Perfect Rivals...
Amy Ruttan
A match made in Hollywood!When a movie star is rushed to The Hollywood Hills Clinic, Dr Flo Chiu immediately clashes with arrogant New York doctor, Nate King. But an unexpected kiss creates a media storm, and the two rivals are forced to pretend they’re the perfect couple!Only Flo, with a kidney transplant behind her, is determined to live life to the full, while Nate learned the hard way never to take risks. Now they face the greatest risk of all – falling in love for real!The Hollywood Hills ClinicWhere doctors to the stars work miracles by day—and explore their hearts' desires by night…
Dear Reader (#ulink_4f324862-9d6b-5fa0-9ac7-d9ada32c2881),
Thank you for picking up a copy of Perfect Rivals …! I can’t believe this is my tenth book for Mills & Boon Medical Romance. It seems like only yesterday I sold my first book.
I was absolutely thrilled when the Medical team approached me about joining this continuity series—a series that is full of my favourite authors. I was excited and nervous at the same time.
Dr Florence Chiu is a character I instantly connected with. Her character absolutely gutted me repeatedly over the course of writing her story. I haven’t had much experience in transplant surgery, but I know what an amazing gift donor organs can be, and for my heroine it means a second chance at life.
My hero is no stranger to Dr Chiu’s world. He’s lost someone very dear to him, and because of that he’s guarded his heart and devoted his life to medicine. Having a fake relationship is the riskiest thing he’s done in a long time.
I hope you enjoy Flo and Nate’s story.
I love hearing from readers, so please drop by my website, amyruttan.com (http://amyruttan.com), or give me a shout on Twitter@ruttanamy (http://www.twitter.com/ruttanamy).
With warmest wishes,
Amy Ruttan
Born and raised just outside Toronto, Canada, AMY RUTTAN fled the big city to settle down with the country boy of her dreams. After the birth of her second child, Amy was lucky enough to realise her lifelong dream of becoming a romance author. When she’s not furiously typing away at her computer, she’s mum to three wonderful children who use her as a personal taxi and chef.
Perfect Rivals…
Amy Ruttan
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is dedicated to my agent, Scott, for telling me to take this chance and write this continuity story.
Thank you to Elisa, who patiently answered my questions while I was researching this book.
Thank you so much for all your help!
And a huge thank you to the Medical team for assigning me Flo and Nate’s story. They were an amazing hero and heroine and I loved every second in their world.
Praise for Amy Ruttan (#ulink_7561c96b-a95d-5ee5-8e7e-b4472a46c76e)
‘Amy Ruttan delivers an entertaining read that transports readers into a world of blissful romance set amidst the backdrop of the medical field. Sharp, witty and descriptive, One Night in New York is sure to keep readers turning the pages!’
—Contemporary Romance Reviews
Contents
Cover (#ue72da0b7-b62c-5649-b303-5febded5cbc9)
Dear Reader (#ulink_a06cae7a-3baf-5d01-ab58-15918390dc51)
About the Author (#uebe3ea55-dd8d-5f62-aaa0-985ac9926332)
Title Page (#uf5a39933-8bac-59ec-b285-65aeebcf2e82)
Dedication (#ue9a1480a-347e-5197-abe8-d68b6fa4ab08)
Praise for Amy Ruttan (#ulink_5cd3a79d-01bd-5618-9df5-999cac946757)
CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_b9af616b-a373-5859-b186-e722e64a8a66)
CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_dae41a10-2374-50f0-890a-7b4ce3870953)
CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_885fc18d-9178-5f32-8ac6-ed2b6296b609)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_5e70ff5b-805d-5b92-97e4-259badf49ca1)
CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_99cfee8e-36dd-5da9-8077-785b42f2614b)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_59d68e68-a76e-5a2a-aa07-fac166effee6)
THIS TAKES ME BACK.
Dr. Flo Chiu remembered all the times she’d been raced to the hospital as a young girl. The familiar whir of a chopper coming in for a landing. Followed by the bump as the chopper landed, causing her to become nauseous. Even now, watching the helicopter, her stomach did a little flip. Everything reminded her of that moment. Something she hadn’t thought about in a long time. The gray haze tinting the sky, as if it was promising rain, but this was Los Angeles. The haze was just smog. In Seattle, it would mean rain, and the day she’d flown in her own helicopter to a hospital helipad it had been raining.
Hard.
And that was all she remembered of her emergent helicopter ride over Seattle. That, and her father screaming out orders in Mandarin to a helicopter pilot who only spoke English, but, then, when her dad was frightened he often put aside his second language of English for his native tongue. And when her dad was mad, the beautiful language she loved to listen to was quick and hard to follow. It had frightened her to hear him talk like that.
She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to shake the thought away. Usually she wasn’t this nervous about another surgeon coming in to The Hollywood Hills Clinic, but this was not just any other surgeon. This surgeon was her competition. This surgeon had been brought in specially from New York at the request of her patient. And her patient happened to be the world-famous, award-winning actor Kyle Francis. An actor she’d always admired and had had a bit of a crush on when she’d been fourteen.
She’d watched a lot of movies when she’d been younger. Of course, there hadn’t been much else to do when you were confined to a hospital bed. And Kyle Francis had been the perfect twenty-something rising star and heartthrob of her youth.
On the outside Kyle had aged well. His heart and lungs, on the other hand, hadn’t. Which was why he was now a patient.
He’d collapsed at a press conference in Los Angeles and had been brought straight to The Hollywood Hills Clinic, where it had quickly been established that Kyle Francis was dying.
And that’s where Flo had stepped in.
She was, after all, a world-renowned transplant surgeon, and that’s just what Kyle Francis needed. Actually, what he specifically needed was a heart and lung transplant.
It was right up Flo’s alley. She’d done many, and on worse cases than Kyle, but if they let it go much longer, Kyle would be a worst-case scenario and it would make the job harder.
She had been wheeling Kyle into the operating room to help stabilize him until she had been stopped.
That was when Freya had dropped the bombshell on her that another surgeon was coming.
“Another surgeon? Why was another surgeon called, Freya? I’m a damn good surgeon. I can do this surgery on my own. You’ve seen me do one.”
“I know, but this is out of my hands, Flo. Mr. Francis’s management team has called in Dr. King from Manhattan. Dr. King’s the one who has been treating his failing heart and lungs for some time. There’s no negotiation. You’ll have to work with Dr. King.”
Flo couldn’t really argue with that.
So that’s why she was here, huddled in the elevator, waiting for the helicopter to land and deposit this Dr. King in her lap. He was probably some old-money type of surgeon, and she only hoped that he would be willing to work with her. Some of these big-city surgeons were a pain in the rump to deal with. They didn’t think someone who was only thirty had the skill to be an excellent or extraordinary surgeon and a transplant specialist to boot.
