“Miss…?”
“Hanna,” I said, glancing over at James. I couldn’t help flushing – it was the first time I’d said my real name around him. “Hanna Parker.”
“And what seems to be the trouble?”
Wincing, I shifted and pointed to my lap. “I spilled coffee.”
The doctor nodded. “I see,” he said, even though he still hadn’t taken his eyes away from his clipboard. “And this is your…?”
“Friend.”
“Boss.”
James and I spoke at the same time and I looked up at him in confusion.
The doctor frowned. “Well, whoever he is, I have to ask him to leave.” The doctor passed me a worn cloth gown. “Please change and I’ll be with you shortly.” He tucked his pen behind his ear and left the small stall.
“If you want me to stay, I’ll stay,” James said. “I don’t want anyone making you uncomfortable.”
I didn’t reply.
“But I can also go to the waiting room, if you’d rather I go there, instead,” James continued. When I didn’t answer, he took my chin in his fingers and tilted my head up so that I was staring into his dark eyes. “Hanna?”
I sighed.
“What is it? Are you in too much pain?”
I bit my lip and shook my head, freeing myself of James’s grip. “No,” I said softly. “It’s not that.”
“What is it, then?”
I sighed. There was no way I could tell James how I was really feeling – how I felt like the world’s biggest idiot, all because of my lie. The whole time, I thought I’d been clever by using a fake name. But now, knowing that James didn’t even care, just made me feel like the butt of my own joke. He wasn’t even angry!
“Nothing,” I lied. “You can just leave, James. It’s okay. You should be getting back to work, anyway.”
James frowned. “Hanna, I’m not leaving you,” he said. “You hurt yourself!”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, glancing down at my stained skirt. “It’s okay.”
James sighed. “Fine,” he said. “If that’s what you want, then I’ll go.” He looked at me for a long moment. “Is that what you want?”
No, I thought immediately. No, it’s not what I want at all. But I mustered the courage to look James in the eye and nod slowly. James shrugged, then turned on his heel and walked out of the small curtained-in room.
As soon as he was gone, I regretted it. I wished I hadn’t acted like that – but then again, how the hell was I supposed to act? Seeing Jack – I mean, James – had brought such a confusing flood of emotion over me that I had no idea how to deal with it. I’d thought about him, almost constantly, for almost a whole year now. And now that we’ve encountered each other again, it felt like no time had passed at all…but it also didn’t feel the same as it had in Jamaica. We weren’t on vacation, anymore, we were just two regular, ordinary people.
And as much as I still wanted him, there was no way I’d risk my new position just for another hot, steamy night in bed with James West. Sure, thinking about it made me shudder with desire and lust…but I wasn’t that kind of girl. I wasn’t like Danielle, I wasn’t ready to risk my position in the world just for a little fun with a hot guy. And James West wasn’t just any hot guy, either – he was easily one of the wealthiest men in the country. Not to mention, one of the most gorgeous. And funny, and kind…
Of course, he wouldn’t want someone like me, I thought as I twisted my hands together, keeping them far away from the burned tissue of my thighs. He could have any woman he wants – why would he want some crazy girl he met on vacation who lied about her name?
At least, that’s what I kept telling myself over and over as I sat in the tiny room, waiting for the doctor to come back and check up on me.
Two hours later, I walked out of the emergency room, still wincing, but carrying a prescription for some burn cream and painkillers. It was depressing: I recognized most of the people in the waiting room as people who had been there when James and I had first arrived. Was it possible that I was already benefitting from his impossible privilege and wealth?
“Hanna.”
The sound of my name made me jump. When I turned around, I saw James standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets. His coat was draped over his shoulder, along with mine – in the shock of pain, I’d forgotten to grab it from my desk.
I frowned. “What are you still doing here?”
James narrowed his eyes. “What, you really expected me to leave?” He snorted and shook his head. “No way, Hanna. I’m taking you home – you’ve had quite a day.”
“Am I…am I fired?”
James chuckled, but he didn’t reply. Suddenly, I felt a horrible pang swell up inside of my chest. Oh, no, I thought. He’s going to wait to get me alone, out of the room, and then tell me that he can’t work with someone so dishonest. Stupid, stupid! Why did I ever have to lie like that?
To my surprise, James led me out to the curb. There was a smiling, uniformed chauffeur standing in front of a long, black town car.
“I thought I could have Nick give you a ride home before he takes me back to the office,” James said. “Nick is my driver.”
He has a driver? I thought, forcing myself not to look astonished. I’d always known that there were a lot of rich people in Boston…but somehow I’d pictured them as uniformly old and stuffy. James was neither old, nor stuffy…and yet, he had enough money for a driver?
Suddenly, I wondered what his house looked like.
“Hanna?”
I glanced up. James was still standing there, waiting patiently for my response. It had begun to snow outside and I shivered. James put his coat around my shoulders as Nick opened the back doors of the town car for us. After helping me inside, James crawled in and settled next to me. He reached into a mini fridge and took out a bottle of sparkling mineral water.
“You want?”
I bit my lip. I felt guilty accepting anything – even a stupid bottle of water – from James West, but I couldn’t deny that I was thirsty.
“Yeah,” I said softly. “Sure. Thanks.”
James opened another bottle and passed it over. I closed my eyes, enjoying the cool sensation of water in my mouth.
“Thanks,” I said, this time with more gratitude. “I didn’t even know how thirsty I was until now.”
James eyed me closely. “Your lips are dry,” he said. “I could tell that you were getting dehydrated.”
The knowledge that he’d been staring at my mouth made me flush. In the dim light of the backseat, I felt closer to him than I had inside of the crowded, fluorescent hospital. He smelled amazing – a blend of spice and musk – and his dark, unruly hair was practically begging for me to run my hands through it and gently tug.
No, Hanna, I told myself. You can’t do that with him – not today, not ever.
“So, Hanna, there’s something I want to talk to you about,” James said. He reclined against the leather seat and took another sip of mineral water.