.”
A couple of groups cheered when he said that. Charity, for a moment, was at a loss for words. Then she realized his edge – he wanted to put it toward the floor her mother had lost her battle with cancer on so it would make him look good. Own the hospital and look like the guy who had lost his one true love. Either that, or he felt incredible guilty and wanted to try and make up for it.
Everyone stood quiet, waiting for her to speak. She realized the silence in the room was because of her. “Fantastic.” The word sounded forced. “While you grab food, please check over the printed brochure. It’s a summary of what we plan to do. To make this evening a massive success, we are going to need volunteers and ideas and word of mouth. If you want to help or have an idea to share or anything, you can email or call me. My information is on the back. I hope to get a chance to chat with a number of you this evening.” There. Her speech to get the ball rolling was done. The rest of the evening would consist of cruising the room and chatting. Having a laugh and making sure everyone was enjoying themselves. “Now, who wants a beer? And who wants pizza?”
Chapter 11
Two and a half hours later, Charity slipped out onto the balcony and stared out into the night sky. The city lights created a pretty map view. For a busy city, it was very quiet this evening from this high up.
The evening had been a success. People had just started leaving about half an hour ago. That was a great sign. Her father sat at a table with several older doctors talking shop and enjoying the twenty year old whiskey she’d kept hidden until after the pizza had been cleared away. She’d slipped it to Dr. Skyrt, whose face lit up and he went straight to her father.
The door behind her opened and Elijah walked out. He stood a few feet away from her with his hands spread wide around the railing. Neither spoke as they both watched the cars and city move below them. Charity inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“So, are we going to talk about what happened last night?” Elijah shifted to face her and took a few steps closer, his fingers tracing along the metal railing.
Charity glanced at him and then back to the view. “What about it?” She moved her head slightly so he wouldn’t see her smile. She took a small step toward the glass door and could feel Elijah follow her. No one inside the room paid attention to what was going on outside.
He cleared his throat. “We, um, made out.”
“Oh, right.” She turned to face him. “Sorry, I forgot.”
He chuckled and moved closer. “No, you didn’t.”
She loved the intensity in his eyes but couldn’t resist saying, “I’m glad it was memorable. I wasn’t sure I would stack up against half the nurses and interns at the hospital here.”
Elijah tapped the balcony with a finger then reached to gently trace it down her forearm and wrist. He swallowed, almost appearing shy. “Um… you were pretty…” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You were pretty… amazing. No one here stacks up to you.”