The Surgeon's Favorite Nurse by Teresa Southwick Page B

late,” he said, not answering the question.
    “So are you. Blair must be busy.” She pressed her lips together and wished it were possible to rewind or delete the previous words.
    “I honestly have no idea what her plans are.” He leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb, deliberately not moving closer. “I’m laying off sugar and fat. Especially no cream-filled sponge cake.”
    “No more fried Twinkie?” She picked up a pen and nervously pressed the top, pushing the ballpoint’s tip in and out.
    “I will neither confirm nor deny engaging in such behavior.”
    “Okay.” Her tone left no doubt about what she believed.
    “I’m here touting the merits of Mercy Medical West to one of my colleagues.”
    “So I heard.”
    “You were eavesdropping?” One dark eyebrow lifted as a teasing expression slid over his face.
    “Not on purpose,” she defended. “But I couldn’t help overhearing the deal you made with Dr. Harrison.”
    “Deal? Interesting choice of words. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you disapproved.”
    “Not me.”
    “All evidence to the contrary,” he drawled. “What do you have against a speaking engagement?”
    “Rumor has it that you’re a gifted surgeon.”
    “Really? Says who?”
    She didn’t want to inflate his already-inflated ego, or admit to asking about him. “Does it matter?”
    “Yeah. I need to know who to thank with flowers.”
    She sighed and gripped the pen tighter. “I had a meeting with Val Davis. We were discussing staffing for the emergency department. Your name came up.”
    “In reference to fried food?”
    “Are you ever going to let that go?” she asked.
    “Probably not.” He slid his fingers into his dark slacks, lifting the bottom of the expensive matching jacket. “But back to me being good at my job.”
    “She said—” Hope bit back the words on the tip of her tongue. The exact quote: No matter who Jake showed thebad judgment to see when he wasn’t on duty, the man’s hands were pure magic. She shivered again as a vision flashed through her mind of those strong sensitive hands skimming over her skin as she lay beside him in his bed. The ball of fire in her belly got bigger and hotter. “She said you’re a good doctor and a brilliant surgeon.”
    “So a nice big bouquet of flowers to Val’s office for the hospital grand opening.” He smiled.
    His grin could bring women to their knees and made Hope glad she’d showed the good sense to remain seated.
    “Don’t you think it’s a better use of your time and reputed talent to take those skills out for a spin in the operating room instead of the boardroom?”
    “Community engagements put the hospital’s name and excellent reputation in front of the public.” His teasing tone disappeared and she missed it.
    “In Reno?”
    “It’s not far from Carson City, the capital of the state and seat of government. There’s a lot of media attention for the hospital council and part of my job is to spotlight Mercy Medical West for donations and grants to fund health programs.”
    He had a point, darn it, but she wouldn’t say those words out loud. “Okay. And all work no play makes Jake… Well, you get the drift.”
    His eyes narrowed as he straightened, still in her office doorway. “You’ve been taking a lot of shots at me. What’s really bugging you?”
    “Nothing.”
    He moved into the office, close enough to smell the spicy scent of his aftershave. “This is about sex, isn’t it?”
    “No.”
    “This is Vegas, Hope. You need to work on your bluffing skills.”
    “I’ll take that under advisement.”
    “So we slept together. Big deal. Over and done with.”
    This was a bad time to wish she’d closed her office door. “It’s already forgotten.”
    He shook his head. “If that were true, you wouldn’t be acting like I was the sleazy saloon owner who stole the new schoolmarm’s virtue.”
    “Respect has to be earned.” And he hadn’t earned hers, she thought.
    “If I could