Prince Charming, M.D.

by Susan Mallery

  “What are you doing?” she asked when she realized they were alone in the elevator and Trevor was staring at her with a smile tugging at his lips.

  “Taking you for coffee.”

  She made a show of glancing at her watch. “I’m very busy.”

  He shrugged. “So am I, but this is important. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. I just want to get a few things straightened out.”

  She didn’t like the sound of that, but before she could complain, the doors opened and two nurses stepped inside. They took one look at Trevor and simpered. There was no other word for their flirty expressions and open body language.

  “Good morning, Dr. MacAllister,” they said in unison.

  Dana thought about sticking her fingers down her throat and making a retching sound, but doubted anyone else would appreciate the humor in the gesture. The attention was nauseating. How did the man stand it?

  Silly question, she thought, glancing at his handsome features. He accepted the adoration with the equanimity of one born to greatness. Women had been fawning over him since he was in the cradle and no doubt they would continue until he was on his deathbed.

  “Doesn’t it get boring?” she asked as they exited the elevator, collected mugs of steaming coffee and made their way to a quiet table in the corner. She took the seat facing the rest of the room because she wanted to watch the reaction of the women already there. Most had already seen him and were staring hungrily.

  Trevor settled next to her, oblivious to the attention. “Doesn’t what get boring?”

  “The women. Or have you grown so used to being worshiped that it’s just matter-of-fact?”

  Instead of responding glibly, he took a drink of his coffee, then set it on the small table between them. “I see my reputation has preceded me.”

  There was a trace of regret in his tone. Dana dismissed it as wishful thinking on her part. He was too pretty to have values or anything close to a conscience.

  “What did you expect?” she asked. “Honeygrove isn’t exactly a small town, but people do know one another. They remember what you were like growing up. Combine that with the hotbed of intrigue one normally finds in a hospital, throw in a fascinating and eligible surgeon—” she motioned to the room behind him “—it’s high drama.”

  “You’re right.”

  He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. The traditional doctor’s white coat flattered his tan and made already broad shoulders seem wide enough to support a building. She told herself that her attraction was a meaningless physical response to having been without a date for months. In the past couple of years she’d thrown herself into her career. She had a great promotion and raise to show for her efforts, but her social life bordered on monastic.

  A moment of silence fell between them. Dana used the time to compose herself, trying to still the faint tremors in her arms and legs and slow her heartbeat. She was a grownup. She could easily handle this situation. Her gaze settled on his face, on well-defined eyebrows and a straight nose. She bit back a sigh—okay, so he was a fine-looking specimen. But that extraordinary body hid the heart and soul of a rogue. She would do well to remember that.

  Dana leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “Well, Trevor, you called this meeting. What did you want to talk about?”

  “You’ve been avoiding me for nearly a week. I want to know why.”

  His statement made her stiffen slightly. “I’m not avoiding you. I’ve been busy.” She didn’t make a habit of lying and had a bad feeling she didn’t do it well. Hopefully Trevor wouldn’t catch on.

  “I’ve left several voice-mail messages about setting up an appointment so you and I could talk. My office is ready to start scheduling patients, but we have things to work out first.”

  Dana nodded. He was right. It was her job to keep the surgical unit working smoothly. There were dozens of details—personnel and their schedules, supplies, equipment, repairs, purchases. A new surgeon coming on staff required coordination between her team and his.

  “I wasn’t avoiding you,” she said again, hoping repetition added conviction to her voice. “However, I’ll be happy to set up a meeting for later today or tomorrow. If that’s convenient?”

  His hazel green eyes never looked away. The force of his attention was as tangible now as it had been earlier. She found herself wanting to promise him anything he requested. When she started to involuntarily lean toward him, she straightened quickly and forced a quick, tight smile.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Even his voice was tempting, she thought with disgust. Low and sexy, the well-modulated tones were designed to make women whimper. It wasn’t Trevor, she told herself firmly. Maybe her flu shot had wom off early and she was coming down with something. That was it. A mild case of food poisoning or the plague. Anything but him.

  “If that’s all...” she said, pushing to her feet.

  “It’s not.” He put his hand on her forearm to hold her in place.

  Dear God, he was touching her. Heat flared again, racing from the point of contact to the rest of her body. Fire collected in her breasts and between her legs. She would never survive this. Never. After all this time, nothing had changed.

  She sank back weakly, wondering why her body had to betray her. Hadn’t the lesson been painful enough? Weren’t the emotional scars a reminder of all he’d done? She shook her head. Apparently her hormones didn’t care about broken hearts or shattered dreams.

  Slowly, she pulled her arm free and placed her hands in her lap. “What else, Trevor? I can’t afford to extend this break much longer. I have a pile of work waiting for me on my desk.”

  “This won’t take long.” He stared at her. “I suspect you’ll deny it, but I can tell you’re still angry with me. It’s been years, Dana. You need to let the past go. We’re going to have to work together, and it’s time to put our history in perspective.”

