“I’m not letting you out of here until you let me apologize.” Though it nearly choked him to say it, it was the right thing to do.
Surprise covered her face for an unguarded second, and her pupils dilated at the rush of pleasure his words caused. When her lips parted, they drew his attention. If he were a different man in a different situation, he wouldn’t have hesitated to close the gap between them and find out how soft her lips were. If he were a different man, he’d take her in his arms and press her length against his. But he wasn’t, and he didn’t. He couldn’t.
When she blinked and looked at him with a softening in her expression that made him want more than anything to take that step, he choked down that feeling of want that she unknowingly stirred in him. The muscles in his arms trembled from the effort of holding himself back. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he began to lean forward, began to make that move toward her. Something in him held back and he froze.
They remained locked in that position for a few more seconds until Miguel slid his hand down the door to the knob. If he didn’t hold on to something he was going to make a move he’d likely regret.
“I’m sorry, Vicky. I should have listened to you before I jumped to conclusions. I was irritated at being late and starting out the day so far behind in patients. It won’t happen again, I promise.” He took a step back from her and drew in a deep breath, shaken by the memories that statement roused. “I overslept this morning, which always puts me in a foul mood.”
“I accept your apology, but the coffee situation is totally your fault.”
“What?” Now that certainly got his attention. “How?”
“After you fixed my car with the plunger, you said that when working around here you had to be creative.” She let out a small laugh and the tension visibly left her shoulders. “After that awful coffee you made me yesterday, I decided to get creative with that first.” A shrug lifted her shoulders. “Didn’t hurt to ask my friend, you know?”
A grin split Miguel’s face and he relaxed, too. “Okay. I’ll take responsibility for that.”
A light rap on the door made them both jump, as if they had been guilty of doing something other than talking.
“We’ve got patients out here,” Carlos said through the door.
“Oh, dear.” Vicky pulled the door open and nearly collided with the assistant. “Sorry, Carlos. We had to get something straightened out.”
“Yeah. And thanks for the coffee,” he said. “Everybody loves it.”
“That’s great.”
“Think you could do something about doughnuts next?” The young man grinned and raced off to collect the next patient.
Vicky laughed. “He’s a great kid, isn’t he?” she asked Miguel as they left the lounge.
“He is. I hope he stays.”
“Why wouldn’t he stay?”
“He’s got bigger dreams than this clinic. At this point he thinks he wants to be a doctor. He’s got a long road ahead, if he really pursues it.” Miguel sighed, having already walked the path that Carlos wanted to take.
“You did it, why couldn’t Carlos?” she asked. “Seriously. There’s the state-funded lottery program he could apply for. As long as he graduated from high school, it’s guaranteed for college, right?”
“Yes. I just hope he doesn’t get … distracted.” The way his brother had, which had led to his demise.
“Well, guess we need to get back to the patients for now, and work on Carlos’s future later, right?”
“Yes.” He was pleased that they had solved the issue so quickly and so well and were right back to their professional roles. Contacting a coffee service for a donation wasn’t something that would have occurred to him. Maybe someone who came from a different background could be beneficial to the clinic. Time would tell.
“Why don’t you try the coffee?” she asked, and poured him a cup which he accepted, his fingers brushing over hers.
“I’m afraid my taste buds might keel over from exposure to real flavor,” he said, but took a sip anyway. He groaned in reluctant delight. “Be sure to thank your friend for me. This is fabulous.”
Vicky flushed with pleasure at his reaction. No man in her life had ever been as satisfied with something as simple as a cup of coffee. “I will.” She dashed off into a patient room.
CHAPTER FIVE
ONLY after Vicky got home that evening did she allow herself to relive the moments when Miguel had trapped her in the lounge. She’d been horribly angry at him. At first it had seemed that he was treating her exactly the same way her father and brothers did, as if she didn’t have a brain in her head. The same way her ex-husband had treated her. But then Miguel had changed and listened to her. He had been so close, so masculine, so very attractive and totally off-limits. He’d said it would never happen again. That’s what had dissolved her anger. She wanted to believe him, but trust came so hard to her. After the life-changing experience with her former husband, trust was not something she handed out like candies. She’d put her trust and faith in a man, supposedly for the remainder of her life, and with that weapon he’d turned her world upside down.
Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind to take the image further than it had gone in the lounge. If she had raised her face just right, if he had reached out just so, it would only have taken an inch or two before their lips had met. Vicky melted into the dream for a second, wondering just what a kiss with Dr. Torres would be like.
The phone rang and she jumped, and the fantasy spiraled away. Before picking up the phone, she checked the caller ID. It was her brother, Edward.
“Hey, Eddy.”
“You’re the only one in the world that calls me that, you know.”
She heard the affectionate irritation in his voice, and she smiled. “That’s ‘cos I’m your little sister. You’ll always be Eddy to me, no matter how successful you are as a big-shot designer.”
“Just, please, don’t call me that around anyone in the business. I’d never live it down.”
“Hey, I just had an idea. You could create a whole new line of clothing for kids called Eddy Wear, or something like that.” How strange. That idea had never occurred to her before and a little bubble of pleasure rippled through her. Then she bit her lip, waiting for his response. He’d never taken suggestions from her before, so why would he now?
He chuckled. “That’s funny, Victoria.” He chuckled again. “Really funny, but I’ll have to think about that one, if you don’t mind.”
She mentally sighed, knowing that she would always be the little sister with ideas that never went anywhere to him. “So, what’s up? Why are you calling? I know it wasn’t to get fashion advice.”
“You are so right. I was wondering if you’d like to come to a little dinner engagement with me.”
Another sigh escaped her. He always called on her when he needed a date. He was married to his design business, jetting off for meetings and shows in New York and Europe, so dating was a chore for him. “What, when, where and all that stuff?”
Edward gave her the details, and she checked her calendar. Two weeks’ time on a Friday night. She certainly didn’t have a date either. “Sure.”
“Great! I’ll send a few new designs for you to choose from, and the limo will pick you up at six-thirty.” Always one to take advantage of publicity opportunities, Eddy insisted that she wear his designs at these outings of his and anytime they were at an event together. Fortunately, nothing was indecent or had too many frills, and always complimented her figure, so how