Saved by the Doctor Read online

  The way her eyes cut to one side made me a bit nervous. “Well, I became a doctor, so there’s that. But not too much has happened. How about you?” She winked. “Did you find true love out there in the real world, Arrie?”

  “No,” I said with a chuckle. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “The years are passing a lot more quickly now, aren’t they?” She laughed, the sound making my heart ache as I realized how much I’d missed hearing it. “You better hurry up.”

  “I see no rush.” The fact that we’d met again made me extremely thankful that I hadn’t been looking; that I’d stayed single. “What about you? Did you ever find any Mr. Right?”

  As soon as her head shook, I felt relieved. “No.”

  Thank God!

  Shifting in my seat, I leaned forward, moving my hands over the table and getting them closer to hers. “You mean you haven’t had another significant boyfriend since me?” I found that hard to believe.

  “Well, I did date a few guys after you left,” she admitted. “But to be honest, Arrie, none of them came close to comparing to you. You sort of ruined me for other men.”

  Yes!

  “Come on, you’re just saying that.” My ego swelled to the size of a watermelon.

  Taking a bite of the sandwich, she shook her head, making the ponytail dance behind her head. I longed to see her hair splayed out over a pillow again. She took a sip of coffee to wash down the food then said, “You put my former boyfriends to shame. And any who came after you had a lot to live up to. The shoes you left behind have been impossible to fill so far.”

  I couldn’t believe no one had tried hard enough to win this woman’s heart. “How have you managed to keep the guys away, Reagan? A baseball bat?”

  Clearly trying to change the subject, she asked, “So, where are you gonna stay while you’re in Seattle?”

  Staying with her might be nice, I thought to myself. “Why, you got something to offer?” I winked to show her I might be joking, but I certainly would take her up if she went along with it.

  She shook her head once again, and this time it disappointed me. “My apartment’s pretty small, Arrie; I don’t think you’d fit. And it’s not anywhere nearly as nice as what I’m sure you’re used to.”

  I could make do with whatever—the furnishings and space weren’t what I’d be staying for anyway, and I was sure she knew that. I wondered if maybe there was more to her non-invitation to pick up where we’d left off. “Space limitations were never a problem in the past. Am I sensing there’s more to the story than just the small apartment, Reagan? Is there a guy you’re seeing and don’t want to offend by having your old flame over? Or is it something else? A dog who hates men, maybe?” I could make friends with her dog.

  Looking down at her cup of coffee, she chewed on her lower lip then finally said, “Well, there is a guy, but not how you’re thinking.” She took a deep breath, then finally looked up at me again. “I’ve got a son in kindergarten, Arrie.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say to that. “A boy, you say?”

  “Yes. His name is Skye, and I don’t bring men around him. I certainly can’t let you come stay with me.” Looking into my eyes, she blinked a few times. “You understand, right?”

  “Of course, I do.” Reagan had become a mother—and a smart one, at that. “That’s actually very respectable, Reagan. And this boy’s father? Is he in the picture?”

  Seeing her shake her head, as bad as it may sound, made me feel better. “Nope. He’s not around. Never has been.”

  “What an asshole.” I couldn’t believe any man would ditch Reagan Storey. “If you’d like to give me his name and approximate location, I would love nothing more than to hunt him down and give him a righteous ass kicking.”

  The smile that took over her entire expression made my heart skip a beat. “You’d do that for me?”

  In a heartbeat. “Sure would.”

  “As nice as the offer is, I don’t want you to hate the guy.” She looked off to one side. “It’s not like he planned on getting me pregnant. I don’t hate him. Not one bit.”

  “You said he’s in kindergarten?” I asked, as the math began to bubble in my brain. “So, your son is what? Five or so?”

  She nodded, and I felt tingles move throughout my body. We’d parted ways six years ago. It takes nine months for gestation. I just needed to know the boy’s birthday, and then I would know if Reagan Storey had something she needed to tell me.

