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  “Thank you.” She smiled. “I decided to change into something more casual after work. I didn’t want to look too stuffy. Oh, this is for you—or Cami and Dylan, or whoever.” She held out a bottle of wine and I liked that she seemed as nervous as I did.

  “Follow me. Cami’s still cooking. Dylan is running a little behind. He forgot he had his evaluation today, so he’ll be here closer to six.” Placing my hand lightly at the small of her back, I guided her down the hall toward the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry if I’m too early.”

  “No, it’s perfect.” I lowered my voice. “Thanks for even agreeing to do this.”

  “It’s not a problem, really. I know how important this is to you. I’m happy to help. Anything for a friend, right?”

  Friend. I knew that was all we could ever be, but it still felt like the kiss of death on her lips. “Right,” I said, trying to keep the smile on my face and not show my disappointment as we entered the kitchen. “Cami, I’d like you to meet Evie,” I said, using her casual nickname since calling her Doctor McKinley would seem especially formal.

  Cami immediately left the stove, extending her hand and smiling widely. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Evie.” They clasped hands warmly. “I was totally shocked when Dylan told me Russ and you are dating now.”

  “That makes three of us,” I whispered, mostly to myself, but Evie heard and laughed.

  “Yes, it did happen kind of suddenly,” Evie said, playing along.

  “Well, have a seat and you can tell me all about it while Russ pours you some of that wine. I’d have some with you, but as you can see . . . .” She gestured to her huge stomach.

  “When are you due?” Evie asked, and I was glad she’d managed to divert the subject from the two of us and back to Cami. I retrieved another wine glass and poured some for both Evie and myself.

  “Next week,” Cami said, rubbing her baby bump fondly. “I swear it seems like next year though. It will never get here. I’ve been to the hospital three times with Braxton-Hicks. It’s been downright embarrassing. I’m sure the OB department thinks I’m nuts. Here comes the crazy lady again, thinking she’s having a baby.”

  “I doubt that,” Evie said sympathetically, as I placed a glass of wine in front of her. “In fact, I’m certain they deal with such things on a regular basis. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer for you. Do you know what you’re having?”

  “A little girl.” Cami beamed. “We are so excited.”

  I took another hefty swallow of my wine as I watched the two women banter easily back and forth, almost like they’d completely forgotten I was there—which, in truth, was just fine with me. It helped to avoid awkward conversations.

  “Have you picked a name?”

  “Dylan likes Noelle, since that’s my middle name, but I like the name Piper. I’m not sure if he’s sold on that though.”

  “Piper Noelle would be adorable,” Evie said, testing it out.

  Cami nodded. “I agree. I just need to convince her daddy.”

  I snorted and they both looked over at me. “You know full well Dylan will give you whatever you want. There’s nothing too good for you.”

  “Says the man who Dylan would do anything for.” Cami smiled. “He loves you just as much as he loves me.”

  “He better not,” I replied with a grimace. “I refuse to do the things you do for him.”

  She laughed. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  “Yeah, well, I just want that to be clear. He definitely loves you more.”

  Evie was scrutinizing the exchange between us and I could practically see the doctor wheels turning in her head as she sipped her wine.

  “Cami, do you need any help right now, or do you mind if I show Evie around the place?”

  “Go right ahead. I’m all set here. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

  “Would you like to see the house?” I asked Evie.

  “I’d love it. I’m a big history buff and I find these old houses fascinating. Do you all live here together?”

  “Sort of. Technically, I live on the third floor. I’ve been remodeling it to be my own apartment. It’s still a pretty good size on its own. Three bedrooms, two baths, with its own living room, kitchen and dining room.” I pointed out the window to the side door. “It has its own entrance from the side of the house there. Just take those exterior stairs right on up.” I didn’t know why I was telling her all this—it wasn’t like she’d ever have a reason to come over after this. “These go up, as well.”

  “So did you buy the house together?” Evie asked, as we started up the interior stairs to my quarters.

