A Nurse, a Surgeon, a Christmas Engagement Read online

  “It’s not fun for me, and I don’t think it’s fun for Lena. So knock it off.”

  An inexplicable urge to hug him rose up, and she had to squash it before she made an even bigger fool of herself. Past experience had taught her that men got close to her for one reason—to get close to her father for his connections in the medical field. She had never had a guy stand up for her just for her own sake, and it gave her this warm, fuzzy feeling deep down inside.

  She tried to avoid looking at him and only spoke when necessary while they finished up the gallbladder removal. The puzzle of how Dex benefited from standing up for her rolled around in her mind unsolved.

  The more she’d thought about it, the more she worried there was too much at risk. And she was the one who stood to be hurt. She’d been told how he’d dated half the nursing staff. A doctor could do that, though, whereas a nurse could not. She needed to put a stop to this before they reached a point of no return.

  After surgery, she found herself alone in the scrub room with Dex. They washed up next to each other without speaking. She dried her hands and stepped away.

  Lena took a deep breath and glanced at the door. She should really make her escape before she got sucked deeper into this ill-fated charade and the man at the center of it. Something about Dex had drawn her like a moth to a flame when she’d moved to Nashville. Handsome, of course, charismatic even, but something more about the young surgeon called to her. A confidence in his gaze that pulled her in like gravity and made spending time with him a risky endeavor.

  After one surgery with him where she’d had to stand tucked at his side, arms brushing as they moved for several hours, she’d known they’d be physically compatible if nothing else, so when he’d asked her out, she’d shut him down hard. Getting involved with him was a risk that she just was not willing to take.

  She’d heard the rumors about him. According to hospital gossip, Dr. Dexter Henry got around. His motto seemed to be love them good and leave them quick. His type was exactly why she’d uprooted her career and moved across the freaking country, after all. She’d fallen for the playboy once and still had the scars on her soul as souvenirs. Swallowing hard, she pushed those thoughts to the far recesses of her mind.

  Lena couldn’t take the risk of real involvement. Not after the things she’d seen when a relationship went wrong. So despite the surface-level attraction she felt to Dex, she’d never let it become more. Ever. After the fallout that had followed when the truth about her relationship with Connor had surfaced, Lena’s entire foundation had been shaken. Her career had nearly collapsed back in California. The negativity had invaded all aspects of her life and convinced Lena to stay single for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, her parents were not on board with Lena’s plan for an eternity of lone wolf status.

  Statement of fact—she needed a good-looking, successful doctor to go home with her. Bringing home a date who looked like Dex might be the only chance she had of getting her parents off her back when it came to dating Martin. They’d been pushing that angle since about ten minutes after the scandal about Connor broke, and she’d love to avoid it if she could. Her dad had deemed his protégé to be perfect son-in-law material, while Lena herself would rather gnaw her own arm off than to marry, or even date, that balding schmuck with his fake tan. Her mother wanted her to settle down with Martin because it would force Lena to return to LA because of his career.

  Dex presented a nearly perfect solution to the Martin situation. With just one problem...

  “I’m not sure how nosy your family will be, and maybe with the wedding taking some of the focus off, we can get by with your family easily, but my family will expect me to know you if we are dating. Really know you. I don’t bring a lot of guys home, so—”

  “What do I need to know?” Dex interrupted her to ask.

  Visions of Dex being the guy to make Martin disappear and get her parents off her back vanished with the delivery of that single question. As the only daughter of William Franklin, an egotistical plastic surgeon turned hospital administrator who thought himself better than every female in his acquaintance, Lena had spent much of her life being treated like her voice was nonexistent. Connor had been the same, but she’d been so stupidly in love with him that she’d overlooked his every fault. It wasn’t until they’d broken up that she’d decided she’d never voluntarily spend time with a man who didn’t have enough respect for her to allow her to finish speaking again, and she didn’t plan to change her mind now. Even if Dex was the most likely candidate for helping her to avoid her parents’ attempts at marrying her off.

  “First of all, I absolutely cannot stand being interrupted like that. So if you aren’t going to let me speak or if you are going to insist on talking over me, then we should both find someone else.” Lena’s eyes narrowed as she glared at him. With her fists balled at her sides, she added through clenched teeth, “You will be respectful enough of me to wait until I have finished my sentence or you can try your best to find another woman willing to pretend to be your girlfriend for this wedding, are we clear?”

  Satisfaction rushed over her when Dex gaped at her for a moment. “Yeah, I’m sorry.”

  Lena’s head moved side to side dismissively. “Why do guys do that? Do you even realize that you do that?”

  “I’ll try to be more mindful.”

  Tiny little wrinkles appeared on his forehead as he seemed to sink down into his thoughts. They made Lena wonder if anyone had ever pointed out to him that he talked over them. Or maybe she had merely projected some of her frustrations onto him. Either way, she kind of liked seeing that she’d gotten his attention. It had made him think at least a little about how he treated women. She’d never managed to accomplish that with her father or Connor.

