“Planning on getting married, having kids?”

  She drew a sharp breath and looked carefully at Jared. Obviously, it was the worst question I could have come up with tonight or any other time for that matter.

  “One day, of course,” the guy said, avoiding looking at Nicola or me.

  Oh, he was just like his father. Like fathers, like sons, damn it.

  I suddenly wanted to grab Nicola’s hand and take her away from him, as far as possible.

  As if reading my mind, she said, “Doctor Bright, can I have a word with you, in private? I need to tell you something very important about the patient you are going to operate on next week.”

  “Sure. Let’s go outside.”

  She gave Jared an apologetic smile. “Sorry, darling. I’ll be right back. There’s something confidential that I need to discuss with Doctor Bright.”

  Yeah, right. TOO confidential.

  We stood up; she grabbed my hand in hers and dragged me to the exit.

  “Easy, darling,” I said, practically running after her. “Your boyfriend might think you can’t wait to stay alone with me.” I hoped I wouldn’t vomit on my way out of the café. All of a sudden, I felt like running to the bathroom instead of outside; sickness overwhelmed me.

  As we stepped outside, I took a deep breath and felt a little better. Embarrassing myself in Nicola’s presence was the last thing I needed tonight.

  “What the hell do you think you are doing?” She glared at me with those spellbinding eyes of hers. In fury, they looked even sexier.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about. Don’t I have a right to come and say ‘hello’ if I see you somewhere outside of the hospital?”

  “No!”

  “Why the hell not? Oh, wait, you are scared your boyfriend might misinterpret my ‘hello’?”

  “Exactly! Considering you never stopped at saying ‘hello’. Who on earth let you nose into my personal life and ask questions that you had no right to ask?”

  “Like questions about your plans for the future with him?”

  “What is wrong with you? Why do you think you can dictate everything I need to do, at work or elsewhere? It’s not like you own me, Doctor Bright.”

  “I wouldn’t mind owning you, Miss Holt.” I stepped closer, leaving no space between us. “Say yes, and I will take you away from here, right now.”

  “What?”

  “You are so beautiful...” I reached out and with my fingertips, I traced a line down her neck and collarbone.

  She shook my hand off and stepped back. “You are drunk.”

  “Maybe. But tomorrow, I will be sober, and you will be even more beautiful.”

  My words caught her off guard. She was breathing heavily, probably not sure how to react to my words.

  After what felt like forever of staring at each other, she spoke again; her voice weak and quiet. “Go home, Doctor Bright. You need to sleep it off.”

  “Come with me.”

  A nervous laugh escaped her lips. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I am being serious.” I sighed and felt like the world around me started to spin. My vision blurred.

  Oh, crap…not now!

  “Let me call you a taxi. You can barely stand on your feet.” She took her phone out of her purse and started dialing someone’s number.

  After the lady on the other end of the line confirmed her order, she put the phone back into her purse and we waited, waited, and waited some more... We didn’t talk.

  She tried to avoid looking at me, but I took my time to enjoy looking at her.

  I never thought a woman could fascinate me the way she did. And it was not just her body that pulled me like a magnet. The way she expressed her emotions, the way she treated her obligations at work. There was so much compassion and humanity in her. She was the second person in my life with the same qualities.

  At times, she reminded me of my sister… I was sure Melody would like her. Don’t know why, I just felt it.

  “Your taxi,” Nicola said when the car stopped at the café’s entrance. “You sure you can get back home without getting into trouble on the way?”

  “Don’t know.” My head was spinning like I was on a fucking carousel. The mere thought of having another drink made my stomach turn.

  I will never drink again, I swear.

  “Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” she muttered. “Come on, I’ll help you get into the car.” She took me by the hand and never let me go until I was sitting in the back seat of a taxi, with my jacket lying next to me.

  “Take my wallet from my jacket and pay for the ride,” I said. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do it later.”

  She switched her eyes from the driver to me.

  “If he’s gonna puke, I’m not driving him anywhere,” the man said. He turned his head and frowned, saying, “And he will puke, that’s for sure.”

  “Oh, damn it. Fine, I’ll go with him and make sure he doesn’t ruin your back seat.”

  I smiled and moved to give her more space. She tossed my jacket over my lap, got in and slammed the door shut.

  “Go,” she said to the driver.

  “What about your date?” I asked, not even the slightest bit worried about the idiot.

  “I’ll text him to apologize for the ruined night. This is your damn fault, by the way.”

  I laid my head back against the seat and smiled again. “Not feeling guilty.”

  “Why am I not surprised to hear that?”

  I heard her taking her phone and typing a message. I wish I could see the asshole’s face when he read it. Something was telling me that he was not going to like it. But I couldn’t care less. I smiled as a very funny memory came to my mind.

  “What’s so funny?” Nicola asked.

  “I remembered one of my university parties. My friend and I got so damn drunk; we could barely stand on our feet. We went to his house and shaved his sister’s Chihuahua bald. He hated the dog. The little thing never missed her chance to pee into his shoes. So, he thought that losing her hair would be a perfect revenge. After that, Debbie said she would never let us near her dog again. Not that we were crushed by the news of course.”

