Jaclyn smiled. “Yes, she’s the one. She’s back in the hospital. I think you made quite an impression on her.”
He slowly walked over to her. “And what if I said that you made an impression on me?”
She lifted her mouth to his after saying, “Mmm, that sounds rather nice.”
He then lowered his mouth to kiss her.
“As usual this is delicious, Lucien,” Jaclyn said as she took another forkful of mashed potatoes. Neither hers nor Isabelle’s ever got this fluffy.
“Thanks. Anything interesting going on at Hopewell?”
“Yes, I forgot to mention that someone hacked into the fertility clinic database. I understand a number of doctors who were interns at the time were donors. They’re beginning to freak out at the thought that someone might come after them as their baby’s daddy.”
She paused and then looked across the table at him curiously. “Anything you want to tell me?” Jaclyn hoped she didn’t sound like a jealous woman, although she inwardly felt like one now.
He shook his head. “No, because I wasn’t one of those interns. I didn’t ever want a child who didn’t know I was its father.”
Jaclyn released a deep breath of relief. She appreciated how he valued the thought that a child deserved both parents and she knew why he did so. He’d told her that he grew up never knowing his father.
“Earlier you mentioned my hours at Hopewell, so I might as well tell you I found out that all the interns’ hours are increasing over the next few weeks.”
He frowned. “I didn’t approve that.”
“Dudley did. And from what I understand it was Nurse Tsang’s suggestion. She thinks we have too much of a life and all of us think she needs to get one.”
He got up from the table with his plate. “I don’t agree with any of you working additional hours,” he said with anger in his voice. “You work enough hours already. I intend to let Dudley know how I feel when I return to work in a few days.”
“What if he starts wondering why you give a hoot about how many hours an intern works? He might try putting two and two together, Lucien. Thanks to Nurse Tsang, he already suspects something is going on with us.”
His frown deepened. “They can’t prove a thing.”
Jaclyn got up from the table thinking he was right. They couldn’t prove a thing…unless they saw all those passion marks under her scrubs.
“Did I tell you how much I like your bed?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.
“I figured you did.” Last night was the first time he’d slept in her bed and she had slept like a baby knowing he was there. At least she had slept like a baby when he hadn’t been making love to her.
“How long will Isabelle be gone?”
“Till Sunday night.” She smiled across the table at him. “That means you’re free to stay here until then…and especially because you like my bed so much.”
He chuckled. “Thanks for the invite. I definitely plan to take you up on it. I want to hang around and pamper you on my days off, assuming an emergency at Hopewell doesn’t call me in.”
“When you do return to work it’s pretend time for us again,” she said, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt.
“Yes, it’s back to pretending again.”
As she carried her plate over to the sink, she thought that for them the pretense would probably never end.
Chapter 14
“Not so fast,” Lucien ordered in a teasing voice.
He couldn’t hide his chuckle while watching Jaclyn quickly rip into what had been a nicely wrapped gift. Her lips then spread into a smile and she glanced up at him.
“This is for me?” she asked with awe in her voice when she stared back down at the diamond solitaire necklace.
He laughed. “Who else would it be for? We’ve been seeing each other for a month today and I wanted to give you something.”
She glanced back up at him. “But when did you have time to go shopping for anything?”
He knew why she was asking. Since returning from the medical seminar in Florida two day ago, other than the time he’d caught a cab back to his place to gather a few of his belongings, he’d been camped at her place.
If anyone had the inclination to be nosy and ride by his place, his car was parked out front and a timer would turn his lights on and off at certain times to make it appear he was there. But where he had been was here spending every possible moment with Jaclyn when she wasn’t at the hospital.
“I bought it while I was in Florida. There was a jewelry store in the hotel. I saw the necklace in the window one day, liked it and thought it should be worn around your neck.”
What he hadn’t told her was that it had been his third day there and he’d been thinking of her, missing her like crazy. Talking to her every night hadn’t been enough.
“That was so sweet of you,” she said softly. “I’ll cherish it forever and it will always remind me of you and our time together.”
His lips thinned. Why did she make it sound like a parting gift?
“Will you fasten it around my neck?” she asked, too busy taking the necklace out the box to notice the scowl on his face. Maybe that was a good thing because he couldn’t explain the reason for it.
Honestly, De Winter, do you really expect her to subject herself to a secret affair forever? It will be just a matter of time before she decides she wants better. She wants more. And rightly so because it will be just what she deserves.
She turned and presented her back to him and tilted her head to the side while pushing her hair out of the way. After fastening the necklace, he couldn’t resist kissing her there.
“What are you doing?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Tasting you,” he said, leaning down and kissing that spot on her neck again while tugging her back against him.
To balance their bodies he braced his legs apart which only cradled her hips into the confines of the lower part of his body. He sucked in a deep breath when her bottom brushed against his zipper. That was all that was needed to make his erection start throbbing.
“Stay still,” he warned, tightening his arms around her.
“Why?”
“Because I said so,” he answered. What he didn’t tell her was that he liked the feel of his erection nudging her backside. His jeans and her shorts weren’t a barrier from the heat they were generating.