The chopper landed and Flo ducked down, holding back the wisps of black hair that were escaping from her long braid as she headed out onto the helipad to greet this new doctor.
Please, don’t be a jerk. Please, don’t be a jerk.
She could deal with almost anyone but a jerk. Other surgeons tended to look down on her because of her size and her gender. That, and she looked a lot younger than her age. Even though she hoped this surgeon wasn’t a jerk, she’d been warned about his arrogance so she braced herself for it.
The door of the chopper opened and her mouth almost dropped open in surprise. Dr. King was not at all what she had expected. He wasn’t old at all. Probably in his mid-thirties. Tall, tanned and muscular. His blond hair was tousled and short. His face was chiseled, and the well-tailored gray suit molded his broad chest and thick muscular thighs almost perfectly. He was an all-American high-school hottie. The kind of man who had probably got through med school on a football scholarship. The kind of man who would have ignored a perpetually sick, geeky wallflower like her at school dances. The kind of man she’d always secretly wished would look her way.
Johnny had been good looking, but not like this, and look how that had turned out. Flo shook her ex from her thoughts. He’d been gone for a long time and there was no place for him in her mind today.
Heat rushed to her cheeks when he turned to look at her. Light blue, almost ice-blue eyes fixed their hard gaze on her, as if assessing her and sizing her up in a matter of moments. It unnerved her, but also excited her. She almost wondered what it would be like steal a kiss from a man like this. And then she kicked herself mentally for thinking about the competition this way.
No matter how attractive she thought he was, he was still the competition.
All-American athletes like him were the kind of guy she’d always wanted to date. At least once in her life, because it wasn’t the type of guy her father or mother would like if she brought him home. They hadn’t been thrilled with Johnny either and he was a lawyer.
Focus. He’s staring at you.
It was then she realized the chopper had already left the helipad and was headed away from the clinic toward LAX.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Fine. Dr. King, I’m—”
“I don’t have time for pleasantries. You need to take me to my patient.”
Great. He’s a pompous jerk.
Well, an arrogant surgeon she could deal with. Her father was an arrogant businessman in Beijing and Seattle. Flo’s mother, who was American, was the only one who could get him to toe the line, and she’d taught Flo well. She’d taught her not to cower to arrogant men and to stand up for herself. Especially in light of the fact that Flo had been sick her whole life and people tried to walk all over her.
“As I was saying, I’m Dr. Chiu and I’m head of transplant surgery here at The Hollywood Hills Clinic. I’ve been treating Mr. Francis since his collapse last night.”
Dr. King’s eyes widened in shock. “Is that so?”
“Yes. Now, if you will follow me, Dr. King, I will take you to our patient.” She got into the elevator and when he also entered, she pushed the button for the wing that housed Kyle Francis. It was the wing that had the most security to guarantee privacy for high-profile patients.
“Did you say ‘our’ patient, Dr. Chiu?”
“I did.”
“I have to say I’m a bit confused. Kyle Francis has been my patient for a couple of years now. I’m the one who put him on the transplant list. He’s my patient.”
She grinned at him sardonically. “Oh, no. He’s our patient. Mr. Francis’s management team may have flown you in here, but the transplant wing is my wing. I’m granting you surgical privileges here, buster, and don’t you forget it.”
He grinned at her, amused, or at least she hoped so as those ice-blue eyes were twinkling. “Buster? I’ve never heard that one before.”
Flo rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Sorry. Something I picked up from my mother.”
The elevator doors opened up and Flo swiped her security card to open the doors to allow them entry to the high-security wing. Kyle’s large suite was at the end of the hall.
“So, when he arrived he was bradycardic. We got his breathing and rhythm stabilized, but it’s apparent to me that his heart is failing and his time is running out. He needs to be put on a left ventricular assist device.”
“An LVAD?” Dr. King nodded. “I can see why you would think that, but let’s not jump to conclusions. We don’t know what caused the collapse. He was stable when he left New York last week. And putting him on a left ventricular assist device complicates his transplant further.”
“I am aware of that. I’m not jumping to conclusions. I’ve performed a heart and lung transplant before, Dr. King. I know what I’m doing. I know what I’m seeing.”
“Then if you know what it is, why isn’t he on a left ventricular assist device?”
Really?
“I was about to have him prepped for the OR when his management team put a stop to the procedure and insisted on flying you out here, Dr. King.”
“Nate.”
“Pardon?” Flo said as she picked up a tablet to bring up Kyle’s chart.
“My name is Nathaniel, but you can call me Nate. And what can I call you, Dr. Chiu?”
“You can call me Dr. Chiu.” She tried to step past him, but he blocked her path.
“If you knew my patient, you would know that he likes everything to be informal. It puts him at ease. So I think it’s in the best interests of the patient that we address each other by our given names.”
“My name is Florence, but everyone calls me Flo.” She handed him the tablet with Kyle’s chart.
He grinned. “Thank you, Flo. Let’s see our patient, shall we?”
Flo gritted her teeth. This was going to be a trying ordeal and it had nothing to do with the complicated surgery that awaited Kyle Francis. Someone was going to die and it wouldn’t be the patient if Dr. Nate King kept being a thorn in her side.
* * *
Nate didn’t particularly want to be back in California, even though he’d grown up here and his parents now lived up in San Francisco. He hadn’t been back to California since he’d started medical school, and that had been years ago.
He hadn’t been in California since the accident. Since Serena had died when they’d been rock climbing on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He just couldn’t be in the place where they’d fallen in love, the place where they’d lived for the rush, whether it had been surfing breakers in the Pacific Ocean, skiing at Mammoth Mountain or rock climbing.
Serena had been an adrenaline junkie, just like him.
And then, on a climb they’d done a hundred times before, a rope had given way and Serena had fallen.
His guilt still ate at him. He was so certain he’d checked all those clips, tightened the rope, but he couldn’t recall actually doing it and her death weighed on him.
He’d realized then how recklessly he’d been living. So he’d taken the scholarship at Harvard and thrown himself into schooling. Nate had sworn over Serena’s coffin that he would become the best damn transplant surgeon, focusing a lot of his research on regeneration and the means to sustain life longer when there were no viable donors.
People died every day while they waited on the transplant list.
Serena had died while she’d waited.
Don’t think about her now.
Nate stared at the chart, at the scans they’d done on Kyle when he’d been admitted to The Hollywood Hills Clinic.
Dang. She was right.
Kyle needed a left ventricular assist device and he needed one right away. She was watching him as he scanned Kyle’s chart. He snuck a glance, just a brief glance, at her and he tried not to smile. He didn’t want to give her an inch.
She was feisty. There was a certain passion hidden deep in that petite frame. Her skin was almost flawless and her long black hair shone in the tight braid down her back, except for the few stray wisps that floated around her perfect oval face. Her eyes were dark brown, like chocolate, and they glinted as she watched him. Her full ruby lips were pressed together firmly, as if she was waiting for the moment to smirk at him when he announced that she’d been right.
