Robin Gianna – Tempted By The Brooding Surgeon: Tempted by the Brooding Surgeon / From Fling to Wedding Ring (страница 13)
“Never said you were worthless, and as for appreciating you? It might surprise you to hear that just might be happening already.”
“THE CLINIC IS right around this next curve,” Daniel said, turning to Annabelle with a slightly tired smile. “I think we made good time.”
“Probably because you drove like a maniac. It’s a wonder I didn’t have a heart attack and need a cardiologist. Good thing there was one close by.”
A soft laugh left his lips, his eyes gleaming at her through the dark interior of the car, and she found herself staring at how much younger and more handsome he looked when he was relaxed and away from the OR. At least for the moment.
“I’d have let you drive except for that whole controlling streak of mine you’ve already noted.”
“And I’d have declined anyway, since I’m sure you’re the worst backseat driver in the whole world.”
Again, he laughed, and she had to quickly turn away from the unexpected charm of his smile. The same way she had the past three hours of semi-torture, sitting way too closely to the man who utterly confused her. One minute he was being a total jerk toward her, then the next he was sitting snugged up next to her against that tree and holding her hand in his large grasp. Sending a smile her way that was so sexy and attractive she’d nearly forgotten how much she disliked him.
All through the drive it had been a huge effort to not frequently glance over at his handsome profile. At his firm jaw and nicely shaped mouth. To not think far too much about how large and masculine he was. To not make too big a deal out of the seemingly sincere admiration in his warm, dark eyes as he’d looked at her beneath that tree and told her she was doing a good job and that he respected her.
Because, yeah, he’d then quickly followed that praise with a statement about needing the best anesthesiologist for difficult heart surgeries, and he clearly still didn’t believe she was that person.
The friendly banter on this car ride, completely different from the friction in all their exchanges before this, had thrown her off guard, making her see him in a way she didn’t want to. Her completely unexpected and unwelcome feelings of attraction to the man were a whole lot of stupid for a whole lot of reasons, and she wouldn’t let herself think about his sex appeal for one more second.
The car growled to a stop, and she was more than glad to have something else to focus on in the darkness of the night, when his shadowed shape next to her had been the only thing she’d been able to see and think about, the scent of him filling her nose the way it had earlier that evening.
She peered at the building in front of them, very similar to the one in Ayllu that she’d always worked in on her trips to Peru. The one she’d never dreamed Daniel Ferrera would end up working in, too. This one, though, looked a little more worn and neglected. Faded green paint peeled from the cement walls, exposed by a single, dangling bulb of light above the front step. Scrubby plants and weeds grew all around its perimeter, and the door was slightly off-kilter on its hinges.
“Looks like the front door doesn’t really close,” she said. “Not a good thing when it comes to keeping the space as sterile as possible.”
“Not a good thing for keeping creatures out either.” Another one of those smiles that made her ridiculous heart inexplicably flutter.
“Very true.” She reached for her seat belt, more than happy to get out of the car and away from the close proximity to Daniel. “I’d been congratulating your home country at the miles and miles of completely paved roads we drove on to get to Huancayo. Then we hit that last however many miles of dirt and rocks outside the city to get up here, and I’m pretty sure it might have jarred one of my teeth loose.”
“Don’t worry. I could probably perform emergency oral surgery if I absolutely had to.”
That startled a laugh out of her. “Thanks, but, no, thanks. I’d eat through a straw for the rest of my life before I’d submit to something so terrifying.”
“Smart woman.” Daniel sent her another quick grin before he pulled the monitor and oxygen tank from the back of the car, and it struck her that the past hours had been the first time she’d seen a smile on his face quite like that. Laid-back and friendly and genuinely amused. “Not to mention that we have a different kind of surgery to get to ASAP. Luciana said the child is inside, prepped and ready to go, so let’s get to it.”
