Hollywood House Call

Five



Noah put the towels away in his master suite and glanced at the small picture of Malinda and him during one of their earlier, carefree times that sat on a shelf beside the window. This was the only picture in the house he hadn’t stored in a box on a shelf in the back of his closet. One last reminder of the happiest moments of his life.

He still had a closet full of clothing from Malinda’s job as a personal shopper; most of them still had tags. But for some reason he still couldn’t let go.

Some reason? No, he knew the reason. How could he let go? If he let go of the past, he’d be finalizing the fact that he had failed the one person he’d loved more than life itself. If he severed all ties with that portion of his life, the finality of the truth would settle in deeper, and quite possibly cripple him.

He just couldn’t bear to face the truth. Not only was Malinda gone, he hadn’t been able to do anything to stop her swift spiral down to the depths of her drug overdose.

And Callie thought he knew nothing of hell on earth? He lived it every single day. The reminder of the life he thought he’d have with Malinda was always in the forefront of his mind. Between the picture he just couldn’t take down and tending to Thelma’s needs, the past just wouldn’t let him go. He was caught in the vise of this damn nightmare and he had no way of getting out and moving on. And he feared he’d always be on this roller-coaster ride of emotions.

As he moved into his bedroom, he sighed. He was getting frustrated with Callie and he didn’t want to go all alpha male on her and take over, but he would if he saw she wasn’t taking care of herself. Stubbornness had no place in the healing process.

Since they’d arrived, she hadn’t come out of her room. He’d asked her about eating and she’d claimed she wasn’t hungry and just wanted to rest. Well, that was nearly five hours ago.

Now it was time for her medicine, so she was going to have to open the door and let him in. She had to eat something because she couldn’t take these heavy pain meds on an empty stomach or she’d feel a whole lot worse. He’d also apply more ointment to her face, though that was really just an excuse to get close to her.

Callie’s self-esteem and bubbling energy seemed to have been a casualty in the accident, and he intended to make them come back to life. More than likely that would take time, but Noah couldn’t watch another woman destroy herself whether it be via drugs or depression.

As a doctor, he’d vowed to protect and heal people. But as a man, he just couldn’t sit by and see Callie beat herself up and let her anger and frustrations fester. If she didn’t open up, she might end up worse than she was now.

And yeah, the irony of him thinking someone needed to open up was not lost on him. Looked as if the pot and the kettle would be spending a lot of time butting heads over the next few weeks.

Noah kept Callie’s medicine in his room so he could have easy access, but also so it wouldn’t be with her. The risk of her becoming addicted was too great. He would let her have the prescription painkillers for the next two days, but after that it would be over-the-counter meds. He needed to wean her off the narcotics.

Just the thought of Callie hooked on painkillers sickened him. But the fact they were back in his house only made him have flash upon flash of another woman, another drug.

Of course, before Callie’s accident he’d wondered where all her money was going and he’d even considered the possibility of her using, but he wanted to dismiss those tainted thoughts. His past with Malinda just made him skeptical, and where Callie was concerned, he had a gut feeling what he saw was what he got. Perhaps that was why he found her so refreshing. She’d never tried to be fake and she tended to wear her heart on her sleeve.

Grabbing the antibiotic and the mild painkiller from the top of his chest of drawers, he headed next door to her room. There were five spare bedrooms in his house and for some reason he’d chosen to put her right beside him.

There were so many underlying reasons. He’d told her it was because he wanted to be near in case she needed help, but in actuality, he wanted to be close because this was Callie, and he’d envisioned something more intimate between them. He had ever since she’d come to work for him six months ago.

Now, though, his rational mind told him he had to put that desire on a back burner. It wasn’t that the accident had diminished his attraction; he simply realized the timing was off. The man in him, however, could hardly ignore the desire he felt for her.

And now that she was under his roof, he could choose to either be a man and potential lover or be her doctor and caring friend.

His sense of responsibility made that decision for him.

With the bottles in one hand, he tapped on her door with the other.

* * *

Callie looked away from her breathtaking view from the window seat toward the door when Noah knocked. He’d been trying to get her to come out, but she just wasn’t in the mood. Besides, this bedroom was the size of her apartment and the view of the pool complete with waterfall and hot tub was rather relaxing to stare at.

“I’m fine, Noah,” she called without getting up.