Dr. Florence Chiu was intelligent, gorgeous and full of life. She didn’t back down from him, even though he towered over her five-foot-five frame at six feet.
If he hadn’t sworn off the idea of women in general, he would pursue a woman just like Dr. Chiu. He liked a bit of wildness as well as the fact she was a transplant surgeon. It was as if she was the perfect woman for him.
Don’t think about her like that.
Just from a quick moment in Flo’s presence he realized that she was a danger to his well-being. He was not looking for love.
He’d been hurt before. His heart had shattered when Serena had died, so Flo was off-limits. He was here to work. He was here for his patient and that’s all that mattered. Being the foremost transplant surgeon on the east coast afforded him the ability to further his research on finding other means of sustaining organs or life while patients waited for organs.
All that mattered to Nate was his career and he had to remember that. Love was not for him. He didn’t deserve it.
He cleared his throat. “You’re right, Dr. Chiu. He does need a left ventricular assist device. I assume, since you were prepping for surgery, that you have one ready to go?”
Flo nodded. “Yes. I can prep the OR in about an hour and we can get him in there and hooked up to the equipment. I’m sorry that your trip to California was a waste.”
He cocked his head to one side and smiled at her. “Why is it a waste now?”
“Well, clearly I can handle this here. You came here and basically said I was right in the course of my treatment for Mr. Francis, so you can go back to New York.”
Such tenacity.
“Oh, Dr. Chiu. I’m not heading anywhere. Mr. Francis is my top priority. There are other surgeons in New York who can run my service while I’m here. I’m staying and I plan to be in that OR with you and assist you in implanting the LVAD.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I never kid when it comes to my patients. I have been treating Mr. Francis for a couple of years. I’m the one who put him on the transplant list and I’ll be the one performing his transplant, even if that means I’ll be spending years in California. I’m not leaving his side.”
Her mouth had opened to say something else when alarms went off and a code blue was called in Kyle’s suite. They ran into the suite and a nursing team was already working over him.
“He’s crashing, Dr. Chiu!” Nurse Olivia Dempsey called out as she lowered the bed and the rest of the team rushed in with an AED and tray of instruments.
Flo jumped into action, rapidly firing off instructions as Kyle Francis flatlined. Nate wasn’t leaving his patient.
He wasn’t going anywhere. Even if it meant staying in California. Even if it meant being tempted constantly by Dr. Chiu. He was made of strong mettle. He could resist temptation.
Couldn’t he?
CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_890ec7c2-56af-548f-91da-d7292cccfe94)
DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE.
Flo glanced up at the monitors as she worked on Kyle Francis, and she tried not to think about the fact that Dr. Nate King was standing on the opposite side of the bed, working with her as they tried to stabilize him. If Kyle died, he’d judge her. He seemed like the arrogant type who would put the blame on her when really it was the management team that Kyle employed who would be at fault. They were the ones who’d put a stop to her helping him right away, insisting that Dr. King be flown in.
Making her and Kyle wait.
That wouldn’t have happened if she’d been allowed to put in the left ventricular assist device when Kyle had first come in, and she was going to make sure that Freya and James Rothsberg both knew that. Especially if Kyle died.
Come on.
Right now she’d like to throttle that acting management team. Their delay might’ve cost Kyle his life.
“Come on,” she whispered under her breath as she pictured all the thousand ways she’d torture Kyle’s managers.
There was a bleep from the monitor as the sensor picked up a faint pulse. Flo gave an inward sigh of relief. Thoughts of murder and disemboweling some Hollywood yuppies dissipating for now.
“Good job, everyone!” She took off her latex gloves as the nursing team stepped in to make sure that Kyle didn’t code again. “I need this man prepped and ready for surgery. I’m on my way to get an OR prepped. I want a repeat of his labs drawn.”
“Yes, Dr. Chiu,” said Olivia.
“Make sure that I’m informed of those labs as well, Nurse,” Nate said, not even glancing in the direction of Flo’s favorite transplant nurse.
Olivia looked at Flo for confirmation and she nodded.
Flo glanced at Nate, who was scowling as he monitored Kyle’s vitals. She thought maybe she could sneak past him. She didn’t want to deal with arrogance this minute. Moments like that just brought back the vivid memories of the time she’d collapsed during band practice. When her kidney had failed her at fourteen and she had been rushed to hospital.
They were jumbled memories, but her parents liked to tell that story about how she’d hovered near death. She’d needed a donor then and Kyle needed one now. But a heart and lung transplant match was tricky. The list was long and the United Network of Organ Sharing didn’t care who Kyle was. Placement on the list was prioritized on who got on the list first.
There were other people waiting for a heart and lung transplant. Kyle was at the top of two lists, one for the heart and one for the lungs. He had to have both at the same time from the same donor.
At least the left ventricular assist device would stabilize Kyle while they waited. By the time her kidney had failed, dialysis had no longer worked for her. At least kidneys could be donated by a living donor.
You could live with one kidney.
Flo always had.
Her stomach twisted as she thought of that, because her time was so uncertain. She’d had this kidney for fifteen years now. How much longer until she was on her sickbed? On dialysis and waiting for another transplant?
Another precious gift so she could go on living?
Which was why she had to continue to live life to the fullest.
“Going somewhere, Dr. Chiu?”
Drat.
She turned around to see that Nate had followed her out of Kyle’s suite. “I’m going to schedule our surgery.”
“I’m so glad you said ‘our’ surgery.”
Flo rolled her eyes and he fell into step beside her. “Really, I can handle this surgery on my own.”
“I know you can, but what would be the fun in that?” Nate asked, his scowl changing into a teasing smile.
“Trust me. It’s fun.” She grinned back at him and he chuckled. He had a gorgeous smile, perfect white teeth against that tanned face. There was a faint scar that ran through his eyebrow and another on his chin.
Definitely a jock.
“So where can I get set up with a pager and scrubs? I wouldn’t mind an office, either.”
“You’re not asking for much, are you?” Flo remarked.
“Well, if I’m going to be here a while I would like to continue my research.”
“Research? What’re you researching or is that a secret?”
“No. It’s no secret. I’ve published several papers on regenerative tissues as well as robotic and mechanical devices to prolong organs and life while waiting for transplants.”
Flo was impressed. She’d never read any of Nate’s papers, but the premise was interesting.
“Well, if you’re looking for a place to set up shop then you would have to talk to Freya Rothsberg, but she’s gone home for the evening.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to her in the morning. I don’t have to talk to her about getting a pair of scrubs, do I?”
Flo laughed. She couldn’t help it. The jerk was charming. She pointed to the OR charge desk, where a nurse sat behind her desk and was electronically entering patients’ details onto a vast surgical board. “No, just speak to that OR nurse and she’ll point you in the right direction.”
