With a Little T.L.C.

by Teresa Southwick

  “I believe you. And I’m not questioning what you’re saying. It’s just your choice of words.”

  “What words?” he asked.

  “One actually. A very important one. Dating.”

  He shook his head. Obviously he’d slept so hard his brain needed a kick start. He hadn’t a clue what she was getting at. “You’re going to have to be a shade more specific. I’m at a disadvantage here. I slept soundly on your couch making me the world’s biggest jerk. And my mind is fuzzy because I slept soundly on your couch. What is it about the word dating that you don’t understand?”

  “I guess I did assume you were dating someone. I just didn’t know it was me.”

  He nodded. “Completely my fault. I guess I forgot something.”

  He reached over and tried to tug her closer. When she resisted, he put an arm under her legs and his other arm behind her back and gently lifted her onto his lap. Cupping her cloud-soft cheek in his hand, he lowered his mouth to hers. The single, simple touch, intended only for reassurance, unleashed something inside him, something wild he’d been trying to ignore and suppress.

  Her soft sigh of pleasure fed the sensation kicking up the tempo of his breathing. Joe traced the outline of her full lips with his tongue, coaxing, encouraging her to open to him. He wasn’t disappointed. Her lips parted and he felt her sweet breath on his face, faint and fast. Slowly, cautiously, giving her the opportunity to change her mind, yet praying that she wouldn’t, he entered the honeyed recess of her mouth.

  Chest to chest with her, he felt her rapid heartbeat, her soft breasts pressed against him. He felt like he’d died and gone to heaven. And he wanted to take her with him. He slid his fingers through her silky hair and cupped the back of her head, making the contact of their mouths more firm. Her palm curved around his neck. Her fingers toyed with his collar, then slipped into his hair, kicking up his heart rate. Restlessly, she moved her hand, tracing his ear with her finger. The sensation sent a bolt of electricity straight through him. His body hummed with the charge. The blood raced through his veins, painfully and insistently arousing him.

  He wanted her.

  But as much as he wanted her, he needed to go slowly and carefully with her. It had taken a lot to get her to trust him this far. First base could wait until she was ready.

  He cupped her slender shoulder in his palm, and nibbled soft kisses across her cheek, down her jaw, and found a sweet spot just below her ear. He pressed his mouth there and smiled when she gasped her pleasured response. There were layers to his little nurse that waited to be peeled away and he could hardly wait to find the free spirit protected there.

  He started working his way back to her mouth when he felt her pushing against his shoulders. “What is it?” he asked.

  “Stop. Please.”

  “What is it?” he asked again, more sharply. He kicked himself for jumping the gun. But his attraction to her was powerful. Otherwise he would have given up on her a long time ago. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No. You did everything way too right,” she whispered, touching a finger to her mouth. She shook her head and the frightened look in her eyes disturbed him. “That’s why we have to pretend this never happened.”

  “First, I think that might take more imagination and concentration than I’ve got,” he said. His voice was ragged even to his own ears. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to get his body under control. “Second, why?”

  Kissing her was the best, most satisfying experience he’d had in longer than he cared to calculate. No way did he want to put it out of his mind and make believe it never happened. He wanted to remember every detail. He wanted to keep kissing her and make more details to remember. He wanted to kiss her on a very regular basis.

  As if she could read his thoughts, Liz said, “It can’t ever happen again.”

  “Ever is an awfully long time.” Irritation swirled inside him at that thought. Never have the pleasure of tasting and teasing her lips again? Never nibble her neck and hold her while she shuddered in response? They were good together first time out of the chute. With regular practice, they could be a whole lot better. But she had some kind of hang-up. “Why not?” he asked again, trying to tamp down his annoyance.

  “Because we’re not dating.”

  “What difference does a label make?” he asked. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

  “Yes. But friends don’t date.”

  He noticed she didn’t say friends don’t kiss. He suspected she had been rocked by it as much as he had and didn’t even want to say the word. “Is that a hard-and-fast rule?”

