towards her.
Instinctively Tess took a step back, putting distance between herself and Mike until she had the information she wanted.
‘Are you married, then? Divorced? Widowed? Separated?’
‘Who wants to know?’
‘Me,’ she shot back at him.
‘And what business is it of yours?’
‘None at all,’ she said calmly. ‘But you’re intending to be a working partner of mine and at least one nurse has now insinuated I’m setting my cap at you. I just want to know whether to tell her such a thing is ridiculous. And I’d really like to know that it’s not.’
That was pretty blatant.
He blinked. What was happening here? Mike stared down at Tess and she stared straight back up at him-and he could read her mind like a book. It was almost as if she was propositioning him. If she’d been a man, she’d be buying roses and chocolates and laying siege…
Grabbing!
Whoa…
‘It is ridiculous,’ he said curtly. He gave her a strained look and put his plate on the sink. How the hell was he expected to handle this?
Tessa looked just lovely. Her soft, white dress was low-cut and clinging. Her eyes were huge in her elfin face and the few freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose were immensely-incredibly-appealing. They needed to be kissed.
Whoa!
‘No, Dr Westcott,’ he managed weakly, ‘I’m not married, engaged, widowed, involved or even gay. But neither do I intend to be.’
‘Why ever not?’
‘I’m married to my work,’ he said shortly.
‘I’ve just taken a heap of your work off you. Does that mean I’ll be hauled up before the divorce courts as co- respondent?’
Her voice was gently teasing, but he hardly heard. He stood by the sink and stared at her, fighting for control.
‘There’s more than enough work to keep us both frantic,’ he told her heavily.
‘But I don’t intend to be frantic.’ She lifted her chin. ‘My medicine’s important to me, but it’s not everything. I still intend to look after my grandfather. I still intend to have a life.’
‘My life is my medicine.’
‘I can see that.’ She moistened her lips. She felt strange. As if someone else was inside her body and that someone was a woman she hardly knew. That someone was so strongly drawn to Mike that she had hardly any control at all.
‘It seems such a waste,’ she murmured.
‘A waste?’ He looked sardonically at her. ‘Waste for who?’
‘A waste for me.’
Silence. The words echoed round and round the room, astounding in their simplicity.
‘What on earth do you mean by that?’ he said at last-and then his face closed as if he regretted the question.
Tess also should have regretted her statement. His question was a question Tess shouldn’t be able to answer. She should just mumble an apology-give a silly giggle and get the hell out of here before she made a real fool of herself.
Instead, she took a long, deep breath and met his eyes with a look of pure defiance.
The woman’s role was to stay demure and shy, Mike thought wildly. That was how he could cope. But how could he cope with a woman who was coming on like Tessa was coming on? Like she found him wildly attractive and didn’t care who knew it. Especially she didn’t mind if Mike knew it. She wanted him to know exactly how she felt, and how she felt was written right across her face.
‘I mean that you’re the most attractive male I’ve ever met,’ she said softly. ‘I mean that you’re gentle and kind and caring and I just have to look at you and my knees sort of wobble underneath me. I mean that Hannah got it right when she said that one of the reasons I want to stay here is that I’d like to get to know you better.’
‘She said that?’
‘She said that. And it’s true. Oh, it’s not the only reason,’ she added hastily as his face closed. ‘Of course, I’m staying for my grandfather.’ She took a deep breath, fighting for words. ‘But if you want a partner with knees that don’t wobble, you’d better tell me now that you find red hair a real turn-off. Or that you’re into stamp collecting instead of women.’ She gave a twisted smile. ‘And I don’t believe I’m saying this.’
‘I don’t believe you are either,’ Mike said faintly. ‘Women don’t say these sort of things.’
‘I just did.’
‘Well, no one has before,’ he said bluntly. ‘Tess…’
‘Don’t tell me women don’t find you attractive,’ she shot at him. She took a deep breath and managed a smile. Damn, there was a glimmer behind her eyes that told Mike that a part of Tess was enjoying herself here. She was enjoying knocking his socks off.
And the rest!
Tess put her hands on the kitchen bench behind her and hitched herself up so she was sitting, her lovely stockinged legs swinging free as she watched the man before her. And he stared back at her as if she’d just crawled out of a spaceship!
‘Maybe women have,’ he admitted finally. ‘But no one’s told me.’
‘Aw, gee… Poor little you. Hasn’t anyone told you they find you very sexy?’
And Mike couldn’t help himself. He burst out laughing.
‘Tessa Westcott, you are incorrigible. I thought lady doctors-especially lady doctors trained in emergency medicine and who’ve seen everything the seamier side of life can throw at them-are supposed to be as sensible and hard-headed and as romantic as a brick.’
‘They are,’ she told him, and she grinned right back. She was crazy, but there was a very strong part of her that was enjoying being crazy. She’d just burned her bridges back to the States. In fact, she’d just abandoned a very sensible career plan and a very sensible boyfriend, albeit a very lukewarm one. If she wasn’t a little crazy tonight, then she never would be.
‘They say the only thing a sensible, committed female doctor with career ambition should love is a goldfish,’ she said blithely. ‘But I’ve thought it through, and I think you’re much better than a goldfish.’
‘Gee, thanks.’ Mike looked at her for a long moment, and then walked two steps forward and took her hands in his. He had to make her see. ‘Tess, this is crazy.’
It wasn’t crazy at all. Taking her hands was a mistake. A huge mistake! The craziness disappeared right then and there as their hands touched.
‘Crazy or not, it’s the way I feel,’ she said. Heaven knew how she kept her voice light, but somehow Tess managed it.
‘Well, stop feeling like it.’ He released her, but he didn’t move. They were only inches apart, but Tessa’s eyes were just above his from her perch on the bench. Hell, how to make her see that this link-what she said she could feel and what he could definitely feel-was totally, absolutely out of the question.
‘Tessa, what I’m saying about work is true,’ he managed. ‘That’s all I want. I have room for nothing else.’
‘I’m very small,’ Tess murmured. ‘Couldn’t you squash me in around the edges?’
‘No.’ He stopped smiling completely and took a step back. His face said the joke had gone far enough.
‘You’re not a priest,’ Tess said gently. ‘I’d love to know why you have room in your life for nothing but medicine.’
‘I’ve seen what can happen when people forget their responsibilities.’
‘I’m not asking you to forget your responsibilities.’ Tess, too, had stopped smiling now. She jumped down from her bench and stepped forward-stepped forward so she was almost touching him. Her face said she had gone this far so she might as well try the whole bit.
