Dr. Desirable

Michelle didn’t need to explain why she’d been crying, but Nick shored up for an explanation, anyway.

“You’re here,” she said, shattering his expectations.

“Yep, I’m here.” He tugged a napkin from the stack set out on the end of the dining room table and handed it to her.

She hesitantly took it and dabbed at her eyes. “You probably think I’ve totally lost it.”

No, but she was obviously distressed, and he wanted to know why. “Care to talk about it?”

She flipped the napkin clutched in her hand. “It’s nothing, really. Just the usual hormones. I’m feeling a little testy at the moment.”

He pointed to the towel slung low on her hips. “Do you have a weapon tucked away in there?”

At least that earned him a smile from her. “No, just this.” She held up the plastic fork she’d been retrieving from the floor when he’d walked into the room.

He grinned. “I guess I should be grateful.”

She set the fork aside and asked, “Did you hear the news?”

“Nope. Just got here. What news?”

“Brooke’s pregnant.” She didn’t sound happy.

Nick curled his hand on the back of the chair and leaned into it. “Well I’ll be damned.” He didn’t dare tell her that Jared had informed him yesterday about the baby. Obviously, Michelle hadn’t been afforded that courtesy.

He understood all too well how unexpected news could shake a person up. Case in point, Bridget’s classic divorce-paper delivery at his office, the first he’d known about it. A lie. He’d known it was inevitable. He just hadn’t wanted to deal with the possibility.

Yeah, he could relate to Michelle’s anguish.

Michelle sniffed again. “Pretty incredible, huh?”

“Yeah. Pretty incredible. Do you want to sit down?”

He pulled back the chair from the table. Without a word she collapsed in it like a punctured balloon.

Taking the chair beside her, he scraped his mind trying to come up with something appropriate, something halfway consoling to say. He couldn’t think of one damn thing.

Nick allowed her some silence and wondered if he should leave. Maybe she wanted to be alone. Maybe she needed to be held. He could do that, although with her wearing a bikini and a fresh set of tears, that probably wouldn’t be a good idea. The tears affected him more than her lack of clothing at the moment. He hated to see a woman cry, and he figured a strong woman like Michelle Lewis didn’t take emotional outbursts lightly. Neither did he. But he wasn’t too good with comfort, at least not the kind she needed. Medicine had taught him that. Bridget had reminded him of that more times than he could shake a stick at.

The patio door slid open, and Jeanie Lewis, Brooke and Michelle’s mother, stepped in with Nick’s four-year-old daughter, Kelsey, braced on one hip. During those times Nick and Kelsey had joined the Grangers and Lewises for dinner the past few months, Kelsey had adopted Jeanie as a surrogate grandmother. Unfortunately for Nick, Michelle had never made it to those get-togethers, probably in avoidance of facing him after the wedding fiasco.

“Here he is, Kelsey,” Jeanie said, then sent him a mother’s smile. “She’s been looking all over for you. Jared said you might be in here.”

His daughter’s eyes, much like his own, lit up with pure kid joy. “Look, Daddy. I’m gonna swim with Auntie Jeanie.” She held out her arms, both wrapped in lemon-yellow floaties.

“You bet, punkin.”

Nick stood, and Michelle turned in her chair to face her mother and Kelsey. Her smile was sincere. “That’s a good-looking swimsuit, sweetie.”

Kelsey looked down and rubbed a hand over the pink-and-green ruffled top. “Daddy got it.”

“Really?” Michelle rose and turned her pretty face to Nick. “Daddy has really good taste.”

Nick couldn’t deny that. He more than appreciated Michelle’s shiny blue number. He would appreciate it more if he could see the whole thing, but the bottom half was covered by the blasted towel. That would be easy to remedy with one flick of a finger at the loose knot.

He tried to dislodge thoughts of Michelle’s bikini from his mind since his child was present. Not to mention Michelle’s mother, who, he’d just bet, wouldn’t take too kindly to him ogling her daughter.

Nick took Kelsey’s hand into his, still fascinated by her perfect fingers, as he had been since the day she was born. “This is Michelle, kiddo.”

Taking Kelsey’s free hand, Michelle gave it a gentle shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Kelsey. Are you having fun?”