“I need to look at your bandage and I have something for your pain.”

Of course he would have to come in. She glanced down to her less-than-sexy attire of black yoga capris and a T-shirt, She only had one arm through because she refused to call for Noah to help her dress. At some point, she feared she’d have to suck it up and let him assist her.

She crossed to the door and pulled it open to see Noah leaning against the doorjamb holding a small container with gauze, tape, ointment and pills. His eyes raked over her appearance.

“Why didn’t you tell me you needed help dressing?”

She tilted her chin up. “Because I didn’t.”

“Don’t start this arrangement off by being stubborn and ridiculous.”

Instead of retorting, because it would just cause an argument, she eyed his inventory.

“I was just dismissed this morning,” she told him. “Surely this doesn’t need to be looked at already.”

“I want to make sure there’s enough antibiotic on it. If it gets too dry, the scar can be harder to repair.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “You’re not actually thinking this is repairable, are you? I know the odds, Noah.”

Noah sat his stuff down on the desk a little harder than he should’ve and Callie jumped.

“Listen to me,” he said, taking her by her one good shoulder. “I am going into this with a positive attitude and you need to, as well. Until or unless I see that your scar is indeed irreparable, we will approach this as if everything is going to be fine. Understand?”

Callie refused to allow the warmth of his strong hand to seep in any farther than her T-shirt. She couldn’t let that fantasy of the two of them together come into play just because she was staying at his house…especially because she was staying at his house and he was taking care of her.

“If you want to stay optimistic, go ahead.” She stepped away and walked over to the window seat she’d just vacated. “I’m going to be a realist here and try to come up with a plan B.”

“What do you mean, plan B?” he asked.

Callie leaned her back against the warm glass and pulled her knees up to rest her feet on the cushion. “I can’t very well model for you, act or work in an office that promotes beauty and perfection. And going back home to Kansas is even more depressing, so I need to figure out where to go from here.”

Noah crossed the room and took a seat beside her. “The modeling and the acting might be out for now, but who said you can’t work in my office? I certainly never said, nor did I imply, that you were going to be replaced. God, Callie, did you think because you have an injury that I’d ask you to leave? I’m sure Marie will be more than happy to cover for you until you’re ready to come back to work. Besides, with the other office opening there will be plenty of work.”

Callie stared back into those dark, sexy eyes. “I wasn’t talking about when my arm heals, Noah. Do you really want your clients to see this ugly, marred face as soon as they come in the door?”

Noah slid a stray hair behind her ear and ran a fingertip down her uninjured cheek. “What I want my clients to see is a woman with a bubbly personality who will put them at ease and make them feel welcome. That’s why I hired you to begin with.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying, and I’m not going to let you stay in this room until you’re healed to your perfect standards.”

“That day will never come,” she muttered.

Noah came to his feet and took the hand on her good side. “Come with me.”

Callie hesitated until she realized Noah was relentless and he wouldn’t back down. The sooner she played his little charade, the sooner he’d leave and she could go back to her self-imposed solitary confinement.

He led her to the adjoining bath and stood her in front of the mirror that spread across the entire wall behind the double sinks. Yeah, as if she wanted to be shoved in front of a mirror.

“Noah, I don’t think—”

“Look,” he demanded. “Turn and look at your uninjured side.”

She moved her head so she could see her smooth, perfectly intact face void of any makeup, marks, scars.

“Now turn and look at the other side.”

With a sigh, she turned until she saw that hideous bandage that mocked her and the dreams she’d lost.

“Does this exercise have a point?” she asked.

His eyes met hers in the mirror. “You’re the same person, Callie, from the left or the right. Whether you have a bandage, a scar or flawless skin. What you have going on here on the outside doesn’t make a difference to who you are on the inside.”

Callie laughed because the only other option was to puddle to the floor and cry. “Do you hear yourself? You make your living off making people beautiful and perfect and you’re lecturing me on what’s on the inside?”

He turned her to face him, but he didn’t back up. His strong, hard body held hers against the counter of the vanity. How many times had she wished for a moment like this? How many fantasies had she conjured up after that heated kiss in his car? If only she’d acted on that kiss and taken what he’d been obviously willing to give. But now she’d never know. She’d never have that intimacy with Noah because she wasn’t the beautiful woman she used to be. Plain and simple.