“Lucien,” she said in that voice that did crazy things to his pulse.
“Yes?”
She turned around in his arms to face him. “I’m going to miss you when you return to your place later.”
Her words reminded him that he would have to leave today because Isabelle would be returning tonight. To play it safe he had decided to leave not long after lunch. “I’m going to miss you, too. But you know where I live. And you’re welcome over at any time.”
After dark. By taxi. In disguise. He then felt anger that those were the only choices he could offer her when she deserved so damn much more. She needed to be involved with someone who could take her places, be seen out in public with her.
“What’s wrong, Lucien? Why the frown?”
His gaze lingered on hers a moment before he simply said, “You deserve more.”
She chuckled. “More? You don’t think this diamond is big enough or something?”
She was trying to make light of the situation and they both knew it. “I’m serious, Jaclyn.”
“Yes,” she murmured softly. “I know you are and that’s what makes you truly special. I told you a month ago today my decision about us, Lucien. Nothing has changed.”
His heart began beating hard in his chest. That’s where she was wrong. Something had changed, but he wasn’t certain what. All he knew was that whenever he would dwell on the state of their relationship he would feel as if he was drowning in guilt. He would feel something else, too. Emotions he couldn’t put a name to just yet. Then again, maybe he could and he was just afraid to do so. Those thoughts made him
remember the conversation he’d had with Dr. Waverly one night in Florida over a few beers. Dr. Waverly was the new chief of staff over on the E.R.
“Lucien?”
Jaclyn recaptured his attention. “Yes?”
“You’ve gotten quiet on me,” she said softly.
He regarded her for a moment and then said, “Didn’t mean to.” His lips quirked into a smile. “I guess I’m just going to have to make up for wasted time.”
He lowered his head and his body shivered inside and out the moment their lips touched. And then it was on when he proceeded to kiss her, taking her mouth with searing intensity. He had enjoyed kissing her from the first and now four weeks later that hadn’t changed. The power in her kiss could overwhelm his senses, make every cell in his body respond and every muscle in his body quiver.
She was returning his kiss in such a provocative fashion that he felt his erection pressing hard against his zipper. It wouldn’t take much to take her here, standing up. Or over there on the sofa, lying down. Or on the kitchen counter kneeling before her while he—
“Ahem.”
The loud clearing of someone’s throat had them jumping apart. Too late. They turned and found Isabelle standing there with a combination of shock and humor on her face.
And then with a smirky grin on her face, she said, “Mmm, maybe it wasn’t a good idea for me to catch a ride and come home early after all.”
A hour or so later Jaclyn leaned back against the front door after seeing Lucien out of it to catch a cab. After her surprise appearance, Isabelle had beat a hasty retreat to her bedroom, pulling her luggage behind her, and hadn’t been seen or heard from since.
Jaclyn knew her friend was giving herself time to absorb what she’d walked in on and what it all meant. Jaclyn could just imagine what Isabelle was thinking about now. She pushed away from the door deciding now was the time to find out.
The two bedrooms were separated by attached baths, both off halls from the living room in different directions. It was a good setup for privacy. That gave Isabelle her own space while Jaclyn had hers.
She knocked on Isabelle’s bedroom door. “Come in.”
Jaclyn squared her shoulders, opened the door and stepped in. Isabelle was unpacking and from the looks of things, she’d been shopping while in New York. “I owe you an explanation,” she said quietly, not sure where she should begin.
Isabelle glanced over at her but didn’t stop unpacking. “No, you don’t. What you do is your business. I just hope the two of you realize what can happen if you’re caught,” she said point blank.
Isabelle then threw a shopping bag on the bed and gazed at her, drawing her in the full scope of her eyes. “For crying out loud, Jaclyn. Your mystery man is Dr. De Winter. He’s not only your boss but he’s also mine.”
“I know. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you involved in our deceit. And you would never have found out if you hadn’t come home early.”
Isabelle lifted a chin and crossed her arms over her chest. “And just how long did the two of you plan to keep it a secret? Until some big executive at Hopewell decides that the nomfraternization policy isn’t needed anymore? You and I know that won’t happen, so why are you risking it all, Jaclyn?”
Jaclyn breathed in deeply and met her friend’s confused gaze as she said, “Because I love him. I know it might sound crazy, but I had fallen in love with him the moment I saw him my first day at Hopewell. Even before he opened his mouth to say a single word.”
She could tell by the weird look Isabelle was giving her that her best friend found that hard to believe. “Does he love you?” Isabelle wanted to know.
Jaclyn turned and glanced out the window. She tried to deflect the magnitude of Isabelle’s question by thinking that her best friend had a better view out her window than she did.
“Jaclyn, ignoring me won’t work. Does he feel the same way about you that you do him?”
Jaclyn turned back to Isabelle. “I’m not sure. He’s never said he did, but then I’ve never told him how I feel, either. Right now we’re just enjoying each other’s company.”
“And is his company—although you can’t convince me it’s not more than that from the looks of that kiss—worth it? Is it worth being kicked out of your internship program because you want to play doctor, literally?”