He smiled again, one that made her melt just slightly, before he headed off to get scrubs. She admired his well-defined backside as he strode away.
Don’t think about him like that.
Flo had no time for romantic inclinations, because the one time she had and Johnny had found out that she had a chronic kidney disease because of her time in NICU, he’d run in the opposite direction, breaking her heart. He had crushed her completely. It was easier to guard her heart than have it mangled by someone you thought you loved and who loved you back. She’d bared her most intimate side to Johnny, but the moment he’d seen her scar, the game had changed. Attraction had been replaced by disgust and fear. Even pity.
So Flo had given up on the notion of love. Which was probably why she was still a virgin at thirty.
She didn’t need it. Besides, if she involved someone else in her life they would tell her that her bucket list was crazy and no one was going to dictate to her how she was going to live her life. She’d been given a gift when she’d been given that kidney and she wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life like she’d spent her childhood, wrapped up in cotton wool by two well-meaning but overprotective parents.
No, she was going to live her life to the fullest, until her donor kidney failed and she’d go back on the list again. When she was waiting she’d have all these amazing memories to think about and not have any regrets if she died while on the list.
And no man was going to get in her way.
Not even the all-American hottie she had always pined for.
* * *
“Suction, please,” Flo said.
“With pleasure.” Nate suctioned around the area where Flo was working. Usually he was the one giving directions about suctioning or retracting, but instead he was the one on the other side of the table from the lead surgeon and it made him grind his teeth just a bit.
At least Flo had let him into her OR, because she was correct—she had every right to tell him to take off. She was the head of transplant surgery, he was just the patient’s doctor from out east. Nate was very aware that he was in Dr. Flo Chiu’s territory.
Scrub nurses and residents alike all respected and admired Dr. Chiu. Even though he should be bitter about the fact that she was working on his patient, he couldn’t help but admire her surgical skill. Her tiny, delicate hands handled the heart with precision as she carefully sutured in the device. A device that would allow Kyle to live a bit longer.
“It’s amazing how this can sustain his life,” Nate remarked.
“Yes. It is. Medical research such as yours, Dr. King, is definitely valuable.”
“You know, for a long time LVADs couldn’t be used on children or women.”
“I know, Dr. King.”
“I know you do, Dr. Chiu, but maybe some of your residents in this room can tell me why LVADs couldn’t be used on women and children in the past.”
Flo shot him a look. “There are no residents here. The Hollywood Hills Clinic isn’t a teaching hospital. All these surgeons are transplant fellows.”
“Well, a fellow still has to learn under a seasoned surgeon.” Nate glanced around the room. “Come on, someone has to know the answer.”
“Would someone answer Dr. King, please? And maybe after this Dr. King would stop subjecting us to his pub quiz on cardiothoracic surgery.”
There was laughter and Nate had to laugh to himself, as well.
Oh, she’s feisty.
He liked that in a woman. Strong and not afraid to stand up for herself.
Flo wasn’t afraid of much.
“The LVAD device was too large for the chests of women and children, that’s why it couldn’t be used on them in the past,” a surgeon finally said.
“Right, thank you.” Nate turned back to Flo. “See, this is why I’m doing my research and maybe this young doctor here would like to assist me while I continue with my research here in Los Angeles.”
“Thank you, Dr. King,” the surgeon said, stunned.
Flo shot him another look that said, Are you kidding me?
“I never questioned why you were doing your research, Dr. King. I admire it, but since Mr. Francis here will be stabilized, albeit bound to this hospital with his LVAD, maybe you could return to New York. I’ll let you know when UNOS has a heart and lung ready for Mr. Francis.” Flo continued with her work.
“Ah, but that’s the thing. They won’t be calling you, Dr. Chiu. UNOS will call me. I’m the one who put Mr. Francis on the transplant list.”
Her head snapped back up and she fixed him with a stern look over her surgical mask.
That got her attention.
“You are persistent in your need to stay here, aren’t you?” she said, with a hint of admiration in her voice.
“When it comes to my patients I am very persistent.”
She looked up at him briefly and he knew by the way her eyes crinkled in the corners that she was smiling behind that mask. “Me, too.”
“Dr. Chiu, I don’t see why we both can’t work together on Mr. Francis’s care. We don’t both have to stay at this hospital twenty-four-seven, waiting for a heart and lungs. Surely you have a life outside this hospital?”
“What’re you implying, Dr. King? Are you implying I don’t have a life?”
“On the contrary, I’m sure you have a life. Someone special.”
“What?” she asked, not looking at him.
“A boyfriend.”
There were a few titters in the crowd and Flo quickly shot them all a dirty look, which silenced the laughter.
“Not that it’s any of your business, Dr. King, but I don’t have a boyfriend. My work is my life.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.”
Flo groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those kinds of men?”
“What kind of men?”
“Men who think that a woman is worthless if she doesn’t have a boyfriend or a significant other.”
“No, I’m not. It’s just...” Then he trailed off as he thought about Serena. “Life’s too short.”
She looked up at him, her brown eyes warm and tender as if silently agreeing with him. As if she knew personally how fragile life was, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened in her life. Had she lost someone she’d cared about?
Nate certainly hoped not. That was a pain he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.
“You’re right,” she said. “Life is too short. At least with this operation he won’t be one of the ten to fifteen percent who die while waiting. It will give him a chance to beat the odds.”
Nate nodded, but didn’t say anything further as they worked together to attach Kyle’s left ventricular assist device. Kyle was lucky that they’d brought him to Dr. Chiu, in light of the fact that he himself was based in New York.
There was talent here.
There was skill.
Together they could save Kyle’s life. There were always variables when it came to heart and lung transplants, but maybe together they could succeed.
No. You can’t. Not together.
Flo was the type of woman his old self would have pursued in a heartbeat and that thought scared him. If he had to work closely with her, then he would be tempted.
How could he not be tempted by a woman like Flo?
He had to keep his distance from her. It would be hard, but he had to put a wall between the two of them. It had to be professional. It had to be businesslike. That was all there was to it. Nate couldn’t risk his heart again.
Risk was a dangerous thing and he wasn’t willing to play around with that.
Look where his life of risk had gotten him.
Don’t think about Serena now. You don’t deserve to mourn her.
After the surgery was successfully completed, Nate didn’t say much. He just scrubbed out and then tried to find his way off the surgical floor. He needed air. It took him a few minutes, but he found his way back up to the roof, to the helipad. Maybe the height would get him out of the LA smog.
It was hot out, different from New York, where the bitter remnants of March still clung to the city. He’d forgotten how much he missed the heat of California. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his jangled nerves.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like this.
Since Serena had died he’d been busy burying his feelings in his work. He didn’t usually connect with anyone, but Flo had got under his skin.
Even in the brief time he’d known her.
She made him forget. She made him forget how he had a tight rein on his emotions. Absolute control at all times.
