Hollywood House Call

Twelve



Noah walked down the hallway of the assisted-living facility toward Thelma’s room. Her door was slightly ajar and he eased it all the way open to find her sitting in her favorite recliner, asleep. Her color wasn’t too good today and it wasn’t the first time he’d noticed she was looking more run-down.

As a doctor, he knew she probably didn’t have much time, but as the one person who was the closest thing she had to family, the thought seeped into his heart and left a gap that he feared might never close. This was just another piece of Malinda he couldn’t hang on to. Not that he wanted to hang on to those nightmare memories, but he wanted desperately to cling to the good times, the dreams they’d shared before drugs murdered their life together.

Noah eased into the room and closed the door. The slight click of the knob had Thelma stirring. She looked up at him and smiled.

“I didn’t know I was going to have such a handsome visitor today. What’s your name, honey?”

He laughed. Apparently, she wasn’t lucid today, but he found it kind of cute at her age she still had that flirty spunk left in her.

“It’s Noah, Thelma.” He took a seat in the small wooden armchair next to hers. “You remember me. I’m engaged to Malinda. Your granddaughter.”

She studied his face for a moment and he didn’t think she’d register the names, but finally a slow smile spread across her wrinkly face. “Oh, my beautiful Malinda. Why isn’t she here? Is she working?”

“No, she couldn’t make it today.”

Thelma’s smile held. “Well, can you tell her to stop by? I miss seeing her. She’s all I have left of my own daughter.”

Noah knew Malinda’s mother had been gone several years before he’d met Malinda, and Noah hated that Thelma was struggling with that pain all over again. Every time her memory was jogged, she had to relive losing her daughter all over again. There was no way he could tell her about Malinda. He’d let the woman go on believing.

“I’ll see what we can do,” he assured her. “But I want to know how you’re feeling.”

Thelma shrugged. “I’m okay. Um…could you call Malinda? I’d really like to talk to her.”

That was a first. Usually he could dodge the question of bringing her in, and she’d never asked him to call her.

“She’s busy today,” he lied. “I promise she misses you, too.”

Thelma nodded and grabbed his hand between her frail ones. “She’s such a sweet girl. And to be engaged? I bet she’s so happy. I can’t wait for the wedding. I know my Malinda. She’ll be a beautiful bride.”

Noah swallowed the lump that crept up with the image. Yeah, she would’ve been a beautiful bride. A beautiful wife. Had she stayed clean.

“She always played dress-up when she was little,” Thelma went on. “She wanted to be an actress and she would dress up in different costumes and show off. Most of the time she played a bride and would come down the stairs with a pillowcase on her head as her veil.”

Noah could easily picture a young Malinda playing dress-up. Acting had been her thing for as long as he’d known her. And eventually that was what killed her.

And he was shocked to realize that for the first time since he’d been coming here alone, the memories didn’t hurt nearly as badly. He knew Callie coming into his life was easing that hurt, that guilt. Little by little, Callie was making his life better.

“Did you eat breakfast today?” he asked her, silently pleading for her to dodge the topic.

She pursed her lips and let his hand ease away from hers. “Hmm…I’m sure I did, but I can’t recall what it was. Fruit, maybe?”

Because so many patients with Alzheimer’s forgot to eat, he wanted to make sure she was getting enough calories. “How about if I get you some juice and yogurt?”

“I don’t think I have any,” she told him.

He moved to her small fridge in the kitchenette and opened it. “I brought a few things over the other day. You have yogurt or cheese and crackers. What would you like?”

“The yogurt, please.”

He put it on the small tray and set it on her lap, then went back to get her some juice. He’d wait until she ate and drank it all. He knew it wasn’t much, but it was something and he’d been asking the staff to watch her at meals to make sure at least half her plate was clean.

Even as she ate her yogurt, she kept bringing up Malinda. Noah merely nodded and smiled.

But it was so hard to picture Malinda, not because she’d been gone a little over a year, but because when he imagined anyone, it was Callie whose image appeared in his mind.

Guilt slid through him. Did that mean she was replacing Malinda? Could he truly be that heartless? Or was his mind telling him to finally move on, to let go of something, someone who would never be his?

Every time he thought of Callie, the same erotic visual flooded his mind from last night. Callie leaning over his new pool table. Callie spread out on the pool table. Callie wrapped around him on the pool table. He hadn’t wanted to let her go when she’d gone up to bed alone.

