Chapter Eleven
Brushing his hand across his sweaty brow, Pesh leaned back against the glass door of the trauma area. As the adrenaline began depleting from his system, he needed to prop against something hard for support. Regardless of how physically drained he felt, he was emotionally on cloud nine. A beaming smile lit up his face as he stared across the room at the gurney. On it, a young woman was getting acquainted with her newborn son. She had been brought in just twenty minutes before after a car accident sent her into early labor. The paramedics had gotten her through the roughest patches, but thankfully, they had made it to the hospital in time. Because her labor was so advanced, they hadn’t risked getting her up to the Labor and Delivery floor. Instead, they’d wheeled her in, and Pesh had gone to work. It really was an amazing moment considering he’d only delivered three other babies in the history of his medical career. Each one was an experience he treasured.
The woman glanced up at him and smiled. “Thank you so much, Dr. Nadeen.”
“You’re very welcome. They will be taking you up to maternity in just a few minutes.”
As he stepped out of the room, he found himself ambushed by Kara, one of the shift nurses. “Hey there. How’s the good doctor doing today?”
The way she spoke was more of a purr, which was a pretty apt summation since she basically acted like she was a cat in heat anytime he was around. He cringed as she ran her hand up his arm. “It’s fine, thank you. How are you?” he questioned politely.
“I’m better now that I’ve seen you,” she replied.
“Yes, well, I need to go see about my next case.”
Her heavily painted lips turned down in a pout. “Aren’t you ever going to want to get a drink again?”
Inwardly, he groaned. In a moment of weakness when he was still reeling after what had happened with Megan, he had allowed her to talk him into getting a drink after work. Once turned into several times, and then he did the unthinkable. He had made out with her in his car under the faded lights of the bar’s neon sign. Well, making out didn’t quite sum up the fact that she had given him a blow job. Although he had vowed to never let anything like that happen again, he found himself walking a fine line around her whenever they were at work.
“Um, sure. Maybe. Things have been really busy.”
“I hope that you’ll free up some time. I really, really need a night out with you again.” Reaching around him, Kara did the unthinkable. She squeezed one of his ass cheeks. A gasp of shock behind him caused him to whirl around. Of all the people in the world that could have been standing there, it had to be Megan.
Pesh quickly jerked out from Kara’s reach. Megan’s eyes bulged at the two of them before she quickly looked away. With her head ducked, she started past them. The last thing in the world he needed was for something to be awkward between them. Without another word to Kara, Pesh turned and fell in step beside Megan. “What are you doing?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Nothing. Just walking with you. Is that a problem?”
Glancing over her shoulder at Kara, Megan said, “It looked like you were a little busy back there.”
With a grimace, he said, “The conversation and the contact were unwanted by me.”
Megan stared up at him. “Why am I not surprised by that?”
He eyed her curiously. “Just what do you mean?”
“You are not the type of man who does public displays of affection…or I should say lust.”
“Haven’t we already established that you shouldn’t try to typecast me? I don’t fit into any of the preconceived holes you have tried to put me in.”
“There is one hole that you remain firmly lodged in, and that is being a gentleman when it comes to women and sex.”
As much as he hated to admit it, she had a point about him being a gentleman. He touched her arm, urging her to stop. “Yes, I am a gentleman both in public and private. But let me address part of your assumption. When I am committed to a woman and she is committed to me, there is never a time I would reject public displays of affection or lust.”
Megan’s lips curved up in a smile. “So what you’re saying is you would actually grab your girlfriend’s ass in public?”
“Yes, I would.” Glancing around, he found them happily out of anyone’s earshot. “When I am truly committed to a woman, I have trouble keeping my hands off her regardless of where we are.”
“That’s good to know,” she replied, with a wink.
He couldn’t help the silly grin that filled his face as she hurried down the hall to join up with Kristi. He was making progress with her, wasn’t he? Surely Megan had to be seeing how much she enjoyed spending time with him in the hospital and would soon decide that she wanted more. His smile started to fade as he wondered if he was deluding himself.
With a resigned sigh, he made his way over to the reception bay to sign off on some charts. He eased down on a stool and immersed himself in the paperwork, so he didn’t have to think about Megan.
“Alpesh!” a voice across the room shouted. He snapped his head up. Without even looking over his shoulder, Pesh knew who the voice belonged to. Few people in his life addressed him by his full name, and no one in the hospital ever called him by his first name.
Slowly, he rose off his stool and turned around. His youngest brother, Dev, stalked toward him with a stormy expression plastered on his face. As the oldest of his three siblings, he had always felt a responsibility to look out for his two brothers and sister. While Arjan and Shveta had never given him any trouble, Dev, as the spoiled baby of the family, had been a challenge for both Pesh and his parents.