“Yes, it’s worth it because I believe my love is worth it, regardless of how he feels about me. And now you know. But I’m asking something that I probably don’t have a right to do and that is for you to keep our secret as well. Asking you to do so makes you a part of our deceit.”
Isabelle waved off her words. “Hey, although I wish your mystery man was someone else, my lips are sealed—you know that. I promise to keep your secret.”
Jaclyn drew in a deep, relieved breath. “Thanks, and just so you know, Nurse Tsang suspects something. She saw us leave one morning together and has put a bug in Dr. Dudley’s ear. Lucien and I have been careful.”
Isabelle frowned. “Miss Thang needs to go somewhere and sit down. That woman has nothing to do with her time other than to go around gossiping. I would love to get something on her so she could see just how it feels.”
Jaclyn nodded her head. “Stand in line. I don’t think there’s an intern in our program who wouldn’t like to get something on her, especially after she suggested that Dr. Dudley give us more hours.”
Jaclyn then told Isabelle about the increase in their work hours starting tomorrow.
“Are they crazy?” Isabelle all but screamed. “We work too many hours now. I didn’t know how tired I was until I slept that entire first day at my parents’ home. I was totally drained.”
Jaclyn knew exactly how she felt. “Well, just be prepared.” She turned to leave the room.
“Jaclyn?”
She turned back around. “Yes?”
“I didn’t have a clue about you and De Winter. How have the two of you managed to keep it a secret?”
Jaclyn thought about her question as well as what her response would be. Then she said, “Because we wanted to be together and were determined to make it work. It hasn’t been easy, trust me.”
“I can imagine. I doubt I could pull off something like that.”
Jaclyn gave her a warm smile. “Yes, you could if your heart was at stake. And trust me when I say my heart is so full of love for him that I can’t imagine a time when we won’t be together, although such a time will eventually come. That’s why I need to absorb all I can get now.”
She chuckled quietly and added, “Whoever said that love will make you do foolish things knew exactly what they were talking about.”
Chapter 15
Lucien pretended to be reading a patient’s chart when he saw Jaclyn out of the corner of his eye. Anger twitched in his jaw. She, along with all the rest of the interns, had been working extra long hours. They were all tired and he knew it.
He had tried reasoning with Dudley and the man just wouldn’t discuss it, saying the interns needed to prove they could handle things under extreme pressure. Lucien had tried to get him to see that an extremely tired intern was just an accident waiting to happen. He could just imagine one of them slipping up and giving a patient the wrong medicine. The thought of that happening gave him the shivers.
He placed the chart in the rack and glanced over at Jaclyn. She was talking to a floor nurse and he could tell by the lines around her eyes that she was tired. She had pulled a sixteen-hour shift yesterday and a twelve-hour one the day before. On top of that he knew she’d been battling flu-like symptoms for a week.
“Is there anything wrong, Dr. De Winter?”
He glanced over at Nurse Tsang. “What makes you think something is wrong?”
She gave him a rueful smile. “Because you’re just standing there staring at Dr. Campbell.”
Damn! Had he been that obvious? “I’m waiting for her to finish talking with Nurse Atwater. I need to ask her a question about one of her patients,” he lie
d.
“Oh, I see.”
Lucien frowned. The woman saw too much. When Nurse Atwater walked off, he began walking toward Jaclyn. They had been busted a couple of weeks ago when Isabelle had walked in on them. According to Jaclyn, her roommate would keep their secret and he was grateful for that. The next time he’d seen Isabelle he had expected her to pull him to the side and read him the riot act for what she saw as a sleazy backdoor affair, but she hadn’t. In fact, if he hadn’t known for certain the woman had walked in on him and Jaclyn kissing, he would wonder if he’d imagined it. Not only had she not said anything, but she also hadn’t acted any differently toward him.
“Dr. Campbell, wait up,” he said when he saw Jaclyn about to get in the elevator.
She turned toward him and his heart almost dropped. Not only did she look extremely tired, but it was also evident she wasn’t feeling well. Why was she doing this to herself? “Yes, Dr. De Winter?”
“It’s obvious, Dr. Campbell, that you aren’t feeling well. I think you need to take a few days off.”
She blinked. “I can’t take time off. I just caught a bug. I’ll shake it in a few days.”
“I’m not taking any chances, Dr. Campbell,” he said in a firm voice. “It’s not good for you to be around the patients. I’m sending you home.”
She glared at him and lowered her voice. “Really, Lucien, that’s not necessary,” she whispered.
“I think it is, Doctor. I want you to leave here immediately.” He frowned. “And why are you holding your stomach?”
“No reason,” she all but snapped before turning to walk away.
Lucien watched her go and when he turned around he saw Kayla Tsang standing at her station staring at him. He then asked her the same question he had asked earlier. “Is something wrong, Ms. Tsang?”
A smirk appeared on her face. “No, Dr. De Winter, there’s not anything wrong.”
“I can’t believe he’s sending me home,” Jaclyn said angrily to Isabelle as she walked toward the break room to grab a snack out of the vending machine.
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