but I do pride myself on being perceptive. Or at least I used to be.” That had been until Alex Rodriguez had been brought in to take the department head position that Ryan had been so sure was his. “Anyway, we’re not talking about me.”
She pulled her coat and scarf off the back of her chair. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings but it needed to be said. Now, if you’ll excuse me...?” She stepped toward him as if hoping to intimidate him into letting her pass.
He shook his head. “Not until you explain.”
She dropped into a desk chair. He took the chair closest, propping his elbows on his knees and facing her.
“Sharing wasn’t outlined in the co-ordinated patient care manual. Can’t you just let it go?”
“You owe me an explanation for your attack.” That at least got a contrite look from her. Was he losing his mind? He didn’t confide in people and he didn’t get involved in another person’s personal life.
“You’re going to make me say it?”
He nodded.
“Miguel’s mother isn’t really his mother.”
“Miguel?” His brows dipped. He was completely lost.
“Your newest patient.” Her voice had a tone of impatience and a touch of disappointment.
He was catching up. What did Miguel have to do with her problem? “Oh, yes, Miguel Rivera.”
“His mother is really his aunt.”
She wasn’t usually this vague. His puzzled look must have indicated he had no idea of the significance of that statement.
“I carried a baby for my sister and her husband. I had in vitro fertilization,” she said quietly.
Being a surrogate for her sister had been Lucy’s ultimate pleasure. Handing over the baby she’d carried her greatest pain. In order to survive emotionally, she’d left. Emily was her sister’s baby, not her own. No matter how much her heart screamed differently.
She stood and said in a flat voice, “Now can I go?”
Ryan’s eyes widened. He blinked and shifted slightly, as if he was formulating his words carefully. “Of all the things I might have thought you’d say, that wasn’t one of them.”
To voice the words had been painful, but there was something freeing about having said them. She couldn’t believe she’d told Ryan of all people. He’d more than once proved he couldn’t connect on an emotional level. If she had been going to confess to someone, he wouldn’t have been her choice. She’d only shared her pain because he’d caught her in a weak moment and he’d insisted.
Still, being new to town and working long hours, he was the closest person to a friend she had. He was the only soul other than Mr. Volpentesta that she saw regularly. That thought was so sad she didn’t take time to analyze it for fear she would start crying. Here she was revealing her deepest pain to someone who hadn’t wanted her even taking up his time just a few days earlier.
Ryan stood. “I’ve heard of women being surrogates, but I’ve never known anyone that has done it.”
She’d obviously shocked him. For some reason she felt the need to make him understand. “My twin sister Alexis and her husband Sam tried to conceive for years. When Alexis asked me if I would carry their baby, I couldn’t turn her down. Didn’t want to...” The words trailed off. If I’d known...
His eyes widened as if he suddenly saw the picture clearly. “So when Miguel’s mother said she was really his aunt, it hit too close to home?”
She nodded. “It almost killed me to give Emily up.” She looked at her hands clasped around her purse.
“Emily?”
“My ba—uh...niece.”
He placed a large hand on her shoulder. The heat from him seeped into her, easing some of the ache. As if he’d realized what he was doing, he let his hand fall away.
“That must have been hard.”
Ryan sounded sincere but a little unsure. Her head spun. Was this the same doctor she’d had a heated confrontation with just an hour earlier about being compassionate? She’d never seen this side of him with the families. Maybe what happened tonight had knocked some of that crustiness off. She looked into his gorgeous blue eyes that compelled her to continue.
“My head said she didn’t belong to me, but my heart said differently. I made the fatal mistake of starting to think of her as mine.” She’d shared all she could. Her nerves were raw.
“You didn’t want to give her up.”
She couldn’t have been more surprised. He understood. “That’s why I took this job, to get away. Had to figure out how to get my life back. I’d like to go home now.”
He opened the door. “Put on your coat. I’m going to see you home.”
* * *
Ryan delayed until he was sure Lucy had made it safely inside her apartment. She’d insisted that he not walk up with her so instead he’d had the taxi wait until he saw her light come on.
He was on an emotional overload. If it had been a warmer day, he’d be sweating. He’d felt more and cared more than he’d wanted to in the last twelve hours. Taken a double shot. All of a sudden he’d been forced to support a family and had later become Lucy’s confessor.
He’d been more in touch with others’ emotions than he had been since his father’s death. His father’s debilitating disease had not only taken him but had slowly taken Ryan’s soul as well. He couldn’t let himself be pulled into that eddy again. He would be back to going round and round. If he didn’t feel, didn’t care, then it didn’t hurt. Supporting someone emotionally was beyond his ability any more.
Today he’d stepped too close to the edge. At Lucy’s pronouncement and the troubled look in her eyes, he’d almost gone over that edge. Only through fist-clenching control had he not taken Lucy in his arms.
They’d both stepped over the professional line today. After the emotional flood Lucy had experienced, would she be able to handle her job? She was supposed to be there to support and care for Miguel’s family. Could she maintain that openness that made her so effective?
Lucy was worming her way into his life so effortlessly that she would begin to expect something he couldn’t give to both her and his patients. She’d want everything and he had nothing. He had to step back a pace. Keep their relationship professional only. It was up to him to make it happen.
The problem came down to whether he had the strength to remain distant when he looked into those stunning jeweled blue eyes misted over with unhappiness.
* * *
Lucy hadn’t heard from Ryan over the weekend. She’d not really expected to but she’d hoped he would at least call and check on her. It had felt good to share her burden with him. Just talking about Emily had made it easier. There had been a time she couldn’t have uttered the words. Now at least she could think about Emily without crying. If Ryan hadn’t insisted she talk, she might still be stymied by the pain. It wasn’t gone but it had eased.
On Monday she didn’t see Ryan until evening rounds and there was no opportunity to talk to him outside of giving reports on the patients.
They were just finishing up when Ryan announced to the group, “Miguel Rivera’s surgery is scheduled for tomorrow first thing.”
“I helped walk the mother through the insurance process and found them a place to stay while Miguel’s in ICU,” Lucy reported.
Ryan gave her a curt nod that held none of his usual humor. It was as if they were strangers again who knew nothing about each other and never intended to. He laughed and joked with the other staff members but hadn’t even spoken to her directly. This was