  “Poor dog.”

  “Poor me. She bit me so hard, the doctor in the emergency had to put three stitches on my right hand.” I didn’t mention the number of times I barked at the doctor, saying he should have become a butcher instead of a doctor. I was too drunk to feel the pain, but I still acted as if it hurt like hell.

  “Serves you right.”

  “You are evil.” I looked at Nicola and suddenly felt like I didn’t want to go anywhere, just stay in the cab, with her by my side.

  “I am not. I never shaved anyone bald out of stupid revenge.” She smirked. “But I would, if I had a razor with me now.”

  I laughed. “Thank God, you are not armed. Your resting bitch face is kind of scary. I never know what to expect next.”

  “A punch in the face, if you don’t shut up, right now.”

  As smart as I was, I didn’t push it and stayed quiet for the rest of the ride.

  I don’t know how much time passed before I realized that the car stopped. My apartment was not far away from the café, but the trip felt like I had been to Australia and back.

  “Thanks,” Nicola paid for the ride, opened the door and patiently waited for me to get out of the taxi. I tripped over the street curb, but thank God, Nicola was there not to let me kiss the ground.

  Damn it, being in the fresh air felt good, unbelievably good.

  “Where are your keys?” She asked after she made sure I could stand on my feet.

  I stared at the building where I lived and frowned. “Where did you get the address?”

  “It’s the last thing that should bother you now, Doctor Bright. Where are the damn keys?”

  I motioned for my jacket pocket. She grabbed it from my hands, shook it and then shoved her hand into one of the pockets. Once she found the keys, she went to the front door, without waiting for me to follow her. She unlocked it and held it open for me.

  “Are you coming or not?”

  I loved the way her question sounded – it made me think about a different way of coming for her.

  “Yes, darling.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  NICOLA

  I couldn’t believe the idiot just ruined not only my Friday night, but my entire weekend! I was going to stay at Jared’s until Monday morning, but after I texted him and told him that I needed to make sure Doctor Bright got home safe and sound, he got pissed - well, I would too - and said I could take care of ‘my precious doctor’ as long as I wanted and that he’d better go spend the weekend in Palm Springs, without me. Just great…

  We stepped into Doctor Bright’s apartment; I was surprised he didn’t end up landing on the floor, face first, considering his body refused to cooperate. He was struggling to keep his balance, but his legs had a mind of their own. He swayed left and right, and then bumped into one of the walls, and the lights went on.

  His mouth curved into a lopsided grin. God, the man was blind drunk.

  He slurred, “Make yourself at home, Beautiful.”

  “Thank you, Doctor. But I guess my mission is over, and I can go home now, since my date officially ended the moment I got into the damn taxi, with you.” I stayed standing at the opened door.

  “For Hippocrates’s sake, Nicola, stop being such a pain in the neck.” He went to the kitchen attached to his spacious living room, opened the fridge, and took out a bottle of mineral water.

  “Said the man who never stops being a pain.” I felt irritated. “Do they pay you extra money for driving people nuts?”

  A corner of his mouth lifted. “I looove your big mouth, Nicola. I would love it even more if I could finally get a taste of it. What do you say?”

  My heart rate increased. “You don’t want to hear that,” I hissed through my clenched teeth.

  “When pissed, you are even more adorable.”

  Oh, I was about to become fucking gorgeous!

  He opened the bottle and sipped some water. “God, I’m gonna hate myself when the morning comes.” He leaned against the kitchen counter and looked at me again. “Why don’t you close the door?”

  “I’m not staying,” I said firmly. “You sure you can get to bed without killing yourself on the way?” No matter how much I wanted to get out of his apartment, as soon as possible, I was kind of worried about him. Damn it… Why would I care if he passed out right on the kitchen floor?

  “At this point, I’m not sure about anything. Do you mind accompanying me to the bedroom?”

  “Actually, I do mind.”

  He smirked. “Afraid you won’t be able to resist staying?”

  I could come up with at least a dozen comments on that, but the more time passed, the worse ‘my precious doctor’ was feeling, I could see it. I felt a little sorry for him. The morning was going to be Hell on earth for him.

  I sighed and shut the door behind me. “Fine, let’s take you to bed.”

  “I love the sound of that.” You should have seen the grin that lit up his face. It was like I told a kid I was taking him to Disneyland.

  “Where’s your bedroom?”

  He motioned to the dark hall opposite from the kitchen. “There.”

  “Okay.” I kicked off my shoes, came over to him, and put his hand over my shoulders – God, the man was as huge as The Great Wall of China. I hoped he wouldn’t fall, and land on me. Though in any other situation, I wouldn’t mind him landing on me…

  Christ, where did that thought come from?

  I wrapped one arm around his waist, while my other hand rested on his chest. “Come one, big boy. You can do this.”

  He didn’t move.

  I looked up at him and saw his hard stare boring me. He wasn’t smiling or trying to make another bad joke, he was just…staring at me.

  “Where have you been all this time?” He said in a low voice.

  “What time period exactly are you talking about?”

