“Poppy, are you listening to me?” Nate’s voice interrupted my mental to do list and I glanced up at him.
“Yes, of course. I’m listening.”
“So you heard me say that I want you to stay another day or two for observation.”
“What?! No way, that’s out of the question, Nate.” I shook my head and a wave of pain-fueled dizziness hit me but I pushed through it, flipping the thin sheet off of my legs and moving to stand.
Suddenly, Nate was there, standing in front of me. His big hands were surprisingly gentle on my arms as he stopped me from getting all the way out of the bed. The slightest pressure had me falling backwards, drawing Nate even closer until he was leaning over me. His handsome, sharply featured face just inches from mine. His dark eyes melting on mine. The slight shadow of his beard. His lips. Right there. Too tempting for me to resist.
I barely had to move for our mouths to meet, and I drew in a deep, gasping breath as I tangled my hands in the fabric of his shirt, and kissed him.
1
Poppy
Lightning and thunder rolled through my body as Nate’s lips pressed against mine and in that one perfect moment, everything disappeared. The ugly beige hospital room, the mountain of work waiting for me, the stress eating me up alive, Thalia. All of it. It was just gone. Poof. As if it had never even been there in the first place. As if there had never been anything at all except me, and him, and the perfect merging of our mouths.
“Doctor Williamson?”
Barbara’s voice echoed from the nurse’s station down the hall and Nate jumped back, guilt shining thickly in his dark eyes. Eyes that I couldn’t look away from. Because as bad as I should feel, as guilty as I should feel, I just…didn’t. All I felt was the electric lust swirling with the drugs in my system making my body feel like it was floating in a pool of steamy water and my thoughts impossible to tie down.
I wanted him. I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anyone in my entire life. And he wasn’t mine to have.
“Doctor Williamson, can you take a look at this chart? I think we need to make some med adjustments for the patient in 207.”
Nate opened his mouth, his eyes still locked on mine, but after a second, he closed it with a click of teeth not saying a single word. It was okay. I totally got it. I sure as hell didn’t know what to say either.
“I’ll…I’ll be back,” Nate finally growled, his voice low and rough. The words thrilled and scared me all at the same time. He gave me one last long look before turning and rushing after the waiting nurse.
My fingers picked idly at the sheet as I blew out a sharp breath. My thoughts and heart beat were both racing and I couldn’t seem to control either one.
What the hell are you doing, Poppy? My conscious yelled at me. I just shrugged, not knowing how to answer even to myself. It was the same way it always was when it came to Nate. I got within a square mile of the man and everything inside me went haywire. It was seriously annoying, but I couldn’t do anything to stop my reaction to him. That’s why I’d stooped to lying to Thalia just to avoid hanging out with them together. It was just too hard.
It made it even harder, listening to Thalia talk about her and Nate together. The blasé way she spoke about him, the casual way she referred to him as her boy toy, the way she would flirt with other men. Hell, the way she would go out with other men, leaving me to bite my tongue instead of shouting at her that she already had an amazing man, why was she wasting him?
I sighed, staring up at the Styrofoam paneled ceiling. I had known Thalia for over eight years, we had become best friends from the very first moment we met, at that first awful casting room for the Van Nick Holiday fashion show.
As one of the few plus sized models there, I’d felt out of place and awkward. An elephant in a room full of gazelles. And then Thalia had waltzed in, her hair in a messy bun, skin tight black lace Isabel Marant dress paired with oxblood Doc Martin’s.
She walked over to where I was sitting, plopped down beside me and started chatting as if we’d known each other for years instead of literally seconds.
“Have you seen the new Mui Mui line? Plaid? Really? Whoever said plaid was the new black was out of their ever loving minds.”
“Plaid belongs on Scottish hunks and fall accessories. Anything else needs to stay in the nineties where it belongs.”
She grinned over at me, part free spirit fae part rock and roll a la Stevie Nicks.
“I’m Thalia Miller.”
“Poppy Black.” I said, taking her beringed hand and shaking it, smiling back at her. Thalia was L.A. born and bred, her family had a long history of wealthy socialites that grew up, got married to other wealthy socialites and gave birth to a whole shiny new generation of wealthy socialites.
“Not me, though.” Thalia said with a sharp gleam in her pale green eyes. “I want something different for myself. Something better.”
I’d glanced down at the sketch book in front of me, the one I brought everywhere. The one that was full of my dreams and inspirations, ideas and designs.
“Me too. One day, I’m going to be the one in charge. The one making the designs and casting the models”
Thalia leaned over, looking at my designs.
“Those are good.”
“I still have a long way to go.” I said with a shrug.
“No, I mean it. I would wear those. And I have very high fashion standards.”
Neither of us made it through that casting call. Me, for having too many curves, and Thalia for not having enough. It didn’t matter though. I may not have gotten the job, but I’d made a friend. My first real friend since moving to L.A. months before.
That was eight years ago, and Thalia was still my best friend. She’d grown into my roommate, and then business partner when we launched our high end fashion design company the year before.