Kelsey nodded with a definitive jerk of her head, sending her chestnut curls into a dance. Then she leaned over and cupped Michelle’s cheek, taking Nick by surprise. Normally she was guarded with strangers, yet she seemed totally captivated by Michelle. He could relate to that.

“You’re pretty,” Kelsey said, surveying Michelle’s face with open worship. The force of Michelle’s responding, dimpled smile sent Nick’s whole body reeling. The way she placed her hand over Kelsey’s made him value this soft side of Michelle Lewis that much more.

“Not as pretty as you, sweetie,” Michelle said. “You look like your daddy.”

“Yeah. Like daddy.”

Jeanie Lewis placed a kiss on Kelsey’s face, leaving a pink lip imprint on her cheek. “This one’s a doll, Nick.” She looked over Kelsey’s head right at Michelle. “Shelly, are you all right?”

Michelle averted her eyes. “I’m fine, Mom.”

“I think she’s had too much sun,” Nick said. “I’m making her sit awhile before she goes back out.”

“Good idea. She’s probably exhausted. She works much too hard.” Jeanie continued to study Michelle as if trying to read her thoughts. “Isn’t that some news about Brooke, Shelly? I didn’t know what to say, especially with Brooke’s asthma. But I guess it will all work out.” She didn’t sound too confident.

Kelsey squirmed in Jeanie’s arms. “I wanna go now.”

Nick bussed his daughter under the chin, for once glad the four-year-old had a limited attention span. “Anyone ever tell you patience is a virtue, kiddo?”

Jeanie slid Kelsey to her feet and took her hand. “I’ll watch her, Nick. I need to get in some practice with a grandchild on the way.” She patted her bobbed, silver hair and sent him a sunny smile that seemed strained. “You and Michelle have a nice visit.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Lewis. I’ll be out in a minute.” He crouched down and framed Kelsey’s sweet face in his palms. “You be a good girl.” After popping a kiss on her chubby cheek, he straightened.

Kelsey sent Michelle a demure wave. “’Bye, Shelly.”

Michelle’s smile returned. “’Bye, Kelsey.”

After Jeanie led his fidgeting daughter out the door, Nick faced Michelle again. She wrapped her arms low around her tanned midriff, but not before he caught a partial glimpse of her navel. Man, he’d give up his vacation to see the rest of it and all points below. Silently scolding himself for his wicked thoughts, he dragged his eyes back to her face.

“Your daughter’s beautiful, Dr. Kempner.”

So are you, he wanted to say. Instead he settled for, “I can only take half the credit. She is a great kid, though.”

Michelle dropped her gaze to the floor. “Thanks for the explanation you handed my mother. I didn’t want to upset her.”

“No problem.” He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “She seems a little worried about Brooke.”

Michelle finally raised her eyes to his. “She is. And with good cause.”

“The asthma?”

“Yes. But as she said, I’m sure it will all work out.”

Michelle didn’t sound at all confident. Nick couldn’t blame her. Although OB wasn’t his thing, he suspected maintaining a pregnant asthmatic could have its challenges. But Brooke and Jared had overcome a lot of stumbling blocks to reach this milestone, and he figured this was only one more to overcome. At least they had each other to lean on.

A nagging heaviness settled on Nick’s chest like an uninvited, long-lost cousin. He ignored it, choosing instead to focus on Michelle, now working her bottom lip with her teeth—a full bottom lip he could definitely enjoy kissing.

“Well, I guess I’m heading home now,” she announced, cutting into his questionable thoughts.

He didn’t want her to go, for many reasons. “Hey, I just got here. The party’s only begun to get interesting.”

She slicked a hand over her scalp and tightened her ponytail. “I can only imagine. But that’s all I’ll be able to do since I need to get some work done.”

“On a Sunday afternoon?”

“I brought some stuff home with me. Until this campaign’s over, I’m not going to have much time to slack off.”

“Are you sure? I make a mean margarita.” He topped off the offer with a grin.

She tightened the towel at her waist and crossed her arms over her chest. “That sounds tempting, but I’ll have to pass.”

He wanted badly to smooth the worry from her face. Make her stay. “So they call you Shelly, huh?”

A slight blush tinged her cheeks. “Heavens, yes. Luckily no one calls me that at the hospital. Makes me feel like I’m Kelsey’s age.”

