She nodded, avoiding his gaze as she bent over his arm. He felt the ends of her ponytail brush against his skin, and his cock stiffened even further in response. Damn this was an awkward time to be turned on. If the stunning doctor noticed, she didn’t say anything as she finished injecting some numbing into his arm.
“You might not want to watch, Mr. Evans.”
Doctor Scott spoke with a professional tone but flashed a teasing smile at him, the first smile he’d seen on her. He was dumbstruck by how it changed her face from stunning, to earth-shatteringly beautiful. Hell, if he had met this captivating woman in any other situation, he would be desperately trying to get her name and number and secure a date. But he figured that wasn’t such a great idea right now, as the focus of his growing attraction hovered over his arm with a wicked looking needle and suture in her hand.
“I’m a big boy doc, I can handle it.”
The blush that flashed across her face was sexy as hell. But he took her advice and didn’t watch the suturing. Instead he took the opportunity to keep staring at her. Taking in her focus as she worked, the gentle touch of her hand, the curve of her body in those typically unflattering scrubs. Everything about her intrigued him. Somehow, he knew he had to see her again. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no idea how to make that happen.
* * *
“All done, Mr. Evans.” Callie peeled off her gloves and stood up quickly, desperate to hide the burst of desire she was certain was written all over her face. She was still mortified by how rattled she’d been when she first walked up and saw the shirtless man sitting in front of her. Holy crap was he ever hot. For once Sandy hadn’t been exaggerating, he was definitely ‘hunky man meat.’ He had to be well over six feet tall, and built of solid, hard muscles. A swirling patterned tattoo wove its way across his right arm and chest, giving him a devilish bad boy look that was counteracted by the warm, open smile on his face. His dark wavy hair was slightly long, curling around his ears, framing a strong jaw dusted with just the right amount of scruff.
Callie knew she couldn’t be anything but professional while at work, so she turned to Sandy to give the nurse directions. “Can you please apply a sterile dressing and go over signs of infection?”
Glancing back at the man seated on the stretcher, Callie tried to maintain a professional demeanor, despite the quiver she felt just looking at him.
“Sandy will take care of your discharge instructions.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
The man’s voice had a rumbling quality to it that sent a wave of heat through Callie’s body. Her reaction to him was potent, unlike anything she’d ever felt before. It excited her and terrified her at the same time. She was at work for God’s sake! It was beyond inappropriate for her to be turned on by a patient.
She walked swiftly away and hid in the doctors lounge to finish her charting. Thankfully she didn’t get called on again and was able to finish her shift in peace. So what if she spent most of the time daydreaming about the handsome Mr. Evans; daydreaming was all she’d ever have with him.
* * *
Just over an hour later, Callie waved to another nurse that had been working with her as they both climbed into their cars, parked next to each other. The nurse drove a minivan with one of those sticker families on the back window, her kids, dog and even a bird was represented. Callie had a cherry red Volkswagen bug just big enough for her and one passenger. She rolled her eyes at the laughable idea of getting a single sticker person to put on her car. It wasn’t as if she wanted to advertise that she was currently, and for the foreseeable future, single.
Once home at her small, one-bedroom apartment, Callie dropped her keys in the bowl by the front door. She stood in the doorway and glanced around the space, with mixed emotions.
Everywhere she looked, there were telltale signs of a single woman who lived alone. The photographs on the wall were not of family or friends, but of nature. The decorative pillows were arranged mostly at one end of the couch, the end where Callie didn’t sit when she watched TV or read a book. The table and four chairs in her dining area were covered in paperwork and clothes. They were rarely used, only when she had friends over for a dinner fancier than pizza and a movie. Most of her meals were spent by herself, eating on the couch or leaning against the kitchen counter.
As she walked to the bathroom, peeling off her clothes and turning the shower temperature on as hot as she could stand, Callie caught sight of the formal invitation to a party at her parents house that was lying on top of her dresser.
Formal was one way to describe Callie’s family. Cold and unfeeling was another. The party her parents were hosting was going to be full of Oregon’s elite, and Callie was expected to make an appearance, playing the part of the dutiful daughter. The façade of a happy family was an important one after all. Her father was a well-respected Oregon circuit judge and was running for state senate in the coming year.
Looking at the invitation she had opened before work, Callie was struck by the usual jab of pain she felt when she thought of her parents. She’d never managed to earn their respect or love, no matter how hard she tried. Not even becoming a successful physician had been the right choice in their mind. Callie’s only value to them lay only in how she could further their political goals, which meant that someday they would expect her to give up her job and her apartment, move back home to Salem, and marry a man that they felt was suitable.
Stepping under the hot spray of her shower, Callie thought back to the fateful day she had told her parents she was accepted into medical school. She had naively hoped they would be proud of her, that it would be a day to remember. And it was, but not for the right reasons. That was the day she began to truly understand that she would never be enough for them.
Callie sat rigidly in her chair at the dining room table, fidgeting with the envelope containing her acceptance letter from the University of Oregon Medical School. Excitement warred with trepidation over telling her parents the news.
At a break in between courses, she took a deep breath, knowing it was now or never. She had to stand up for her dream. With a nervous smile, she placed her acceptance letter on the table, and said, “Mother, Father, I have something to tell you.”
She could not mistake the disinterested look on their faces as they glanced her way. Forging ahead, she kept going.
“I want you to know how thankful I am for your support of me during my degree these last 4 years. And I hope that your support will continue, because I’ve been accepted into the medical school at the University of Oregon Portland campus.”
Silence filled the air. Instead of the congratulations she had foolishly imagined, her father’s words were heartless and cold.
“If you are asking for more money, you can forget it. I already wasted enough letting you gallivant around in those dorms for four years. If you insist on going to medical school, you will do it without our help. Sooner or later you will have to settle down and accept your place is by a man’s side, supporting him and supporting our family.”
Callie couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping. Looking to her mother, who would not meet her eyes, she realized even an accomplishment as great as being accepted into med school wasn’t enough for her parents. Their backwards ideas about a woman’s role were so ingrained, they would never change.
“I know you want me to settle down and get married, and I will. Someday. But becoming a doctor is what I have always dreamed of,” Callie said. She tried to keep her voice strong but could hear the waver of emotion.
With a disdainful sniff, her mother turned her cool gaze onto Callie before she replied, “As your father said, there will be no more financial support. Do what you will but remember your place and your duty to this family. When you are done playing doctor, you will marry an appropriate man who can help your father’s career and your job will be to stand by him the way a woman should.”