  She nodded. “Ironclad and unbreakable.”

  “Also unwritten,” he added sarcastically.

  Ignoring him she went on. “To maintain an uncomplicated, yet satisfying state of friendship, dating is strictly forbidden.”

  “Define dating,” he said.

  She slid off his lap and retreated to her corner of the couch again. “Dating is when you spend time with someone to see if they’re ‘the one.”’

  “The one?”

  “Don’t play dumb, Joe. I already know how smart you are. You are well aware of what I’m trying to say. Dating is what you do when you try someone out to see if you’re compatible. See if you like each other. See if you want to spend the rest of your life with that someone.”

  “You’re making this awfully complicated.”

  “You started it.”

  “With a kiss?”

  She winced at the word, but nodded. “I’m trying to minimize battle damage here.”

  “Okay. Tell me what the rule is again.”

  “No k-kissing.” She’d stumbled over it, but managed to say the word.

  “If we don’t kiss, can we date?”

  “You’re impossible. And you’re splitting hairs.” She tried to look stern, but her mouth turned up at the corners. “Dating is a state where two people decide if they can ever have a meaningful relationship. Since neither of us want that, dating is out of the question.”

  He couldn’t help wondering if she was really talking about kissing and dating. Was she afraid of what she felt because it was more than she wanted to feel?

  He sensed that debating the issue would tank them right then and there. He wasn’t ready for that. Retreat was the better part of valor. “Okay. We’re officially not dating.”

  “Good.”

  “Then let’s clarify. You’re still going to run interference for me at the wedding?”

  “Yes. But it’s not a date. It’s a favor, and payback for putting my desk together.”

  “Whatever you want to call it.” He stood up. “I’ll tell Ma there will be one more at the reception.”

  “Okay.”

  “I think it’s time for me to go home.”

  “It is getting late,” she agreed.

  Later than she could possibly imagine. Too late for him to take back that kiss even if he wanted to. He went to the front door before he looked at her and followed his instincts straight into more hot water. Nurse Nancy had warned him to keep his wound dry, but he’d ignored the warning and kissed her. And did that mean it would get worse? Since his father hadn’t raised a quitter, there was a better-than-even chance that he would wind up in more hot water.

  She followed him to the front door. “Good night, Joe. And thanks again for my desk.”

  “’Night, Liz,” he said without looking at her. He turned the knob and let himself out.

  When he heard the deadbolt click, he wondered what it would take to unlock her defenses. He wasn’t sure of anything except that he was grateful she hadn’t changed her mind about accompanying him to the wedding.

  Whatever label she felt comfortable putting on their weird vibes, Joe didn’t care. He just knew that he wanted to continue seeing Liz.

  When she arrived at the hospital for her shift on Monday, Liz was still struggling to get Joe Marchetti off her mind. Work was what the doctor ordered. But as she clocked in, the volunteer sign-in book
caught her eye, and reminded her of Joe. More specifically, she remembered his soul-shattering kiss. Here at work, and now at home, there were memories of him.

  Every time she looked at her sofa, she went hot all over remembering the way his lips had made her tingle from head to toe. When he’d lifted her onto his lap, she’d suspected he was going to kiss her. She could easily have stopped him. She’d told herself not to go there. But when the time came she couldn’t do it. The touch, the taste, the temptation were too tantalizing. She’d called a halt when she realized she wanted more. That scared her. Passing the point of no return with Joe spelled disaster with a capital D.

  She shook her head as she walked through the double doors and into obstetrics. She automatically glanced at the flow board to see how busy the floor was. Her eye caught the first name—Rosemarie Schafer. Joe’s sister? She wasn’t due for a couple weeks yet.

  She hurried to the labor room. Rosie was hospital-gowned with the fetal monitor hooked up. Joe sat in the chair beside her. Liz was about to ask what was going on when Rosie groaned.