After experiencing teenage rebellion and a wayward early adult life, he had managed to get his wild ways under control when he was twenty-five. Dev had set his sights on a beautiful nurse Pesh had befriended when he was still a resident. Mia Martinelli had been through hell with an abusive boyfriend, so Pesh was reluctant to pair the two together. But at Dev’s continued insistence, Pesh fixed the two of them up. What followed was a three-year courtship and then engagement. Mia was accepted and loved by all of Pesh’s family. And then Dev had gone and thrown it all away by cheating on Mia. In her heartbreak, Mia had stayed close to Pesh, and he wanted her to be happy more than anything else in the world.
Pesh would have liked to have been surprised by his brother’s visit, but ever since he had been summoned to console Mia a few days before, he had been anticipating it. Truthfully, he had been bracing himself for his brother’s wrath. “Hello Dev,” he said, in a calm voice.
Shaking his head furiously, Dev said, “I just got a f*cking blow off text from Mia. When I tried calling her back to demand she explain herself, she couldn’t talk because she was in Mexico. With AJ.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.”
Dev’s dark eyes narrowed at Pesh’s confirmation. “So it’s true that you went to talk to her?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I can’t believe it.” He threw up his hands in frustration. “I didn’t want to believe anything Mia said, especially that it was you who helped her see that she shouldn’t give me a second chance and take me back—that she should make things work with AJ.”
“It’s all true. You and I both know Mia would never lie.”
“But how could you?” Dev demanded, in a strangled voice.
“I’m sorry, but I had to do what was best for Mia.”
Dev’s brows shot up. “And what about me? I’m your f*cking blood.”
With a sigh, Pesh replied, “I’m sorry, my brother, but blood or not, I couldn’t stand by and let you hurt her again—she’s been through too much.”
“I love her!” Dev shouted, which caused several of the nurses to spin around in shock.
“This is not the time nor the place to be having this discussion,” Pesh growled.
“I’m not going anywhere, so you better start explaining yourself before I really start a scene.”
Pesh shook his head. “Fine. You want the truth? Here is it. You only think you love Mia. You and I both know you cannot be faithful to a woman.”
“I could have for Mia.”
“You already failed her once. She deserved better.”
Dev narrowed his eyes. “What, are you f*cking her now?”
He grimaced at his brother’s choice of harsh words. “Of course I’m not. There’s never been anything amorous between Mia and myself. Thankfully, she’s back with the man she loves—the father of her unborn child.”
“But I need her,” Dev insisted, his voice taking on a plaintive tone.
“I’m sorry, but I think it’s best if you moved on. Most of all, baby brother, I think you need to do a lot of soul searching and maturing before you even think about getting in another relationship.”
Dev’s eyes widened. “You…You f*cking bastard!” he shouted. Pesh was debating calling security to remove his unruly brother when he was knocked off his stool by Dev’s right hook to his jaw. He tumbled backward and crashed onto the floor. Before Dev could do something like kick him when he was down, Megan appeared and wedged herself between them.
“I think you better leave before I call security,” she demanded.
Pesh struggled to his feet as Megan came into Dev’s line of fire. He couldn’t bear if Dev hurt her in his anger just because she had taken up for him. Dev stared down at Megan with a smirk. “So my brother needs some pint-sized p-ssy defending him now? Word to the wise, sweetheart, don’t waste your time on him. He’s only got a boner for his dead wife.”
A deep growl erupted in Pesh’s throat as he lunged for his brother. But he never made it. Instead, Megan’s fist cracked into Dev’s jaw. The impact didn’t take him off his feet, but he did stagger backwards. Even as she flailed her wrist back and forth from the obvious pain, Megan still managed to bellow, “Get the hell out of here. Now.”
Dev stared at her in shock as he rubbed his jaw. “Crazy bitch,” he muttered, before stalking off.
When Megan turned to him, her glowering expression faded to one of concern. “You’re bleeding!” she cried, rushing for him.
His hand came up to grip his cheek. Surprise flooded him when he felt wetness. Dev must’ve hit him harder than he thought. He slid his jaw back and forth, causing him to grimace at the popping sound. “Come here,” Megan said, grabbing his hand.
She started leading him over to one of the examining rooms, but he jerked back. “I don’t need all this fuss.”
Megan shook her head. “We need to get you cleaned up.”
Resignedly, he followed her into the room. For the first time in a long time, he found himself on the opposite line of care. He eased down onto the examining table. “Really, Megan, this isn’t necessary.”
As she busied herself taking out gauze, cotton balls, and antiseptic, she replied, “Quit your bitchin’.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. At what must have been his incredulous expression at her word choice, she grinned. “That’s right. Just shut up and let me take care of you.”
“When you put it like that, how can I not?” he teased.
Her laughter warmed his heart. Deep down, he was pleased to find her so attentive to him. She obviously really cared about him if she insisted on cleaning him up. Or was she just attentive because she was a great nurse? But then there was the fact she punched Dev for insulting him. Of course, that was also mortifying. Did that mean she questioned his manhood since he didn’t go toe-to-toe with his brother? God, what she must think of him now.