God, he honestly hadn’t meant to cross the line from doctor to man with her, but there was nothing he could’ve done to stop it. He’d seen the inevitable coming and had warned her, and himself, what to expect, but he’d never expected their uniting to be so powerful, so…memorable. So, yeah, apparently he was replacing Malinda, but not in his heart. He didn’t even know if there would ever be room for another woman to fill that gaping hole.

But Callie’s warmth and sweet spirit, which was slowly easing back, made him think things he probably shouldn’t. And he’d gotten so used to her being in his home, always there when he thought of her. He could admit to himself how much he enjoyed her company on a personal level…sex aside.

Thelma laughed and brought his attention back.

“What?” he asked.

“You have the most peaceful smile on your face,” she told him. “I’ve seen that look. You’re in love.”

Noah started to deny it, but Thelma assumed he’d been thinking about Malinda—the woman he had been completely in love with.

He just laughed instead of commenting. What could he say that wouldn’t be a bald-faced lie?

“I remember when I fell in love with my William.” She took a sip of her juice and grinned. “He was the most handsome man ever. Almost as handsome as you.”

“Thanks.”

“My granddaughter has good taste,” she told him. “We don’t pick out the ugly ones, but we definitely make sure they’re gentlemen, too. I know you’re going to treat my Malinda right, like a good husband. Caring for her and providing for her, that’s what she needs. She’s vulnerable at times, but you’re a strong man. I’m so happy she found you.”

Noah came to his feet. He couldn’t sit here any longer and listen to her go on and on about what a good provider and caring man he was. He wasn’t any of those things or Malinda would still be alive.

“Thelma, I have a meeting and need to be going, but I promise to come back tomorrow.” He took her tray and set it in the kitchenette. “Is there anything else you need before I go?”

She smiled up at him and shook her head. “Just make sure to bring my Malinda by and tell her I love her.”

Noah nodded, kissed her on the cheek and left. Good God. He couldn’t keep doing this. How did he release this guilt of letting down not only Malinda, but Thelma? He was a fake, sitting in there smiling, laughing with his dead fiancée’s grandmother.

He was a doctor, a profession known for healing people, but right now he felt like a complete failure. And he’d failed the one woman who loved him. He refused to fail Callie, too.

* * *

Callie slid her cell back into the pocket of her shorts and resisted the urge to throw something or just break down and cry.

When she’d called her mother to see how her parents were, Callie knew something was wrong. After getting her father on the phone, he claimed a storm had come through and torn off a piece of their roof. He’d put a tarp over it and was hoping to be able to at least patch just that part even though they couldn’t afford to do the entire house just yet.

Life was fickle. Either everything was puppy dogs and rainbows or blow after blow kept knocking you down.

On a sigh, she walked down the hall of Noah’s house toward the workout room. It had been a while since she’d been on the treadmill because she’d been so afraid to jar her shoulder. But if she just put the setting on a fast walk, she wouldn’t be bouncing so much, and honestly, it wasn’t hurting at all today. Besides, she really needed that stress reliever so she could clear her mind.

She assumed Noah wouldn’t mind if she used this room. He’d never said otherwise.

Callie entered the gym and smiled. The man had thousands of dollars of equipment in here and all she’d ever seen him use was the heavy bag in the corner. She moved to the bag and used her left hand to give it a bit of a shove. Yeah, no wonder they were called heavy bags. And no wonder Noah’s arms looked so, so fine. They’d felt pretty fine, too, beneath her fingertips as she’d gripped them while—

She closed her eyes and sighed. What was she doing? Seriously. She was living in her boss’s home, letting him care for her, getting intimate with him all the while knowing he wouldn’t commit to her beyond the present. He’d said as much, and to be honest, she didn’t want to be with someone in a committed relationship when they were holding so many secrets inside. Secrets that were obviously still very painful. So painful he couldn’t even mention them.

Or maybe that was the problem. Maybe he just didn’t want to mention them to her.

“You look like I feel.”

Callie jerked her head up and looked in the mirror-lined wall to see Noah’s reflection as he stood in the open doorway. He looked ready for a workout with his running shoes, knit shorts and no shirt. The tattoo of a dragon slid over his shoulder and down onto one pec. He only had one tattoo, but that piece of art really showcased some nice, well-toned muscles.

“Bad day?” she asked, still looking at him in the mirror since he remained in place.

He nodded. “I just got back from the assisted-living facility.”

“You go nearly every day. I never wanted to pry, but…do you have a family member there?”

“You could say that. We’re not blood related, but I’m all she has.”

A piece of Callie’s heart melted. Did the man have any flaws?

“Is she worse?” Callie asked. “Sorry, not my business. You just look…worried.”

