Читать книгу Heart Surgeon To Single Dad - Janice Lynn, Janice Lynn - Страница 12
ОглавлениеNATALIE MADE IT to breakfast just before the hotel wait staff cleared the buffet trays.
Having gone earlier to his hotel room to shower, Matthew had arrived before her and was at a table with two other men and a woman, eating breakfast. Wearing his khaki pants and blue button-up shirt with the sleeves folded to mid-forearm, a smile on his handsome face, he stole her breath.
She could hardly believe she’d had sex with him. Hot, needy, carnal sex.
Natalie lingered, overfilling her plate with sliced fruit. There was no reason she couldn’t join Matthew and the others at his table, but she procrastinated, toying with toasting a slice of wheat bread.
She’d seen and touched every part of his body. With her hands, her mouth. They’d done things that just recalling was enough to make her blush and wonder who that wanton woman in bed with him had been. After all that, was she really hesitating to sit down beside him to eat breakfast?
When she’d finally gotten her plate and headed in his direction, Matthew rose from his chair.
“There’s a seat at our table, Natalie. Join us.”
He’d made it easy. As if he were inviting an old friend or colleague to join his table. No big deal. Only, when their gazes met, his unusual eyes held a warmth that conveyed that his smile was for her alone. Nothing had changed from the time he’d left her room. He had no morning-after regrets.
Her gaze dropped to his mouth, and she fought the urge to lean over and plant another good-morning kiss on his magic lips.
Those lips had kissed her all over. More than once. Places she’d never been so thoroughly kissed. Those hands had held her, touched her, coaxed responses she’d not known her body able to give.
Natalie gulped back the emotion looking at him filled her with. Pride, pleasure, passion. Maybe they should skip the conference and go back to her room? No, they’d decided they would both attend morning classes to earn their continuing-education credits. As much as she’d like to drag him back to her room, she’d restrain herself.
At least until morning break.
A little giddy at the thought, she smiled at the others as she joined the table.
“Natalie, this is Dr. Kim Yang, Dr. Steven Powers and Dr. Herb Fallows. They all practice pediatrics at Loma Linda in California.”
She set her plate on the table and shook the outstretched hands as Matthew continued the introductions.
“And this talented lady is Dr. Natalie Sterling.”
She’d swear she saw him wink at her from the corner of her eye, but she kept her focus on the others.
“Natalie is a pediatric cardiac surgeon at Memphis Children’s Hospital with Dr. Ramone Luiz,” he continued.
“Hi.” Smiling, she sat down and turned to ask Matthew something that had been nagging at her mind and hit her again when he mentioned the hospital. “I’ve been meaning to ask you—why did you fly in from Memphis?”
For the briefest moment his face took on the dark expression he’d had on the plane, but it quickly disappeared behind a smile. “I was visiting family.”
Reminding herself not to sound too personal in front of the others, she asked, “You have family in Memphis?”
Asking personal questions probably wasn’t a good idea when a woman was only having a three-day affair, but she hadn’t been able to curb her curiosity.
He hesitated a moment. “My mother lives just over the Hernando de Soto Bridge on the Arkansas side.”
Natalie’s pulse pounded at her temple. She lived on Mud Island. His mother lived just across the Mississippi River from her. That meant he probably came to Memphis from time to time to visit.
Natalie put a hold on her racing thoughts of possibly seeing him again in the future.
Three days. That was what they’d agreed to and what she’d stick to. They were only on Friday of their weekend together. They still had the rest of the day, all of Saturday and part of Sunday before she flew home. It would be enough.
