Читать книгу In His Corner - Vina Arno - Страница 8

On Monday morning, the front desk paged Siena while she was attending a once-a-week staff assembly. Did someone cut off his finger while slicing a bagel? A slip and fall? God forbid it was a stroke. As an ED attending physician, she could leave any meeting. Patients always came first.

She ran down the stairs from the third floor to the lobby. She was panting by the time she got to the receptionist’s counter. “What’s the emergency?” she asked the clerks, both women.

They looked knowingly at each other before one of them said, “You have a visitor, Dr. Carr.”

“A visitor?” Siena swung around. The Juggernaut was standing near the entrance with a long-stemmed red rose in his hand.

Her heart skipped. He was not there as a patient. The rose was a giveaway. Also, no torn jeans and hoodie this time. He wore a plaid shirt and dark jeans that were a perfect fit. “Special-ass jeans,” as Siena’s best friends, Kristin and Molly, would have called them since the fabric clung to his butt beautifully. Now that his face was healed, he was more gorgeous than the first time she’d seen him.

He walked toward her with that swagger of his that drove her crazy. She thanked the clerks and met him halfway.

“Hi. What are you doing here?” Her voice came out unnaturally high-pitched. At the back of her mind, she’d been hoping to see him again. She led him to the waiting area.

Their singular encounter had jolted her to the core. How many hours had she spent Googling him? He had intrigued her to the point of sleeplessness. In the aftermath of her breakup, she was emotionally susceptible. What should have been a passing fancy had turned her into a basket case overnight. He had barged into her thoughts at all hours, impossible to evict.

“I want to thank you in person.” He handed her the rose.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you.” She smelled the flower. “I was just doing my job. There’s no need for this.”

“It’s not just the stitches. It’s also about Zach O’Riley. Thank you for not talking to him.”

“Oh, him. Yes, he was quite persistent. I don’t even know how he found out that I treated you. I tried denying it, but he knew the day and time you were admitted.”

“Would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?”

“Excuse me?”

He stifled a chortle. “You like to say that a lot.”

“Because you like to ask questions that come out of left field.”

“Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

“Are you asking me out on a date? I don’t go out with my patients.”

“I’m not your patient anymore.”

He was right. “It’s still not a good idea.”

“It’s just dinner. If you like burgers, we can go to Loin Burgers. It’s definitely not a place to go on a date.”

“Loin Burgers? As in Tenderloin District?”

“It has the best hamburgers in all of San Francisco.”

She’d never ventured into the Tenderloin District because of its bad reputation. Its name implied mean streets and corrupt cops, the term referring to the expensive meat they could afford to buy courtesy of the bribes they accepted. Perhaps that was just folklore. Even so, it was not a neighborhood she and her friends visited.

He noticed her hesitation. “Are you one of those snobs who never set foot in the Tenderloin?”

“I’m not a snob.”

“Yes, you are. You’re an Ivy League snob. That S on your blouse stands for Siena the Snob.”

The guy knew how to push her buttons. Worse, she couldn’t stop staring at his mouth. If only she could kiss those plump lips. The urge made the sensitive spot below her navel twitch.

“All right, I’ll have a hamburger with you at the Loin.”

He was grinning. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Why do you have to pick me up if it’s not a date?”

“Because finding a parking spot on Jones Street is going to be a problem. We’re better off with just one car. Do you want to pick me up instead?”

Oh, the impudence! Did he have to be so handsome when he was being cocky? The more charming he was, the stronger her inclination to escape. It was called self-preservation.

Throw her anything that required brain power any time. She could ace the toughest science courses and the most rigorous medical licensing exams. But she was timid at heart, especially with men. Anyone with a persona so large it required a moniker like the Juggernaut was too much for her.

Back east, her mom and her sister had steered her toward bland but reliable men with solid careers and family backgrounds. Her normal and sheltered childhood meant she was drawn to guys like Michael who were predictably safe.

She didn’t believe in casual hookups. No one-night stands, no online dating, no drunken forays into bars to pick up strange men. A menage a trois was best experienced by watching a Francois Truffaut movie. Veering from her secure dating path held no attraction. Until now. This man was going to entail a detour.

A stream of patients and their families arrived. The waiting area was suddenly packed. She glanced down at her wristwatch. “You know what? I have to go back to my meeting.”

“Okay, Doc. You can go—just as soon as you give me your home address.”