He ran his hands over his face and sighed as he moved into the room. “She’s got Alzheimer’s and some days are worse than others. She keeps wanting to see her granddaughter.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Noah rested his hands on his hips. “Her granddaughter passed away a little over a year ago.”

“Oh, God. That’s terrible. What happened?”

Noah glanced to the floor and shook his head. “A senseless accident that should’ve been prevented.”

Alarm bells went off in her head. Was this “accident” the cause of the nightmare that plagued his life?

“Can you avoid the topic with her?” Callie asked.

“I’ve tried. Every time I visit, I dodge it, but that’s the one thing she’s noticed is missing from her life. Of all the things she’s forgotten, she’s never forgotten Malinda.”

“Families have strong bonds,” she murmured. “Some stronger than others.”

Noah tipped his head. “Everything okay back home?”

She wasn’t ashamed of her background, but she’d never really gotten into the whole situation about how her father lost his job and her mother had to take on an extra one. There was no need to pull out the “I was a poor kid” card. She didn’t want pity from anyone. For any reason.

“Not really,” she told him honestly. “I may have to go home for a few days.”

His brows drew in. “What’s wrong?”

Callie shrugged, not wanting to get into too many details because she’d bet every dollar left in her checking account that he’d never had to worry about his electricity or water getting shut off.

“Just some issues I need to deal with and I can’t do it from here. Not sure what I can do while I’m there, but I just can’t ignore my parents when they need help.”

Noah crossed the room and held her gaze in the mirror. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, but thanks.”

He studied her as if he knew she was hiding something. “I can come with you. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’d like to help.”

Okay, she’d known he was very generous, very caring, but to offer to fly to Kansas to help people he didn’t know with a situation he knew nothing about? God, he really was the proverbial knight in shining armor.

But the last thing she wanted was for him to see where she grew up, because it was the polar opposite of this cushy twelve-thousand-square-foot home.

“You don’t need to come,” she told him. “You have work and you’ve taken off enough time to be with me.”

“And a few more days won’t matter.”

She smiled. “Really. I’ll be fine and I’ll only be gone a couple days. You won’t even miss me.”

He looked as if he wanted to argue, but then he glanced down to her shoulder.

“How’s the collarbone?” he asked.

Apparently, he was very good at reading women and knew when not to start an argument, but she had no doubt he’d get back on the topic of her home life soon…just as she would circle back to his issues, as well.

She lifted her arm until she felt pain. “Feeling much better. It’s healing quicker than I thought it would.”

“That’s because the more it’s immobilized, the quicker it can heal. Plus, you’re still young and fit. That always helps.”

“Maybe being cared for by the best doctor in town helps, too,” she told him with a smile.

He returned her grin and stepped forward, coming up directly behind her. “Are you flirting with me?” he asked.

Callie smoothed her hair back from her forehead and shrugged. “What if I was?”

Sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her back against his hard body, Noah leaned down to her ear, all the while keeping his eyes locked on hers in the mirror.

“Then I’d have to do something about that,” he whispered. “Are you looking for something beyond flirting?”

Warmth spread through her body at his words, his presence. “Maybe we’ve both had a bad day. It’s never too late to turn it around.”

His hand spread across her flat abdomen; his pinkie finger dipped into the waistband of her shorts. “I’m all for making your day better.”

He snaked his hand up her shirt, his fingertips grazing the bottom of her breast and sending shivers through her. “Are you sure you can handle everything? I have a feeling this could take a while.”

Callie dropped her head back to his shoulder and groaned as his finger and thumb found her nipple. “I’m sure,” she murmured, unable to really think, let alone form more than a two-word sentence.

Before he could make good on his promise to improve her day, the doorbell rang.

Noah froze and cursed in her ear. “I’ll kill whoever is at the door and be right back. We’ll bury the body later.”

Laughter bubbled up through Callie as she stepped forward. “Go answer it. It’s not like I won’t still be here when they leave. I sleep here, remember?”

His eyes darkened as he narrowed his gaze on her erect nipples, which were apparent through the cotton shirt.

The doorbell chimed again and he growled, “I’m so not in the mood for visitors.”

Callie looked down at the bulge in his shorts. “Why don’t you let me get it while you start reciting the Gettysburg Address again? That should help you…settle down.”

As she walked from the room, Noah’s bark of laughter trailed down the wide hallway. No matter that her day wasn’t what she wanted it to be; Noah always managed to make her smile. She only hoped she could do the same for him. If she did it enough, maybe she could help him get past whatever it was that plagued him.