She was truly one of a kind. Generous and open, free spirited and could make every head turn when she walked into a room. But I also knew that she could be careless, and had no concept of the value of money, not really.
I knew it was because of her family, the Millers. Incredibly wealthy and incredibly well connected. Not that I was complaining. Thalia’s parents had bankrolled the start-up costs for the line and I never wouldn’t gotten that loan without her.
And she was terrible when it came to relationships. Just the thought reminded me of Nate, and the kiss, and had shivers rushing up and down my body quickly followed by a wave of guilt.
“It’s not like she even appreciates him.” I muttered softly, picking at the threadbare hospital blanket that was laid over the curve of my thighs. I knew it was just an excuse to make myself feel better, even it was the cold hard truth.
Thalia was terrified of commitment. Even though she’d technically been dating Nate for a year now, I knew he wasn’t the only man in her life. Not that I could judge. I’d had exactly no man in my life for over a year. A part of me worried it was because of Nate. Because of that instantaneous lightning bolt of lust and desire that had struck me the first time our eyes met. It was more than want though. It had been a knowing. As if I’d met him before but I knew I never had. As if our souls knew each other on sight.
It would be so much easier if I could forget him. Forget all about that moment of intense connection. Except it happened every single time I saw him. Every single time I was in the same room as him. Every time Thalia talked about how boring he was or how he had to work all the time or complaining that he got called in while they were on a date together.
A sharp sigh huffed from lips that still tingled with aftershocks. I knew it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that Thalia treated Nate like garbage and was only still dating him because their families knew each other, and her parents expected her to date another wealthy socialite just like her. It didn’t matter that Nate never seemed that interested in her either. It didn’t matter that my whole body lit up like a freaking Christmas tree whenever he was near me.
Because the t
ruth was, Thalia was my best friend and I would never betray her like that.
You already did, my conscious shouted. It was the drugs! And the concussion! I wasn’t thinking straight! I shouted back, trying to make myself believe that it had just been a combination of the pain killers and concussion that had momentarily made my good sense flee.
A knock at the hospital door was a grateful distraction and I looked up to see my assistant, Jefferson, walk in the room with a black leather bag in one hand and my sketchbook in the other. He was dressed in his standard ripped jeans and t-shirt, his too long sandy blond hair pulled back in a top knot. His thick, dark framed glasses shadowed deep set brown eyes that I knew could catch the tiniest detail or loose thread. Just one of the many things I loved about the man.
He didn’t look like a typical fashion obsessed designer, but he knew more about the history of fashion than anyone I knew, and he was dedicated. He could get obsessive at times, and not just with the job, but that was fine. I could obsess too. Hell, that’s how I ended up in this hospital bed in the first place.
“Thank god! I am so happy to see you!” I squealed in joy as I opened up the bag and saw clothes, real clothes, and I already couldn’t wait to get out of this hospital gown. I froze as a sudden thought occurred to me. I didn’t remember getting to the hospital or taking off my clothes. Had Nate been the one...?
I had to push the thought away as my body flushed hot and cold at the image that popped into my head of Nate undressing me, his big hands stripping my clothes off one piece at a time.
“Poppy, did you hear what I said?”
“What? Sorry, Jefferson. These meds they have me on for my head are making me loopy.” I flushed even harder at the small lie. It was partly true. But mostly, I knew it was just the affect Doctor Nate Williamson had on me, medicated or not.
Jefferson winced in sympathy.
“Yeah. I saw you go down. It looked…painful.”
“Well, luckily, I don’t remember any of it. What the hell happened? The doc said I had some sort of panic attack.”
“One minute you were fixing that evening gown, the one that model carelessly wrecked,” He stopped and shook his head. He was a stickler for caring for fashion, “You were trying to pin the lace, she was about to get called into the lineup for the runway and you just sort of, well, you went all pale and wide eyed, you started breathing really hard and then you, um, you sort of toppled.”
“Toppled?”
“You fell through the curtain and off the edge of the catwalk. It’s why your injuries were as bad as they are. They said no broken bones though, so that’s good. How the hell do you accessorize a cast?”
He got a little chuckle out me and I let him have it. I knew he was just trying to distract me from the image of myself ‘toppling’ off the edge of the catwalk at one of my first major shows.
“So, you talked to Nate, then?”
“Nate?” He repeated, bristling at the name. He hated the other man and I had a pretty good idea why. “I didn’t know he worked here.”
“He is a doctor, you know.”
“Big deal.” Jefferson muttered softly with a shrug. Ever since Jefferson had started working for me when we started the design company, he had pined after Thalia. Staring after her with those big, puppy dog eyes of his, waiting for her to notice him. The only thing he loved more than design, was Thalia.
He wasn’t exactly her type, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him. Besides, he was the best assistant I’ve ever had and the last thing I wanted was for Thalia to break his heart and send him packing.
“Here is your sketchbook, I though you would want it since your under hospital arrest.” He handed me the heavy black, spiral bound book that I carried with me everywhere I went. Inside, it held beautiful Italian hand made paper the color of fresh cream. It was my baby, held my dreams and inspirations, my greatest treasure.