“There you are,” Flo said behind him, making him jump slightly.
“Why did you follow me up here?” he snapped.
“Don’t get so testy. I followed you because I wanted to give you this temporary pass.” She held out the scan card in her delicate fingers. “If you don’t have this you can’t get access to Mr. Francis or basically get around the hospital.”
Nate sighed inwardly and took the scan card from her. “Sorry. Thanks.”
“I guess I could’ve kept it and you would’ve been trapped up here.” A smile played at the corners of her lips. “You would deserve it, too, asking all those personal questions during surgery. My team doesn’t need to know about my personal life.”
“I was trying to lighten the mood in there.”
Since when?
In New York City he was always serious. Residents and interns alike quaked in their boots around him. He wasn’t known for lightening the mood, or even chatting in an operating room. He didn’t know what had come over him.
She crossed her arms. “There was no need for mood lightening in there. Besides, from what I hear, you’re not exactly jovial all the time.”
“Who told you that?” he asked.
“Mr. Francis, when he first came in and was stabilized. When he found out his management team had called you he warned me about you. He said you were a bit of an arrogant brute.”
“I doubt he said arrogant brute.”
“You’re right,” she said, a twinkle in her eyes. “It was much more colorful.”
Nate chuckled to himself. That sounded like something Kyle would do. And when he glanced at Flo he could see a soft side to her. She gave off the appearance of being a tough cookie in the operating room, but there was a softness about her. A warmth.
Something he’d been missing in his life for so long.
“Thanks for helping me in there. I’m so glad he’s stabilized. Let’s just hope we can keep him that way until UNOS calls you.” She smiled at him. “I’ll leave you to it. If you need anything, just have me paged. I’ll be at the hospital for some time still.”
She turned to leave, but Nate reached out and took her elbow to stop her. Flo turned, a questioning look on her face.
“Thank you for being here to help my patient,” he said. “I’m glad a surgeon of your caliber was here to help him. And I’ll get UNOS to add you to the call list.”
Her brown eyes widened in surprise and then she smiled, a pink blush tinging her round cheeks as she tucked an errant wisp of hair behind her ear. “Thank you, and of course.”
Nate knew that he should let her go, only he couldn’t. He felt mesmerized by her and without thinking he pulled her tight against and kissed her.
For one moment, while he tasted her sweet lips, he felt her melt against him, which prompted him to wrap his arms around her, deepening the kiss. Her petite body was pressed against his, his hands in her hair as he bent over to kiss her.
Nate wanted to take this further. If they had been back at his place in New York, he’d be scooping her up in his arms and carrying her off to bed to make love to her, but he was standing with her on a helipad in Los Angeles.
He was tumbling down a dangerous path.
Then he remembered what he was doing.
That this was not keeping his distance from her at all. It was the exact opposite.
He broke off the kiss and took a step away from her, running his hand through his hair, trying to calm the erratic beat of his pulse and the longing in his blood.
Flo stood there, just as shocked as he was, her fingers pressing her lips, her eyes wide.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know...” He trailed off. He knew what had come over him and he was angry at himself for letting lust take over his senses, even for just one moment.
“No, it’s okay,” she said quickly. “The rush of the moment. I get it. We won’t talk about it again, Dr. King.” And then, before he had a chance to say anything else, she turned on her heel and jogged away, putting the distance between them that he should’ve done in the first place.
CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_1bc7242a-89e5-520c-9287-2d4f32720962)
FLO WOKE WITH a start and forgot for a moment that she was in an on-call room. Her arm had pins and needles because when she’d crashed, she’d crashed with her arm hanging over the side of the bed, clutching her pager, which was currently vibrating in her hand.
She glanced at it and saw that Freya Rothsberg was looking for her.
Drat.
She hoped it didn’t have anything to do with sharing her office with Nate. She wouldn’t have really minded or put up a fight before, but after yesterday Flo knew that sharing an office was a bad idea.
She’d been so surprised when he’d pulled her into his strong arms and kissed her. A little voice inside her head had told her to push him away, but she’d been unable to because the kiss had been the hottest kiss she’d ever had.
Every other kiss in her life, before Nate’s kiss, had been chaste in comparison. The moment his hand had cupped the back of her head, his fingers playing in the wisps of hair at the back of her neck, it had sent a jolt of pure longing and desire through her veins.
And she’d wanted him.
That side of her that lived for the moment had screamed at her to take him. Though the sensible side of her had reminded her that the last time she’d become close to a man, when she’d almost taken the plunge and had had sex, a certain scar had scared Johnny. It spoke to the world that she was ill. That her life was uncertain, and no one wanted to be tied down to a risk. Johnny had made that much clear.
He’d been afraid to touch her again after he’d seen the scar, and she’d told him why she had it hoping that would calm the issue, but it hadn’t. It had just made it worse. Besides, what did she really know about sex? She’d never had it before.
It was good that Nate had broken off that kiss, though it was going to be hard to work with him. Especially if Freya insisted that they share an office.
Flo got out of bed, tidied her hair and brushed her teeth in the on-call room, then made her way to her office. Thankfully, her administrative assistant wasn’t in yet, because Sally would certainly pepper her with a ton of questions about Kyle Francis and Flo’s bedraggled appearance.
You slept in the on-call room again, didn’t you?
Flo locked the door to her office and went to the closet to pull out the set of business clothes that she always kept on hand, because this wasn’t the first time she’d slept over at The Hollywood Hills Clinic and had needed to make an appearance in front of the bosses the next day.
She tossed her scrubs in the laundry basket and then pulled on a reliable white blouse and pinstripe black pencil skirt. She traded her comfortable running shoes for her black heels and hoped no one would see the dents in her ankles from the elastic in her socks after wearing them all night.
Flo fixed her hair, putting it up in a bun, and then slipped on her white lab coat, attaching her security cards and identification. With one last look she reached down and grabbed a tablet so she could bring up Kyle Francis’s file, because she was positive that Freya would want to talk about that.
Once she had everything she quickly made her way through the halls of The Hollywood Hills Clinic to the boardroom, where Freya had asked her to meet her, which also had Flo’s nerves on edge. She knocked and then entered the boardroom and tried not to blush when she saw Nate sitting in a chair at the table.
He was chatting to Freya amicably, but the moment Flo walked in those piercing blue eyes trained on her, and it took all her willpower to stop her knees knocking together. She would not let Nate get to her.
They were colleagues. That’s it.
Besides, even if something came of it, once he found out she was a transplant patient herself, he’d run, like all the others had. Her uncertain future like kryptonite to men. Which was why she kept it to herself, both in her personal and professional life.
“Sorry for running late, Freya.”
“No, it’s quite all right, Flo. Please have a seat.” Freya motioned to the seat directly across from Nate, on her left side. Flo sat down and tried not to look in Nate’s direction.