It sounded like a command, something she could ignore. But why was it so hard to resist him? She found herself fishing the pen from her trouser pocket. A diversion was inevitable. “Do you have a piece of paper?”

“No need.” He extended his right palm. “Write it here.”

She held his gaze. Those eyes, a cross between green and brown, rendered her helpless. She was about to disclose her home address to this stranger. It was unexplainable, completely unlike her. Where were Kristin and Molly when she needed them?

She wrote her address on the palm of his hand. It was powerful, befitting a man who made a living with his fists. Knockouts were his forte according to YouTube. The violence of boxing made her queasy, but she’d enjoyed watching him.

She tucked the pen back into her pocket. “Sometimes I have to work overtime. It’s possible that I’ll have to cancel at the last minute.”

Chickening out was more probable. She could escape to Oakland, put in a couple of hours administering diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines to kindergarten-bound children who wouldn’t be admitted to school otherwise. The clinic would be beyond grateful for her free service.

“I understand.”

“If I’m not at home, it means I’m still working.”

“Understood.”

There was a slight ridge on his left eyebrow. She ached to touch it. Something inside her was melting, her common sense evaporating with every breath she took. The children’s vaccinations could wait another day. School wouldn’t start until August.

And just like that, she put her fingers on his forehead.

He bent his head to adjust to her height.

“Give it another week and there won’t be any trace of the cut.”

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You did a fine job, Dr. Carr. I thank you for it.”

His kiss was electric, sending a shock down her spine. She snatched her hand away. She was perilously attracted to this man. It went against who she was. “I have to go.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Siena fled the waiting room, but she didn’t go back to the meeting. She’d already been excused from it, plus she was too rattled to sit still inside a room. Instead, she looked for Kristin at the allergy clinic where she worked as a nurse. They found a ceramic vase for the rose. Siena carried it as they sought Molly at the physical rehabilitation center.

Molly was in the reception area, saying goodbye to a patient. She was a physical therapist who nurtured her patients as much as her friends—the mother hen of the group. Among the three, she was also the only one with a discreet little office where her friends could confide in her.

As soon as the patient left, they went inside the room. Siena recounted the Juggernaut’s unexpected visit. Unlike Siena, her friends were not surprised. They had predicted the Juggernaut would pursue her. They couldn’t wait to go on a triple date since their boyfriends were huge boxing fans.

“I let him kiss my hand in front of people in the waiting room,” said Siena, still holding the vase. She stood, while her friends sat in chairs flanking a desk. “Not only that, I agreed to go out with him tonight. In the Tenderloin District. What was I thinking?”

“That’s it. It’s official. You’re a slut, Dr. Carr,” said Kristin.

“And we’re so proud of you!” squealed Molly.

They burst out laughing.

Siena’s best friends were opposite and similar all at once. Kristin was a petite blonde, while Molly was tall and dark-haired. The former was gregarious, the latter reserved. They were college best friends who were the same age, twenty-seven, and dated guys who were best buddies.

They had taken Siena under their wing on her first day at work, after she’d found out that the delivery of her scrubs had been delayed. She’d worn a black Alexander Wang suit and five-inch pumps that day. Without her uniform, she would have been forced to go home and change outfits. Thank God, Kristin and Molly had been there. Siena had borrowed Kristin’s old scrubs and Molly’s extra pair of Keds. That was thirteen months ago, the beginning of a close friendship.

When Siena and Michael broke up, her friends had been there for her. She was glad to have both of them on this unpredictable day. “What should I do?”

“Well, you’ve already agreed to go out with him,” said Molly. “You better leave at exactly four o’clock. Go home, take a shower, and wear something skimpy.”

“And if you’re feeling brave, skip the bra,” added Kristin.

Siena tightened her grip on the vase. “I’m a little scared to go to the Tenderloin.”

“Sweetie, you’re strangling the poor vase.” Kristin took it from Siena’s hands and set it on the desk. “Look at you, you’re all stressed out. Sit down.”

Siena pulled out a chair and fell into it.

“Now, tell us—what are you afraid of?” Kristin narrowed her eyes. “Drug dealers? Muggers? You’re going to be with the Juggernaut. He can beat anyone to a pulp.”

“I don’t know… It’s too soon for me to date again.”

“I disagree.” Kristin held up her right palm in a stop-right-there gesture. “Michael started dating that bimbo from San Francisco General one week after you guys broke up.”

