Susan Crosby – The Doctor's Pregnant Bride? / The Texas Billionaire's Baby: The Doctor's Pregnant Bride? / Baby By Surprise (страница 10)
She hated admitting she didn’t have a date. He already knew she hadn’t had a date on Valentine’s Day. “I don’t have plans.”
“I appreciate your help, Sara Beth. You’ve been a good sport. See you tomorrow.”
She hung up the phone with a sigh. A good sport. He wasn’t the first man to call her that. Men enjoyed her company, and usually wanted to stay friends so that they could continue to unburden their personal woes on good-sport Sara Beth, who was a good listener, non-judgmental and accommodating. And here she was, repeating the pattern.
She could always step back. If, after Saturday, she felt too drawn to him, too attracted, she could say no if he asked her to do anything outside of the institute.
But … would she?
The next morning Sara Beth felt her pulse rev and her face heat as she walked down the hall toward the lab. She bent over at a water fountain outside the room and took a long drink, stalling. The anticipation of seeing Ted had made falling asleep hard, then she’d found herself awake an hour before her alarm went off.
Straightening, she swallowed the cold water, then caught a glimpse of Ted through the window as she pressed the back of her hand to her mouth. He was wearing his glasses and lab coat, his hair tousled as if he’d plunged his hands into it more than once. From frustration? Impatience?
Then Derek Armstrong moved into view, coming up beside Ted to look at his computer screen. Sara Beth frowned. Why was he there? As CFO of the institute, Derek wouldn’t normally drop in on the research doctors. There wouldn’t seem to be a reason for him to do so.
Even though Sara Beth had spent a lot of time in the Armstrong home, Derek and his twin brother, Paul, were eight years older. She’d lost track of them until she’d come to work full-time at the institute. She did know that Derek and Paul were opposites in many ways, ways that made Paul a good chief of staff, respected and liked, and Derek more hard-nosed, since he was the money guy. But he hadn’t endeared himself to the staff.
Or at least not lately. People hadn’t whispered behind his back until recently. His expression was stern now as he talked with Ted.
Suddenly Ted looked toward the window. Sara Beth pulled back before he could see her watching. She didn’t know why she was nervous about seeing him this morning, except that as she’d gotten to know him more each day, she’d found more to like each day, too. Her last boyfriend, a six-month relationship that had ended a couple months ago, would never have kept her on the phone until she was safely inside her house. He’d always “respected her independence,” as he’d put it—perhaps because she’d made sure he knew her independence was something she prided herself on.
But after last night she’d altered her thinking a little. Being independent didn’t mean she couldn’t let a man be considerate.
Ted had made her feel special. With a simple gesture he made her previous boyfriends seem uncaring. And Ted wasn’t even her boyfriend.
Derek came out of the lab, smiled slightly at her, then held the door for her to enter.
“Good morning,” Ted said, his posture a little stiff.
“Hi,” she said, going straight to her desk, upon which was the shopping bag full of catalogs and magazines she’d brought him the day before.
“I found a few possibilities online and printed them off,” he said. “Some styles that appealed to me. They’re on top.”
“That’s great.” She pulled out the papers, glanced at them, then nodded. “It’s you.”
“I don’t know what’s me, exactly, but I liked it.”
“Casual elegance, clean lines, masculine, not fussy. That’s you.” She set the bag on the floor. “I’ll come up with a list of stores to check out.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it. Why don’t I pick you up around nine on Saturday?”
She hadn’t looked at him yet, but kept herself busy turning on the computer, taking off her jacket and hanging it up. She would finish up the first stack of files today. Would she get to go to the vault and grab new ones?
“It’s an easy shot for me on the bus, Ted. There’s no sense in driving to my house only to drive back to yours.”
“I don’t mind.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw him move toward her.
She finally looked at him. Big mistake. Even with his nerd glasses and lab coat on, he looked sexy. Crazy sexy. Like she-wanted-to-kiss-him-for-hours sexy.
