When It's Right Page 9

  She shrugs and looks sheepish. “It’s so embarrassing…”

  I open my mouth to talk her into telling me, because eventually I’m going to make her. This is a life lesson we need to talk out so it doesn’t happen again. But she looks so ashamed I worry she might cry again if I push her right now. I tell myself we can talk it out after the raisin is removed. Instead I finish the paperwork and bring it back to the counter. Shelda gives me a big, soothing smile. “I’m going to slide you into room two. Sadie will be in to help you right away. She’s the best nasal extractionist we have. She’s also every kid’s favorite.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  Five minutes later, as Charlie sits on the edge of the bed swinging her legs, the curtain is pulled back and Sadie is standing there. She’s in pale pink scrubs that give her porcelain skin tone a healthy glow. Her blond hair is pulled back in the same low ponytail it was in last time I was here, and her wide, light eyes are free of makeup. She looks gorgeous. Our eyes meet and she gives me a bright, confident smile and reaches out and pats my shoulder. “I got this. Don’t stress.”

  My tension instantly dissipates. She drops her hand from my shoulder and turns and waves at Charlie. “Hey. You’re Charlotte?”

  “Charlie,” she corrects quietly.

  “Charlie is a cool name,” Sadie replies. “I’m Sadie.”

  “I have a friend at school named Sadie,” Charlie offers.

  “Awesome!” Sadie smiles, and it’s soothing even to me. “I hear you got a raisin stuck. I want to help unstick it. Is that okay?”

  Charlie nods profusely. Sadie directs her to lie back on the bed. She grabs some instrument with a light at the end and angles it up Charlie’s nostril. She looks over at me. “This is going to be over in no time, Charlie. I promise.”

  Charlie looks at me. “Can we keep it secret, so Cale won’t laugh at me?”

  I can feel my expression darken. “I won’t tell Cale.”

  Sadie doesn’t miss the shame on Charlie’s face, and she handles it like a hero, in my opinion. “This isn’t anything to laugh at. It happens to tons of kids, Charlie. I promise. My brother once shoved a Lego up his nose to keep my sisters and me from playing with it.”

  “A Lego would hurt!” Charlie exclaims. Sadie nods emphatically.

  “It did. And he cried a lot, but I never laughed at him,” Sadie replies. “And nobody is going to laugh at you.”

  She turns to me. “This is going to look scary to her,” she explains quietly. “You might want to hold her hand.”

  I nod and stand up and walk over to the side of the bed as Sadie grabs a long metal tong-looking thing with bent, pointy-looking ends. Yeah, I would freak out at seeing that thing at Charlie’s age. I watch her eyes flare. “Daddy…”

  “It’s okay, Charlie,” Sadie says and puts the thing down on a sterile paper on the movable tray table. “First, I’m going to swab your nose with something. It’s going to feel cold and wet, but it won’t hurt.”

  “O…kay,” Charlie says cautiously. I squeeze her hand.

  Sadie glances at me but looks away. “It’s a wee bit of numbing cream. The extraction shouldn’t hurt, but this will make sure of it.”

  “Thanks.”

  She nods without glancing back up at me. Charlie squeezes my hand as Sadie works, but she doesn’t cry and she doesn’t wince. Sadie talks throughout the whole thing in a smooth, easy tone. She’s incredible with kids, that much is clear, and it only makes her even more attractive to me. Within a minute the smushed raisin is in a little disposable cup.

  “Okay, all done!” Sadie announces as Charlie sits up and looks into the cup. “Your nose is a raisin-free zone. Promise me you’ll keep it that way.”

  “I will. Promise!” Charlie replies, and without me having to remind her she adds, “Thank you.”

  Sadie tosses the raisin into the garbage along with her gloves and turns to a computer station in the corner. She starts to type stuff up while glancing at Charlie. “Charlie, can I ask you why you put the raisin up there? I promise I won’t laugh.”

  “Because Kevin said he could shove seven raisins up his and that we couldn’t beat him because we were girls.”

  Charlie’s attitude and competitive spirit leave no doubt she’s my kid. I bite back a smile and look up to see Sadie doing the same.