“Okay, so I’ll just call you Michelle. And you can call me Nick.” She would call him much worse if she knew the path his thoughts were taking. He couldn’t seem to pull his eyes away from her face, had an even harder time keeping them away from her body, where he took a subtle mental inventory. The perfectly carved collarbone, the scoop of the bikini top that revealed ample cleavage, the slender torso, all painted a fascinating portrait of a fascinating woman.

“Well, Nick, I really do need to go. I’m so sleepy that if I stay, I’ll probably have to find a bed.”

If she stayed, he’d help her find one. And join her.

Releasing an exaggerated sigh to keep from groaning, he said, “Okay. But don’t work too hard. Life is short. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.”

She reached for a canvas bag hanging on the back of a chair and slipped it over her slender shoulder. “How so?”

Man, that could take hours to explain. He wasn’t up to baring his soul completely, so he’d give her an abbreviated version of the whole sorry story his life had been. “I missed out on a lot when Kelsey was a baby because of my work. And now I only get to see her every other weekend, so I guess you could say I’m still missing out.”

“That’s a shame, Nick.” She sounded as if she meant it. As if she understood how badly he hated the part-time dad thing.

“Yeah, but that’s just the way it is.”

Michelle clutched the bag to her chest. At least now Nick could concentrate better on the conversation. “Can you ask for more time with her during the week?”

He had asked. About a thousand times. He was even willing to cut out of the office early. But Bridget wouldn’t budge. She didn’t want Kelsey exposed to “his women,” as if he really had a revolving door in his two-bedroom apartment. Not that he hadn’t indulged a time or two in female companionship. But it hadn’t been that often, although the hospital scuttlebutt would say otherwise.

“Maybe someday my ex will allow me some extra time,” he said. “After the battle scars start to fade.”

“Tough divorce?”

“The toughest.”

“It will all work out,” she said wistfully.

Nick wasn’t sure if Michelle spoke of his life or her own. She might appear confident on the exterior, but her vulnerabilities were showing. Not that she’d meant for him to see them. And damned if he didn’t like what he saw. All of it. All of her. And he intended to see more.

Two

Nick had been waiting all afternoon to give Jared Granger a hefty dose of his own medicine and to ask him a few questions about Michelle Lewis.

“So how does it feel knowing you’re going to be a dad, Granger? Knowing you’re going to be responsible for this person for at least twenty years, worrying if you’re screwing up—”

“Shut up, Kempner.”

Jared made the warning through a proud-as-a-peacock grin while they stood near the barbecue pit as the party began to wind down.

Nick could identify with that smile. He’d worn exactly the same one when Bridget had told him she was pregnant five years ago, a time when he’d still held on to the hope that the marriage might survive since they would have a child to consider. Man, had he been wrong.

“Actually, I’m happy for you and Brooke,” Nick said. “There’s nothing like it in the world, being a dad.” Even a part-time one, he thought as he watched Kelsey splashing around in the pool with Brooke’s mom. Not that he didn’t crave more time with his daughter.

Jared held up a beer for a toast. “Except maybe for finding the right woman to have that baby with.”

Nick clicked his bottle against Jared’s, experiencing a little sting of envy. “Yeah, looks like you got lucky the first time.” If only he could say the same for himself.

Surveying the last of the guests, Nick was disappointed to find that Michelle had left after all. When he’d departed the kitchen to give her some space, he’d hoped she would change her mind. She certainly was changing his about her.

“So what do you know about Brooke’s sister?” he asked, probably at his own detriment.

Jared’s grin deepened, confirming Nick’s concern. “Why? Are you still interested?”

Think fast, Kempner. “I talked to her in the kitchen a while ago. She was pretty upset over Brooke not telling her about the baby.”

Jared’s smile dropped out of sight. “I was afraid of that. But they’ll work it out. They’re pretty close.”

“Yeah? They don’t seem that much alike.”

“In some ways they are. Michelle’s pretty devoted to her career and her family. When she’s not working, she’s at her parents’ house making sure they’re okay.”

“So she doesn’t date?”

“You are interested, aren’t you?”

He’d been caught with his mind in the proverbial cookie jar. So much for being subtle. “Let’s just say I’m mildly curious.”

Jared let go a sharp laugh. “I’d wager you’re mildly lustful. Michelle’s a looker, all right. Seems to me she’s anything but receptive to men right now.”

