“Well, it’s their loss, Sage, and our gain,” Spence said as he reached across the table and took her hand.
For a moment, she was unable to speak, unable to look away from his beguiling gaze as his thumb rubbed across her knuckles. Every moment she was in this man’s presence another chink in her armor was chipped away. If she believed this was all real, she would gladly climb into his lap and beg him to take her. But how could it be real? All the rumors spoke of him being nothing more than a playboy, that he liked the conquest and then lost interest. With how intensely she already felt about him, she didn’t think she would be able to emotionally handle being one of his castoffs.
“I’m not worried,” she finally said, firmly tugging on her hand as she tried to regain her equilibrium. She couldn’t keep having these intense moments with Spence. If she continued to get lost in his eyes, he’d never take her word that she wasn’t interested in him. His next words proved that.
“Why fight so hard against it, Sage? It’s obvious we’re attracted to each other. We can keep it professional at work and . . . not so professional afterward. I think we have just the right amount of chemistry to set off some explosions.”
She was melting slightly at his words until he finished his last sentence. Then she was fighting a grin. “Explosions? Really, Spence?” It was exactly what she’d needed to hear to clear her head.
“What?” He looked confused.
She finally got her hand free and felt slightly superior. “I have to admit that you were pulling me in there with your suave talk—just a little—and then you said ‘explosions.’ If that hadn’t been such a cheesy line, with little to no imagination, you might have just had my heart racing,” she said with a saucy smile.
“I wasn’t being cheesy.”
“Oh come on, Spence. You’re a surgeon, for goodness’ sake. Your ego is the size of a small country—no, scratch that, we’re talking Russia. I’m amazed you manage to fit through doorways with such a big head. To top that off, you’re wealthy and gorgeous, and you have a body that should be illegal to display in public. You can wipe the grin off your face. I’m in no way complimenting you. I’m just saying that with all that going for you, you certainly don’t need to chase me to get your rocks off, and you really don’t need to use cheesy pickup lines. Why don’t you just go stand on the street corner and smile? You’ll most likely cause a car to crash into you and then be lucky enough to have female paramedics stripping you down to give you a full exam.”
His mouth was hanging open as she stood up from the table. She gathered her packages and leaned down to encroach on his space. It was nice to feel in charge for the first time since he’d taken the job as her boss.
Shock therapy. If only she’d realized that sooner.
“I have to say that you look even better all wide-eyed and speechless,” she whispered huskily before turning and walking from the food court with a self-satisfied smirk. She would give herself ten points for ingenuity and a hundred points for leaving the oh-so-popular Spence Whitman dumbstruck. Surely that was a first.
As she climbed into her car, her smile faded just a tad. She’d doubtlessly face retribution when he had a second to catch his breath. Still, her moment of victory had been well worth it.
The heater actually turned on in her car, and Sage found herself whistling as she made the drive back home. And to top it all off, the roads were clear.
“Sage, can you come in here please?” Mo always had a way of making things sound like an order, even when phrased as a question. That was probably why she was so feared and respected at the same time. The thing was that most of the time the woman was right, and had a killer gut instinct about people in general. It was either because she’d been a nurse for thirty-plus years or because the woman was a psychic, or maybe she was just a freaking genius.
Upon entering the room, Sage noticed that Mo had the new male nurse with her who had a habit of knowing everything even though he was just beginning in his profession. He’d graduated top of his class and therefore didn’t think he had anything to learn. Sage almost felt sorry for the boy, because she knew that Mo was now taking him under her wing and before long, he would be sobbing at the woman’s feet.
“Sage, have you been formally introduced to Brian?” Mo asked with her knowing smirk.
“No, not yet,” Sage said as she came closer.
“Nice to meet you, Sage,” Brian said as he shook her hand a little longer than necessary. Then the boy, who in actuality was only a couple of years younger than her, took it a step too far and began openly undressing her with his eyes. Her sympathy for him washed away as she sent a look to Mo that told the woman to give him everything he deserved. Mo sent Sage a wink.
“If I had known they made doctors as sexy as you, I would have certainly gone to medical school instead of taking the nursing program.”
Apparently undressing her with his eyes hadn’t been enough. Sage sent him a syrupy sweet smile, and then patted his head before speaking.
“Honey, you couldn’t have handled medical school.” He looked confused for a moment when the tone of her voice didn’t match what she was saying, and then his eyes narrowed the slightest bit before his lips turned up in an arrogant smile.
“Ah, I love a woman with a sense of humor,” he chortled, making her want to kick him.
“And I love a man who knows his place,” she said back, beginning to lose her cool just the tiniest bit. This kid was a punk.