  “Kevin was wrong,” I tell Charlie. “Sometimes when people say stuff like that you have to walk away knowing they’re wrong and you don’t have to prove them wrong. Especially if it’s something that could hurt you.”

  Charlie looks up at me and then to Sadie, who hides her smile easily. “Your dad is right.”

  “Okay.”

  Shelda walks into the room. “Everything okay?”

  “Raisin has been evicted,” Sadie announces, and Shelda smiles. “Just finishing up the report. I can forward to your local pediatrician if you’d like.”

  My face drops, and Shelda notices. “I…umm…It’s just…”

  Sadie glances up at me. Shelda motions toward Charlie. “No sense in you sitting around this stuffy room. Would you like to sneak up to the cafeteria with me? They have some yummy oatmeal cookies tonight.”

  Charlie looks up at me, and I pull out my wallet and hand her a five-dollar bill. “No soda, though, Charlie. Apple juice or milk only.”

  “Okay.” She nods. “And I won’t put anything in my nose.”

  “Atta girl!” Sadie smiles as I try not to laugh. Shelda takes Charlie out of the room, and I walk to the door and watch them go. As soon as they are out of sight I collapse against the wall in relief and run my hands through my hair. “Holy shit, this kid thing really does kill you slowly.”

  Sadie laughs. “She is absolutely adorable. And by the way, please feel free to tell Jude’s teammates about the Lego incident and make fun of him mercilessly.”

  My eyes narrow on her. “You did laugh at him when it happened, didn’t you?”

  “Cackled for days,” she replies with an evil grin that is still somehow sexy as hell.

  She finishes typing on the computer and turns her head toward me. “So you don’t want the file sent to your pediatrician? You don’t have to do it. We just generally offer as most parents like to keep all the records with one physician.”

  “No. I’d rather not,” I reply and move around the bed so I can stand closer to her. She doesn’t notice or at least she doesn’t react. “That Cale person Charlie referred to is my ex-wife’s boyfriend. If I keep this from my ex, I keep this from him, which means I won’t have to punch him in the face for laughing at her over it.”

  Her eyes hold mine for a long moment. I can’t read her expression so I get worried she doesn’t think I’m doing the right thing. “Does that make me a bad parent?”

  She blinks. “Of course not. Charlie is not going to need any follow-up care from this and there’s no possibility of a side effect or anything, so it’s not a big deal. Don’t worry. Oh, and for the record, even the fact that she shoved the raisin up her nose isn’t your fault and doesn’t make you a bad parent. And also for the record, your ex is dating a dick.”

  “Yeah. She is,” I say.

  “You can finish up at the desk when Shelda gets back. She’ll print out a copy of the report, for your records,” she says and moves the computer out to the side.

  “You’re a great nurse,” I say.

  She reaches out and squeezes my arm. “You’re a great dad.”

  I know it’s probably not appropriate, but I give her a hug. “Thank you.”

  She hugs me back, squeezing me as tightly as I’m squeezing her. I meant it as a friendly gesture, but it feels like much more. Seeing how incredible she was at her job, and most importantly with my daughter, has only made my feelings for her stronger.

  “I know this sounds crazy, but I miss you,” I confess. She breaks the hug and takes a step back. “I miss all the time I never got to spend with you.”

  “I feel that way too.”

  “So let’s hang ou
t. As friends,” I suggest, and it sounds as impulsive as it feels. “We can finally grab a coffee or maybe a few drinks or something.”

  “Griffin…” She shakes her head. “I think the only thing that would make my life more complicated than dating you would be being around you but not dating you.”

  I know the minute she says it that she’s right. “I like you.”

  “I like you too,” she whispers. A slow, unbelievably sensuous smile spreads across her face as her cheeks get pink. She has this way of looking angelic and sly the very same time, and it’s making my dick hard. I can’t remember the last time I had such an intense reaction to a smile. I don’t know if I ever have. We’re standing as close to each other as we can without touching. “But are you attracted to me?”

  “So much I can barely stand it,” I admit in a rough whisper.