Callie glanced out the sidelight and saw Max. There wasn’t a woman in Hollywood, or most of the world for that matter, that didn’t love Max Ford. The man was not only one of the best actors in the business; he was drop-dead, curl-your-toes, giggly-schoolgirl gorgeous. But while Callie didn’t deny the fact he was a very sexy piece of scenery, he didn’t give her those flutters like Noah did.

Oh, God. She knew she’d been infatuated with Noah and enjoyed the sex, but…flutters? Was she feeling something more for her boss, caregiver, lover?

Shoving aside the epiphany and fear, she pulled open the door.

Max’s eyes were shielded by a dark pair of sunglasses and he wasn’t smiling. The man was always grinning, even when he talked; that was all part of his charm

“What’s wrong?”

“Is Noah here?”

Callie stepped aside. “He’s in the gym. Everything okay?”

Without an answer, Max took off down the hall, and Callie didn’t know whether she should follow. This really wasn’t her business, but at the same time she knew Noah had had a rough day and she didn’t want him to have to receive more bad news. Whatever it might be.

But as she walked down the hall toward the gym, she heard the word cancer and froze. Did Max have cancer? She tried not to eavesdrop…okay, she didn’t try, but she felt guilty for it and that was close enough. As she went to the door, she heard Max say mother and that was all she needed to hear to realize this was not her place.

Poor Max. He’d looked helpless when she’d opened the door and she’d never seen him look anything but charming, sexy and smiling….

She made her way to the office where Noah had told her she could use his desktop computer instead of the laptop in the kitchen nook. The office was dark with navy walls, exposed walnut beams overhead and on the floor, but it was the floor-to-ceiling windows behind his desk that really opened up the room.

If she was serious about not working for him, she really needed to start looking to branch out somehow. Perhaps with her teaching degree she didn’t have to limit herself to public schools. She could teach at handicapped schools or even work in an office at a school. The possibilities were there; she just had to explore them.

More than that, though, she needed to look at her life differently now. As much as she wanted to get her face back to normal, to get her life back to where it had been, she had to face the reality that this might not happen. Ever.

Noah had mentioned considering surgery soon and the thought terrified her. Oh, she wasn’t afraid of pain, not to her face, anyway. She was terrified of the pain in her heart she’d endure if the surgery failed. She just couldn’t get her hopes up.

She logged on to the internet and looked at job postings for the schools in the surrounding area, shocked to see how many there were. She could even go a bit farther out of L.A. There wasn’t anything holding her here anymore.

First she’d have to write up a really nice résumé, and then she’d have to see if Noah would write her a letter of recommendation.

She eased back in the leather office chair and sighed. There was a major part of her that wanted to toss that computer across the room, but this life she now faced was her fault. She’d been so wrapped up in wanting to be the next big star that she’d never planned for anything else.

Oh, her parents made her get an education, but she’d never even created a résumé using that degree because she never thought she’d need it. Callie had never had any intention of becoming a schoolteacher.

Good thing she’d listened to her parents.

She reached up, lightly touching the imperfection down the side of her face. She tried to avoid mirrors, and since she was temporarily living with a man, that wasn’t too hard, because they weren’t all over the house. But there was one on the far wall by the entry to the office. The mirror was actually rather large and Callie figured Noah’s interior designer probably put that there so the light coming in the windows across the room would bounce off the mirror.

Callie eased from the seat and made her way over. She wasn’t scared, not like she’d been those first few days of looking at herself after she’d get out of the shower. There was no surprise that was going to be waiting for her once she saw her reflection.

She approached the mirror and sighed as she closed that final distance. The ugly red, puckered line running from her temple down to her jawline, thankfully missing her eye, stared back at her. Callie turned slightly to take a better look. She supposed it was looking better, but not nearly what she wanted. Even if she parted her hair on a different side and covered the scar for casting calls, she’d have to let it show at some point. Not all roles would have her hair down, clinging to the right side of her face.

She reached up gently, using her right hand, and traced the jagged line. Her shoulder was healing beautifully and was almost as good as new. Her face…well, that was still something Noah didn’t discuss too much and she didn’t know if he just didn’t want to upset her or if he was afraid to tell her the truth.

She chose to believe the latter even though she’d never taken him for a coward.

Noah stepped into the room and came to stand behind her. “Staring at it will not make it go away,” he told her.

“I know.” Callie nodded, holding his gaze in the mirror. “How’s Max?”

“Scared, worried. His mother has cancer.”

“I heard him tell you that, so I decided to leave you two alone.”

Noah rested his hands on her shoulders and eased her against his chest. “That means a lot to me that you knew we needed that time alone.”

