Judy Hubbard - Take Me in Your Arms

“I don’t know what you’re smirking about. I’ve been very agreeable.” At her continued skeptical expression, he suggested, “Ask any of my nurses.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll let you cling to your delusions.”

“Will you also reward my good behavior and go out with me tomorrow night?” he persisted.

“Isn’t getting out of here incentive enough for you?”

“You’ve got me there,” he quickly agreed. “But...”

She sighed. “There’s always a but .”

“Yes there is,” he agreed. “And this one’s very important.”

“Well, let’s hear it,” she prompted drily.

“ But we’ve waited long enough to go out on a real date. Granted, we’ve both been insanely busy, but now fate has brought us back together, so let’s not waste this opportunity. Let’s seize the moment and do something we should have done months ago.”

“Is that the reason you want to go out with me? To check off some to-do list?” she challenged.

“Of course it isn’t.”

“Why do you want to go out with me?”

“Because I like you. I have since the moment I met you,” he answered immediately. His warm eyes held hers captive. “Don’t you like me?”

“You’re a very nice man, Cam, but—”

“No buts,” he interrupted with a smile.

“No fair, you got to use buts, so I should too,” she argued.

“Sorry.” He shrugged. “Those are the rules.”

“Some rules,” she huffed.

“Come on. You know you want to give in. I promise to show you the time of your life if you’ll go out with me.” A smile played about her lips at his persistence. “I’m not seeing anyone. Are you?”

“No.” Her truthful response tumbled out before she could stop it.

“I don’t understand how that’s possible, but I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth.” He grinned again, showing off those dimples that her fingers were itching to trace. “Don’t you want to see where this leads—finally?”

She did and she didn’t. She did like Cam, she had since meeting him, but she was dedicated to her career—a career that was very demanding of her time and focus. She also had a lousy track record with men, and she didn’t want to travel down that losing road again...but maybe this time could be different. Maybe Cam would be different. He certainly made her feel different. She wished she knew whether that was good or bad.

“You’re thinking too much,” he said. “That means you really want to say yes.”

“It means no such thing.”

“Yes, it does.” He reached out and took her hand. “Come on, Angela, you know we’re long overdue for our date.”

“We’ve seen each other several times. A few nights ago, to be exact,” she reminded him.

“For a few minutes at Alesha and Derrick’s.” He grimaced, and she bit back a laugh with difficulty. “That hardly qualifies as a date. Does it?”

“That depends on your perspective.”

“Well, my perspective is that seeing each other at our mutual friends’ house is not a real date.” He made another distasteful face, and this time she did laugh. “Come on, I’ll show you the time of your life.” Of that she had absolutely no doubt. She was having a good time just standing here sparring with him.

She hadn’t been on a real date in ages—years, in fact, and with good reason. She liked her life the way it was—predictable and uncomplicated. She had no intention of starting anything serious with anyone, but where was the harm in sharing a good meal with a man who was funny, smart and godfather to their best friends’ son while she was the godmother?

“All right,” she heard herself agreeing.

“Excellent.” He brought the back of her hand to his lips, sending goose bumps up her arm. Suddenly the room seemed much too small for the two of them, especially when he said, “Your skin is very soft.”

“Um...I have to go.” She cursed her breathless voice and removed her hand from his. “I’m due in the O.R.”

“Okay, I guess I can’t object to that.” Her eyes widened when his fingers smoothed her bangs off her eyebrows. “I’m looking forward to our date, Angela.”

“Just remember you promised me a great time.” She was surprised she could articulate this, because his nearness was doing strange things to her ability to breathe naturally.

“And I’ll deliver,” he promised. “Where would you like to go?”

“Surprise me.”

“You may be sorry you said that,” he teased.

“On second thought...”

He placed a silencing finger lightly on her lips. “Too late to take it back.” Her lips tingled from his touch. She took a step backward, ending the disturbing contact.

“Your nurse will be in with your discharge papers soon.”

“Hallelujah!” A small smile played about her lips at his jubilant response.

“Try to contain your enthusiasm.”

“No can do.” His smile widened. “I can’t wait to get outta here.”

“Just make sure you rest when you get home.”

“I will.” He paused before pointedly reminding her, “You’ve given me great incentive to. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven?” he asked as she backed away toward the door.

“That’ll be fine.”

“I can’t wait.” He stepped forward and touched her cheek. “See you tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow,” she echoed before leaving.

On the other side of the door, she took and released a deep breath. What had she gotten herself into? It was just one date with an acquaintance—nothing serious, and she would take great care to make sure to keep it that way. Casual and uncomplicated. That was her plan, that was her goal, and she would stick to it no matter how charming Cameron Stewart was. And Lord knows he was the very definition of charming!

* * *

Angela walked into her office and sank gratefully into her comfortable chair behind her paper-laden desk. Closing tired eyes, she sighed audibly. She was beat but still had a lot of hours left before she could go home. She groaned as that horrible realization hit her. At least she had time for a decent lunch before her evening staff meeting.

Opening her eyes, she picked up numerous pink message slips with a weary hand and began reading each one. Boy, was she popular today. One message in particular caught her eye—it was from Cam. She checked the time and found he had called an hour ago. She wondered what he wanted. Maybe he had a question about his discharge instructions. Well, there was only one way to find out.

Picking up the phone, she dialed the number and waited for him to answer. He didn’t. She hung up and redialed, thinking she must have pressed a wrong digit somewhere. Again, there was no response. She bolted upright in her chair, fingers tightening on the receiver as she waited for him to answer. When he didn’t, she tried to calm her suddenly racing heart.

Why wasn’t he answering his phone? Why had he called her? Was it for an innocent reason? Like he simply wanted to tell her where they were going for dinner tomorrow? Or had he been feeling ill and needed some medical advice?

“Get a grip, Angela,” she sternly admonished. “He wouldn’t have been released if he wasn’t okay.” She frantically dialed his number again with the same results—no answer. “Calm down. He’s fine,” she said, trying to reassure herself.

She considered ringing Derrick or Alesha and asking them to check on him but quickly dismissed that idea. She didn’t want to upset them unnecessarily, and such a call from her would do just that. Besides, she was upset enough for all of them.

Without success, she fought valiantly to keep dire thoughts from racing through her mind. What if Cam had passed out and couldn’t answer the phone? What if he was...? She glanced at her watch. She had about two-and-a-half hours before her meeting; that should be enough time. She could get his address from his hospital chart.