She’d never waitressed before, but she was willing to work hard. The tips at this place were supposedly generous—not surprising since the uniform barely covered the essentials. In time, she’d get over her self-consciousness. She hoped.
With a sigh, Heavenly opened her locker. Thankfully, she found her backpack and its contents untouched. Even better, the few precious dollars she possessed were still in her wallet.
During her first few days at the hospital, the nurses had played some harmless pranks on her, which she’d written off as hazing. But the following week, someone had painted a slur inside her locker. A few days later, her forty dollars for groceries had disappeared. Heavenly suspected Kathryn was responsible. The nurse specialist had become particularly petulant once Dr. Beckman turned attentive and protective.
Heavenly shoved her shoes in her backpack with a sigh and donned her sandals. As she made her way toward the street exit, she spotted Dr. Beckman in the lobby, lounging in one of the chairs and glancing at his watch. Was he waiting for someone?
She hadn’t seen him since he’d left the party abruptly. The insecure part of her had worried he no longer wanted to spend time with her because he saw her as the little girl he always called her. She’d missed lunches with him, not because he made sure she ate every day, even in his absence, though that was nice. No, each moment she spent with him, she soaked him up like a sponge—his dissecting intelligence, his robust laugh, his cutting humor, his dark eyes that held a hint of the devil.
At the sight of him, her heart skipped a beat. “Dr. Beckman?”
His head snapped up, and he stood. “I was hoping to catch you. Sorry I haven’t been at lunch the last couple of days. A few patients with difficult conditions and…”
He’d sought her out to apologize and explain? Oh, my gosh. She smiled in giddy relief. Having him near again made Heavenly’s world feel right once more.
“How dare those life-or-death patients be so demanding?”
“Yes, well… Thankfully, they’re going to live.”
“Of course. They have you.”
She shouldn’t flirt when he didn’t want more than a professional relationship, and she tried not to. But nothing changed the fact that he made her both gooey and shivery at once.
Then again, so did Seth.
And that baffled her.
For the hundredth time since Raine’s party, the big blond PI’s verbal seduction whispered through her head and made her ache.
When she saw him again, would he seduce her with more than his voice? Would he actually put his hands and his mouth on her? She’d loved the idea when she lay alone on her pallet at night, tuning out her father’s gentle snoring as she touched herself and tried to find the mythical pleasure called orgasm. Of course, she thought of Dr. Beckman then, too.
“Heavenly?”
Feeling herself blush, she blinked up at him. The doctor watched her every expression.
Gosh, here she was talking to one man she had less-than-platonic feelings for while fantasizing about the other. It happened whenever she was with either of them. Why did she have those feelings for them both? What did that make her?
A ridiculous girl with pie-in-the-sky fantasies.
“Yes. Sorry. Hi.”
Dr. Beckman stepped closer, dropping his voice. “Are you all right?”
“I’m good. Happy to see you.”
“How have you been?”
“Fine. You?”
He studied her more intently. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay at the party. I heard you left abruptly, too. What happened?”
Raine’s gathering had begun with so much promise…and ended so terribly when her father had called to say that he’d fallen near the kitchen and hit his head. “Nothing much. I didn’t stay long because a friend needed my help.”
“Before you left, I heard you and Seth were deep in conversation.”
“Yes.” She breathed the word more than spoke it. “We talked.”
Now Dr. Beckman scowled. “Did he come on to you?”
Did he ever…
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “He might have.”
“And?”
Heavenly was capable of taking care of herself, but she adored the way Dr. Beckman protected her. Maybe that was simply his nature or maybe he just felt sorry for the shy girl. If he thought she was too inept to take care of herself, she didn’t really want to know.
“Oh, don’t worry. It wasn’t creepy, like Dr. Manning. It was…nice. More than nice, actually.” She sighed. “No one has ever talked to me like that.”
She didn’t think he’d mind hearing about her feelings for another man since he’d never given her any romantic vibes. Even when Dr. Manning had accused him of wanting her, he’d totally denied it. While Raine was fast becoming a friend, Dr. Beckman was probably the best one she had right now. He listened so well… She needed to appreciate the rapport they shared and stop wishing for more.
“How did he talk to you?” he demanded. “What did he say?”
She wouldn’t repeat Seth’s words. They were private, his gift to her. Sure, he’d likely just been flirting to pass the time at a party where he didn’t know many of the guests, either. But his attention had meant the world to her.
“Things that made me feel pretty and special.” Not to mention sexy, which she’d never felt until that moment.
The doctor’s scowl deepened into something furious. Oops. He’d been clear about his opinion of the PI. Of course he wasn’t happy she hadn’t heeded his advice. Heavenly made a mental note not to mention Seth next time she saw Dr. Beckman.
“Um…I-I should go,” Heavenly said, though she hated to leave him.
“Wait. Listen to me, little girl. You—”
A honking horn interrupted whatever
