Opposite Attraction

by Bernadette Marie

  Curtis acknowledged his generosity with a grunt as he tipped his head back on the couch.

  The house was quiet when he finally pried open his eyes. Someone had laid a throw over him, Regan no doubt. His head was throbbing and his mouth was desert dry.

  Curtis swung his feet to the floor and stood slowly. Perhaps the caterers had left something in the refrigerator. He could do with a sandwich on those senseless little rolls they had served.

  He stumbled to the kitchen, swung open the refrigerator and the light illuminated the room. He winced and realized he 'd heard a stifled gasp of someone sitting at the table.

  Focused on the small figure at the table he shut the door quickly. "Thought I was alone. "

  "I was hungry. " Her face was coming into focus, but the accent alerted him to who the woman in the dark was. She stood and started toward him. "I just came down for a little snack. Can I make you something? "

  He 'd wanted to laugh as he wondered if she 'd ever had to fend for herself in her life. That wasn 't fair. Obviously she 'd made herself something to eat right there in the kitchen.

  "I 'm fine. Go finish your snack. "

  "You are angry with me. "

  "You think? " He stepped back from her as she approached. That expensive perfume which had tangled with his senses the last time they stood in that kitchen was playing games with his body again.

  "Curtis, I 'm sorry. I meant you no harm. " She moved closer to him in the dark. "Mon ami? "

  "Friends? Sure. " He turned and reached into the cupboard for a glass. At the sink, he filled it with water and felt it land in his stomach. He hadn 't slept on that couch long enough to ward of the drunk he 'd put on. "Damn, " he said under his breath.

  "Are you all right? "

  "Just hadn 't planned on spending the night on my sister 's couch. I wanted to get home. "

  "I would be happy to give you a ride. "

  He lifted a brow. "You drove? "

  Simone cleared her throat. "You would be pleased to know I have leased a car. I can drive. "

  "Hmm, well ain 't that something. "

  He thought he knew her well enough that she 'd have had a driver waiting in a car for beck and call.

  Even in the dark, he saw her straighten. "You think I 'm just some spoiled brat, don 't you? "

  "Honey, if the high heeled shoe fits "

  Her hand whizzed through the dark and had he been sober he might have had a chance to block it before it hit his cheek. The sting of it raced through his skin and a curse flew from his lips. "Forget the ride. I 'd rather walk home. "

  "Why did I think you had better manners than this? Juidiote. "

  She stormed out of the kitchen. If she was going to be around for a while, he 'd have a few more 1chances of pissing her off and that seemed just fine with him. Curtis rubbed at the ache on his cheek.

  Well the last thing he needed was for his sister to see him be disrespectful to her houseguest. He 'd call a cab. He 'd sleep off his drunk and in two days he 'd be at the hospital buried in broken bones, cut hands needing stitches, and heart attacks. Suddenly it seemed more appealing than ever.

  Simone paced the floor of her bedroom. Oh, he 'd set her off and what made her angrier was that she deserved it. Why had she thought things would just fall into place? She had left him stranded on a yacht in the middle of nowhere. She hadn 't had the decency to tell him she was leaving or provide him a way home. Zach had to wire him the money to make it back to Tennessee and she 'd heard that he was paying dearly for that at the hospital.

  She 'd used her wealth to treat him like a prince and then banish him like a pauper. Hadn 't he made it clear to her that even though most people thought doctors were self-righteous and rich, he wasn 't? Hadn 't he told he that he spent more time at the hospital than he did in his little, poorly decorated apartment? Those student loans were plenty and paychecks weren 't, he 'd said.

  But she hadn 't expected to fall for him.

  Simone looked out over the dark garden from her window and sighed. She 'd spent so much of her life trying to be in charge she didn 't know what to do when she felt the control slip from her heart. The fact that she 'd had many men on that very yacht should have kept things in perspective, but they hadn 't. Curtis Keller was the only one who had taken care of her on that yacht and she didn 't know how to deal with it.

  Sure, many men took care of her. Each of them wanted a piece of what Simone Pierpont could offer them. Curtis Keller asked for nothing.

  They 'd been thrown together as dates for Carlos 's last wedding. They 'd met a few times, but once the bubbly started and the music slowed, things changed. She 'd changed in his arms that very night and she followed him to that little, rundown apartment he called home, and she 'd loved every moment they 'd spent there.

  Without a bag, she 'd worn his shirts around the house. He 'd had an extra toothbrush that he 'd paid no more than a dollar for that he gave her, and she 'd kept. There was no food in the house of a single man and he ordered pizza and over tipped the driver. It was heaven.

  Then she convinced him to run away with her for a few weeks. Leave behind the responsibility and the woes of saving lives. Make love to her on the French Riviera under the stars. And so he did.

  And that was where she 'd left him.

  Simone crawled into bed and pulled the sheets up to her chin as if to hide herself in the dark. She 'd never been in a situation where she didn 't know what to do or have her daddy to go to fix all her problems. The last time she 'd spoken to her father, he 'd turned her away. Taken away her trust fund, her villa, everything. To him she was nothing, and he 'd made that perfectly clear.