Callie drew her brows together. “Of course you needed to be alone. He’s your best friend and he’s dealing with life-altering news.”

He stared at her in the mirror and sighed. “I’ve just never known anyone like you, Callie. In the office you were an awesome employee and someone I wanted to know better, but now that I’ve gotten to know you even more, I can honestly say you’re amazing.”

Compliments made her uncomfortable, so she didn’t reply.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he whispered as he slid her hair aside and kissed the side of her neck. “And I’m positive we were working on something very encouraging before that doorbell rang.”

Shivers slid through Callie’s body as she relaxed fully against him. “You’ve had such a stressful day, Noah. Why don’t you let me—”

“I know exactly what you can be doing and it involves silence,” he whispered against her ear before he placed a warm kiss in that very delicate, erotic area.

“What are we doing?” she asked.

“I’m about to get you naked.”

She sighed and smiled. “I mean, what are we doing? Is this a relationship or are we just having a good time?”

He froze, bringing his eyes up to the mirror. “I can’t answer that right now, but I can tell you I’m happy when you’re with me and I’m happy you’re here. Not with the circumstances, but I like having you in my house.”

She didn’t say anything, wasn’t quite sure how to respond to his lack of commitment.

“I’m sorry,” he told her. “I just can’t give you more right now.”

Callie smiled. “It’s okay. You’re honest. I’d rather that than you telling me what you think I want to hear.”

“Are you done talking?” he asked, the corners of his mouth tilting up.

Callie grinned. “I’m done. Now, what were you about to show me in that workout room before Max came?”

“I was about to show you how good we are together.”

Callie tried not to let those promising words into her heart, but she couldn’t keep them back. He’d turned them loose and like an arrow, they shot straight to the target.

But she knew he didn’t mean that like it sounded. She also knew they were good together and she wanted to explore the possibility that this might not be as temporary as either of them had thought.

Noah’s talented lips cruised from her mouth down her throat and into the V of the oversize shirt. She loved wearing his shirts, always having that little piece of him right next to her bare skin at all times.

She gripped his shoulders as he undid each button and slid the garment off and to the floor.

In seconds, he’d turned her to face him and crushed his mouth onto hers. Chest to chest, she arched against his warm body, thankful he’d been about to work out and he’d forgone the shirt.

Without breaking the kiss, he shoved her shorts and panties down. She helped by wiggling until they were at her feet and she flicked them aside with her toes. She helped rid him of his shorts as well after he’d kicked off his tennis shoes.

“I love the way you taste,” he murmured against her lips. “I can’t get enough.”

Neither could she.

He bent and scooped her up in that romantic gesture she’d only seen on TV or read in books. And when he sat her on the edge of his desk, she grinned up at him.

“We never make it to a bed.”

He smiled. “I have six bedrooms and they’re all too far away.”

Callie looped her good arm around his shoulders and gripped his neck as she slid her body forward, closer to his. She wanted him so badly. She’d never felt this way before. Never known she could lose control so quickly or fall so hard for one man.

But there was no lying to herself anymore. The way he looked at her, cared for her and cherished her made her realize she was totally in love with Noah Foster.

The thought terrified her. Could she seriously risk her heart, her emotional state, on another dream that might not come true?

But for right now, she wanted him and she would take what she could get.

“Condom?” she asked.

He rested his forehead against hers. “In my bedroom.”

She bit her lip and said, “I’m clean, Noah. I’ve only been with two people other than you and I’ve always used protection. Plus, I have an IUD.”

His lips pressed to hers. “I’ve always used protection, too, but this is your call.”

Without using words, she gave him her answer when she locked her ankles around his back. As he drove into her, he slid one hand behind her back and another hand beneath her hair, bringing her mouth to his.

Their bodies moved so beautifully together, Callie knew this man was the one for her. Perfection didn’t happen with anything in life, but this coming together was as near to perfect as she could get.

With her ankles secure behind him, she arched farther, pulling him deeper and moaning into his mouth as her climax edged closer.

Noah’s body quickened as he tore his mouth free. He rested his forehead against hers and their gazes locked for a second. In his eyes she saw not the pain that usually hid there, but something deeper. Something she doubted he knew he felt.

For that one brief second, she saw love.

Callie’s body quivered as she let her orgasm roll through her. Noah’s body tightened with hers and he squeezed his eyes shut.

He might not want to admit or even acknowledge what had just happened or what he’d been feeling, but Callie knew in her heart that Noah was falling for her. Now she just had to make sure whatever hell his past kept him in didn’t break either of them.