  “Here comes another one.” She gripped her brother’s hand as she rolled from her back to her side and faced the wall. “Push on my back.”

  He stood and did as she asked. “How’s that?”

  “Harder,” she ground out.

  “Honey, if I push any harder, you’re going right through the wall.”

  His tone was a mixture of concern and irritation that Liz knew was directed at himself because he couldn’t fix his sister’s discomfort and make it instantly go away.

  Not wanting to disturb them, Liz backed out of the room. She knew Rosie was on Sam’s rotation and therefore in good hands. A million questions went through her mind starting with—where was Steve Schafer? Why wasn’t he with his wife while she was in labor? What was Joe doing there? But now wasn’t the time.

  Several hours later, Liz popped into Rosie’s room and found her nursing her brand new son. The second-time mother looked up and smiled, tired but radiant. “Hi. I wondered if you were on duty.”

  “Hi, yourself.” She grinned. “I saw you were here when I started my shift. I peeked in, but you were a little busy. Joe was here and you were in very capable hands with Sam so I decided not to interfere.”

  “She was wonderful. But I would have been more comfortable with you.” She laughed. “Although after a while I don’t think I cared. No offense.”

  “None taken.” She walked over to the bed to get a better look at the baby. “He’s gonna be a heartbreaker. Looks like his dad.”

  Rosie studied her son proudly. “I think he does look like his father. But heartbreaker is the last word I would use to describe Steve.”

  “Speaking of him, where is he? I would have bet money on the fact that wild horses couldn’t keep him from your side at a time like this.”

  “He was on a business trip. He didn’t want to leave me, but I wasn’t due for a few weeks and I insisted he go. I kicked myself from here to the delivery room after my water broke.”

  “You were lucky Joe was around.”

  “It wasn’t luck. Joe knew about the trip. It involved personnel for Marchetti’s. When Steve left, Joe moved into my house. Temporary baby watch. When he wasn’t guarding me in person, he called on an annoyingly regular basis. He said it would have been Nick’s job, but he’s too preoccupied with his fiancée and the wedding. So the second son got the nod.”

  “And he came through,” Liz said softly. She remembered the other night when he’d asked to use her phone.

  Rosie nodded. “Indeed he did.”

  Liz felt a glow around her heart and warned herself. Things that looked too good to be true usually were. She glanced at the flowers taking up every corner of the room. “I thought this place would be crawling with Marchettis.”

  Rosie laughed. “I sent them home. Steve, too. He’s exhausted. He was up all night trying to get back from his business trip in time for the birth.”

  “Did he make it?” Liz asked. She’d gotten busy and hadn’t had a chance to check back.

  Rosie nodded. “In the nick of time. This little guy surprised everyone, including his dad and I. But his Uncle Joe was there to pick up the slack.”

  “How are you doing?” Liz asked.

  “Absolutely wonderful. Ecstatic doesn’t do justice to the feelings I have.”

  And why not? She had everything, Liz thought. Another beautiful, healthy child, a handsome, doting husband, a large, loving family. Liz was beginning to hate adjectives. All the good ones applied to Rosie Schafer and she, Liz, envied her.

  If only she could find a man like that, Liz thought. A memory of Joe, kissing her senseless, popped into her head. That kiss had scared her. It had felt so real, so sincere. If he was acting, she couldn’t tell. If only she could believe that he wasn’t too good to be true. That the reasons he’d given her for volunteering to cuddle were on the level. Then there was that kiss. It had felt sincere, that he really cared for her. But could she trust that it was an honest, straightforward, bona fide expression of his feelings for her?

  Liz sat on the end of the bed. Another pang of envy gripped her when she noticed that the baby’s tiny fist rested on his mother’s breast. Every day she cared for other women’s newborns. And she loved her job. But she couldn’t help wondering if she would ever have a baby of her own. Not unless she fell in love, and that seemed unlikely.

  “Have you decided on a name?” she asked.