“I understand Mr. Francis has been stabilized?” Freya said, sitting down at the head of the table and brushing her long hair over her shoulder in that refined way she had.
“He has.” Flo pulled up Kyle’s file. “The surgical report is here if you need it.”
Freya held up her hand. “No, I’m not here to talk about Mr. Francis’s surgery. I’m glad to know that he’s been stabilized.”
“I thought you wanted to talk about Kyle Francis? The page said there was going to be discussion about him.”
“Well, it’s indirectly about Mr. Francis.” Freya brought up an image on the screen behind her with a click of the remote.
Flo almost fell out of her chair when she saw the headline of a local paper and the photograph that was underneath it.
Superstar Kyle Francis’s doctors locked in a kiss while actor hovers near death.
“And then there’s this one.” Freya clicked the remote again and a close-up photograph of Flo in Nate’s arms, lips locked, was emblazoned across a more reputable local paper with the caption underneath, Love match between heart surgeons.
“We’re not heart surgeons,” Nate joked, trying to defuse the situation. “We have cardiothoracic training, but we only transplant hearts when it comes to cardio care.”
Freya fixed her sternest gaze on him. “Yet the world knows Kyle Francis is waiting for a heart and lung transplant.”
“How did they know that?”
Freya sighed, “A paramedic leaked it. Not someone from our clinic thankfully, but still security and privacy measures at our clinic are now being questioned. Especially in light of a paramedic leaking the information about Kyle Francis’s surgery and then a paparazzo snapping a picture of two surgeons making out on the roof of our clinic. Our reputation is on the line.”
Flo’s stomach twisted in a knot and she felt like she was going to be sick.
How could she have been so foolish? She liked to live for the moment and take risks, but not when it jeopardized her career or the reputation of The Hollywood Hills Clinic.
“Freya, I’m so sorry...”
“There’s no need to apologize, Flo. There’s still a chance to solve this problem.” She smiled at them both. “Which is why I’m so glad both of you are dressed respectably. We’re going to hold a press conference in a few moments.”
“A press conference about what?” Nate asked.
“We’re going to talk about Kyle’s procedure. We have clearance from his management team. It will be good PR for him. We’re also going to talk about a pro bono case that both of you will be working on. We’ll be working in conjunction with the Bright Hope Clinic to help Eva Martinez. She’s a child in need of a kidney transplant. Her mother, a single mom and waitress, is a perfect match and is donating a kidney to her daughter. It’s caught the attention of the media.”
Flo’s heart skipped a beat as Freya brought up the dossier of Eva Martinez. Eva was twelve. Just a couple of years younger than she herself had been when she’d needed her kidney transplant. It struck a chord deep in her heart.
“Of course,” Flo said, finally finding her voice. “Of course I’m willing to work on a pro bono case for a child. That’s no problem.”
“Is that all?” Nate asked.
“No,” Freya said quietly, crossing her arms and leaning back in the chair. “We have to address the issue of two prominent transplant surgeons kissing on the roof of The Hollywood Hills Clinic and being caught doing it.”
“There’s nothing between us,” Flo said quickly. “It won’t happen again.”
Nate was eyeing her speculatively, as if she’d slapped him or something. “Of course. It won’t happen again. It was an impulse after a long surgery.”
“I don’t need to know why it happened. I don’t care if our surgeons date, but I do care about the fact those two surgeons were caught kissing on the clinic roof when we advertise privacy and security to our VIPs. So, I want you two to pretend you’re in a relationship.”
Flo blinked, because she couldn’t believe what Freya was saying. “Pardon?”
“The Hollywood Hills dream team is going to save the life of Eva Martinez and Kyle Francis. The positive PR this will bring to The Hills is too good an opportunity to pass up. We need to restore our reputation. Until that reputation is restored and our clients begin to trust us again, your wagons are officially hitched together.”
* * *
Nate knew he should refuse, get up and walk away. After all, he wasn’t a surgeon at the clinic. He was only here because of his patient and that’s why he couldn’t leave.
He also didn’t want to hurt Flo.
She was a surgeon here at The Hollywood Hills Clinic. Her reputation would be tainted because of this. He really didn’t have much of choice. He might not like it, but it was just a prettiness. It wasn’t like they had to do anything, and he didn’t have plans to surf the local single scene in California. It wasn’t going to put a damper on his style.
“Okay,” Nate said.
“Okay?” Flo asked, shocked, and she fixed him with an are you crazy look.
“I’m fine with the pretense and I’m more than happy to help that little girl. The fact that a match has already been found makes it all the easier. I don’t mind working on a pro bono case.”
Freya smiled. “Good. What about you, Flo?”
Flo was sitting back in her chair, still in shock. “I guess that’s okay. I’m fine with the pro bono case and...yeah, I’m fine with the other angle.”
“Good,” Freya said, and stood. “I’ll let the press into the press room and we’ll get this conference started in ten minutes.”
Nate watched as Freya walked out of the boardroom, leaving Flo and him by themselves. They didn’t say anything to each other. There was lots he wanted to say to Flo; he wanted to apologize to her, because it was his fault they were in this situation. He was the one who’d been unable to control his desire for her.
He’d acted impetuously. Something he hadn’t done in a long time.
This is why I need to maintain control and keep my distance at all times.
If he didn’t maintain that tight control on himself, he acted irrationally and people paid for his indiscretion. Which was why he always tried to remain in control. Control of his life was the most important thing.
“Well, perhaps we should get to the press room.”
“What was that?” Flo asked, her arms crossed.
“What was what?” he asked.
“Why did you agree so easily? I thought you would’ve put up a fight. I mean, you don’t work for the clinic. You could just leave, go back to New York.”
Nate snorted. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Flo rolled her eyes. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Kyle’s surgery.”
“Doesn’t it?” Nate stood and leaned over the boardroom table. “You’ve been trying to get me to go back home since I first arrived. You don’t like another surgeon sniffing around your territory.”
Flo grinned. “You’re right. I don’t, but I had resigned myself to the fact you were staying. Honestly, if it were my patient I would probably do the same thing. What I don’t understand now is why you’re being so accommodating.”
“Look, it was my fault what happened up there. I shouldn’t have done it. I was an idiot and not thinking clearly. If I could go back in time and change the fact that I kissed you I would. It was a huge mistake.”
A faint trace of disappointment crossed her face. “Okay.”
“Let’s just put on our best professional facades out there and play nice. Besides, I look forward to working on a kidney transplant with you. It should be a simple surgery.”
A strange look passed over her face again, one he couldn’t recognize as other than pain, but it was just fleeting as she stood up and straightened her lab coat. “Right. A nice pro bono case. Good PR.”
There was a hint of bitterness to her tone.
“Are you okay?” Nate asked.
“Now you care how I feel?” Flo asked.
“Well, I am supposed to be your boyfriend. I might as well get into the act.”