  I might be a father.

  Chapter 4

  Reagan

  The look in Arslan Dawson’s blue eyes told me that his brain was already working hard with the small amount of information I’d given him. I had to do something to stop all that. “So, about tomorrow’s surgery on Mr. Stone.”

  With a shake of his head, as if ridding it of his current thoughts, he asked, “What do you mean? I thought we talked about that while in surgery. Did you not understand what you need to do?”

  I understood completely, but I needed to distract Arrie from his train of thought. “Well, I’d like to discuss it more with you. For instance, do you agree with my prognosis of a small tear in his aortic valve?” I knew he did—he’d said so before—but I was grasping at straws for what to say to divert his attention.

  Narrowing his eyes, he cocked one dark brow. “I told you I agreed, Reagan. I don’t remember you being this scatterbrained. Did you have a hard time concentrating in there?”

  “A little.” And that was the truth. He’d totally surprised me, after all. “Your presence did affect me, Arrie. I’m sorry about that.”

  “Seeing you all of a sudden affected me too.” His eyes went to my hand that rested on the table, and then he reached his hand across to cover mine. “I missed you, Reagan. That first year was hard as hell. You have no idea how many times I’d sit and look at your number on my cell, wanting nothing more than to call just to hear your voice. But I didn’t want to get in the way of you achieving your goals.”

  There had been so many nights when I’d done the same damn thing. I turned my hand up, so our palms touched. “Me too, Arrie. I had to delete your number after six months so I wouldn’t make that call one day. We’d parted ways so amicably, and I didn’t want there to be any hard feelings or arguments over what we each had to do to make our dreams come true.”

  I’d deleted his number because I’d battled myself every day over whether I should call him to tell him about the pregnancy. Part of me thought he had a right to know. The other part of me knew he had a tough internship going on and a bright future ahead of him. With all the problems associated with pregnancy and, eventually, having a baby in another state, I knew it’d put a wrench in his plans to become a neurosurgeon. How could I have derailed that?

  At that age, I hadn’t been willing to be responsible for interrupting his dreams. I still struggled with whether or not I’d made the right call—but it looked like fate was giving me a nudge, a chance to make things right.

  His middle finger trailed along my palm, and I felt my panties getting wet. “It took me another six months longer than you to decide to delete your number. It seems I had a little more trouble moving on than you did. Any reason for that, Reagan? Did you have something distracting you from thoughts of getting back in touch?”

  Sure. Your son.

  “I knew you had tons going on. That’s the only reason I deleted your number. Becoming a neurosurgeon doesn’t leave much time for other things, including a lovelorn ex-girlfriend.” My fingers crossed under the table, hoping he’d take me at my word and move on from this topic.

  “I’d like to spend time with you while I’m here, Reagan. I understand about you not wanting me—a stranger—around your son, but what about going out together?” The heat in his eyes as he looked at me made chills flow through my body.

  He wants to have sex again!

  We’d had amazing sex—right from the very first time. My body temperature spiked at the idea of getting more of that good stuff.
It had been quite a long spell since my last sexual partner, and that guy had been nothing to write home about.

  I suddenly felt every one of those six years that had passed since I’d had what I knew Arrie could give me. I hadn’t had even one orgasm from sex in all that time.

  Knowing the man who sat across from me, the man stroking my palm with his talented finger, the man looking at me with lust-filled eyes—I knew this man could make my body sing like no other.

  Before I could tell myself—and him—no, a woman’s voice interrupted us. “Arslan, there you are!”

  Looking over at the couple coming our way, Arrie stood up. “Samantha, Gerald.”

  Out patient’s parents had come to find their hero. Samantha threw her arms around Arrie as Gerald looked at me with apologetic eyes. “Oh, Dr. Storey. I’m so sorry about everything. We were just so afraid for our son. We needed someone we knew would give his all in that operating room. We needed our son to have his friend. I hope there are no hard feelings.”

