“Don’t think that I’ve forgotten that you still haven’t answered my question about what this telling sign I have is when I’m worried,” he said, changing the subject, as he opened his car door.
As the valet opened the door for Sarah, she reached over and rubbed her hand up the back of his neck, the motion taking his breath away as she moved even closer, till all he could see was the smile on her all too kissable lips.
“This,” she said, then climbed out of the car to help with the luggage that the bellboy had begun unpacking.
David reached his hand to the back of his head where she had touched him, then pulled it back. What did you know, the woman was right, he did have a telling sign when he was nervous. And being this close to Sarah was making him very nervous.
David was trying to listen to what Sarah was saying, but he kept being drawn back to the flickering light of the candles as it reflected off her deep brown eyes. Her touch the night before had caused something in him to go haywire. When he should have been taking in all the information in the seminars today, his mind had continually wandered back to that touch, that smile that had lit something inside him, which he was having a problem understanding. Now he sat here like a wide-eyed sap.
His only consolation was that Sarah didn’t seemed to have noticed. He knew she had no idea how beautiful she looked tonight dressed in a violet dress with her hair left down to fall past her shoulders. She wasn’t a classic beauty like Lisa. No, Sarah’s beauty was deeper. It was those deep brown eyes that lit up when she talked about the kids at the hospital or the horses at the farm. Her smile was infectious and the compassion she showed for the parents she dealt with showed him that she was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.
They’d both been required to dress up tonight as one of the organ procurement vendors was hosting a special dinner for the attendees and now that all the ceremonies for the night were finally over and the others from their table had left to mingle, the two of them were alone. Leaving a sense of intimacy that reminded him of the time they’d shared in the dark car driving into Dallas.
But there was something different tonight. Whether it was the atmosphere or just the change their relationship seemed to be going through, he didn’t know, but he was becoming more aware of Sarah as a woman then as a co-worker, a very attractive woman who had his body reacting in ways that it hadn’t in years.
“What about you?” she asked as she finished informing him about the last seminar she had attended that afternoon, a talk by a group of doctors that were involved in a new research program that hoped to help them determine which chemotherapy drug was the right medicine for their patients’ specific cancer. He should have found it fascinating. He did find it fascinating; he just found this woman in the short violet dress more fascinating.
“David?” she asked again as she reached over and took his hand. “Are you okay?”
He looked down to where her hand lay over his. This intimate touch should have bothered him as he wasn’t one of those touchy-feely people, but it didn’t. Something had changed between the two of them in the past weeks. That was the only way he could explain why he would have bared all the unpleasantness of his marriage, of the hurt he had felt of not being enough, of him and Davey not being enough for the wife who had carelessly left the two of them.
“Why don’t you call and check on him?” she asked as she moved her face close to his trying to get his attention. It was the closeness of her lips that brought him to his senses.
“Call who?” he asked, then realized there was only one person that he needed to check on. “I called before he ate his supper to make sure his medicine was given on time. I’m going to call back at bedtime. I’ve set an alarm.”
“So, what do you think of the conference? What did you find out at that statistics seminar as far as this year’s numbers?” she asked as she pulled her hand away from his.
“Basically what we all know. The need is great and though the numbers of donations have been rising, there’s still a shortage,” he said. “I did run into someone from our local procurement office, I think her name is Heather.”
“Yes, Heather Long. She’s great isn’t she,” Sarah said as she looked out over the room at the other attendees as if to locate the woman.
“She seems to be. We had a moment to discuss some of the patients we have listed right now and she seemed to think that we should be able to get Lindsey moved up once she stabilizes. Not that it will make much of a difference if we don’t get a donation match soon,” he said, then glanced back down at his watch. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”
“I’m attending the forum on donor and recipient relationships and privacy,” she said, as once more she looked away from him and scanned the other people in the room. “I’m really looking forward to it. Do you want to go with me?” she asked though she still seemed to be looking over his shoulder.
He glanced back over his shoulder and wondered what it was now that had her preoccupied, then turned back to see her eyes had now returned to him. Was she feeling that same strange sense that something was changing between the two of them? Was that what seemed to be making her uncomfortable now?
“I promised Heather I’d attend her talk on how