“Are you all right, Sara Beth?”
Desire and guilt battled for control in her head. She couldn’t tell him how hot she found him, nor could she tell him that the moment she was allowed into the vault, she would do something completely unethical. For a woman who’d always prided herself on her integrity—
“Sara Beth?”
She sat. She didn’t want to come across as rude, but she really needed him to go away. “I’m just anxious to get to work.”
He didn’t go away. In fact, he moved closer, into her personal space, stealing her oxygen. “Have you changed your mind? Would you prefer not to help me shop?”
She shook her head. Once she made a commitment to someone or something, she followed through. But this would be it, she decided. One time only. “I just don’t think you need to pick me up on Saturday.”
He stared at her. She stared back, trying to keep her expression bland.
“Good morning, all,” Chance Demetrios said as he breezed through the door. He came to a quick stop and looked from Sara Beth to Ted. “Everything okay?”
“Apparently,” Ted said, then walked back to his computer.
Chance lifted his brows at Sara Beth. She smiled. “Something I can help you with?”
“I just sent Mrs. Jordan next door to be prepped for a C-section. I thought you’d like to assist.”
She hopped up. “Absolutely. If you don’t mind, Ted?”
“Someone special?” Ted guessed.
“Candy Jordan was my first patient when I started working here full-time. She went through seven implantations before it finally took, and now she’s pregnant with triplets. I’ve held her hand a lot.”
Ted gestured toward the door. “By all means, go.”
She hesitated, then looked at Chance. “See you in a few.” He left.
She waited for the door to shut. “I’ll come back later and work,” she said to Ted.
“You can skip a day. It’s fine.”
She couldn’t get a handle on his mood. Which was probably fair, since she hadn’t let him get a handle on hers. She moved up beside him. “I don’t want to skip a day. I’ll work later on.”
“Whatever works out.”
He hadn’t stopped staring at his screen. She wondered if she’d offended him. “Does it bother you that I turned down your offer in order to ride the bus to your home?”
He made eye contact. “You’re doing me a favor, Sara Beth. A big favor. The least you can do is let me pick you up.”
So he
So. They’d had their first fight. She smiled. She’d thought Ted was extraordinarily patient, but even his patience could be tested when he wasn’t getting his own way.
Frankly, she was glad to see this new side of him. And wanted to see a whole lot more.
Ted considered patience his strongest asset, and his ability to concentrate a close second. He could spend hours doing one thing, and only one thing, not even taking time to eat. Patience intact, he got to Sara Beth’s house a few minutes early, hoping that parking spaces would open up along the crowded street of homes on Saturday morning as people went off for the day.
He didn’t have to wait at all, a car pulling out just as he got there. He parked but stayed in the car, knowing she would be watching for him, sure of that much about her.
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. She was surprisingly stubborn for someone known at the institute as a nurturer. He hadn’t seen evidence of any nurturing toward himself.…
Which was fine with him. He’d never liked women who hovered. Not only did Sara Beth not hover, she kept a good distance—except for that night at his parents’ house, and technically, he’d closed that gap several times. Having her working in the lab had been fine, unless she came to him with a question, her lemony scent breaking his concentration even before she talked.
He wasn’t used to having his concentration broken so easily. It should annoy him, he supposed, but instead he was comfortable. He’d felt comfortable with a number of women, but not ones he’d had interest in touching.
He wanted to touch Sara Beth.
The front door of her building opened. She came out wearing jeans and a beige jacket that came to midthigh. She was pulling on gloves. Her hair was down and tucked into her jacket. Her warm breath misted around her in the cold morning air. Something caught her attention overhead, and she stopped, shading her eyes, then smiled. A bird, probably.
He tried to remember the last time he had stopped to watch a bird.
All work and no play—Was he that dull?
He climbed out of his car, leaned on the top. “You’re prompt.”
“So are you.”
“You say that as if it surprises you.”