  “None.” I got up and shook the man’s hand, then found myself in his wife’s arms.

  “I’m sorry too, Dr. Storey.” She released me but held me at arm’s length and looked at me. “We just left the ICU where Langston is sleeping. He’s already looking more like our son.”

  As they sat down with us, forcing Arrie to sit next to me so they could sit together on the other side of the booth, Samantha asked, “Do you forgive us for being what you must’ve thought of as ridiculous?”

  “Sure.” Pursing my lips, I thought about what I would have done if I’d been in their shoes—having one of the world’s top surgeons basically on speed dial. But then I knew I’d let my son be helped by whomever could help him the quickest. “Thankfully, your son’s condition didn’t worsen while waiting nearly six hours for Arrie to arrive.”

  “Arrie?” Gerald asked, looking at the man sitting next to me. “You know each other?”

  Running his arm around my shoulders, Arrie smiled widely. “Dr. Storey and I were sweethearts in med school. I was in my last year and she was in her first, so we parted ways when I had to leave town for my internship. Otherwise, I don’t know if we ever would’ve ended it.” He looked at me. “Do you?”

  Shrugging, I really had no idea. “Who knows what could have happened?” He had left, and it had ended, and I had ended up having his baby—though he knew nothing about that. Having my son and thinking of what a wonderful kid he’d turned out to be, it was hard for me to look back and think about what-ifs.

  I knew Arrie would be upset if he found out I’d hidden a kid from him for six years. I didn’t want to upset my old flame, especially since he needed to keep his head straight to deal with his friend at present.

  Samantha’s eyes glistened, and she held her fist to her heart. “Oh my. My Langston has brought you two back together. Look at that, Gerald. Look what our son’s accident has done. Things always happen for a reason.”

  Gerald shook his head. “You two better watch out; Samantha will be planning your wedding before this is all said and done.”

  The woman began to glow, clearly enamored with the idea. “Oh, wouldn’t that be something? And when Langston wakes up and can understand things, you two can tell him that he brought you two back together. The one good thing to come of this. You make such a lovely couple. Don’t they, Gerald?”

  My cheeks heated with a mixture of embarrassment and yearning for that to come true. “Let’s not jump the gun. Dr. Dawson has a successful career in Rochester, Minnesota, and I have one here. Rochester’s a good five hours away from here by air. Long distance was our issue before, and it seems that hasn’t changed.” My cheeks heated further, and I felt silly about going into so much detail about such an absurd idea. “And besides, we’ve hardly had more than twenty minutes to reconnect. Who’s to say if we still feel the same as we do all those years ago?”

  “I do.” He kissed my cheek. “How ’bout you?”

  Not the right place or time. “Behave.” I smacked him in the shoulder playfully, feeling a little bit better about my answer. I looked at his friend’s parents again. “Anyways, I’ve got a five-year-old son to consider.”

  “Oh.” Samantha looked disappointed. “I see. You can’t be jumping into anything when you have a child. That would be irresponsible of you. Arslan, you’ll have to give her lots of time then, won’t you?”

  Probably more time than he has to give. Not that there was a right amount of time—not with what I was hiding from him.

  The man had a son. Our son. A boy who looked just like his handsome father, with dark, wavy hair and piercing blue eyes. One look at the boy and Arrie would know. And then he’d hate me, and I couldn’t say he’d be wrong to.

  The way Arrie looked at me, with a hint of sadness in his eyes, made my heart hurt. “Yeah, but time hasn’t ever been on our side.”

  “And you’ll leave once Mr. Stone is better,” I reminded them all.

  Sitting here, talking to him again with such ease, it made me realize just how damn easy it would be to go right back to the way we were. But there were too many things in the way of that happening. I needed to stay in Seattle and take care of our son, and Arrie needed to go back to Minnesota eventually. There was still no future for us.