As he allowed Megan to treat his cuts, his thoughts turned to Dev’s last verbal punch. He grimaced about Dev’s alluding to the fact he was in love with a ghost. Was that what stopped Megan from believing his attraction to her? Was she really hiding her commitment phobia behind a belief that he was still completely in love with his wife?
His feelings gave him away when Megan asked, “Are you hurting?”
“No, I’m fine.” When she gave him a skeptical look, he replied, “It’s more the fact that I’m angry than I am physically hurt.”
“So what exactly was all that about?” she asked, as she dabbed some antiseptic along his jawline.
He winced when the medication hit the broken skin. “My brother is angry with me.”
Megan snorted. “No shit.” She held the cotton ball frozen as she eyed him curiously. “What I’m wondering is what got him so fired up that he would stomp into a hospital, call you out, and then punch you? You are the last person on earth I would imagine being in a fight.”
“The reason is so cliché,” he murmured.
“Enlighten me,” she urged.
“He’s a petulant child who didn’t get his way—he’s lashing out at me because he thinks it’s all my fault.”
“I heard the name Mia. Was it all about a woman?”
“Yes, that’s why I called it cliché.” He sucked in a harsh breath before filling Megan in about what all had transpired between him, Dev, and Mia.
“Wow,” she murmured, when he finished.
“I suppose that is all one can say about the situation.”
“You were awfully kind to take care of her like you did—I mean, with both her abusive ex-boyfriend and Dev.”
He shrugged. “What else was I supposed to do? I cared for her, and I wanted to see her happy.” At the look that flashed in Megan’s eyes, he quickly added, “There was no amorous love between us. I was happily married at the time, and she desperately needed someone to be strong for her.”
Megan cupped his unhurt cheek in her hand. “You really are the most decent man I’ve ever known.”
“I don’t know about that,” he murmured.
“You truly are.” She shook her head. “No wonder women are so crazy about you. It’s one thing for you to be so good-looking and a smart doctor, but then when you add in the fact of how sweet, caring, and compassionate you are, it’s like you’re a triple threat.” She turned to throw the cotton ball into the trash can.
His heartbeat thrummed louder and louder at her words while he sat unblinking and unmoving. Part of him wanted to rail at her for not seeing him like all the other women did. If she truly saw what others did, then she would want to date him, wouldn’t she? Why couldn’t she see how good he could be for her?
When Megan met his tense gaze, she jerked back and momentarily faltered by dropping the piece of gauze in her hand. She quickly deposited the soiled one in the trash and then got another one. “So this Mia chick, she’s run off with some drummer, huh?” she asked, clearly trying to change the subject and lighten the mood in the room.
“Not just any drummer. A famous one at that.”
“Really? What band?”
Pesh’s cocked his head as he tried remembering. “Something train.”
Megan gasped. “Not Runaway Train?”
He snapped his fingers. “That’s it.”
Clapping her hand to her chest, Megan’s eyes widened. “You know someone who knows AJ Resendiz?”
Pesh laughed. “I suppose I do if you consider that’s Mia’s fiancé.”
“That is so wild. I love that band.”
“I’ll see if I can get you an autograph.”
With a squeal, Megan said, “Really? That would be amazing.”
“Anything for the woman who is willing to risk her life for me.”
Megan laughed. “It was nothing.”
“What about your hand?”
“I’m not going to lie. It hurts. I kinda forgot what punching someone felt like.”
Pesh couldn’t help his brows from rising in surprise. “Have you done a lot of fighting?”
She grinned. “Not exactly MMA material, am I?” When he merely shook his head, she replied, “I may have thrown a few punches in my early college partying days when a guy overstepped his bounds.”
With a smile, Pesh said, “Good for you.”
“Yeah, my dad was really big on teaching me self-defense moves. You know, with him being ex-military.”
Pesh couldn’t help liking Megan’s strength and spunk. He hadn’t known a lot of women like her. In his world, women were bred to be demure and obedient. Even though Jade wasn’t Indian, she would’ve never dreamed of throwing a punch to defend him against Dev. But Megan, she was so refreshing with her ability to stand up for herself and others—to voice her mind whether it was good or bad.
“You would have made your father very proud today.”
“Thank you. I’m sure later on today when my knuckles are bruising, he’ll want to know why.”
“I’m very sorry.” He took her hand in his before bringing it to his lips. “Here’s a kiss to make any bruises go away.”
She gave him a teasing smile. “Is that the best medicine you can do, Dr. Nadeen?”
His mind went wild with illicit images of all the “medicine” and “healing” he could give her. A chaste kiss to alleviate her pain was all he could really offer. His pager went off before he could reply. “I better go.” He hopped off the table and started for the door. As his hand hovered over the doorknob, there were so many things he wanted to say to her. But finally, he just said, “Thanks again for taking care of me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And you should probably ice your hand during your break tonight.”
“Yes sir,” she replied, with a mock salute.
He shook his head at her with a smile before heading out the door.