  “Yeah. The bottom two floors are Cami and Dylan’s. They’ve got most of their remodeling done already. Mine has been going a little bit slower, but it’s getting there.”

  We reached the top and I opened the door, allowing her to step inside.

  “Oh, I love the dark stain you put on the floors. They’re beautiful.”

  “Thank you. I thought they turned out nice.”

  “Have you been doing all the work yourself?” she asked, looking at me with admiration in her eyes.

  I nodded. “I have. Now that the floors and walls are finished, most of the work I have left is in the kitchen. I have the refrigerator, but I still need to finish all the cabinetry and put in the stove and whatnot. Cami and Dylan have basically been keeping me fed, since I don’t have a way to prepare stuff yet.”

  “Cami seems really nice. I can see why you hold her in such high regard.”

  “She’s the best.” I watched as she meandered on toward the hallway, peeking into some of the other rooms. Following closely after her, I enjoyed knowing that she was moving closer to my bedroom.

  “Your room?” she asked, pausing in the doorway and I nodded.

  “Yeah, it’s bigger than the others and I was able to make a doorway so one of the bathrooms became an en suite.”

  “It looks very . . . inviting,” she said, softly, glancing at me.

  “It is. You should try the bed.”

  Arching an eyebrow, she looked a bit surprised.

  “No seriously. Go sit on the bed. Give it a little bounce.”

  She continued to eye me, but eventually moved forward, slowly sinking to the edge of the bed. The springs protested wildly and she laughed. “You seriously sleep on this thing?” She bounced again and again, making the bed squeak repeatedly.

  “I do. I actually requested to keep it. It’s original to the house.”

  She was still bouncing on it. “How can you get any rest at all? It’s so loud.”

  Smiling, I shrugged. “I’ve gotten used to it. Though Cami and Dylan seem convinced they’ll be able to tell if I ever entertain anyone of the female variety.” I stared at her pointedly. It took a second, but as soon as she caught my meaning, she instantly stilled.

  “Oh, because they’d hear you . . . uh . . . .”

  “Going at it?” I supplied with a grin and she blushed heavily. “Maybe Cami thinks I’m up here getting lucky right now.”

  Her mouth dropped open and her gaze lowered, landing somewhere in the vicinity of my zipper. She flushed, again, when she realized where she was staring and immediately stood. “I’m sorry. Is it hot in here all of a sudden?” I couldn’t help my continued grin as she pushed past me into the hallway. “Maybe we should go check on Cami.”

  Stepping in beside her, I happily followed along. “You looked good on my bed, Doc,” I said, not caring if it was appropriate for me to say so or not.

  Pausing, she turned to stare at me, and suddenly the hallway felt really small.

  “You know you can’t say things like that to me, right?”

  I stepped closer and she moved back, leaning against the wall. “Yes, I’m aware of that.” I stared down at her lips. They were so close. It would be so easy to capture them.

  “Russ, I . . . .”

  Immediately a loud crashing sound came from downstairs, diverting our attentio
n.

  “Cami?” I hollered, backing away instantly and running down the stairs.

  Chapter Nine

  Russ

  The high-pitched wail made my heart rate accelerate as I raced into the kitchen, finding Cami on the floor with a pot of noodles strung out beside her.

  “Are you burned?” I asked, fear shooting through me as I knelt beside her.

  “No. I think . . . .” She panted, a look of desperation in her eyes. “I think I’m in labor.”

  Now I was panicking. “In labor? You can’t just start labor like this.”

  “Well, I’ve had this backache and some tightening all day. I just figured it was another false alarm.” She tightened a fist in my shirt. “Ahhhh!” she hollered. “Russ, you need to check me. You’re trained for this.”

  “Cami don’t you dare do this to me. Let’s try and get you to the hospital.”

  “It’s too late,” Cami screeched, her eyes wild. “I need you to help me, now.”

  “Dylan will cut off my body parts if I look at you down there, let alone touch you.” I was desperate to avoid this.

  “And I will cut them off if you don’t,” Cami growled through her teeth. “Follow your training steps!”

