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But then, a woman she didn’t recognize stumbled out of the ballroom and wobbled right into Drake’s arms.
“Oh, good thing you’re right where I need you to catch me,” she said in a sultry voice.
With his hands on her shoulders, he steadied her.
“Why don’t you get your coat, and I’ll meet you in the lobby,” he said.
The woman let her hand skim down his chest and used his body to steady herself on her feet. “Don’t be long,” she said, ignoring Margo and walking off.
“Not exactly your type,” Margo said, unable to resist.
Drake narrowed his dark eyes, his thick lashes turning his stern look into a sexy smolder.
“I’m going to help her into a taxi before I head up to my room. You’re welcome to come up and check for yourself if you like,” he replied.
She thought he would walk away, but instead, he closed the space between them with a step in her direction. She backed up, only to collide with the narrow wall of the hall.
“A coworker doesn’t exactly seem like your type,” he challenged.
He knew she’d lied about Dalton being her date. She could tell by the playful smile and suspected the nurses probably ratted her out.
“I guess people change,” she said.
“Or maybe people never change,” he said, brushing away a strand of her dark hair that fell forward from the swoopy side part she styled earlier. “Maybe we’re all just looking for something we can’t recognize we already have,” Drake said.
A gasp escaped her mouth, and she was forced to watch with expectation as he took another step, eliminating any space between them. He was a mere breath away with one hand on the wall above her. She could duck under his arm, but she wanted to see what happened next.
“It’s too bad you have a date here,” he said, taunting her, his free hand lifted to her cheek where his thumb gently ran the length of her jaw.
Unable to resist his nearness, she reached up and gripped his black silk tie to bring him near. His lips were so close she could feel his breath on her cheek, his familiar scent mixed with spice invading her senses. Then his mouth was on hers, and she pressed up on her tiptoes to get closer. He bit down on her lower lip before she opened her mouth to him. His tongue plunged in to meet hers as if he knew exactly how to kiss her, which he did.
The sound of laughter and people approaching brought her to her senses, and she pushed him away.
“Why did you do that?” she said, wiping at her swollen lips.
“To prove my point,” he said, before wiping her red lipstick off his mouth.
Emotion swelled into her throat as the foyer outside the ballroom began to fill with people departing the event. They were surrounded by her colleagues, and she couldn’t fall apart or question him or she might burst into tears.
“Goodbye, Drake,” she said.
“Goodbye, for tonight,” he said, not moving as she skirted away from him.
She would need another dozen years before she saw him again because one kiss had thrown her right back into the sadness of losing him. But it was mixed with all the regret that she’d made the wrong decision all those years ago. Maybe she should have followed him to UCLA and taken a year or two off to save up so she could afford to attend the same medical program. Maybe they would still be together. But that was a useless game of what-if to play. They’d both made their choice.
Chapter Three
Drake
He was exhausted. Between the travel from LA, two days of lectures, meeting with the board at Mercy Hospital, the gala the night before, and a five-hour surgery under observation of the other plastic surgeons and resident students, he was spent. But there was a nagging desire to go down to the emergency room and see Margo again. He had a few more days in town consulting at Mercy before Thanksgiving with his family. There would probably be several opportunities to see her again. But for some reason, there was an urgency to see her now, and as much as possible. Even though he knew by Christmas he’d be back in LA. Too far from her, but that was the decision he made years ago. Then why was he on the elevator on his way to the ER with no idea what he was going to say?
He only made it a few feet before the residents that had been attending his lectures noticed him and glommed on.
“Dr. Maguire, any chance you would like to join us for a drink after our shift?” a young man that he remembered from both his lectures asked.
“I’m afraid I have dinner plans with my family that live near here, and if I don’t see my aunt and uncle, there will be hell to pay.”
He laughed. “Well, the world needs your talents, so you better make that dinner.”