  With one hand around my shoulders, he put his palm on my cheek and caressed it slightly, just like he did back in the coffee-room the other day.

  My whole body trembled in response. Even drunk, the man still knew how to make me feel weak.

  He lowered his head and pressed his forehead to mine, as if seeking comfort. Something was happening between us, I could feel that. It threw me out of my comfort zone, and I suddenly felt like running away. I hated the not knowing. And right now, I had no damn idea what was going on with me.

  We stayed like that for what felt like the entire minute, no less. He smelled like rum, lime, and tobacco. His breathing was slow and heavy. And no matter how much I hated the idea of him kissing me now, it was all I could think about.

  “It’s getting really hard to resist you, Nicola… So hard, it hurts in all the wrong places.”

  I let out a long breath. I didn’t know how to explain the pulling that made the air between us crackle, but I did see a point in his words. Because for some terribly wrong reason, I felt the same way about him.

  “It’s time to go to bed, Doctor Bright.”

  This time, he listened to me. We walked down the dark hall until he stopped at one of the doors. He pushed it open and we walked into what I assumed was his bedroom. Just like the rest of his apartment, it was made in gray and white colors. The only bright spot there was a huge portrait hanging over his desk, illuminated by the lamp standing on it.

  “Is that you?” I asked, pointing to the portrait. The guy on the canvas looked much younger, and unlike the Ashton Bright I knew, that one looked somehow happier.

  “Yeah.” He sighed but didn’t say anything else about the portrait. His face was unreadable, but I could feel that something was bothering him.

  We made it to the bed and he sat down, closing his eyes for a moment. Apparently, he felt as shitty as he looked at the moment.

  “Do you want me to bring you water or something else?”

  He shook his head. “No. I’m fine. Just a little dizzy.”

  “Do you have aspirin in the house? You will need it in the morning.”

  He tried to take off his shoes but failed.

  “Oh, dear Lord. Let me help you.”

  “Aspirin should be somewhere in the kitchen.” He leaned back against his pillows and growled. “My head hurts.”

  “Maybe next time, you will think twice before drinking that much.” I took off his shoes and left them next to his bed. I looked at his wrinkled shirt and trousers. They needed to be removed too.

  As if reading my mind, he said, “If you want to undress me, I don’t mind.”

  “You’ll be just fine.” I turned to leave. But he stopped me.

  “Stay,” he said quietly. A moment later, he clarified, “I’m not asking you to sleep with me, just stay…”

  I turned around and our gazes met. Inexplicable pain filled his eyes. I knew it was not about his current state of intoxication, there was something else – the something that made the happy guy from the portrait turn into a stone-hearted man who never let his guard down. Well, until tonight anyway.

  I came closer and sat on the edge of his bed, still watching him. “Who are you, Doctor Bright?”

  My question didn’t surprise him. Like he knew exactly what my words meant.

  “I don’t think I know the answer to your question, Nicola.”

  God, I loved the way he pronounced my name. On his lips, it sounded even more beautiful and somehow different.

  All of a sudden, he asked, “Do you love him?”

  “Who?”

  “The Milkoff guy.”

  “Why do you care?”

  “Don’t respond to my question with another question. It gives you time to think, but the truth is – you wouldn’t need it if you knew what to say.”

  He was right, God, he was so right…

  “It’s complicated.”

  He nodded briefly. “It always is.”

  “What about you, Doctor? Have you ever been in a serious relationship?”

  He snorted as if the mere thought of having a relationship humored him. “The only serious relationship I have is with my work.”

  “I’m not surprised to hear that.”

  “My mom says I need to stop trying to save the world and think about myself.”

  “Maybe she’s right.”

  He gave me a thoughtful look. “I think you and I have a lot in common.”

  That made me laugh. “No, really?”

  “Yeah. I read your CV, you know?”

  “I knew you would read it sooner or later.”

  His lips twisted. “I read it right after I told you to bring me a cup of coffee on your first day at work. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to know what was hidden behind your devil-may-care face. And to be honest, I was simply curious to know what made you think that you could be that smart-ass with me. Turned out you had every right to demonstrate your attitude. I didn’t expect you to be that qualified and experienced. Have you ever thought about becoming a surgeon? I’m sure you would make a great one.”

  Needless to say, hearing his words made my self-esteem grow to the size of the universe.

  “No,” I said. “I’m too afraid of cutting people.”

  “But you are not afraid of watching someone else doing it.”

  “It’s different. I know you will do your best to help the patient. I’m a coward when it comes to making serious decisions. If anything goes wrong, I start to panic.”

  “Is that why you are dating Mr. Milkoff?”

  “What does he have to do with it?”

  “Probably if you were more honest with yourself and brave enough to admit that he is not the man you need, everything would be different.”

  “And what kind of a man exactly do you think I need, Doctor Bright? Someone like you?”

  He didn’t laugh, though it was exactly what I expected him to do.

  “No,” he paused. “I think you deserve so much more than what he or I could give you.”

  I swallowed sudden disappointment. I didn’t think he could be the perfect man for me, or did I?

  “You need to rest,” I said, rising to my feet. “I’ll go find you some aspirin for tomorrow.”