  “Me too.” She gently bites her bottom lip before she blinks, steps away from me and the sexy-as-fuck, wicked smile disappears, and her professional smile is back. “And that’s why we can’t just be friends. I understand, Griffin, why the timing is off and I accept it. Honestly I’m dealing with a lot in my life too, and all my emotions and energy should be directed at my family right now, so this is probably for the best.”

  She says out loud what I’ve been telling myself every day since I bailed on our date. It should make me feel better, it should validate my decision…Why doesn’t it? She steps back behind the computer.

  “Shelda should be back with Charlie by now,” Sadie explains, and then her expression softens a little. “It was good to see you again, Griffin…and to meet Charlie, even though it wasn’t the best circumstances. She seems like a great kid.”

  “She is” is all I can think to say because everything else running through my mind goes against what we just mutually established—this isn’t the right time for us.

  “Take care.” I take one last, long look at Sadie’s beautiful face and leave the room to find my daughter.

  11

  Sadie

  I yawn as I grab my coat and purse out of my locker in our nurses’ lounge. Shelda is at her locker next to mine, pulling on her own jacket and primping her short honey blond hair in the small mirror she keeps in her locker. “I am way more exhausted than usual,” I tell her.

  “Yeah, that makes sense,” Shelda says airily. “Fooling yourself takes a lot out of you.”

  “Oh, my gosh, teasing me for the last five hours wasn’t enough?” I ask, and she firmly shakes her head no.

  “Honey, it’s not teasing. I’m trying to make you see the truth,” she explains as she grabs her purse and shuts her locker. “That there is no right time for the right man. When he shows up, you make it work. The end.”

  I made the mistake of confiding in Shelda about everything that has happened with Griffin—from the text flirting, to the non-date, to the fact I thought he was married, to his confession he isn’t. I hadn’t intended on telling her, but for some reason, after he left with Charlie, I was all mixed up inside and needed to talk to someone. The chemistry between us when we’re in the same room is so real and strong it’s like its own entity. But we keep trying to ignore it, and it’s beginning to feel like more work than just giving in to it. But he isn’t offering to give in to it. In fairness, I didn’t offer to either, despite the overwhelming urge I had to grab him by his jacket, shove him down on that hospital bed, and do a hell of a lot more than kiss him.

  “But he can’t make it work,” I argue back, because that’s the truth. I can’t make him date me and he said he’s “unready.” “Plus you’re being dramatic. You don’t even know him. I don’t even really know him. You can’t call him the right man.”

  “Sadie, I have known you for almost a year, and in that time you haven’t so much as talked about a hot celebrity, let alone had your face light up like a firework when someone walks by.” Shelda grins and points at me. “But you did when you were talking to that man the first time he was here, and you did it again this time. That’s the right man. At least right now.”

  I laugh, and she winks at me and wiggles her eyebrows. “When was the last time you had some hanky-panky?”

  “Stop!” I laugh louder as we exit the lounge together.

  “Well?” Shelda demands, clearly not letting this go.

  “It’s been a long time,” I confess quietly and feel a flush hit my cheeks. “Too long.”

  We both wave goodbye to the new shift and head toward the exit. Shelda zips up her coat. “That is a tragedy, honey. You’re young, you’re beautiful and smart, and you should be having all the fun the world has to offer.”

  I laugh. “I have a lot going on, Shel. You know that.”

  “I do, but that’s even more reason to get some,” Shelda says, and her smile gets softer, sympathetic and filled with understanding. “Life is short and it can be hard, so never turn away a chance at good hanky-panky…or better yet, true love.”

  “Oh, Lord, now you’ve gone too far!” I warn her because, hell, I don’t even know this guy…I mean not really. I just really, really wish I did.

  She pushes open the doors, and we step out into the crisp, early-morning air. It may be spring, but someone forgot to inform mother nature today. I glance up, and my feet stop moving as soon as I see him. He’s leaning against the side of a dark green Land Rover. He’s wearing a white cable-knit sweater and a pair of dark jeans, and he hasn’t shaved. Ray-Bans cover his sexy eyes and a smile spreads those delicious, wide lips when he sees me. I feel like I’m in a romance movie and some uplifting music should start playing, or angels should sing or something. Because damn, this is a moment.