  Rosie nodded. “Joseph Steven Schafer.”

  After his Uncle Joe. Liz smiled. “It has a nice ring to it. Actually he timed his entrance pretty well. You’ll be back to fighting shape in time for your brother’s wedding.”

  Rosie nodded. “That occurred to me, too. Abby had asked me to be one of her attendants, but I was concerned about letting her down because of the pregnancy. Now at least I’ll get to see my big brother get married. He waited a long time to find the right woman. By the way, I’m glad to hear that you’re going to be Joe’s date for the festivities.”

  Liz nodded. “I’m coming. But it’s not a date.”

  “Really?” Rosie glanced up, one eyebrow raised.

  “We’re just friends. We’re very happy to be friends. We both want to circumvent complications. We’re very content with friendship.”

  “Really?” Same word, different inflection. The tone in Rosie’s one-word question implied that she didn’t buy that explanation for a second.

  Liz felt compelled to plead her case. Examples would be good. “Yes,” she said. “In fact Joe fell sound asleep at my place. I think that proves that there’s nothing serious between us.”

  Rosie sat up straighter in the bed. “He fell asleep?” she asked sharply.

  “On my couch,” Liz added, as if that was the piece of information that would solidify her case.

  “I don’t believe it,” Rosie said, shaking her head.

  “It’s true. But it didn’t bother me,” she lied.

  “He actually fell asleep on the couch?”

  Liz nodded. Now she was concerned that his sister would take him to task for something he hadn’t been able to help. Joe was one man who could take care of himself. But for some odd reason, she felt an overwhelming urge to defend his honor. “He came over to help put my desk together. The store where I bought it was way behind in assembly and I would have had to wait three weeks. Joe volunteered, but it was a much bigger job than he realized.”

  “Did you know that Joe’s had insomnia for years?” Rosie met her gaze.

  “No.”

  “It’s true. He’s tried everything to get over it. Even participated in a sleep disorders experiment in college. Nothing worked. He didn’t say anything about this to you?”

  Liz shook her head. Guys always had an angle and if they didn’t, they would make one up. Joe had a beaut, but hadn’t seen fit to mention it to her. Although it would certainly explain why she’d found him in the newborn nursery before sunup a time or two.

  “He ne
ver said a word,” Liz confirmed. “I guess the good news is that we really are friends. And even dirt is more exciting than I am.”

  “On the contrary, I think it means he was so comfortable and relaxed with you that he was able to fall asleep easily. It’s a sign, Liz.”

  “A sign of what? That between insomnia and baby watch he had finally sunk to a profound state of exhaustion and there was no stimulus present powerful enough to stave off sleep?”

  “No. It’s a sign that you two are—” Rosie raised her dark eyebrows suggestively. “You know.”

  “I don’t think so.” She stopped short of telling the other woman she was wrong.

  “What about the fact that he volunteered to put your desk together?”

  “He likes to build things?” Liz asked hopefully.

  Rosie shook her head. “He flunked blocks in kindergarten. He hated that stuff when he was a kid.”

  Liz shrugged. “Then I guess he’s one of those people who just likes to volunteer. And insomnia would explain why he showed up for his volunteer shift here in the hospital in the middle of the night.”

  “What?” The other woman looked confused.

  “The cuddler program.”

  Rosie laughed. “Joe’s been known to cuddle, but I wasn’t aware that there was an organized program for it.”

  For the first time, Liz had a bad feeling. “He never told you about his volunteer work?”

  “Nope. And no one in the family has said anything either. If they knew about it, it’s not the kind of info we could ignore.”

  Liz’s mind raced. Why would he not say anything to his family? Especially if he planned to use his involvement with the program to benefit the family business?

  She groaned inwardly. Crow was beginning to stick in her throat where Joe was concerned. It was difficult to capitalize on something he was keeping a secret from the very family the business was named after. Although, why he wouldn’t say anything about his volunteer work confused her.