Or could she? Such a feeling of comfort and stability—and familiarity—flashed through her, but, like an elusive dream, it was gone before she could grab it.
When the wave of sobbing passed her, she kept her face burrowed into his shoulder for a minute, enjoying the scent of him, and the comfort of his body, before pushing back to look at him.
“And Steven is a goddamn fucking asshole.” Not a new thought, but the pronouncement felt good. She wiped away her tears and tried to get herself back together.
Her proclamation earned her a small smile and a chuckle. “Yes. That he is.”
She was keenly aware of the intensity of his gaze and the rapid hammering of her own heart. His face was only a few inches from hers, and she shifted her gaze to his mouth. Without really meaning to, she found herself studying his lips and wondering how they would feel against hers.
The thundering of helicopter blades startled her, and she jumped away from him. He closed his eyes as he shook his head at the sound. When he opened his eyes, his lips were set in a grim line, shyly invoking both dimples, almost as if he’d been caught red-handed.
“Better find your brother.”
CHAPTER NINE
DANIEL
DANIELSTOODATthe sound of the chopper. Maybe a bit too fast. He usually heard it before it got this close, but clearly his focus was diverted.
“Um, here. Take this for pain.” He handed her some ibuprofen and a glass of water.
Annika looked almost relieved. He started putting the suture kit back together and cleaned up.
“You can take more in eight hours if it still hurts.” He tossed the words over his shoulder as if he were talking to any patient as he quickly went to drop off instruments for sterilization. He needed the distance to clear his head.
What was he thinking? She was sobbing into his arms about losing her baby—finally allowing herself to feel the pain—and all he could think about was kissing her? Honestly, he had a problem. He did not need to be kissing Annika Mehta. Especially since she told him how badly she wanted to be a mother.
Except that she hadn’t pulled away from him.
And he hadn’t wanted her to.
He had almost told her the truth. He hadn’t told anyone about Sara since she’d died. The people who knew were people he knew when she was alive. And outside of work colleagues, he didn’t really hang out with anyone from back then.
He was keenly familiar with how it felt when your world stopped but everything else continued. How people went to work, loved each other, laughed together and basically continued to live their lives. He had had trouble believing any of that was still possible when a beautiful little girl had been so violently ripped from the earth.
He returned to find Annika standing and waiting for him. Her eyes were swollen. Her nose was still red, and her left hand was bandaged, but her smile threw him off balance and he had to stop in his tracks to gather himself. So much for clearing his head.
He finished straightening up, putting away any sign of the fact that he had just treated somebody, aware that she watched his every movement. “Exactly how much trouble can you get into?”
Daniel shrugged one shoulder. “Let’s just say you had a tour.” He took her good hand and guided her out the door. Her hand was warm and fit perfectly into his, and when she squeezed it, a thrill shifted through his body that he probably should not have enjoyed so much.
“Come on.” Daniel led the way out. But—just his luck—Crista was on her way in.
“Hey, Daniel! What are you doing—” Crista stopped as she saw Annika. Her gaze shifted back to Daniel, grazing over their clasped hands.
“Hey, Crista. Just a quick tour.” He turned toward Annika. “Crista, this is Annika. Annika, my colleague, Crista.”
Crista held out her hand for Annika to shake. Disappointment flooded him as she released his hand to shake Crista’s. He grimaced to himself.Ridiculous. He hardly knew her; she shouldn’t affect him like this.His reprimand was quickly forgotten as she took his hand and righted his world again.
“Oh, my. That doesn’t look too good.” A wide-eyed Crista nodded at Annika’s bandaged hand. She didn’t even bother hiding her smirk to Daniel. “You should have someone look at that for you.”
Annika flushed, darting a glance at Daniel, but rallied. “Oh, this? This is old...” Daniel gently squeezed her hand as if they shared a joke.
Crista raised an eyebrow at them. “Uh-huh. Yeah, probably all healed up by now.” Crista’s smirk was quickly headed to an outright laugh. Of course, Nilay chose that moment to barge in.
“Hey, did you see the chopper?” He was breathing heavy and his face carried that excited flush all boys seemed to get from seeing anything that flies. “That was seriously cool!”
Daniel made introductions without actually making eye contact with Crista. “This is Annika’s brother. He drove.”