  “Oh! Girl…” Shelda grins at me and nudges me toward him. “If you don’t reconsider I’m calling the psych ward for an immediate assessment of your mental health.”

  “See you on Friday, Shelda,” I reply and wave her off.

  Griffin is walking toward me now, since it’s clear I’m not moving. I notice a piece of paper—it looks like purple construction paper—in his hand. He stops about a foot in front of me. His smile widens, and I’m mesmerized by the sun glinting off the salt in his salt-and-pepper stubble. I have never, in my entire life, seen anything sexier. “Hi.”

  “Good morning,” I reply.

  “My brother is dropping Charlie off at school so I can swing by and bring you this. She made it as a thank-you and I promised I would give it to you as soon as possible.” He hands me the paper he’s been holding. It’s a homemade card. It has a bunch of flowers she drew on the front and a cute little note inside thanking me for getting rid of her raisin. “And I wanted to thank you for handling her so well and talking her through that life lesson with me.”

  “I was just doing my job.” I take it from him and smile. The flowers Charlie drew are adorable puffs of pale pink and bright blue. “The small stuff is my favorite. No blood, no gore. Just a really cute kid…with a really cute dad. Please tell her thank you from me. She draws really good flowers.”

  “She does.” He nods and tilts his head. The sun loves him. It looks like he’s glowing. “She asked me what she should draw for you and I told her wildflowers. I didn’t tell her why but you know.”

  “I remind you of them.” My voice is raspy for some reason.

  “I know I shouldn’t be here. I know this is just going to make things more complicated for both our overly complicated lives.” He lifts his sunglasses.

  Our eyes meet.

  I drop my hand holding the card from Charlie, lift my other one, and touch his cheek with it and brush my lips against his in a chaste kiss. I start to pull back, but his arms wrap around my back, he pulls me closer, and his tongue sweeps into my open mouth. Sweet baby Jesus, it’s even better than the first time. My toes curl inside my white sneakers and heat explodes inside me, racing through my veins and warming every part of me. If we don’t end this kiss I’m going to start taking his clothes off right here in the hospital parking lot—or faint from the desire to—so even though I hate myself for
it, I pull back. I’m panting and I feel sheepish as I step back and cover my mouth with my fingers.

  “I have to take you out on a date,” he replies, and my eyes widen. “I went home last night and after little Miss Raisin Stuffer went to bed I wrote down all the reasons this is bad timing and not a good idea, and then I lit the list on fire and dropped it in the ocean.”

  “Are you serious?” I laugh gleefully. This guy is insane…in the most perfect way possible.

  “Dead serious.” He grins. “So will you give me a second chance at a first date?”

  “Yes,” I reply. “And for the record, after a kiss like that, I’ll give you a third and a fourth and possibly a fifth.”

  He chuckles and steps closer. “I promise, I won’t need one.”

  He kisses me again. His lips are soft and teasing at first and then more dominant and intense as his tongue meets mine. This time the heat of the kiss burns my willpower to ash, so he has to break the kiss. He does it by gently moving his lips to my cheek where he whispers against it. “Tonight? Eight o’clock?”

  I nod.

  “Can I give you a lift home?” he asks, and I swear he blushes a little as I notice him subtly adjust the front of his pants. It’s fucking hot, and all I want to do is reach out and touch him—feel what I’ve done to him. I’m so turned on right now my skin feels electric, and I can’t for the life of me remember the last time that happened. I know if I let him drive me home I’ll probably end up having sex with him in the back of his car.

  “I think I need the fresh air to clear my head,” I reply and lick my lips slowly. I watch his eyes follow my tongue, and I swear they visibly darken. “Also, if I get in that car with you I might do things that are generally kept for after first dates…”

  He laughs, but it’s husky and dark with desire. “I am not against bucking convention.”

  “Neither am I,” I reply but take a step back. “But I think I will walk.”

  “Okay.” He looks a little disappointed. “I’ll see you tonight. Text me your address.”