The Procedure (15 page)

“Samantha?” His voice sounded unsure, and I had to shake myself. It had been so long since he’d spoken my full name in the way he had. It was full of need and love, but I knew it was a sham.

I was doing the right thing. I couldn’t back out now. “Yeah?”

And then he managed to shock me once again.

“If you leave, don’t come back,” he said. All the loving emotion had disappeared from his voice just that quickly.

My resolve built itself back up. Turning on him with a freeing smile, I nodded. “Don’t worry. I didn’t plan on it.” Slamming my suitcase together, I slipped my shoes back on and started toward the door. “I’ll have Duke put in a kennel until I return. I’ll be by next week to get the rest of my things.”

And then I walked out and shut the door behind me without looking back.

AS I PACKED
for the weekend, my mind was racing a hundred miles per hour. I was going to go straight to hell where I’d burn for eternity. And I wasn’t talking about the kind of burning I did for Samantha.

What I was doing was wrong, but I couldn’t manage to stop myself. She was like a beacon. No matter how hard I tried to stay away, I was drawn in. There was no doubt in my mind that I was madly in love with her. And since my emotions for her were so strong, I naturally wanted her. Even though I knew wanting her was wrong and I was breaking one of my biggest rules, I couldn’t stop myself.

Asking her to spend the weekend with me was completely spontaneous. She was sitting across from me, looking beautiful as usual, and I knew I had to leave her for the weekend. The thought of being away from her for even two days was unbearable. The words tumbled out of my mouth, shocking me and really shocking her.

Her big, brown eyes had grew before my eyes and even though I thought in that moment that she would decline, she shocked me even more when she easily agreed to go away with me. Apparently, we were on the same page, and that filled me with a happiness I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

I had no expectations or plans for the weekend. I wasn’t some devious wretch who had a weekend of sex and debauchery planned. I was simply going to go with the flow. Let the chips fall where they may. It wasn’t in my usual style to let whatever happened, happen, but that was my plan as I loaded up my car and locked up behind myself.

Samantha was so vulnerable. I was determined not to be like Michael and force things on her, especially my feelings and emotions, but if things happened naturally, then we would cross that bridge when we got to it.

All I knew for sure as I drove across town to meet her was that she was too good for a man like Michael, and I loved her enough to fight for her. I wanted to spend the weekend showing her how a woman was supposed to be treated, and I wanted to do it as a man, not a doctor.

It took me less than twenty minutes to meet Samantha at the kennel she was dropping Duke off at. She had called me the night before and told me she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her new pet with Michael. Honestly, I didn’t trust the arsehole either. I could easily see him tossing Duke from an overpass or something equally disturbing.

She was waiting for me outside when I pulled up. Her yellow summer dress moved around her legs in the breeze, giving me a peek of her perfectly shaped calves and knees. Her dainty feet were covered by silver sandals and her toes were painted. She had taken the time to look nice, and it made me feel manly and desperate to touch her.

Getting out of the car, I hid my desire behind the darkened sunglasses that were perched on my nose. Walking around the car to her side, a smile made my cheeks ache. That smile dissolved the minute I reached her and my shade-covered eyes found hers.

Something was wrong. Her eyes were strained, and she was fidgeting with nerves. She had her hands gripped so tightly in front of her that her fingers were turning white. Reaching out, I covered her hands with mine. Her cool fingers melted beneath my heated palms.

“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately.

She moved her hands, so I busied myself with her bags.

Shaking her head, she began to deny that something was bothering her. She wasn’t being honest. I had come to know her well, and I knew from the reddened streaks on her cheeks and the soft, puffy glow around her eyes that she had cried recently.

“Nothing,” she supplied with a false smile.

“You’ve been crying,” I said.

Reaching up, I moved my thumb under her eye before curving my hand around her soft cheek. She smiled and nuzzled my palm with a sigh, sending sparks down to my toes.

“I’m just sad about leaving Duke. I don’t want him to think I’m abandoning him. Do you think he will?”