  “Okay, so as I was saying,” she continued. “I don’t bring a lot of guys home. My parents will assume that we are fairly serious if I have brought you home for the gala. Because of that, they will expect that you know things about me, things a dating couple would know. More than we can cram into a couple of plane rides. The best I’ll be able to tell my family is that you are right-handed but prefer to keep your tools on the left for some unknown reason and that your favorite sandwich seems to be the turkey club since you’ve had it three times a week since we met. We need to spend some time together and learn these things.”

  “Are you asking me on a date, Lena?” The confusion on his face had cleared. In its place sat a self-satisfied smirk.

  And there it was.

  That unbearable arrogance that all the surgeons she’d ever met possessed. Her father had it in spades. Connor had thought far too much of himself too.

  Was it issued to them along with their medical license?

  “Ugh!” Her hands flew up in irritation. “Why did I ever entertain this idea?”

  Annoyance flashed through her, white-hot and simmering on the cusp of anger. Dexter Henry made her crazier than anyone had in a long time.

  “Because you know we’d be perfectly suited to take care of each other’s needs.” Not a question. There was an undercurrent to his words that took that phrase from simple statement to sensual promise. His gaze moved over her body before he made eye contact once more, making her one thousand percent certain that he’d meant his words to have multiple meanings.

  Her skin heated under the scrutiny of his gaze and she swallowed hard.

  She couldn’t do this.

  No way. She could not spend two weeks with an arrogant man who changed women more than a lot of nurses changed their scrubs, but worst of all, made her want him to take off his scrubs and see if he could live up to the masculine sexuality he projected. Even if he won in every category when compared to Martin—better hair, nicer smile, sexier... Nope, she wasn’t going continue that line of thought. Shaking her head, Lena took a step back.

  “This is a bad idea.”

  Or a very good one...<
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  “Hear me out before you reject the idea entirely.”

  She waited for him to speak, crossing her arms over her chest. He’d need a good pitch to get her sold on this idea. He was far too much temptation for her otherwise.

  “We both need a significant other to get us through the holidays unscathed by the cupid wannabes in our families, right?” He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to nod before he explained, “As far as I can see, neither of us has another solid lead on that.”

  “Having you with me would help me avoid yet another matchmaking attempt.” She sighed. “Like I said, though, my family will expect us to know things that dating couples would know.”

  Not having to be partnered with Martin for another fundraiser would save her feet a great deal of pain, though. Her parents had insisted that she attend a gala with him at the local children’s museum. The clumsy plastic surgeon not only had two left feet, but a complete inability to recognize his lack of skills. He’d nearly crippled her before she’d thought of a plausible excuse to leave early. But dancing with Dex would be dangerous for other reasons. She wasn’t sure she could keep her distance from him if she had to step into his arms. And getting close meant risk. Her goal was to get through the New Year’s Eve gala with as little risk as possible.

  “So, we tell them that we only met a few months ago, which is the honest truth, but then tell them we started dating fairly recently but things are getting serious fast. That will help us with the not knowing enough details about each other. No one will expect us to know everything there is to know after only a couple months of dating.”

  “I don’t know.” She chewed on her lower lip. Dex’s plan made a lot of sense, but she worried about spending so much time with him.

  “Come on,” Dex coaxed, his voice lowering as he tried to sway her decision. “What do you say? You go to the wedding with me, I’ll go to the gala with you, and then we conveniently break up a few weeks into the new year. No one in either family is the wiser for it.”

  “Okay,” she found herself saying. She almost couldn’t believe she would be taking a man home to meet her parents that she’d barely had a conversation with. Remembering how her dad had grilled Connor the first time she’d brought him home, Lena shuddered. “There may be a pop quiz, though.”

  Not that her father’s interrogation had sidetracked Connor’s plans... He sold himself to her father with the same charisma he’d used to charm her. Lena had fallen for him quickly and her parents had been just as taken. It was only once Connor had gotten what he’d wanted—her father’s influence to gain a promotion—that his true colors began to show.

  “Luckily, I’m a good test taker.” Dex winked at her, causing her stupid heart to somersault inside her chest.

  Dex Henry is not datable. She repeated the little mantra to herself. Dex Henry is not datable.

  “This isn’t a joke.” Lena put her hands on her hips and frowned at him. She tried to focus on the frustration she felt for Dex, not the attraction, but the hint of a smile that played on his lips distracted her more than she wanted to admit even to herself. “I don’t know why I’m agreeing to this if you aren’t going to take this seriously.”

  “I’m very serious, Lena. You know what? I think I’m going to have them leave you on my service through Christmas. It will keep us together during the days and give us some legitimate things to talk about. The fewer lies we have to keep straight, the better, right?”

  “True.” He certainly had a point on keeping things as close to the truth as possible.

  “How about some dinner? We can discuss the finer points of our agreement.” He raised a brow in question.

  She shook her head. “No, if we are doing this, we are keeping it quiet around here. I do not want to be counted as the next notch on your well-whittled bedpost.”

