“Of course not.” Her eyes said she just didn’t believe Carly.
“Okay, but how am I to get Noah his phone?” No response. The nurse was well-trained. “I suppose I can call him and see if he will tell me where he is.”
“You can do that from the lobby.”
“Fine. But you can tell him for me that I don’t appreciate wasting my time on running errands so he can be all mysterious and paranoid.” She dialed her old Manhattan apartment and waited through the message announcing that this number was no longer in service, all the while scanning the hallway for clues.
Finally, Carly made a face and hung up. “I’ve a million things to do beside play errand girl for Mr. Tall Dark-Hearted Attitude.”
“He is good-looking, isn’t he?”
Got cha! But she didn’t let on, only shrugging. “You’ll have to ask someone else. We’re cousins. Now about seeing him. Can’t I just slip him the phone? I promise not to breathe on him, or anything.”
For the first time the nurse looked indecisive. “I’ll have to check. You stand right here while I make a call.”
It was the call that told Carly she’d get through to her quarry. The nurse was no match for Carly Harrington-Reese on a mission. As a once up-and-coming model—read that poor and unknown—she’d learned to talk her way around bouncers and through security and into the most exclusive clubs and private parties in six different world capitals. But this time she didn’t feel good about lying. This wasn’t a party, or a game. A man had tried to commit suicide, which was sad. But how dare he burn his dog alive in the process.
But maybe life was telling her it wasn’t her place to deliver that message.
A woman dressed in jeans, boots, and a thick mane of blonde hair worn by only a certain breed of Texas woman, and the singer Adele, pushed open a patient’s room door at the far end of the hall. “You know how long it takes to check out of a hospital, Noah. I’m going to your place and grab some clothes. Bet I’m back before the paperwork is signed.” She let go of the door and came down the hall directly toward Carly.
She offered Carly a big smile and a “Hi there” as she passed.
On an impulse she couldn’t explain, Carly blurted out, “Do you know Noah Glover?”
The woman stopped, her expression now as intimidating as the nurse’s had been. “Why?”
Carly offered the woman her best smile. “I’m a friend.”
The woman gave Carly an up-and-down glance, taking in every piece of clothing. “Is that so?”
It suddenly hit Carly that she might be talking to the man’s wife. “Look, I don’t mean to intrude, but I’m the woman who found Mr. Glover unconscious just before the fire started last night.” And I want to yell at him for almost torturing his dog. But she probably shouldn’t admit that.
The woman’s expression brightened. “You saved my brother?”
Glover’s sister! “Yes. I was working late in my shop next door when—”
The woman had thrown her arms around Carly and was squeezing her, hard. “Thank you. Thank you. You saved my little brother’s life.”
She let Carly go, backing away quickly. She wiped tears from her eyes, smearing her mascara. “I’m so sorry. I don’t usually go in for big displays of emotion.”
“That’s all right.” Carly handed her a tissue from her pocket. “He’s okay, isn’t he?”
“Ornery as a bear with a sore tooth. But he’s fine otherwise. You go right in and introduce yourself. I’ve got a couple of errands to run.”
“I wanted to but the nurse said—”
“You let me handle the nurse.” She patted Carly on the arm and after giving her the number moved on down the hall toward the elevators, boot heels clacking.
Carly didn’t even look back over her shoulder before heading toward the door. She hadn’t exactly lied about why she was here. Okay, she had. But she was compelled by a moral urgency that wouldn’t be denied.
She knocked softly at the door. When she didn’t hear a reply, she hesitated. Maybe he had fallen asleep. Doubtful, the way his sister’s voice carried. But, just in case, she pushed the door open carefully. Despite the sunny morning outside, this room was dim. A curtain was pulled halfway around the bed to shield it from the door. “Mr. Glover?”
“I told the last nurse I’m not giving any more blood. Go away.” That hoarse voice sounded vaguely familiar.
Carly stepped past the curtain to look at the figure on the bed. Only he wasn’t on the bed. He must have just come out of the shower because his hair gleamed with beads of water dripping from his hair. But that wasn’t the most significant fact.
He was naked. Standing by the bed, his back to her, with phone in hand.