  He spoke calmly, but it was all she could do not to shriek at him. How dared he bring that up? “Perspective? Easy for you to say. You’re not the one everyone talked about for weeks afterward. You went on with your life, while I was left to deal with a ruined reputation.”

  Not to mention a broken heart, she added to herself. She was still shaking, but this time from reaction to his words rather than from attraction. Her face felt hot. No doubt she was blushing. She kept her head high, refusing to let him think he was going to get the best of her.

  ”I’m not that innocent young woman anymore,” she continued. “I don’t care what you do with your personal life, but while you’re dealing with me, you will remember we are business associates and nothing else.”

  He’d handled the whole situation badly. Trevor cursed silently. He’d been a fool to think Dana would have let go of the past It might have been a long time ago, but obviously the memories were still fresh in her mind. The worst part was, her anger was justified. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything about it.

  “If I could change the past, I would,” he told her.

  “How nice for both of us. Tell me. What would you change? Would you still pretend you cared about me to get me to sleep with you, only this time you wouldn’t tell the entire school? Or would you just avoid the whole messy entanglement?”

  Fire flashed from her blue eyes. She kept her chin high, her gaze steady. She’d always been tough...that was one of the many things he admired about her. Dana had a survivor’s strength. Life hadn’t always treated her well, but she’d come through. If he told her he admired her though, she would throw his compliment right back in his face.

  “I would change two things,” he said. “This time I would make you listen to the truth. You wouldn’t hear it then, but I’m hoping you’ll hear it now.”

  “As you said, it’s been a lot of years. Why should any of that matter?”

  Because you’re still hurting, he thought. Instead he said, “Just listen. Please.”

  She continued to glare at him, but she didn’t move from
her seat. He took that lack of action as assent.

  He sucked in a breath. After all this time, he was finally going to tell her what really happened that weekend. The hell of it was, she wouldn’t believe a word.

  “I really cared about you, Dana,” he began. Cared. What a silly word that didn’t come close to describing his feelings. She’d been his whole world—only she’d never known. She’d seen what everyone else had seen. The handsome facade, the easy laughter. Not the young man he’d been or the tender heart he’d done his damnedest to hide.

  “That weekend meant the world to me.”

  She snorted in disbelief, but he ignored her and went on.

  “I didn’t tell the whole school that we’d been lovers.”

  “Then why did everyone know?” she asked. “It was all anyone talked about for a week. That Dana had done it with Trevor.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “I was humiliated.”

  “I know.” He leaned toward her. “I’m sorry. I never wanted for you to be hurt.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Dana, I give you my word. I only told one person. Joel Haddock. He spread the rumors, not me.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “That’s low, even for you. Joel was your best friend.”

  Trevor nodded. “Definitely. Was. Our friendship ended that Monday when I found out what he’d done.” He studied her face. “You don’t believe me.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Of course not. Joel was good to me. After everyone knew what we’d done, the boys wanted to talk to me only because they thought I was easy. They tormented me, cornering me in the halls, trying to touch me.” She shuddered at the memory. “Joel was there. He listened and he kept me safe.”

  Trevor felt old anger surfacing. He knew what Dana had gone through and he’d been helpless to protect her. “Joel was there because he always had a thing for you. He started the rumor to break us up.” He laughed harshly. “It sure worked. You never spoke to me again. Until today.”

  “You said you would change two things,” she told him. “The first was to get me to listen to the truth, such as it is. What’s the second?”

  She didn’t believe him. He could see it in her eyes and read it in her body language. He told himself it didn’t matter. He and Dana had to work together, not be friends. But he’d hoped for more. Maybe some forgiveness, or at least a little understanding.

  “I wouldn’t have told Joel,” he said. “That was my other mistake. If he hadn’t known what happened, or how I’d fallen for you, he wouldn’t have tried so hard to break us up.” He rose to his feet. “I know that semester was difficult for you. I’m sorry for my part in what happened. But I won’t apologize for that time we spent together. I’ve never forgotten it or you.” He flashed her a smile. “Not that I expect you to believe me.”

  “Good, because I don’t.”

  She stood, also. She wore a dark-peach coatdress. Chinlength, dark-blond hair had been brushed back from her face. She’d changed from high school. Her features were less rounded, her expression more wary. But her athletic body still moved with a grace that made him think about sultry afternoons and tangled sheets.

  “I don’t know that we’ve cleared the air,” Dana said. “But at least everything is out in the open. I’m good at my job, Trevor. Just as you’re good at yours. We’re now forced to work together. I don’t have a problem with that if you don’t. As I said before, I don’t care what you do with your personal life—just don’t do it on my time. I can’t tell you not to see my nurses, but I will ask that you keep your flirtations to a minimum. If I see them affecting the running of this hospital, I won’t hesitate to report you.”

  The insult was undeserved, but not unexpected. He told himself Dana was reacting to the truth as she saw it. But it was hard to just let it go.

  “No problem,” he said, then headed for the door before he exploded. Several women called out greetings. He nodded pleasantly as he walked to the elevator. Once he was inside and the doors closed, leaving him alone, he gave in to his rage.