  It was hard for her to imagine. Her mother had married, again, and lived in Spain. And now she couldn 't even afford to go to her. Zach had been kind enough to fly her to America and offer her a place to stay. She was sure even Regan didn 't know he 'd done as much.

  He didn 't know why she was there, but she 'd tell him. And Zachary Benson would never turn her away. That was what friends did for each other.

  She 'd hoped Curtis wouldn 't turn her away either, but it didn 't look as though things were going her way.

  From the book she bought, she figured she had a good two months before she needed to make her decisions on matters at hand. Zach offered to help her find a job. Why would she need a job, she supposed he wondered. Suddenly an apartment, dark and dank like Curtis 's, seemed appealing.

  It would all be okay.

  She was nearing the end of her thirties and she 'd never taken care of herself. She could learn.

  The first tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed it away.

  People did it all the time.

  She was good with math. A budget. She could make a budget. Clothing. She and Regan had once been the same size. Perhaps she could talk her into passing down some of the clothes she had yet to work herself into after Tyler 's birth. That would do for a little bit.

  She blew out a breath and sucked up the tears that continued. She 'd learn to take care of another. People did it all the time.

  Simone ran her hands over her belly and swallowed hard. Soon Curtis wouldn 't turn her away. At least not completely. But she 'd have to prove that she could take care of herself before she told him she was carrying his baby.

  Chapter Two

  Normally, being called into work on his day off wasn 't ideal, but Curtis dressed quickly and headed to the hospital. Since his brother 's wedding he 'd managed to avoid Simone, and the rest of his family. That had been awkward to say the least when he 'd all but ignored his sister 's "hello " from the window when he 'd picked up his truck out front of her house.

  By the time the shift he 'd been called in for was over he 'd be onto his own shift. Perhaps she 'd be long gone by the time he emerged from the hospital Friday afternoon.

  When he was working he lived, breathed, ate and slept at the hospital. He 'd sleep in the room designated for residents and shower there as well. Food wasn 't a problem, he 'd
grown accustomed to hospital food over the years, when there was time to eat. Though he was sure he wouldn 't have to worry about eating from the cafeteria. He 'd seen the schedule. Nurse Cynthia O 'Dell was working the same shift. Not only did she always bring in something scrumptious for the break room that he could nibble on all day and night, she was something worth looking at for the next twenty-four hours.

  Certainly, Cynthia would also keep his mind off the French heiress.

  Curtis wasn 't disappointed.

  The spread Cynthia put out was enormous. It wasn 't anything too special, but a crock-pot of soup, bread and meats for sandwiches, and a great, big tray of chocolate chip cookies. Curtis was guilty. He took six and shoved them in his locker knowing they 'd be gone before he came back in for a cup of soup or a sandwich.

  "I have to admit, " he said leaning over the counter of the nurses ' station, "I was mighty glad to see you were on for the twenty-four shift. "

  "Were you? " She winked her crystal blue eye and slid a brilliant smile over her slightly pouty lips.

  To the average eye the woman in the floral print scrubs, a blonde knot of hair on her head, and white Nike shoes wasn 't much to look at. But to Dr. Keller, who had seen what lay beneath the shapeless uniform while golden locks of curls fell over her shoulders, it wasn 't hard to imagine at all.

  "What kind of soup? "

  "Wedding. "

  He snarled his upper lip. "Wedding soup? "

  "Uh-huh. " She shuffled through the papers in front of her.

  "Just a wedding week I suppose. " He walked around the desk and sat down on the counter next to where she sat in the chair.

  Cynthia looked up at him. "Your brother? "

  "Yep.Third marriage. Second marriage in two months. Second marriage to first wife. " He fingered the tiny hoop that hung from her ear. "Sounds like a soap opera, doesn 't it? "

  "We all love a soap opera. "

  "I suppose we do. " The pager on his waist beeped and he looked at it quickly. "Looks like my first ten year-old of the evening has a broken arm. I 'll catch you around. "

  "I 'm sure you will. "

  He hopped off the counter and walked back around the desk before taking a step back.

  "Hey, you up for a family dinner on Sunday? "

  She leaned back in her chair. "You haven 't had me to one of those in a long time. "

  "Because you were flirting with my brother-in-law 's employee. " He raised his eyebrows playfully.

  "Oh, yeah. Handsome older gentleman. " She laughed easily and it shot right through him. "Sure. I 'd love to come. "

  "Great. Carlos and Madeline get back from their honeymoon Saturday. No slide shows I promise. "

  "Madeline, that 's the ex-wife, new-wife. " She punctuated the series with her finger in the air.

  "Yep. "

  "She 's the one who had cancer last year. "

  He nodded as his pager beeped again. "I 'll fill you in. Gotta go. " He ran off toward the room of the ten year-old who couldn 't quite master the skill of a wheelie on his bicycle.