  Her saying that popped my head immediately into gear. Helping her slip her panties off had me trembling. Dylan was not going to like this at all. I lifted her skirt, staring.

  “Can you tell anything?” Cami huffed out.

  “Um, you’re a natural redhead?” I felt completely out of my element. Red tinged water leaked from her, suggesting her bag of waters had already ruptured.

  “Russ! Now is not the time to tease me.”

  “Evie call 911 and tell them we need an ambulance for a woman who is crowning. Then go into the hallway and grab some towels out of the bathroom.”

  “Second door on the right,” Cami squeaked out. “You can see the head?”

  “Yes.” I quickly began ripping the lace out of my shoes.

  “What are you doing?”

  “We need something to tie off the umbilical cord. Do you have any scissors?”

  “In the drawer behind your head.”

  Quickly turning, I snatched them out, cutting my shoelace in two. Then I grabbed a pair of latex gloves from the box Dylan always kept in the kitchen, slipping them on.

  “Here you go,” Evie said, tossing several towels at me. “The ambulance is on the way.”

  My phone started ringing and instantly I knew it was Dylan. “Answer that for me, Evie.” I gestured to my pocket and she slipped her hand inside, but I didn’t get the chance to enjoy it. “Put it on speaker,” I ordered. Dylan needed to at least hear his child being born.

  “Russ! Russ, what’s going on? Cami is in labor? I heard the call come in,” Dylan’s frantic voice came through.

  “The baby is crowning, Dylan. I’m prepping for delivery.”

  “Tell her to hang on. I’m on the rig. We will be there in less than five minutes.”

  “Here’s another contraction,” Cami said, her voice tightening.

  “Remember Lamaze,” Dylan shouted through the phone. “Use your breathing, push low.” His instructions did seem to comfort her.

  “Pull your knees to your chest, Cami, and if you feel like you need to push then do whatever you need,” I told her. Evie slid behind Cami, helping to cradle her body forward as Cami bore down.

  “Ahhhhhh!” She gasped, sucking in a deep breath as a partial sob escaped her. “I can’t do this!”

  “Yes, you can, Goody” Dylan said, calling her by his pet name for her. I recognized the sounds of sirens coming from the outside. “I’m almost there. Just a couple more blocks.”

  “Tell me when you feel another contraction,” I said, reaching up and quickly flitting through a utensil draw until I found a small turkey baster. That would have to do if I needed to suck the airway.

  Carefully, I placed it on the edge of the towel I’d spread beneath Cami.

  “Ok. It’s starting again.” Cami groaned as she clenched her muscles. I heard the rig pull up outside and doors slam.

  “Cami?” Dylan practically slid across the wood floors trying to get to her side, tossing an open birthing kit toward me.

  “Here comes the head,” I shouted, grinning as it popped out in a gush of blood and water. Rotating the baby, the shoulders came through easily, followed quickly by the rest of the body.

  “I need the time of birth,” I said to no one in particular.

  “Eighteen hundred and twenty hours,” came a reply.

  Tying the cord off, I quickly grabbed the hand suction and began removing debris and vernex from the mouth, encouraging the baby to cry as I stimulated her, rubbing her with the towel, vigorously.

  “It’s a girl,” I pronounced, and everyone cheered.

  “Ready to cut the cord, Dad?” I asked, staring at Dylan.

  Hand shaking he lifted the pair of sterile scissors and cut.

  “Congratulations,” I said, handing the baby to Cami.

  Standing, I stepped away and let the on-call crew take over providing care. Cami and the baby where quickly transferred to a gurney together, while I gave the report.

  Dylan glanced at me. “Dude. I owe you so much. You have no idea.”

  “Get out of here. Go take care of your wife and baby. I’ll clean things up.”

  “Man, you’re the best. The best, Russ.” He pointed over at Evie and maintained eye contact with her as he pointed back to me. “The best. I mean it.”