Grabbing the rest of the items they’d brought for the surgery, including the cooler of blood bags, Annabelle followed him. She was determined to keep the conversation either light, like the tooth comment, professional, talking about how they would approach diagnosing the child’s problem to ensure they got it right, or nonexistent. Keeping somewhat of a distance between them and forgetting all about her sudden, peculiar attraction to the man.
His good looks couldn’t erase their former animosity, and certainly didn’t replace his ongoing doubts about her skills. Sure, he’d said he was finally coming to respect her more, but it had been too little too late, as far as she was concerned.
No, she’d shake off whatever it was that was making her feel so weird and just be glad they were forming a better working relationship. Because taking the best care of patients they possibly could was their whole purpose for being here.
Once inside the door, Annabelle tried to adjust her eyes to the space, lit just slightly by a small table lamp. Obviously, it was a small entryway that probably served as the greeting room for patients and families, the way the bigger space at the other clinic did. A wooden desk sat in front of a row of folding chairs, and the room had an antiseptic soap smell to it.
“Luciana’s obviously been at work cleaning this place up, probably with the help of locals. Last time I came, I was with the first crew to arrive and it was quite a battle to sweep out all the cobwebs and dust, along with a nest of baby opossums and their mother, who was not happy to have her family disturbed.”
“Is that what you meant by creatures coming in? Good heavens. Where were they?” That the man had actually helped clean this place and chase out marsupials was a surprise. She’d always viewed him as a guy who thought of himself as the holier-than-thou king of the OR, and not someone who would pitch in with that kind of grunt work.
“In a mostly empty supply box in the back. Got to admit, the tiny ones were cute, though the mother looked like a huge gray rat, with some seriously sharp-looking teeth.”
Annabelle couldn’t help an involuntary shudder. She’d never seen an opossum in real life, but she’d seen more rats than she cared to remember. Lying awake at night, wondering if one would jump onto her bed and run across her, was one of her least favorite childhood memories.
“Um, not to be a wimp, but I don’t think I’d be good at rounding up wildlife. I’d prefer scrubbing the floors on my hands and knees any day.”
“Doesn’t look like either one of us will have to work on our hands and knees tonight, which is a very good thing.”
She saw his gaze slide down her body and stop at her derriere, and his expression had a teasing quality to it, a little glint even, that took her by surprise and inexplicably made her heart start beating a little faster.
Stupid heart.
“Dr. Ferrera?” A small, dark-haired woman appeared in the doorway from the back room, and Daniel stepped toward her.
“Hi, Luciana. Nice to see you—it’s been a long time. Thanks for seeing the child and getting this place ready. Is our patient in the back?”
“Yes, and his parents, too. How about you speak with them, then I’ll send them home during the surgery?”
“Do they live close?”
“In town, so not too far. Since the surgery will take many hours, I told them they’d be more comfortable there. They didn’t want to agree at first, which I understand. Perhaps you can reassure them that it’s better if they go home and get some rest? That we’ll contact them when it’s over?”
He nodded before turning to Annabelle to introduce the two of them. From that moment on he was all business, moving into the back room to talk with the parents, who looked like they couldn’t be older than twenty or so. Clearly worried, they also looked intimidated, standing to talk to Daniel when he approached them. Annabelle couldn’t understand very much of what he said to them, but whatever it was had their faces relaxing slightly, their unsure expressions turning to gratitude as they both shook his hand.
Annabelle worked to get the equipment out and set up while Daniel looked at the EKG that Luciana had done, then examined the fussy baby. For long minutes he carefully listened to the child’s heart and lungs with his stethoscope, his brows lowered in deep concentration.
“Definitely heart failure,” he said, his gaze meeting hers. “Good thing we came. Thanks for being willing.”
“No thanks necessary. You know that.”
But it warmed her heart a little to be thanked anyway, silly as that was. Didn’t people thank one another all the time, barely noticing it? Lord, had the man made her become all needy for a little praise? Surely she wasn’t that pathetic.