  Simone sat at the kitchen table with Regan and Tyler. He 'd changed so much since she 'd seen him only a few months earlier. He was ten months old and his father couldn 't stop bragging about him whenever she 'd phoned. Likewise, his grandmother, Madam Audrey, talked about him insensibly as well. He was certainly a cherished little boy.

  Simone 's parents never doted on her the way Regan and Zach did with Tyler. It made her wonder if they had once. Back before her father began taking mistresses and her mother spent her life trying to take her father 's money. As far back as she could remember it had been nannies and boarding schools for her. They had conveniently locked her away and forgotten about her - mostly.

  It was old news now, she decided. She was a grown woman in her mid-thirties and her fate was now her own. Besides, she couldn 't get to her mother and her father 's money was no longer within her reach. The secure life of Simone Pierpont was over. But she told herself that too was normal. Not everyone had millions of dollars at their disposal, or drivers, or homes in multiple countries. No, what she had always deemed as the usual was in fact not. If she expected any empathy toward her situation she needed to tread lightly. If anyone really knew what she came from they 'd turn her away as quickly as they would a homeless person begging for food and shelter at their suburban front door.

  She watched as Regan, very discreetly, unbuttoned her shirt and Tyler latched on to her breast. Even within the confines of her own home, not much was shown that would embarrass any guest.

  Zach walked into the kitchen in white shorts and a matching Polo shirt. He poured himself a cup of coffee. "Ah, two of my favorite women sharing coffee at the table. Beautiful way to start my morning. "

  Regan shifted her head to look up at her husband. "Where are you off to so cheerfully? "

  "Mom scheduled us a doubles match at her club. I think she 's showing me off. "

  "At least she 's not doing it to try and marry you off anymore. " Regan flashed him a smile.

  Simone remembered Audrey always trying to find the perfect wife for her son, before Regan had happened into his life. Then he 'd never had eyes for anyone else.

  Zach sipped his coffee. "I think she 's trying to marry herself off. "

  "Hmm, well then pick her a good one. " Regan laughed as she caught Tyler 's hand and let his fingers wrap around her finger.

  Simone tucked her lips between her teeth to keep them from quivering at the sight. It was a precious sight.

  She watched Tyler 's little head bob as he suckled his mother and his hand caressed her exposed skin. A lump caught in her throat and she swallowed it back.

  Zach set his coffee mug on the table and bent down to kiss his son. His lips lingered on his forehead as Tyler continued to nurse. Then Zach lifted his head, gazed into his wife 's eyes and smiled before pressing a kiss on her lips.

  "I 'll be back in a few hours. Can I get you anything? "

  Regan 's cheeks flushed and she tried to fight the smile that Simone watched creep across her lips. "I 'm craving a chocolate candy bar. "

  "I don 't know why I asked. " He kissed her again. "Goodbye my lovely, Simone. Ayez un beau jour. "

  "Oui, " she said knowing it was always a nice day in his home and with his wife. "Give Madam Audrey my best, will you. "

  "I will. " He kissed her on the cheek, picked up his coffee, and headed out the door.

  Simone sat and watched as Regan skillfully turned Tyler around on her lap and he latched on to the other breast. She picked up her mug, hoping it didn 't seem as if she were staring. "Does that hurt? "

  "Nursing? No. It 's an amazing experience. " Regan let out a breath. "But this will be the last week I nurse this big guy. As of Saturday we will begin to wean him. "

  "Why? "

  There was a slight smile that turned up the corners of Regan 's mouth, but Simone watched as she carefully controlled it.

  "He 's getting big. He 'll be walking in a few months and it 's just time. "

  Simone nodded. Would she enjoy nursing her child, she couldn 't help but wonder watching Regan look down at her son with such love in her eyes. One thing was for sure, mon1ey or no money, she wasn 't going to shuffle her child off as her parents had done to her. She 'd find a way to give her baby everything he or she would ever need, but mostly, she would give her baby love.

  Once Curtis freed himself from the hospital, he spent the next day sleeping. His regular shift of thirty-six hours, added with being called in a day early, and then an accident on the highway, which kept him plenty busy for almost another day, he figured he was due.

  It was hard to imagine having a job that didn 't keep you locked up for almost a week at a time. The better part was that he loved it.

  On Sunday afternoon he headed to Cynthia 's to pick her up for dinner. He 'd promised her he 'd swing by a little early and look at a leaky faucet she had before they headed to his parents ' house. A plumber she was not, but he figured she was doin
g him a favor having dinner with him and his family. He hadn 't told her she was supposed to be a distraction, hoping that no one would bring up the fact that Simone had showed up to the wedding. It was the least he could do so he 'd do his best to fix the leak.

  When Cynthia swung open the front door Curtis felt every muscle in his body, especially the ones in his jeans, stiffen. She was stunning. Her hair fell over her shoulders in loose, blonde curls, and how he was going to wiggle her out of those tight jeans he wasn 't sure, but he knew by the end of the night she 'd let him try.