  Laughing, I watch him walk down the steps, following his wife and baby into the back of the ambulance. Turning, I quickly grabbed a garbage bag, and began stuffing all the towels inside.

  “Surely you aren’t going to throw all those away?” she asked, horrified.

  “Yes. Cami and Dylan are plenty rich and they can afford to buy new towels. I am not washing these things.” Thankfully, all the mess had been contained to the towels, making clean up easy. Tossing my gloves into the trash, I washed my hands thoroughly at the sink.

  “Wasn’t your turkey baster and scissors in that stuff, too?”

  “I didn’t need them once I had the Birthing Kit, but again, all replaceable. I’m sorry. I could never use those scissors again without thinking where they’d been. That’s something I need to forget, immediately.” Glancing down, I caught a small spot that looked like it might be blood on my shirt. “Well, damn. I liked this shirt, but I guess it’s got to go, too.” I quickly unbuttoned and slipped out of it, glancing over at Evie as I did so.

  Her mouth was slack jawed, eyes roaming over my chest and abs. My body reacted instantly. “See something you like, Evie?” I wanted her to like it. Rules be damned.

  “You really are like this, aren’t you?” She stared at me wide-eyed.

  “Like what?” I was completely confused, but that didn’t stop me from stalking toward her.

  “A hero. This is all just second nature to you, isn’t it?”

  I loomed over her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. But I’m no hero.”

  She was out of space, her back against the wall and I pressed in as far as I could go without actually touching her. Her eyes burned into my chest. “You are to those that need you.” Her breath got shorter and she slowly dragged a hand over my pecs. “People like me,” she whispered.

  It was all the encouragement I needed. Capturing her mouth with mine, my hands reached lower, scooping her up so her back was against the wall and her legs wrapped around me. She held my head in her hands, kissing me frantically, as if everything we felt needed to be shoved into this one particular moment.

  “Evie,” I murmured against her lips. “I want you.” Arching her back, she simply moaned in reply. Everything was moving too fast, but I couldn’t take the tension between us anymore. I wanted her. Even if it was only one time—I wanted her.

  Fumbling at my waist, I managed to undo my pants and then pushed up her dress, tugging the scrap of lace covering her to the side and ente
ring her in one swift thrust. Breathing heavily, we both panted and shouted, her hanging on to me as I drove heavily into her—until we both cried out with release.

  For several moments I simply held her, my face buried in her neck as we tried to catch our breath.

  “I’m sorry,” I finally spoke. “I didn’t mean to lose control like that. There’s just been something between us that’s been driving me crazy. I have the hardest time staying away from you.”

  Sighing heavily, her warm breath filtered through my hair. “Russ, I can’t be your doctor anymore. I could lose my license for this.”

  Still I held her, unwilling to move away and relinquish her. “I understand. I don’t want you getting into any trouble because of me.” I kissed her exposed collarbone, knowing reality was causing her to cool quickly, but wishing I could somehow convince her to spend the night.

  “I . . . I need to go, Russ.” Her voice was nervous and she sounded scared. Carefully, I pulled back, my body groaning in protest at the loss of her warmth, and I helped her back to her feet. She swiftly straightened her dress, which just made me want to peel it off her even more.

  “Don’t be upset.” I stared at her, not even attempting to adjust my pants. “Stay the night. Don’t go.”

  Her eyes traveled lower before shooting back to look in mine. “I have to.” She scurried toward the door. “I’ll call you and we will talk this out. Just give me some time. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I replied, knowing there was nothing I could do. Pressuring her would only make it worse. “Try not to take too long.”

  Unmoving, I watched her hurry to her car and drive away. I had no idea how long I stared, only at some point I realized my pants were still hanging open and I was in front of the window. Quickly, I adjusted myself before grabbing my phone and dialing her number. It went straight to message.

  “Don’t feel bad, Evie. We both had wine, and then we were feeling celebratory. Things like that can happen. I don’t want you to feel ugly about this.” I paused, considering my next words. “If it helps at all, it was something I really wanted—really wanted with you.”