She shook her head, then changed her mind. Her face was pale, her tan doing nothing to hide the shadows under her eyes. “I think I need to sit down again,” she whispered.
He wrapped his arm around her waist. Hmm. There was something nice about feeling the heat of her body next to his. He pushed away the thought that followed. She was a patient and he never usually had any problems remembering that.
He could easily have helped her back onto the examination couch. But it probably wasn’t the most comfortable, so he moved her over to a black chaise lounge at the other end of the room. “How about here?”
She nodded and sagged back down. He sat next to her. “You’ve got me worried. Your blood pressure is fine. Your pupils are fine. But you don’t seem fine. I’m not happy to let you go. And I’m certainly not happy to put you behind the wheel of a car.”
She swung her legs up and positioned herself on the chaise lounge. His automatic reaction was to avert his eyes—probably missing the one thing that had been bothering him all day.
“I think I’ll be fine in a few minutes. I’m just tired.”
She seemed to read his face. “I’m not drowsy. I don’t feel sick. It’s, well, today’s been a big day. I was running on adrenaline for part of it and it feels as if I’ve got nothing left.”
He took a few moments to think about it. She wasn’t having any symptoms of a head injury and what she said made sense. She would have been running on adrenaline earlier and most people were exhausted after something like that. What harm was there in letting her stay a bit longer, rather than force her to go to the ER?
And it meant some more time in her company.
“How about I give you a few hours to sleep it off, and then I’ll come back and check you over? If I’m still worried about you then, you’ll need to let me take you to the ER. Agreed?”
She gave him a grateful smile. “Sounds perfect.” She looked around the room. “Have you got a blanket?”
He walked over to the cupboard and pulled one out, putting it over her bare legs and feet. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s fine.” She waited until he’d reached the door. “Thank you,” she whispered as she closed her eyes.
The words caught him unaware. Patients thanked him for surgeries all the time. He was used to it. But this felt different. This felt personal.
…
Something smelled really good. And what’s more, it was familiar. Her eyes flickered open. It was still daylight, although the sun’s position had changed. She stretched out like a cat and curled back into position before the smell hit her senses again.
A latte. Someone had brought her a latte.
She sat bolt upright. Mr. Handsome was relaxing in the chair across the room, using his sexy grin on her again. The tall latte glass was on the table right in front of her.
“When did you get here?” She straightened her clothing, trying to hide anything that had been revealed. Had he been watching her sleep? Did she snore? Did she sleep with her mouth wide open?
He gave her a lazy shrug. He’d changed back into his well-cut designer suit. Only this time his jacket was hanging over another chair and his shirtsleeves were rolled up, showing the scattering of dark hairs on his arms. Funny how she hadn’t noticed them earlier. But then again, she’d been too busy staring at his chest hair.
She started to flush. Just as well he couldn’t hear her thoughts.
He really was too handsome for his own good.
“About two minutes ago. I didn’t want to wake Sleeping Beauty.”
The comment irked her. This was a man who was surrounded by beauty every day. She snorted. “As if.”
She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. Perfect. Like everything in this place. “How did you know?”
He shrugged, “I guessed. I thought you might prefer something other than diet soda.” He pointed to the cans in the corner.
She’d had five? Really?
She took another drink of coffee. It would have been perfect if there was something to eat with it.
“How are you feeling?” She couldn’t tell if it was genuine concern in his eyes, or if he was just trying to get his room back.
He was still staring at her with his deep blue eyes, waiting for her to answer his question. “I’m feeling better, much better, thanks.” She looked down at her wrist, but her watch wasn’t where it normally was. “Do you know what time it is?”
“It’s just after six. Is there somewhere you need to be?”
“I don’t. But, I need to get organized. And get out of here.” She stood up. This time there was no swaying, no room moving before her eyes. She really did feel better. Her head felt a little tender.
“Don’t you want me to check you over?” He stood up and walked toward her.
Yes, but not as my doctor.
She pushed the thought out of her mind. She had more to worry about than some handsome doctor.
“No. I’ll be fine. Thanks anyway.”
Six o’clock. If she wanted to find somewhere to stay, she’d better move fast. Were there any motels around here? Somewhere cheap until she could work out what to do next. Was there anywhere cheap in Santa Monica?
His face fell. He handed her a set of instructions. “Remember, keep the wound dry for the next few days. We’ll give you an appointment to come back and get one of the nurses to take your stitches out.”
She started to pick up her bag, but his hand reached out and touched hers.
She froze. A tingle shot up her arm.
He was standing close to her. Something flickered across his eyes. “Hey, what was the bone you wanted to pick with me? You forgot to tell me earlier.”
“What?” When she stood back up, they were almost chest to chest. Well, not really. Her head was a good few inches under his and she was staring directly at his broad chest. Wondering what it would feel like under her fingers…
Her mind pulled back into focus. “Yeah.” She grabbed the leaflet from her bag. “You gave me this earlier. Told me to have a look at it.”
He looked at the clinic brochure she was holding in her hand. “That’s right. What’s the matter?”
“So what were trying to tell me?”
He looked confused. “What do you mean?”
She was getting annoyed now. She’d felt her anger flare the moment he’d handed her the brochure. But she’d pushed it aside since she’d thought, at first, she might end up staying overnig
ht. Now she realized she wasn’t, it was time to let loose. “Well, what kind of a guy are you? I come in here to get my head stitched and you take one look at me and hand me a brochure. I mean, how insulting can you be? What ‘bits’ of me do you think I should get fixed?”
His eyes widened. Then, just when she thought she couldn’t be more annoyed by him, he started to laugh.
“And now you’re laughing?”
He took the crumpled brochure from her hand and flung it in one of the nearby trash cans. “Of course I’m laughing. We give a brochure to everyone who comes in here. It’s automatic for me. I didn’t even think when I was doing it. Why would you be offended?”
Her gaze fell and her cheeks burned. “Because no woman likes to have her flaws pointed out.” She took a deep breath and looked out of the window.
“Has someone told you that you’ve got flaws, Selena?” His voice was quieter, edged with concern.
She shrugged. “Doesn’t that happen to every girl?” She couldn’t stop the waver in her voice. She was trying to act casual, but failing miserably.
He moved closer, his expression serious. He turned her around and put his finger under her chin, lifting her gaze to his. He bent forward and whispered in her ear. “And what flaws would they be, Selena? Because from where I’m standing, I can’t see any. I think you look perfect.”
He was speaking to her. He was definitely speaking to her. But she didn’t believe it so she gave her leg a little pinch through her skirt.
The six foot four, dark-haired Julian McMahon lookalike was telling her she was perfect.
“But you haven’t seen me with my clothes off.” The words came straight out. No thought behind them at all. Just the most natural reaction, quickly followed by a rush of heat to her cheeks.
“Let’s see what we can do about that.”
She gasped.
He leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. There was that smile again. Was he teasing her? Was he having a laugh at her expense?
Because she wasn’t perfect. Certainly not in a world where size 0 was the norm. Last time she’d been a size 0 she was around 12. In US sizes she was an 8. And even then, her breasts weren’t the biggest. She had to wear padded bras to give her more shape.