“Yeah, why’s that?”

Jared looked over his shoulder, probably visually patrolling for Brooke, then lowered his voice. “Brooke told me she’s been fairly unlucky with relationships. She had one that went pretty sour a couple of years back.”

“Haven’t we all.”

“To my way of thinking, after your argument with her at our wedding, that makes your odds slim to none.”

Obviously, they had drawn more attention during their confrontation than Nick had first believed. “It wasn’t an argument exactly.” More like casual warfare. “We just don’t see eye to eye on certain things.”

“Let me guess. You asked her for a date and she refused.”

“Nope. I just told her she looked like a princess in her bridesmaid’s dress, and then she said if I thought she believed in that old fairy tale about kissing a toad, I had another think coming even if I did fit the bill, at which time I made a comparison to her and the ice sculpture. That was about it.”

Jared chuckled. “That was enough.”

“Yeah, maybe, but I was just trying to be nice.”

“You were trying to hit on her.”

“Not exactly true.” Close, but not exactly.

Jared sent a wave in Brooke’s direction and gave her a look that revealed a man too smitten for his own good. He finally turned his attention back to Nick. “Let me tell you something else about Michelle Lewis. She’s a beautiful woman who probably fights off a dozen come-ons a week. Maybe even a day. If you want to win her over, you’re going to have to rethink your usual ‘Hi, I’m Nick, I want you.’”

“That’s a low blow, Granger. I have more class than that.”

Nick immediately recalled Al Rainey’s obvious lust for Michelle and realized Jared was probably right about men hitting on her frequently and without regard to restraint. God knew that was old Al in a nutshell. And yes, Nick wasn’t always subtle. But he was good at picking up signals, and he knew when to back off.

Nick felt the overwhelming need to defend himself, probably because he had spent much of his time in recent days on guard where his ex and her accusations about other women were concerned. “First of all I’m not really looking for anything heavy. Secondly, I’m not the playboy everyone makes me out to be. And last, who needs the grief of a woman who’s not the least bit interested in men at the moment?”

“You do. You thrive on challenge. You live for it.” Jared nailed him with a serious glare. “But I’ll warn you. Michelle is a really nice woman beneath that all-business exterior. Basically your average girl-next-door type.”

If Michelle Lewis was a girl next door, then Nick was Albert Einstein. “Are you saying I’m not her type?”

“I’m saying that if you do anything to hurt her, you’ll have to answer to Brooke, and believe me, you don’t want to deal with her.”

Nick realized all too well the potency of sisterly ties. He was the baby in a family with three female siblings. He’d barely survived all that womanly camaraderie. Not to mention the lack of bathroom space. “Okay. If I decide I might want to give Michelle Lewis a shot, I’ll proceed with caution.”

“I’m not betting on that horse.”

Jared knew him all too well. Yeah, he did thrive on challenge, but was Michelle Lewis worth the trouble? Whatever did transpire between them, he would definitely make sure he wasn’t the one to get burned.

But somehow Nick knew that when he was around Michelle Lewis, he was already standing too close to the fire.

As it was now nearing lunchtime, Michelle decided to take a break from her work and make the call she’d needed to make since yesterday. She needed to apologize to Brooke for her harried departure from the party. She also needed answers as to why Brooke hadn’t told her sooner about the baby. Maybe something was wrong aside from Brooke’s asthma. Something Brooke hadn’t told her yet. That prospect frightened her. She couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to her little sister.

“Hey. You got a minute?”

Michelle’s grip tightened on the phone at the sound of that voice—a voice belonging to a doctor she had thought about much too often in the past twenty-four hours. She couldn’t seem to get him out of her head. She certainly didn’t need him in her office, invading her space at work and worming his way back into her stubborn psyche.

Michelle dropped the phone onto its cradle and stared up at Nick Kempner’s disarming smile. She glanced at the door he had managed to close behind him without her noticing. She was trapped in a small room with a man who emitted sensuality like a nuclear-powered aphrodisiac.

On the heels of his surprise appearance, she was amazed she found her voice. “Good afternoon, Dr. Kempner. What brings you to the administrative offices?”

Without an invitation he pulled back the chair in front of her desk and sat, one leg crossed over the other as if he planned to settle in for a while. “I have a question for you.”

