Chapter 3

I knew from the way he said it that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Mr. Summerfield was my boss, after all. The patient could wait another moment. I closed the chart and gave the two men my full attention.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” I said, extending my hand.

“The pleasure is indeed mine, Dr. Reynolds,” Mr. Steel said, accepting my hand. Then, he raised it to his lips, never taking his eyes from mine. His hands and lips were unusually cold, but it was probably just from the air conditioning.

Just then, Rosa appeared outside the examining room and gave me a look.

“Well, I really must go,” I said, turning to leave. “I have patients.”

“Until we meet again,” Steel said, as a smile played at the corner of his luscious lips.

Man, is he hot, I thought to myself. As I walked away, a shiver shot down my spine. There was something about him that I couldn’t quite place, but I quickly brushed the thought aside. I was married, after all, even though our marriage had lost a bit of its sizzle. Steven, my husband, had changed over the past few months, along with our marriage, but I was sure that he hadn’t cheated, and neither had I.

I continued throughout the rest of the day on my rounds, but caught Mr. Steel watching me off and on throughout the night, and his assistant was no longer in sight. I was surprised that he was still here. Surely, it didn’t take that long to make a donation. Once, I looked up and his eyes connected with mine. They were a beautiful shade of green, astounding me, and he had the most beautiful physique on a man that I had ever seen.

After nightfall, I walked out of an examining room and stretched, starting to feel the effects of the day. Without knowing why, I looked around and Mr. Steel was nowhere to be found. Oh, well. He’s probably married, anyway, I thought to myself. I shook my head, not knowing why I was so drawn to this stranger. I laughed without mirth and shook my head, brushing the thought aside. I picked up another patient chart, but had to go home soon. Steven worked nights and was out of town a lot, but I wanted to get home in enough time to see him off before he left for work, at least.

After seeing another patient, I yawned, deciding to call it a night.

“Ah … superhero Wonder Doctor is tired,” Rosa said sarcastically, checking a chart.

“I’m not tired …”

“Go home, doc! I’ve got this,” Rosa said, taking my purse from behind the counter.

“What the hell?”

“Yeah, yeah. Fire me tomorrow,” she said, then shoved my purse into my hands and turned me toward the door. Rosa and I had become best friends since I started working here. She was the only one who could get away with talking to me this way. “Right now, you need to go home to that husband of yours.”

I smirked. “Things haven’t been good between us for a while.”

 “Well, then, go home and make it good, you lucky woman,” Rosa joked. “Hell, Henry hasn’t been able to get it up in years. Go home and get some!”

“Rosa!” I said, laughing as I shook my head in disbelief, but I was too tired to argue. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“If you hurry, you might be able to catch him before he leaves for work,” Rosa replied, pushing me toward the door.

“Why don’t you go home, too?” I asked. “You’ve been here as long as I have.”

“You’re right,” she said, pulling her purse out from behind the counter, too. “Let’s both get out of here.”

“Are you making me an offer?” I joked, linking my arm with hers.

“Hell, no!” she said, playfully pushing me away. “I’ve already told you that my boat don’t float that way.”

I laughed. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

We walked out the front door, grinning as we waved to the girls behind the front desk. It was dark in the parking lot and I was glad that I had walked out here with Rosa. I wasn’t afraid of things that go bump in the night, but you never know.

“Are you going to be okay driving home?” I asked Rosa as I hit the unlock button for my Mercedes.

“Of course! I do this all the time.”

I waited as she unlocked her door. “Call me when you get home,” I said, opening my car door.

“Why? So you can whisper sweet nothings in my ear?” Rosa joked, holding her car door open.

“No, I’ll save that for tomorrow.” I gave her a wink and she guffawed.

“Ciao!” she yelled at me, giving me one last wave as she slid into her car and shut the door.

I laughed and quickly slid into my car as well, then locked the doors. I drove past the neon lights of the casinos on the way home and into the darkness of the desert then finally into my neighborhood as thoughts of the delicious Lance Steel crept into my mind. He was probably the hottest man that I’d ever met, with his dark good looks and bright green eyes. I quickly pushed the thought aside as I pulled up in front of the house that belonged to Steven and me.

I hit the garage door opener and his red Corvette was gone. I had missed him … again. He had already left for work. It was just as well. I pulled into the garage and quickly shut the garage door behind me. A few minutes later, I walked into the house and poured myself a glass of wine.

I kicked off my shoes and sat down on the couch to watch television, but my thoughts kept creeping back to the elusive Mr. Steel. Before long, I was comparing the men on the television screen to him. Lance had greener eyes than he does. Lance’s shoulders were broader. Lance was taller than he is. Ugh! Why was he invading my thoughts like this? I couldn’t believe that I was having random thoughts about a complete stranger. I shook my head, trying to clear my head of the guilt, then turned off the set and walked up the stairs, carrying my wine with me.

At the top of the stairs, I turned right and headed to the bedroom, then changed into a spaghetti strap white silk nightgown. I tried to push the thoughts of Lance to the back of my mind, but his face kept dancing behind my eyelashes. Heat crept through my body just at the thought of him as I fought to keep him out of my mind. I sat up on the edge of the bed and scrubbed my hands across my face, trying to clear my head of the obscene images that kept invading my mind. Why was I fantasizing about a man I’d just met? I was a married woman, after all. I reached for my wine and took another sip. Soon, the luscious liquid started working and my eyes became heavy, but as I finally drifted off to sleep, thoughts of Lance invaded my mind … and then my dreams.