by the lake, of county fairs and high school football games.
All things American.
He’d been homesick yesterday and devastated after losing a patient in the E.R., and there she’d been. As if sent just to ease his pain. And she had. She’d sent him right over the edge.
And she was his hero’s daughter. The man who’d once saved his life. His daughter!
Hell, today had officially taken a nosedive.
He moved closer and held out his hand, forcing her to do the polite thing and take it. When she tried for a quick grip and release, he curled his fingers around hers and held on, his thumb gliding over her soft skin.
Where do you think you’re going, Miss Kate? No running away for you. Not this time.
She’d taken off out of that supply closet like a bat out of hell. Before he’d even finished catching his breath. Just like Cinderella. Only she hadn’t left a shoe behind. Just a pair of lacy panties, which he’d shoved into the pocket of his slacks before heading out the door. By then she had been long gone.
“Yes, Kate and I have already been...” he let his deliberate pause and raised brows get his message across, before completing the phrase “...thoroughly introduced.”
Her soft gasp said his inference had hit its mark.
Nick glanced from one to the other. “You have? When?”
“Yesterday,” she said, stretching the truth. Luke released her hand, watching as she took one step back, and then another. “I was looking for your room and he...helped me.”
Helped her.
Oh, he’d helped her all right. Right up onto the scrub sink in the corner of the tiny closet. After he’d hiked her skirt up around her waist. He swallowed. What had happened after that was a blur.
One he’d never forget for as long as he lived.
A muscle in his jaw clenched as he stared at her and said, “I didn’t know who you were at the time.”
“I—I know. And I’m sorry. I should have said something.”
So she had known he was Nick’s doctor, and probably that they were friends, as well. A wave of disappointment washed over him. He should be used to it by now. The “being used” part, that was. His mother hadn’t thought twice about using him to collect her monthly welfare checks, all the while earning a small fortune on the side by sleeping with other men. His father hadn’t hesitated before sending him into a store to pick up a thing or two—without paying for it, of course.
And now Kate.
As cynical as Luke thought he was, he hadn’t managed to see past those baby blues to the person beneath her melt-in-your-mouth sweetness.
And, damn, had she ever melted. The second his lips had met hers.
He hardened everything that wasn’t already hard. “Yes. You should have.”
She hadn’t been in the cafeteria this morning, like she had the past couple of mornings, so he’d assumed he’d never see her again. Yet here she was. All twitchy and apologetic. And the only thing he wanted to do was yank her out of the room and find that closet all over again.
Not going to happen.
Nick stretched his back. “Well, I should probably head in to my physical therapy session.”
That was his cue to leave. “And I have some patients to see so, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll head back.”
“Wait! I want to...”
When he turned his head to look at her, Kate’s teeth were digging into that delectable lower lip, as if trying to keep the rest of her sentence from coming out in a rush.
She glanced at Nick. “I’ll come back when you’re finished with therapy, if that’s okay.”
“Of course.” The other man touched her arm. “It was good to finally meet you in person.”
Well, Luke wasn’t the only sucker, it would appear. She’d had his savior fooled, as well.
By the time he realized she meant to follow him down the hallway, it was too late to stop her. So as soon as they were a safe distance away, he turned to face her, propping one shoulder against the long narrow wall in the hallway to take some of the pressure off his now aching leg.
Pale silky hair, with just the slightest hint of a wave, fell over her shoulders, caressing her collarbone with every turn of her head. He remembered licking along that very spot.
He forced his gaze back to her eyes. “Yes?”
“I...I wanted explain.” Her words tumbled over themselves. “I don’t normally... I don’t ever...” The flourish of a hand finished her thought.
She didn’t normally sneak off and “do” her father’s doctors?
“And you think I should know this because...?”
“I don’t want you to think badly of me.” Her hands caught each other, fingers twisting together.
She was nervous. Embarrassed by what they’d done. He stood upright before the realization could affect him. “I don’t really even know you, so why does it matter?”
She flinched. “I guess it doesn’t. But you’re Ni—my father’s doctor. I’d rather you didn’t say anything to him about yesterday.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not going to tell him?”
“I’m not Nick’s doctor. Not anymore.”
Her breath hissed out. “So you are going to tell him...about us?”
And risk being shipped home to the States on the first available flight out of London? Not likely. He’d fought too hard to get this position. “No, I’m not going to tell him.”
“Thank you.” Her whole body went slack with relief. “I appreciate it. How’s he doing, by the way? Was the surgery a success?”
That same feeling of unease washed over him. Surely she didn’t think their time together had been a game-changer? “I’m afraid I can’t give out that kind of information.”
“But I’m his daughter.”
“You’re not listed as his next of kin.”
“Because I’ve only just met the man.”
And Luke had just barely met her. That hadn’t stopped her from wrapping her legs around his waist. And it certainly wasn’t keeping him from wanting to relive that moment...a whole lot slower this time. Definitely not something he wanted her to know.
“That’s not my problem.”
“Okay, I get it. You can’t give me any details. But his life isn’t in danger anymore, right?”
Luke made a tsk noise low in his throat, trying to keep his irritation from showing. The feeling of being used grew at her persistence. “Get him to add you to his list of relatives, and then we’ll talk.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am.” Despite his annoyance, his fingers itched to brush across that smooth, pale cheek and watch it come to life beneath his touch. Except he knew her skin wasn’t the only thing that would come to life. Something else he didn’t want her to realize.
“So, if he’ll admit to being my father—in writing—you can tell me what’s going on?”
He inclined his head. “It’s a start. As long as he’s okay with it.” He held up a hand. “Which also has to be in writing.”
Her lips thinned. “And if he refuses?”
“Then I can’t tell