The doctor looked much too good in his tailored white shirt and conservative blue tie, his shiny brown hair as slick as his smile. Not that he hadn’t looked great in swim trunks.

Get a grip, Michelle. “Okay. What is it?”

His grin expanded. “Just say yes.”

“Yes to—”

“Good. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

The man was incorrigible. And sexier than any man had a right to be. “Tonight?” That wasn’t at all what she’d intended to say. And she darned sure didn’t mean to say it with such enthusiasm.

“No. Saturday night. I figured since we’re both attending the fund-raising gala, we might as well go together. Unless you already have a date.”

“I’m not going.”

His dark brows drew down over his equally dark eyes. “What do you mean you’re not going? This thing’s supposed to raise money for your pet project.”

Exactly what Michelle’s assistant had said when she’d asked her to fill in at the gala. “Actually, I’m going to the reception with the benefactors that afternoon. But I’m not going to the dance that night.”

“Care to tell me why?”

No, she didn’t, at least not the whole truth—that a few years back she’d met a doctor at a similar event who, little had she known at the time, belonged to someone else. “Large crowds aren’t exactly my cup of tea.”

“Mine, either. But I’m required to put in an appearance. I assumed you would be, too.”

“Not this time. I need to continue working on finalizing the ad layouts. Besides, no one will even miss me.”

“I will.”

Darn him. And darn her renegade smile that picked that exact moment to come out of hiding. She willed it away. “I appreciate that, Dr. Kempner, but I’m afraid you’ll have to find someone else to escort.”

“What if I don’t want to escort anyone else?”

She stacked some papers that didn’t need stacking, in avoidance of his tempting eyes. “There are probably, say, four single male doctors in this hospital and about ten times as many unattached women. That makes the odds in your favor. So I’m sure you can find someone who would more than appreciate your company.”

“And you don’t?” He slumped lower in the chair. “Man, you really know how to hurt a guy.”

In all honesty she did appreciate his company. More than she should. Not that she would ever make that confession, especially to him. “Let’s just say I’m not looking for companionship at the moment.”

She glanced up and met his intense stare. “What are you looking for, Michelle?”

Not the kind of trouble he was offering. She didn’t have time to date, and with her lousy track record with gorgeous doctors who were much too compelling for their own good, she didn’t have the desire, either. “Success in my work and taking care of my family, first and foremost.”

He leaned forward, giving Michelle a lethal dose of his cologne and a good look at his serious expression. “That won’t keep you warm at night.”

“I manage okay.”

“I’m sure you do. Or at least you think you do. But take it from me, after a while burying yourself in your work won’t give you the satisfaction you need. And your family can only offer you so much comfort.”

“And what satisfaction are you referring to?” Did she really just ask such a thing?

His smile made another grandstand appearance. “The kind that makes you really feel alive, and believe me, you won’t find that in ad layouts or Sunday dinners.”

Michelle abruptly stood, looking for an escape from his truths. Looking for a way out from underneath all the heat the man was generating in her turncoat body. “Well, right now I have a lot of satisfying work to do, so I’ll see you out on my way to the copy room.”

She grabbed up the papers that didn’t need copying and quickly moved from behind her desk, but the doctor was much quicker.

He stood by the door, one hand braced on the facing, the other hidden away in his trouser pocket. She grasped the doorknob, but before she could turn it, he said, “There’s one more thing I need to say.”

She dropped her hand from the knob and faced him with the papers clutched against her chest. “What?”

“Speaking as a doctor, you need to get some rest. You look tired.”

A nice way of putting she looked like pond scum. “Your advice is duly noted.”

He took his hand from his pocket and traced a path underneath her eyes with one sturdy fingertip. “Dark smudges. Looks like you’re not getting much sleep.”

She probably wouldn’t sleep tonight, either. But work wouldn’t be standing in her way. He would. Right now an invigorating stream of warmth flowed from where his fingertip had been all the way down to places that weren’t tired at all. In fact, they were totally alert and making themselves known.

Fumbling in her blazer pocket, she withdrew her glasses and slipped them on. “Now you don’t have to look at them.”

“I’m serious, Michelle.” If his expression was any indication, he was.

“Okay. I’ll take a nap. Would that appease you, Doctor?”

“It’s a start. And I wish you would call me Nick.”