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When she saw him again, would he seduce her with more than his voice? Would he actually put his hands and his mouth on her? She’d loved the idea when she lay alone on her pallet at night, tuning out her father’s gentle snoring as she touched herself and tried to find the mythical pleasure called orgasm. Of course, she thought of Dr. Beckman then, too.
“Heavenly?”
Feeling herself blush, she blinked up at him. The doctor watched her every expression.
Gosh, here she was talking to one man she had less-than-platonic feelings for while fantasizing about the other. It happened whenever she was with either of them. Why did she have those feelings for them both? What did that make her?
A ridiculous girl with pie-in-the-sky fantasies.
“Yes. Sorry. Hi.”
Dr. Beckman stepped closer, dropping his voice. “Are you all right?”
“I’m good. Happy to see you.”
“How have you been?”
“Fine. You?”
He studied her more intently. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay at the party. I heard you left abruptly, too. What happened?”
Raine’s gathering had begun with so much promise…and ended so terribly when her father had called to say that he’d fallen near the kitchen and hit his head. “Nothing much. I didn’t stay long because a friend needed my help.”
“Before you left, I heard you and Seth were deep in conversation.”
“Yes.” She breathed the word more than spoke it. “We talked.”
Now Dr. Beckman scowled. “Did he come on to you?”
Did he ever…
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “He might have.”
“And?”
Heavenly was capable of taking care of herself, but she adored the way Dr. Beckman protected her. Maybe that was simply his nature or maybe he just felt sorry for the shy girl. If he thought she was too inept to take care of herself, she didn’t really want to know.
“Oh, don’t worry. It wasn’t creepy, like Dr. Manning. It was…nice. More than nice, actually.” She sighed. “No one has ever talked to me like that.”
She didn’t think he’d mind hearing about her feelings for another man since he’d never given her any romantic vibes. Even when Dr. Manning had accused him of wanting her, he’d totally denied it. While Raine was fast becoming a friend, Dr. Beckman was probably the best one she had right now. He listened so well… She needed to appreciate the rapport they shared and stop wishing for more.
“How did he talk to you?” he demanded. “What did he say?”
She wouldn’t repeat Seth’s words. They were private, his gift to her. Sure, he’d likely just been flirting to pass the time at a party where he didn’t know many of the guests, either. But his attention had meant the world to her.
“Things that made me feel pretty and special.” Not to mention sexy, which she’d never felt until that moment.
The doctor’s scowl deepened into something furious. Oops. He’d been clear about his opinion of the PI. Of course he wasn’t happy she hadn’t heeded his advice. Heavenly made a mental note not to mention Seth next time she saw Dr. Beckman.
“Um…I-I should go,” Heavenly said, though she hated to leave him.
“Wait. Listen to me, little girl. You—”
A honking horn interrupted whatever he’d been about to say. When she glanced up, she spied a familiar rental car at the curb—and an even more familiar face peering out from the open window, golden hair glinting in the California sunshine.
Seth.
He waved. Her heart jumped. She sent him an excited smile in return.
Dr. Beckman whirled to peer out the glass, then zipped back to her, looking irritated. “Did you know he was coming?”
“No.” Gosh, there was her breathless, dreamy voice again. “It’s a complete surprise.” But a nice one, so she shouldn’t keep him waiting. “You’re on vacation next week, right? Going to see family for Christmas?”
“Yeah.” He raked a hand through his hair before sidestepping to block her view of Seth. “I’ll be back on the thirty-first. You have plans for the holiday?”
“Staying here. I took a waitressing job to make some extra money. I have a silly uniform and I’ll be serving a bunch of big ol’ kids with sticky fingers.” Not for anything would she embarrass herself and tell an esteemed professional like Dr. Beckman that she had stooped to working at a place like Bazookas. “Not fun, but it will pay a few bills.” When Seth honked again, she smiled at the doctor before daring to step up on her tiptoes and kiss his cheek. “Have a great holiday. I hope we can resume our lunches when you get back. Bye.”
Before she could see whether her impulsive peck had annoyed him, she turned and pressed her hand to her suddenly tingling lips. Shoving aside the useless wish that he would have kissed her mouth, she ran out the hospital’s revolving door—and into Seth’s waiting arms.
He’d exited the car and now leaned up against the driver’s side. When he pulled her close, Heavenly’s heart thudded all over again. “What brings you here?”