  He swore long and loud, then hit the wall with a closed fist. Dana thought he was little more than a gigolo, which was what most people believed. That Trevor MacAllister had a woman in every port—or in the case of the hospital, a nurse on every floor and in every department. That he went out with a different one each night, bedded them all in legendary fashion and forgot about them the next day. Out of sight, out of mind.

  He didn’t want to make any part of his reputation a reality, but she—like the rest of the world—wouldn’t be interested in something as boring as the truth. The only part of the legend he wanted to be real was the bit about forgetting. If only he could put it all out of his mind—let the past go. He could save himself a lot of sleepless nights...and a lot of pain.

  Chapter Two

  Dana pulled open the dishwasher and began unloading the machine. Despite the beautiful April morning, she felt distracted and edgy. Knowing what caused the feelings didn’t help. Had she been a jogger she would have gone out for a ten-mile run. Maybe she would regrout her shower tiles— anything to take her mind off the source of her trouble. Trevor MacAllister.

  She grabbed a handful of silverware and crossed to the drawer next to the refrigerator. It wasn’t fair. After all these years he’d waltzed back into her life as if nothing had ever happened. “For him it hasn’t,” she reminded herself aloud. While he’d been the only guy she’d ever had a crush on in high school, and her first lover, she’d only been one in a line of conquests for him. She hated that she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

  The past week had been long and difficult. She’d managed to get through their start-up meeting with a minimum of reaction. At least that’s what she told herself. He couldn’t possibly have known that the entire time he sat so casually in her office, her heart had been pounding and her knees growing weak. She’d felt a flush on her cheeks, but had hoped her makeup was enough to cover it.

  So that should be the end of it. Trevor was on staff. Any questions she had could be answered by his office. There was no reason she should have to see him, talk to him or even hear his name. But it wasn’t that simple. For one thing, nearly every female in the hospital was still buzzing about him. For another, she couldn’t seem to escape him. Every time she rounded a corner or exited an elevator they ran into each other. One time he’d been pulling on his white coat over tailored shirt and tie. The height and strength of him had sucked the breath right from her chest. Another time he’d been coming out of surgery, tired, sweaty, with stained scrubs hanging loosely on his body. She shouldn’t have noticed. She never noticed doctors. But she wasn’t that lucky with Trevor. Something about him drew her. Like a moth to a flame, she thought humorlessly. And like that little moth, if she wasn’t careful she would end up a charred piece of nothing blowing away on the breeze.

  “This is crazy,” she told herself as she picked up the pot in the top rack of the dishwasher. She carried it to the cupboard, then shoved it in place. “I refuse to spend my weekend thinking about this man. What I need is a distraction.”

  She walked through her three-bedroom town house. There were plenty of weekend chores. Cleaning, laundry, some bills to pay. All necessary, but none taxing enough to occupy her thoughts for very long. She considered calling her best friends, but Katie would be busy with Mike, and Lee had mentioned something about going away for the weekend. Which left her on her own.

  She eyed the wallpaper in the dining area, but decided stripping the walls was a bit much, even for someone in her condition. Besides, she liked the subtle pattern. Would redecorating really get Trevor out of her head?

  She moved back into the kitchen and poured herself some coffee. She could have handled seeing him again, and even talking to him, if only he hadn’t brought up the past. The more she thought about what he’d told her, the more she grew confused. No way did she believe that Joel Haddock had been the one to tell her entire high school what she’d done with Trevor. Yet she couldn’t accept the f
act that Trevor was lying. He was many things she admired and many things she despised, but he’d always been completely honest. It didn’t make sense. Maybe—

  A rumble caught her attention. She carried her mug to the front bedroom that doubled as her at-home office and stared out the window. A moving van had pulled up in front of the town house next door. She’d heard that the place had been rented. This was exactly what she needed. She would go over, introduce herself to her new neighbors and offer to help. A couple of hours spent carting boxes around and unpacking would be a great distraction.

  She left her mug on the counter in the kitchen, pocketed her keys and stepped outside. Three men were already lowering the tailgate of the trailer. She looked around for a passenger car. A sleek, silver Mercedes pulled into the nearest visitor parking slot. Dana stared at the vehicle. A knot formed in her stomach as she realized it looked familiar. A man stepped out of the car and the knot tightened.

  “Please, God, no,” she murmured as Walter MacAllister raised an arm in a gesture of greeting, then headed toward her.

  The chief of staff was tall and fit, with chiseled features that made him look younger than his sixty years. The long stride was familiar because his son had inherited that powerful walk, along with the elder MacAllister’s good looks. She told herself not to panic, that Walter’s being there didn’t mean anything, but she knew she was lying. Walter and his wife had a beautiful house outside of Honeygrove. They had no reason to rent a town house...at least not for themselves. Which left another possibility too hideous to consider.

  “Dana.”

  Walter reached her side and took her hands in his. He was caring and friendly with all his staff, frequently hosting dinner parties at his house. His was an open-door policy that kept morale high and turnover low. Dana knew it was just his management style at work, yet she’d always felt he’d taken a special interest in her career. He was the one who had recommended her for her current position.