I knew that wasn’t the real reason why she was upset, but since I didn’t want to pry until she was ready to tell me, I went along with it.

“Of course not, love. And it’s only for a few days. He’ll be so excited to see you when you get back that he’ll forget about everything else.”

She nodded in agreement. “You’re right. That makes me feel better.”

I smiled and brought my other hand to cup her other cheek, pulling her close and placing a kiss on her head. Resting my forehead against hers, I took a minute to breathe her in. Her hands found my sides and her fingers flexed, pressing deeper in my shirt, heating my flesh.

I wanted to kiss her sweet lips, but if I didn’t take this slow with Samantha, the weekend would fly by way too fast. That was the last thing I wanted to happen. I wanted to relish in the uninterrupted hours with her.

Pulling back, I lifted her face and smiled down at her. “You ready to go?” I asked.

Closing her eyes against the sun, she smiled sweetly up at me. “Very ready. It’ll be nice to get out of Miami for the weekend. It’s been so long since I went anywhere with…”

She stopped, and her eyes flashed open apologetically. I never wanted her to feel bad about anything with me. She could do no wrong by being comfortable enough to speak candidly with me. Honestly was the foundation for any relationship, be it friends or lovers.

“It’s okay, love.”

“I need to stop doing that. I don’t want to talk about Michael anymore this entire weekend.”

“I think we can handle that.” I smiled and turned to open the passenger door for her.

Not mentioning his name meant keeping my guilt to a minimum. Out of sight, out of mind—that was my personal quote for the weekend.

She thanked me and slid into the seat. When she pulled the seatbelt down and around her, her dress dropped low, showing a tiny bit of cleavage. I moved my eyes and again, they landed on her flesh. I tried not to notice the way the thin material of her sundress rode up her thighs, but it was like taking a bullet to the chest.

Shutting the door, I made my way around the car and got in. The engine hummed when I started it up. When I put it in drive and pulled away, it purred.

“Say goodbye to Miami,” I said, changing gears before resting my hand over hers.

She took a deep breath before looking out of the window. Some unknown emotion moved across her face before she whispered, “Goodbye.”

WE DROVE TO
Miami International Airport in silence. I was starting to feel anxious about asking her to come along, and I was worried that maybe she was slowly changing her mind. Not to mention, I positive there was something more than just Duke bothering her, and I was worried that maybe that something was being with me.

She was staring out of the window. The music on the radio filled the thick silence, but it wasn’t music I wanted to hear. I wanted her to talk to me—to trust me enough to know she could. I wanted her voice to move across the car and stroke my nerves, but she didn’t speak.

“A penny for your thoughts, love.” I broke the impenetrable quiet.

Samantha rolled her head in my direction and smiled at me. “I was thinking how pretty this drive was. My mother would have loved this view. She used to talk about coming to Miami and enjoying the sunlight, but she died before she ever had a chance to see it.”

“How did she die?” I asked before silently hating myself for doing so. She was upset. The last thing I wanted to do was make her even more so.

“Breast cancer. She died when I was eight.” Her somber voice cracked with hurt, effectively cutting into me, as well.

“Were the two of you close?”

She nodded, her blonde strands whispering across her tan shoulders. “I was the only child, so I was my parents’ pride and joy, their baby girl. I could always count on them both.”

My eyes moved to the road before moving back to her profile.

“Then we found out she had stage-four breast cancer, and life seemed to halt in front of my eyes. I sat and watched her deteriorate, and then she died six months later. Time didn’t move again until after she was gone. After she passed, my dad took on the role of both parents. Before we knew it, I was nineteen and moving away with Michael. I didn’t see my dad again until he called to let me know he was dying, too.”

She stared at the windshield as if her memories were playing in movie form across the thick glass. Her hands were restless in her lap, and I wanted nothing more than to stop the car, pull her into my arms, and comfort her.