  “Okay then. I’ve got patients to check on.” He looked a little hurt by the brusqueness in her words, but recovered quickly. He stepped past her without another word.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. CLEMONS.” Lena moved into a patient’s room, pushing a medication cart. “Looks like you should get to go home later today, according to your notes. I’ve got your afternoon meds, and if everything goes okay for the next couple hours, you are out of here.”

  The old man in the hospital bed perked up at her voice. “Ah, but my beautiful Lena, when I go home, I won’t have anything so lovely to look at as your smiling face.”

  “Flattery will get you everywhere. You want an extra Jell-O? Some ice cream? I’m your girl.” She smiled at the patient as she scanned his wrist band for the medications. “Now, here are your meds. I have a painkiller and an antibiotic.”

  His age-spotted hand shook as he took the tiny cup. “Ice cream does sound good.”

  “Take your meds first and I’ll get you some in just a few.” She watched as he tossed the pills into his mouth and chased them with some water from a Styrofoam cup. She made a note that he had taken the medications. “Chocolate or vanilla?”

  “I’ve always been partial to chocolate. Are you married, my love?”

  “I’m not, never found a man like you.” She patted his arm. His chart said he was single. “What about you? Ever married?”

  “No, I never did. I came close once, probably quite a few years before you were born, but...” He trailed off. He shook his head and a wistful look came into his eyes. “Eh, you don’t want to hear this old man’s tales of woe and despair.”

  Lena pulled up a chair. “If you want to tell me, I do.”

  She’d learned years ago that sometimes the most important thing a nurse could do for a patient was to listen to them. Even if it didn’t seem relevant to their current condition, or medically related at all, the act of engaging in a meaningful conversation created a bond, a trust, that encouraged the patient to be honest. And that was most certainly relevant.

  “It was a long time ago. Her name was Betty. She had blond hair and the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen—I’m sorry, my love, but even prettier than yours—and after our first date I knew that she was the only woman I’d ever give my heart to. After our third date, I bought an engagement ring. That was two weeks to the day after we met.”

  Lena laughed. “Whirlwind romance, huh? Do you really think you can know that fast if something is meant to be?”

  He took her hand in his. “My dear, if you don’t know by then, you aren’t with the right person.”

  Lena let that statement sink in. She’d never felt that before. Even with Connor, who she’d been in love with. And she thought they’d moved fast; after all, it had only been a month after they’d started dating that he’d been pushing to meet her parents and talking about forever...

  A forever that was never meant to be.

  “So, what happened with Betty?”

  He sighed. “That third date was a double date with my best bud and his girl. I dropped Betty off at home and went and bought a ring. Even woke the jeweler up so I could get it—there weren’t any twenty-four-hour-type places back in those days. I called her the next morning to try to set up another date, and her mother tells me that Betty had run off to get married.”

  Lena’s jaw dropped. “What?”

  He looked out the window, the slightest hint of tears shining in his eyes. “Seems she liked the look of my buddy more than she did me. They eloped. Married forty-eight years when she died last year.”

  “Oh, Mr. Clemons, I’m so sorry.” The bulge in her throat was hard to choke down. This was why she didn’t date anymore. Why she didn’t trust. Even when someone was supposed to love you, so many times they were just waiting for a chance to hurt you. She’d learned that lesson the hard way.

  “I never met another who made me feel half of what I felt with her.”

  What would it be like to trust someone enough to feel twice what she’d felt for Connor? It was
unfathomable to her. Connor had thrown her life into such turmoil. And the lack of familial support in the matter had caused her to shut down even further. If you couldn’t even trust your own parents, well, what was the point in sticking around? Hearing her dad side with Connor after the breakup had been the final straw.

  After months of dating, months of hearing her father praise Connor and not so subtly put her down in the same sentence, Lena really should not have been surprised when her father continued to treat Connor like his future son-in-law, despite all that he’d put her through. When she’d told her parents that things were over with Connor, neither offered her any condolences. Instead, she was questioned on what she’d done wrong to lose him. After all, a surgeon like Connor was a stretch for a mere nurse like herself. So it must have been her fault.

  If there was one thing Lena knew, it was how to be alone. Even if some of her “alone” had been when in the midst of her family. Her heart hurt for the sweet old man sitting here. No wife, no children. He hadn’t even had a visitor that she’d seen. “So you’ve been alone all this time?”

  “I’ve lived a long life. I had a long and accomplished career. I’ve just outlived everyone in my life.” He patted her hand. “Don’t be sad for me. I’m not sad for myself.”

  She couldn’t help but be sad for him, though, and sad for herself. Even if they’d both made the choice to live their lives without anyone else involved, loneliness wasn’t an easy cross to bear. Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked furiously, determined not to cry in front of a patient.

  “I’ll be right back. I promised you a chocolate ice cream, didn’t I?”

  * * *

  Before leaving the hospital for the evening, Dex wanted to check on his patients. He had residents whose job it was to follow up after surgery, but he liked doing it. Many of his patients he barely saw before taking them into the OR. He whistled a low tune as he walked up the hallway toward his first patient’s room.