“I know you, Callie,” he said, holding her gaze only inches away. “I know what you have inside. You’re capable of so much more than giving up.”

“I’m not giving up,” she defended. “I’m taking a break. Of all the times I looked ahead to see my dreams and the obstacles that could get in my way, this was never, ever a thought in my mind.”

“Okay, so you’ve been blindsided.” He pushed away that annoying strand of hair that kept sliding from behind her ear. “Don’t let this define you. Don’t let your insecurities take over and alter your direction in life.”

That overweight teen from Kansas started to rear her ugly head. And at this point in time, Callie would almost rather turn back into the chubby, insecure girl she once was as opposed to the woman who might never reach the one goal she’d had her whole life all because of one marred cheek.

“You have no idea what insecurities I hold, Noah. The person who worked for you isn’t the same person I used to be.”

“The person who worked for me is the real you,” he told her. “I don’t care who you were before or who you think you are now. I can tell you’re a fighter, Callie. I wouldn’t admire you so much if you weren’t.”

Callie’s breath hitched. Noah’s face was so, so close to hers. Two days ago she would’ve taken this opportunity and kissed him, not caring about the possible rejection because she would’ve been confident in his participation.

But now she wasn’t even going there. Besides the fact that her whole face was still very sore, she didn’t think kissing a mummy was on Noah’s Bucket List.

“I agree this is a major speed bump on your path to getting what you want,” he went on as if he had no clue where her thoughts were going. “But I’m not going anywhere and we’ll get through this. When you’re ready for surgery, we’ll explore our options on how to make this as quick and efficient as possible.”

Callie shook her head. “I don’t have that kind of money, Noah. Reconstruction is very expensive. I work on the statements, remember?”

“I’m my own boss. Remember?” he asked with a slight grin. “I meant it when I said I’d stand by you, Callie. I will make sure you have the best reconstruction—and that means me. I won’t trust another surgeon to your needs.”

“Do I have a say in the matter?”

He shrugged. “Did you want another doctor?”

“Of course not, but don’t steamroll me.” She sighed, looked up into his eyes and continued, “Why are you taking me on as a charity case? I couldn’t possibly repay you.”

He took her good hand and held it between his two warm ones. “I’m not looking for payment of any kind. I just want to see you happy. I want to see you reach that dream you so deserve, and I want to make sure you know that I’m here for you and that someone cares enough to look after you.”

Callie’s eyes filled with tears, and she cursed that constant state of vulnerability she’d felt in the past twenty-four hours. Still, no one had ever said such things to her before.

“I don’t deserve you as a friend,” she whispered. “I’m going to be a complete jerk during this process. I’m pretty angry and I don’t want you to bear the brunt of that anger. I can be my biggest cheerleader, but I can also be my own worst enemy.”

“I’m not worried about myself.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “And I’m not worried about you, either, because I’m not going to let you beat yourself up for something that wasn’t your fault.”

She leaned into his touch, not caring if she appeared defenseless or weak. Right now she was both and there was no point in hiding the fact.

“I just keep replaying the accident in my mind,” she admitted as she sniffled against his shirt. “I saw all the brake lights. I started to get over and that semi literally came out of nowhere.”

His hand roamed up and down her back, his chin resting on her forehead. “You don’t have to relive it now, Callie. You’re safe.”

Safe? She’d had nightmares last night while she’d been in the hospital; surprisingly her cries hadn’t woken Noah up as he’d slept in the chair near her bed. She prayed the dreams wouldn’t visit her again tonight.

“It’s impossible not to replay it,” she told him, lifting her head to look back into his eyes. “My life changed in literally seconds. There were so many cars in the accident. I heard there were no fatalities, but I feel as if a portion of me died.”

“You can’t mean that.” He cupped her jaw and leaned down closer to her face. “Don’t even think like that.”

His face was a breath away and he was so angry. She’d read somewhere that passion and anger were similar and one could change to the other in the blink of an eye.

But she was a fool for thinking of passion and an even bigger fool for believing Noah would take this moment and turn it into something sexual.

The muscle ticked in his jaw and Callie knew he was angry so she just nodded.

“I’ll go get the supplies.”

He stalked out and Callie sighed as she sagged back against the counter. This was going to be a long six weeks of recovery.