Flo shook her head and sighed. “Come on, then, Mr. Dreamboat. Let’s get this press conference over with.”
“That’s Dr. Dreamboat to you,” Nate teased.
Flo stuck out her tongue and they walked out of the boardroom and headed toward the press conference, with a lot of gazes fixed on them. A few whispers. So word had got out already about the “dream team”.
Nate took Flo’s hand and she flinched, so he leaned over, the scent of her soap tickling his senses.
“Relax, we’re supposed to hold hands. We’re a couple.”
Flo nodded and then held her head high as they walked hand in hand to the press conference. Though he shouldn’t like it, he did. Her delicate hands, the ones that had so expertly stitched in that left ventricular assist device just yesterday, were strong and soft in his.
And it felt right.
Too right.
The moment they stepped into the press conference they were met by a ton of flashes and questions being fired at them. Flo looked a bit shell shocked. Perhaps she wasn’t used to press conferences, but Nate was.
He often spoke to the board and at conferences about transplant surgery. This was an old hat for him. The only thing that was a bit new for him, and unwelcome at that, was pretending to be Flo’s significant other.
Well, it wasn’t totally unwelcome to pretend to be Flo’s boyfriend. What bothered him was that he wanted to act on it. He wanted another kiss. All the previous night in his hotel he’d thought about her, to the point he’d been unable to sleep and had spent most of the night in the hotel’s swimming pool, swimming laps to burn off energy.
Energy that he’d wanted to spend in a different way.
Don’t think about it.
“It’s okay,” Nate whispered in her ear, reassuringly. “Just smile. This is for The Hollywood Hills Clinic, remember?”
“Right,” Flo said through gritted teeth, and she nodded as they made their way to the podium, taking a seat on either side of Freya.
He could do this. Keep his cool.
He could go with this charade.
He was made of strong mettle.
This was just an act. Just a risky, foolish act. One he should be keeping far away from.
CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_761442e9-ea73-5ad2-baea-9e68c15f943f)
FLO’S PULSE THUNDERED in her ears. She didn’t like crowds too much. Crowds like this just reminded her of junior high school when she’d been a sickly girl sitting off on the sidelines but wanting to be part of the action. Her mom had taught her to be strong, but that was usually in a one-on-one situation. There were a lot of people in this room. People who weren’t doctors.
Stand her in front of a bunch of other surgeons, doctors and nurses in a conference setting and she was fine. Press? That was new territory. Especially given the fact that she was on the arm of the hottest man in the room.
And usually good-looking men didn’t get to her, either. James Rothsberg was in the room and Flo had always found him attractive, with his golden blond hair, deep blue eyes and athletic frame. So what was it about Dr. Nathaniel King that made her feel so nervous?
Probably because you’ve never kissed James Rothsberg and have no desire to do so.
Whereas Nate King. Oh, yeah, she’d been fighting that craving since he’d first got off the helicopter.
Get a grip on yourself.
Freya was talking, but Flo really couldn’t focus on what she was saying. She was talking about The Hollywood Hills Clinic and initiatives with the Bright Hope Clinic. Flo glanced over and could see a petite woman with mahogany hair and hazel eyes smiling and nodding at everything that Freya was saying, and Flo recognized her as Mila Brightman, who ran the Bright Hope Clinic, but it was the look that James was shooting at Mila that caught Flo’s attention immediately. There was underlying tension there, something Flo recognized as akin to her own feelings regarding Nate and their shared passionate kiss.
Flo couldn’t help but wonder if there was something going on between James and Mila. James was usually so reserved in press conferences, so detached and cool, but this was different. Something was bubbling just under the surface of James Rothsberg.
Just like something was threatening to bubble out from her.
You can do this. Just stay focused.
All she had to do was keep reminding herself that as soon as Nate found out about her health condition, about how she had almost died from chronic kidney failure as a child because of complications from her premature birth and spending a month in a NICU, he’d turn tail and run. Like all of them did.
“And as part of the Bright Hope Clinic’s collaboration with The Hollywood Hills Clinic, we’re pleased to announce that our dream team of Dr. Florence Chiu and Dr. Nathaniel King, two of the best transplant surgeons in the country, will be taking on Eva Martinez’s case while they continue to provide care to Kyle Francis.” Freya motioned for Flo to get up and approach the microphone.
You can do this.
There was a round of applause and as soon as she got to the microphone she was hammered by a loud din of questions being asked rapid-fire. James stood up and bent over the microphone.
“Please, one question at a time. I’m sure Dr. Chiu would be more than happy to answer all your questions.” His tone was such that his word wouldn’t be challenged. The din quieted down and he stepped away, leaving Flo up there by herself.
“You, sir. What’s your question?” Flo pointed to a balding, pudgy man in the front row.
“Photographs of you and Dr. King have arisen that gives rise to questions about the state of security at The Hollywood Hills Clinic. Patients are wondering if their privacy will be protected and whether their doctors’ focus will be on them, or will it be solely on who to hop into bed with next?”
Flo could feel her cheeks burning with a flame of embarrassment. “I can assure you that my focus is solely on my patients’ care.”
Nate stood up. “Dr. Chiu and I are in a committed relationship. We went on the rooftop after a successful surgery involving Mr. Francis and got carried away. Are you telling me that you’ve never got carried away celebrating with your significant other before?”
Nate then flashed a dazzling smile to the audience, which had them all laughing.
Oh, he was good.
“That still doesn’t address the privacy and security concerns,” the balding reporter called.
“The picture was snapped by a paparazzo from an office window across from the clinic. We can’t control what happens outside our perimeters, but he was not able to get any photographs inside our facility, neither was he able to take photographs of our patients,” Freya said.
“What about the paramedic that leaked the information?” another reporter asked.
“My understanding is he’s been reprimanded and he will not be allowed back on The Hollywood Hills Clinic property in a capacity where he’ll have access to confidential health information,” James said brusquely.
Once they were satisfied another reporter stepped forward. “How long have you and Dr. King been in a relationship?”
“For a couple of months. We met to discuss Mr. Francis’s care while our patient was in California to shoot a movie.”
Nate nodded and touched the small of her back. Just the simple touch made goose pimples break out on her skin. Good thing he couldn’t feel them.
“Can you tell us a little bit about Mr. Francis’s procedure?”
“Of course. Mr. Francis is in congestive heart failure, but because he’s been in heart failure for some time, this has put a strain on his already weak lungs. Mr. Francis had a pre-existing struggle with asthma for many years. Because his lungs are so damaged by the extra strain his heart is causing, he will require a heart and lung transplant. We were hoping to perform a domino procedure, but now that Mr. Francis is on a left ventricular assist device, he is no longer a candidate. We will have to wait for a set of lungs and a heart that matches Mr. Francis’s blood type, but the LVAD will prolong his life while he waits.”