  And sitting here, talking the way we were, wasn’t helping me a bit. “I should get going. I’ve barely seen that kid of mine today. He might want to see his mommy before he hits the hay. And my parents are probably ready to go home for the night too.”

  Arrie didn’t make a move to let me out of the booth. “You’ve got an early morning tomorrow, too. Do you have a babysitter that helps out on Sunday mornings?”

  Smiling at the fact that he’d think about such a thing, I told him about my standing arrangement. “The next-door neighbor, Phyllis, comes over when I have to leave early or have an emergency. She stays with Skye until my parents can get there.”

  Arrie looked concerned. “And how old is this Phyllis?”

  He did have fatherly instincts, and that made me smile, though a little uneasily. “Fifty. And before you ask about her health, Phyllis is in great shape—mentally and medically.”

  “You do know me well, sparrow.” He kissed the top of my head, making Samantha sigh. “And your parents? They’re in good health? I assume you take good care of them.”

  “I do.” I had to laugh. “You know me so well too.”

  If I hadn’t lied to him for years, things could be so easy for us. We could fall right back into place like no time had passed at all. I’d never felt so at ease with anyone else in my entire life.

  But I knew I couldn’t have the man. I would have to tell him about our son, and that would break us apart. There’s no way he would still trust me after I dropped that bomb.

  Getting up, Arrie let me out, taking me by the hand. “I’ll walk you out.” He looked back at his friend’s parents. “I’m heading to my hotel to get some sleep. I’ll see you guys after Reagan performs the surgery on Lannie. I’ll come back to check on how that went.”

  “Bye,” they called out to us, both of them looking much better than they had just a few hours earlier.

  As we walked through the doors, Arrie pulled me to one side, gently pushing me back against the wall. “I’m sorry about all that talk—I shouldn’t have started that. It’s not fair to either of us. I’ll back off.”

  His body, so close to mine, had my heart freaking out. I put my hands on his broad chest. “I think that’s best.”

  For the longest time, he looked into my eyes and then at my mouth, then back up to my eyes. And then a sigh slipped through his lips. “Yeah, that’s best.”

  When he stepped back, I felt lost. Blinking back tears, I turned and hurried to leave the hospital and him behind, at least for the night.

  We’ll have to do this all over again tomorrow. I don’t know how long I can hold this back.

  Chapter 5

  Arslan

  Despite my exhaustion, which was the only reaso
n I slept so soundly through the night, I woke up earlier than I expected the next morning and decided to go back to the hospital. I wanted to be there while Reagan was operating on Lannie. Not because I didn’t trust her—because I certainly did—but because I wanted to be there for her and my old friend.

  When I went to scrub up and change, I saw Reagan as she was headed into the operating room and hurried to get in there. As soon as I came through the door, her green eyes went wide. “What are you doing here, Dr. Dawson?”

  “I just want to observe, Dr. Storey.” I went to stand at her side and felt the tension in her body right away. “You okay?”

  She looked at me with confusion in her eyes—the only feature I could see, as the surgical mask hid the rest of her face. “You didn’t tell me you were coming this morning.”

  “I didn’t tell you I wasn’t going to be here either.” I didn’t know what her problem was. “Go ahead, get started.”

  Looking back at Lannie’s chest, scalpel in hand, I watched her hands as they shook. “Ugh!”

  Stepping back, I jerked my head toward the door. “Outside, Dr. Storey.”

  The look I got from her almost made me cringe. But I wasn’t the kind of man who got scared off by a glare. “What?”

  “Outside.” I pulled her arm to make her follow me and out we went. She quickly handed the scalpel to the nurse, who looked at me like I might be insane.

  Walking with her into the scrub room, we both ripped our masks off our faces. “What the hell are you doing, Arrie?” she snapped as soon as the door shut.

  “Your hands are shaking.” I took her hands in mine and saw that they hadn’t stopped.

  She jerked them away. “Stop it! You just waltzed into my OR and expected I wouldn’t be shaken up by that? Are you nuts?”