“I don’t care what Michael does. This has nothing to do with him.”

“Are you afraid to go to the Tenderloin, or to go out with Tommy Raines?” Molly spoke in her physical therapist’s voice, firm but nonthreatening.

“I guess I’m scared of him.” Scared of falling for him was more like it.

“Why?” asked Kristin and Molly at the same time.

“I don’t believe you.” Molly clucked her tongue. “Any girl would kill to go out with the Juggernaut.”

“You’ve seen him naked.” Kristin looked exasperated. “You can’t be afraid now.”

“I don’t know.” Siena shook her head. “He’s a twenty-two-year-old boxer. He’s just so different.”

“Different from Michael? Different from you?” Kristin’s right eyebrow rose. “Are you saying you’re too good for the Juggernaut?”

And there it was—the elephant in the room. He was not the same caliber as her past boyfriends, but her liberal East Coast upbringing told her he deserved a fair chance. Merit trumped money or background. Her choice of emergency medicine reflected that belief. Inside the ER, everyone was equal. Class, race, and religion were irrelevant in a heart attack or a stroke or a third-degree burn.

She leaned back in the chair as her thoughts crystallized. The Juggernaut was not beneath her ex-boyfriends. They had the academic degrees, but he had an Olympic Gold. And, no, she was not better than him. How could she feel superior to a man who had the power to make her do ridiculous things? Giving out her address and letting him kiss her at her workplace were beyond ludicrous.

“I’m not saying I’m too good for him,” she defended. “He’s different. If Michael is the status quo, then Tommy is an anomaly. I’ve never met anyone like him, so I don’t know how to handle him. By the way, he called me a snob.”

“Oh, here’s an all-points bulletin. You are a snob.” Kristin crossed her arms, looking resigned.

“Not true!”

“Okay, I’ll qualify my statement. You can be a snob sometimes.”

“How can you say that?” Siena turned to Molly for support.

Molly winced. “I agree with Kristin.”

“I can’t believe what you two are saying.”

“Siena, look at the guys you’ve dated.” Molly glowered at her in pretend annoyance. “Michael came from Harvard, and before him, you dated a guy from Princeton and another one from Columbia. They all drive either a Jaguar or a Porsche. Like you, they spend their vacations visiting art galleries in Rome or snorkeling in Maui.”

“And how about poor Kevin Bayer?” Kristin continued. “He’s an excellent oncologist. He’s invited you out three times already, but you won’t even return his calls. Is it because he’s not an Ivy League grad?”

“That’s unfair. I’m not attracted to Kevin. It has nothing to do with his alma mater.”

Even as she protested, part of her conceded they were right. Both of her parents went to Harvard, while her older sister, Sandra, and her husband met at Yale. Most of their friends were products of the same schools. Could anyone fault her for moving in the same social circle? Was it any wonder she was dismayed to have read an article that had revealed Tommy was a UC Davis dropout?

Of course, she wanted egalitarianism, but democracy in dating had never been a concern before, because her past boyfriends were like her credit cards. They were all platinum. They all had been “preapproved” by virtue of their social backgrounds. Now, the Juggernaut was stirring things up. He was forcing her to walk the walk.

“Forget Kevin.” Kristin gave her a dismissive wave of a hand. “Let’s go back to the Juggernaut. You can call him an anomaly with a capital A, but you’re clearly attracted to him—don’t deny it! So you have no excuse not to go out with him.”

“I am going out with him, but whether I can handle him remains to be seen.”

There was a knock on the door. Molly was needed to assist another physical therapist.

“Don’t ‘handle’ Tommy. It’s a date, not a surgery. Just enjoy his company.” Molly squeezed Siena’s hand to reassure her.

“And if you’re feeling bold, sleep with him.” Kristin got up to give Siena a hug. “I take that back. Even if you’re not feeling bold, sleep with him, anyway.”

That sent them all laughing.

They went back to work. At the ED, Tommy’s rose stood out next to the suture tray and a blood pressure monitor on the counter. Siena smelled it. Her skin prickled at the memory of his kiss. When was the last time she felt exhilarated like this? Every fiber of her being was in a flutter of anticipation for their date.

Was it fear or excitement? It was both. No man had incited these feelings in her in one damning swoop before. Her friends were right. She should try to have fun with him and stop worrying.