Nate gave her a thumbs-up and Flo gave an inward sigh of relief. She sat back down next to Nate and he took her hand and held it. It was reassuring and made her feel good, but then she remembered this was all an act.
He’d pretty much said that he wasn’t interested in her and that their kiss had been a mistake.
That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?
“Now, if there are no more questions we’ll conclude this press conference,” Freya said. “Please make sure you take the statement with you. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Thank you all for coming.”
Flo took another deep breath.
“See, that wasn’t too bad,” Nate said, but he didn’t let go of her hand as the journalists filtered out of the room slowly.
“No. It wasn’t.” She let go of his hand and got up to leave, but Freya and James were talking to the side and motioned for her over.
Oh, no. Now what?
“Good job, Flo,” Freya said.
James nodded. “Yes. You handled that well.”
“Thank you.”
“I think that will help salvage the reputation of The Hollywood Hills Clinic and help reinforce our joint effort with the Bright Hope Clinic.”
“I think it will,” Mila said, joining them and extending a hand to take Flo’s. “Dr. Mila Brightman. A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Chiu. I’m so pleased that you and Dr. King will be working on Eva Martinez’s case.”
“It will be a pleasure to do so,” Flo responded.
“All this good publicity for the clinic will put my mind at ease,” said Freya.
“A good thing, given your condition—” James cut off abruptly at the sharp stare from his sister and the surprised looks from the rest of the group.
“Well, since some people clearly don’t know how to keep a secret, I guess the cat’s out of the bag—I’m pregnant!” Freya announced.
James smiled sheepishly. “I’m so happy for you, Freya.”
Then he turned to Mila and Flo noticed something pass between them. It was as if he wanted to embrace Dr. Brightman but held himself back. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going on there, but, then, she liked her privacy, as well. She felt a bit humiliated that that private mistake of a kiss between her and Nate had been caught on camera so it wasn’t her place to pry.
“Well, I’ll leave you all to it,” Flo said. “I’m going to go check on my new patient. I assume that Eva Martinez has been admitted to the transplant floor?”
Freya nodded. “Yes, thank you, Flo.”
Flo walked away briskly. She was done with awkward situations. It was bad enough she had to be pretend to be in a relationship with Nate. That was uncomfortable, especially with the way he affected her.
She needed to focus on her new patient.
Eva’s case struck close to home for her. Only, for Flo, it hadn’t been her mother who had donated a kidney to her. Flo’s kidney donation had come from a deceased organ donor. Being of mixed heritage had caused a bit of a cross-match problem for Flo. It didn’t happen often, but Flo’s case had been a hard one from the moment she’d been born prematurely thirty years ago.
If it hadn’t been for that anonymous donor, who, of course, had sadly lost their life, Flo would’ve lost hers. Of course her nǎinai had always said she’d been a tough cookie from the moment she’d been born. Flo had been fighting her whole life. It’s why she fought so hard for others; it’s why she wanted to live in the moment.
Even though pretending to be Nate’s girlfriend made her feel uncomfortable, because it was a temptation that she was in danger of indulging in, she was going to do what had been asked of her. What could it hurt?
It could hurt your heart.
Flo shook that thought away. This wasn’t a serious relationship. It would never be a serious relationship. She didn’t have serious relationships because of her health issues and she’d made her peace with that a long time ago.
Have you?
She caught sight of Nate in the hallway, talking with a group of doctors and what looked like members of Kyle’s management team. Just the sight of Nate standing there made her heart flutter with insatiable need. She turned on her heel and quickly headed in the opposite direction.
Focus, Flo. She had to forget the carnal urges that Nate stirred in her. She had to remind herself that this was all an act. This would be fun. She could do this. What did she have to lose?
Pretending to be his was going to be so difficult. So dangerous. Even if she was a tough cookie, like her nǎinai said.
* * *
Nate glanced over his shoulder to see Flo retreating in the other direction, which was unlike her. She had never seemed fazed or frightened by anything before. She hadn’t backed down from him when they’d first met.
He admired that about her.
Don’t think about her that way.
He tried to turn his attention back the conversation he’d been having, not that he could really remember what he’d been talking about. It hadn’t really been that important because all of his focus had been on Flo, and it bothered him that he was so absorbed with her that he’d agreed to play along with The Hills’ ridiculous request.
His hospital in New York would never have asked him to do such a thing, but then again the hospital in New York wasn’t a private upscale clinic that prided itself on the security of its clients. Neither did he like the fact that Freya had conspired with Kyle’s management team about the idea.
Only problem was, he wasn’t a good actor.
A few years ago and he might’ve gone along with it, but now he liked to maintain control in all aspects of his life. One little slip and that reckless man he’d once been started to creep toward the surface.
And he couldn’t let that happen. Only when he was around Flo, she made him forget his control. He lost all reason. That’s why he’d pulled her into that kiss on the roof and got them into trouble in the first place.
They were in this mess because of him.
“Dr. King?”
Nate turned and saw James Rothsberg standing behind him. Beside James was an attractive redhead.
“Are we interrupting?” James asked sardonically.
“No. Not at all.”
James nodded. “This is Dr. Mila Brightman from the Bright Hope Clinic. She wanted to meet you.”
Mila stuck out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. King.”
“The pleasure is all mine.”
It was then that Nate caught a flash of something in James’s eyes, something akin to jealousy or a silent warning maybe to keep his distance, and Nate couldn’t help but wonder if there was or had been something between Mila Brightman and James Rothsberg.
Not that it was Nate’s concern, but he couldn’t miss that underlying tension between them, the same current that ran between him and Flo.
It’s all in your head. You’re paranoid.
“I want to thank you and Dr. Chiu for working on Eva. She’s a special child,” Mila said.
“It’s no trouble. I’m here and glad to help. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on my patient.” Nate extracted himself from that situation. The tension was uncomfortable and when he glanced back briefly he could see the awkwardness between James and Mila. They barely said anything, barely looked at each other before wandering off on their own separate ways.
This was exactly the reason why he didn’t want to get involved with anyone. Especially not at work. His focus was surgery.
He should just tell Freya that he wasn’t going to play along with this PR stunt, but where would that leave Flo?
Who cares?
Only he did. Just a bit, because it was his fault, his weakness that had got them into this situation. If he had been stronger he wouldn’t have been tempted by Flo. He could’ve kept his distance. He should’ve kept his distance. He could do this.
Who are you kidding?
He had to get out of the hospital, had to head to his hotel and swim. He had to relieve this tension that was building up inside him, because if he didn’t he was liable to crack and do something he would enjoy thoroughly but also deeply regret.
CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_214e0122-da24-5675-b008-f485f3db9e7d)
WHAT AM I DOING? What am I doing?
The scent of chlorine stung her nose. She’d never really liked the smell of chlorine, probably because it reminded her of the many hours she’d spent poolside, watching her brother and sister swim competitively, something she’d never been able to do because she’d been sick for so long.
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