Instead, I leaned over and took her hand in mine. Despite the warm afternoon, her hands were ice cold. She stared down at our hands before turning to look at me and smile.

“Thank you.”

“For?” I knew I hadn’t done anything.

“For being here. For making me see that I’m still a whole person.”

“It was my pleasure, Samantha.” I squeezed her hand tightly.

I wanted to tell her how she had changed me too. I wasn’t the same man I was when she first stepped foot into my office. I wasn’t the gentleman doctor who put everyone else first. I was a man burning with love for a woman who wasn’t mine. I was also the man who no longer cared about boundaries. Because when it came to Samantha, I’d tear them all down to be near her.

Words of love danced across my tongue, but I knew it was the wrong time no matter how loudly my heart screamed it. It needed to be at the right time, or never at all.

We were on a flight headed to New York within two hours. My body melted into the first-class seat, and I was happy to see Samantha relaxing next to me. The strain on her face earlier was gone, replaced with a content smile as she stared out of the window and into the clouds.

Again, pressure and worry that she was having second thoughts about what she was doing with me moved across my chest. I took a deep breath and tried to stop my racing thoughts. For all I knew, something could have happened with Michael before she left. And while it was on the tip of my tongue to ask, I knew I couldn’t do so because my reason for wanting to know was completely selfish.

Samantha slept through most of the flight. Her soft breathing filled my side, and I couldn’t help but look at her. She was angelic. Her soft lips parted and her cheeks flushed with sleep. Her long lashes rested against her cheeks, fluttering occasionally. Leaning over, I placed a soft kiss on her cheek before I pulled out my files and began preparing for a speech I was signed up to give the following day.

There was a car waiting at the airport to take us to our hotel. The hospital board had arranged everything for me and my guest, including the hotel arrangements, so everything ran like clockwork from the driver to the ride over to the hotel.

I placed my hand on the small of Samantha’s back as we made our way to the front desk. Our luggage was taken care of for us, so she carried only her small purse. My eyes followed the strap over her beautiful shoulder and down until I had to look away.

The attendant behind the desk noticed and smiled at me knowingly.

“How can I help you, sir?”

“I have a reservation for Dr. Roman Blake.”

Her fingers were quick as they moved over the keyboard and with a few clicks of her mouse, she found me.

“I have you right here, Dr. Blake. You’re on the eighth floor. I’ll have your bags delivered to your room.”

I took the room key she handed me and smiled at her before turning stepping back toward Samantha. “Ready?” I asked.

Samantha blinked, confused at first, and then she snuck a look at the desk clerk, who was looking back and forth between the two of us. A pretty pink blush covered her cheeks before she moved closer to the counter.

“I have to check in, too,” she said to the clerk.

I was momentarily confused, and then I felt my own skin flush. I hadn’t realized Samantha had gotten her own room. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when we finally made it to the hotel. Had I really just assumed she would share a room with me?

“Of course.” I chuckled, trying to ease everyone’s embarrassment.

Placing her purse on the counter, she gave the woman her name. “Samantha… Aldridge.”

The slight hesitation in Samantha made the woman look up and give me quick glance before she was typing again.

She chewed the side of her mouth before she looked up with a smile. “Looks like they put you on the fifth floor, Mrs. Aldridge.”

“That’s fine,” Samantha rushed.

I didn’t have to see her face to know she was red. Her shoulders were stiff, her back straight.

“Actually we have a room available on the eighth floor, but it’s a couple of doors down from Dr. Blake.”

I wanted to lean over the counter and kiss her for giving me what I wanted. When she looked my way, I gave her a wink, making her blush.

“Honestly, it’s okay. I don’t want to make any more work for you,” Samantha continued.

Again, the clerk smiled. “It’s not a problem at all, Mrs. Aldridge.” She typed some more. “There. All taken care of.”

She handed Samantha a key card, and then Samantha turned toward me with an awkward smile on her face.

“Are
you
ready?” she asked. Her eyes looked everywhere but my face, and I couldn’t help but smile.