Our Last Chance (Heart of Hope 1)

“But if the hospital wants me to take the fall, you’ll have to help them. It’s your job.”

I hated that he was right. “We’re ahead of ourselves. There’s nothing that says you did anything wrong.”

“Then what? This lawsuit could take years, right? At least that’s what my lawyer says. But that doesn’t change the next time someone dies and it’s not clear cut how or why.”

“Nick.”

“It doesn’t change what’s between me and you.” He rose from the chair and turned away from me, like he said more than he intended.

“Do you want to change what’s between me and you?”

He scoffed. “It doesn’t matter what I want. I learned that four years ago.”

“Nick, we made that decision—”

“No. I offered to follow you and you wanted a clean slate.”

I sighed and looked down. “I was afraid if you gave up your dream, you’d resent me.”

He turned to me. “This is not my dream, Mia. I just wanted to live in this beautiful place and practice medicine. I didn’t sign up to have my boss or my town turn against me. If I fucked up, then yeah, I’d deserve it, but the more I play that day out in my head, the more I know it wasn’t me or anyone in the ER. But you don’t care about that—”

“I care about it.”

He pursed his lips in a look that suggested he didn’t believe me.

“I do, Nick. I’m doing what I can to find out what happened, and if possible, make this go away. I’m sure your lawyer is too. Were you able to get work done with your lawyer despite Eli?”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s a lot of wait and see. I’m about ready to take her up on her offer to file harassment charges.”

“What Eli did wasn’t me or the hospital.” I felt my skin prickle. The last thing we needed in this town was for Nick to wage war against the hospital. On the other hand, I couldn’t blame him for wanting to defend himself.

“Eli buys into the town gossip; the fact that Dick either dismisses Ms. Mason thereby pissing everyone off in what looks like a cover-up, or makes rumors that I’m somehow to blame. There’s a group of people outside who remind everyone here from staff to patients that everyone, including the administrators, think I killed her.”

I wanted to hold him, and make it better for him. I held myself back, but only for a moment. The woman who cared for him overcame the professional. I stepped up to him and put my arms around him. “I hate that you have to go through this.”

His hands rested on my hips, but his body was tense and he stepped back. “Mia.”

I looked him in the eyes, for the first time seeing so much pain and emotion. “It’s just me and you right now, Nick. Let me be here for you, for whatever you need.”

He gave me a coy smile. “When you’re there for me, what I end up needing is more than emotional support.”

I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my body against his. “I asked you if you wanted to change what was between us. Maybe, like you said, it doesn’t matter because of the situation we’re in, but knowing about it does matter, because the truth is Nick, I’d like it to change.”

His breath hitched, as his piercing green eyes searched mine. “I told myself it was just sex.”

I nodded. “I told myself that too, but I’m too smart to risk my job just for sex. But for you, Nick—”

His lips were on mine before I could finish my sentence, which was just as well because I wasn’t sure I should share more. I was taking a big risk, and not just by kissing Nick in my office. We’d shared more than we had before, but it didn’t mean we had something that would last or that either of us was willing to risk our jobs. The truth was, the hospital needed Nick more than me, so my job was the one at risk.

“Stop thinking,” he murmured against my lips. “It makes me worry this is wrong.”

“This is wrong,” I said holding him tighter. “But right now, I don’t care.”

He turned me until I was against the desk. “I need you, Mia. Right here, right now.” His cock wedged at my cleft against my skirt, backing up his words. The wetness in my panties was proof that I needed him just as much.

“My door locks automatically.”

He lifted his head; his face was so handsome with the flush of color and desire burning in his eyes. I could see he was wanting verification that I was inviting him to fuck here and now.