“You are the best, you know that?”
“I know.” He said with a shrug and a grin that had his single dimple flashing. He really was a nice guy. Intense, sure. Driven, absolutely. But maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Thalia fell for a nice guy for a change, instead of chasing her string of bad boys, all the while leaving Nate waiting in the wings.
I shook the thought off. It didn’t matter. Nate wasn’t mine to worry about. I had to work really hard to convince myself of that.
“By the way, Thalia said she was going to come by later and see how you’re doing.” Jefferson said, his face lighting up when he mentioned her name. He had no idea just how much turmoil his casual statement caused inside me. My gut twisted into knots.
“Oh,” I said on a gulp of guilt. “Great. That’s just great. When is she coming?”
“A few hours.”
A few hours. That’s all I had. A few hours to try and tame the guilt inside me and banish all memories of the kiss. Hah, if only it was that easy. I could still feel it, like a ghost haunting me. That was just great.
2
Poppy
“You are a terrible patient.”
I shot my best grin up at the indominable Nurse Barbara.
“I know. I would say I’m sorry but…” I trailed off with a shrug. We both knew there was no remorse here.
“It’s fine. I wouldn’t believe you anyway.” Her sharp look of disapproval melted into a rough chuckle as she shook her head at me, “You remind me of myself when I was younger. Stubborn as all get out and sarcastic on top of it.”
I shrugged again. It was that same stubbornness that had helped me survive moving through the fashion industry as a plus sized model surrounded by size zeros. It was that stubbornness that had made me determined to make my fashion line a success, no matter how hard it was, no matter how hard I had to work or how much I had to sacrifice.
And the sarcasm, well. There really was no answer to that one. I’d had a sharp tongue since I was a little kid growing up in a too small town in the Midwest. It was a skill I was born with.
“You know, Barb, can I call you Barb? You know, Barb, I think a nice deep wine red would work really well with your hair color and complexion. It would bring out your eyes, too.”
She rolled her eyes at me.
“They’re scrubs, honey. There isn’t anything that will make them more flattering. They are comfortable, lightweight, and it’s easy to wash the bodily fluids off.”
I wrinkled my nose in disgust as she cackled at my look of horror.
“Nursing is a dirty job but somebody has to do it,” She gave me another look, “So maybe other people could make my job a little easier by not crying like I’m trying to chop their arm off when I have to draw blood or check their I.V.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, this time actually meaning it, “I just really hate needles.”
“I’ve noticed.” Barbara snorted as she jotted down some numbers on my chart.
That wasn’t the only reason I’d been a terrible patient for the last two days. The only thing I cared about was getting out of that damned hospital and back to work. I was going stir crazy just lying there, getting poked and prodded.
I knew I was being a monster to the nursed, but there wasn’t anything I could seem to do about it. And it really didn’t help that any time Nate came in to check on me, I got all hot and bothered and guilty at the same time because of the feelings I couldn’t control.
He’d only been in a few times, usually for no more than a minute to poke his head in and ask how I was doing, and we still had yet to talk about The Kiss. It was capitalized in my mind now, a moment in my life that would be branded in my memory forever.
Every time I saw him, it all came rushing back. The Kiss. The feel of his lips pressed against mine, just as sharp and just as clear as the moment it had happened. It was a moment I had imagined a hundred times over the past year. Hell, a thousand. All the while knowing what a terrible person it made me, fantasizing about my best friend’s man like that.
That wasn’t me. I wasn’t that girl. I was loyal. I c
ared deeply about my friendship with Thalia and I would never want to do anything that might hurt her or jeopardize our relationship.
But as much as I told myself that, it didn’t stop the thoughts from rushing through my mind, and it didn’t do a damned thing to still my racing heart beat or get rid of the way my body went all hot and shivery whenever I saw him.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear the knock on the door or realize anyone else was there until Barbara cleared her throat and tapped me on the shoulder.
“Looks like your friend is here,” The older nurse said gruffly, “I’ll just leave you two to visit for a minute. I’ll be back in an hour to check the rest of your vitals.”
“Hey Poppy, enjoying your vacation?” Thalia joked and I had to grit my teeth. I hated not being able to work and being stuck in this torture chamber was hardly my idea of a relaxing vacation.
“Not exactly.”
I looked up just as Thalia swept into the room, towering in six inch black heeled boots and a thigh skimming velvet dress. Her shoulder length blond bob was tousled and her heavily made up green eyes smudged and shadowed.
“You look worse than I feel,” I said lightly, and she sent me a mock scowl.
“I feel worse than I look.”
“Late night?”
Thalia grinned slowly, growing wider and wider like the Cheshire cat, and just as pleased with herself.
“Something like that.” She winked at me, “Let’s just say I didn’t get much sleep, if you know what I mean.”
A flash of anger fueled through me and I had to bite my lip to stop the first words that popped into my mind from escaping. I knew Thalia hadn’t spent the night with Nate. He’d been at the hospital working a double shift all night. In fact, I still don’t think he’d clocked out yet.
Best Friend's Boyfriend (Be My Boyfriend Book 2) Page 2