After the Christmas Party (7 page)

“Like I said, give me dessert.”

Trinity had expected Riley to insist on coming into her apartment when he’d followed her home, but he didn’t. He walked her to her door, kissed her forehead, saw her inside, then left without setting foot into her place.

Go figure.

Staring at the closed door, she wanted to open it, to yell to him that he could have at least kissed her good-night properly.

‘Meow.’
Casper brushed up against her leg, reminding Trinity that she’d like to be fed.

“I know. I know. I rushed off this morning without paying you much attention.” She glanced down at the solid white cat that she’d rescued from an animal shelter when she had been nothing more than a tiny pitiful-looking kitten.

Casper mewed again, staying practically beneath her
feet as she walked towards her small pantry to get a can of cat food. She opened the can, put the contents into Casper’s dish and watched the cat dive in with gusto.

“You’d think you were starved,” she teased. “But I am fully aware that Riley fed you this morning while I threw on my scrubs.”

That he’d been thoughtful enough to do so had impressed her, even if she hadn’t made a big deal of him having done so. The man was thoughtful all the way round. he was just a little too good to be true.

Well, all except for the not having kissed her good-night part. That he could use some work on.

Or maybe it was her sanity that could use some work, because she shouldn’t want him to kiss her. She didn’t want a relationship, didn’t want to set herself up for another fall, like the one Chase had delivered.

“I know you aren’t starved,” she informed the cat.

Casper’s blue eyes cut to her for a brief second as if to say, So what?

Trinity laughed then jumped when her phone rang. She glanced at the number. It wasn’t one she was familiar with, but she knew who the caller was as sure as she lived and breathed. Should she answer?

Could she not?

“Did you forget something?” she said by way of greeting, because “Hello” seemed all wrong when he had just left.

“Apparently.” He sounded confused, frustrated. “I’m standing outside your front door.”

Trinity’s stomach flip-flopped. Had he ever left? Or had he just come back? Did it matter?

“The usual protocol when standing outside someone’s door is to knock, not phone.” Her heart pounding
in anticipation of whatever was to come, she headed towards the front door.

“I didn’t knock because I don’t want to come in.”

Her hand paused in the process of reaching for the doorknob. “You don’t?”

Her stomach knotted. Was he playing some sick game with her? Teasing her? Toying with her emotions?

“I do, but…Trinity, tell me to go home.”

If this was his idea of a game, it was cruel and twisted. She wasn’t amused.

“Go home,” she ordered, and meant it. She’d been hurt enough in the past. She wouldn’t let someone sour her future. Not even someone who seemed as wonderful as Riley.

Then again, most of the time when something seemed too good to be true, it really was. So why was she still on the line, waiting for him to say something? Hoping he’d say something. Something brilliant and wonderful that would make her smile instead of feeling as if her eyes were about to spring a leak.

A low laugh sounded in her ears. “That was way too easy for you, princess.”

“You have no idea,” she muttered, wondering at the silence that followed. She wanted to tear the door off its hinges and drag him inside her apartment and demand he explain himself.

Instead, she leaned her forehead against the cold metal doorframe, wishing she could see through it to the other side, wishing she knew what he was thinking, why he was standing outside her door when she was inside, why he’d called her instead of knocking.

Why was he there at all?

Why wasn’t she hanging up?

Urgh. Her head hurt with all the questions plaguing her mind.

“If I knocked, would you let me in, princess?” His voice was barely above a whisper but she heard just fine.

Her hands shook. “I guess you’ll have to knock to know the answer to that question, won’t you, snowflake?”

Taking a deep breath, he laughed again. “If you had any idea how much I want to rip through this door because I know you’re standing just the other side…” He paused, and she’d swear she felt his forehead bump against the door. Was he trying to knock some sense into his head? How was it he kept putting her thoughts into words that came from his mouth?

“As much as I want you,” he admitted, “what I want more than anything is to not mess this up.”

“Knocking on my door would mess this up?” What was “this”, she wanted to ask, but held her tongue. She doubted he knew any more than she did. That he admitted there was a “this” was monumental, had her brain undoing every wall she’d just attempted to erect between them. Didn’t he know he should leave those walls alone? She needed them.

“It might. What if you didn’t open the door?”

He had a point.

“True, but what if I did?”

Or would that be messing things up even worse?

Riley ground his forehead against the cold, hard metal of Trinity’s apartment door and prayed for the knowledge to know the right thing to do.

He wanted to knock.

Whether she would admit to it or not, she wanted him to knock. He could hear it in her voice.

Every instinct warned he shouldn’t, that, despite their mutual desire for one another, she wasn’t ready to consummate that desire. Not really.

As much as he hated listening to that voice of reason, he trusted his instincts more than the body part that had him wanting to he-man his way into her apartment.

To do that would only satisfy him in the short term and although he had no clue exactly what he wanted with Trinity, he knew that one night would not be enough. If he rushed, she might shut him out for ever. Despite the tough front she attempted to put on, she was vulnerable in ways that made him want to fight every dragon that had ever taken a swipe at her. Although he didn’t understand or like how protective he felt about her, he refused to be yet another dragon for her to fend off, even if a well-intentioned one.

“We both know you shouldn’t open your door to me. Not tonight.” He straightened from the door before he gave in to temptation.

“Then why did you call?” She sounded irked, which pleased him because it meant she wasn’t immune to the chemistry between them. That he wasn’t wrong.

“Why call?” He loved her logic and her sass. Despite the rebellious throb in his body, he couldn’t help but smile. “To hear your voice. For you to tell me I’m crazy.”

“You’re crazy,” she replied, without hesitation.

“About you,” he admitted, knowing it was true, that she was different from any woman he’d ever known, and not just because she didn’t fall at his feet.

Which was why he’d leave, and smile while doing so. Yeah, he’d like to be on the other side of her door
but there was no rush. He’d take his time, woo her, have her begging for more, and then give her more for however long the sparks between them flew.

“You don’t even know me,” she insisted, much as she’d done previously.

“A problem I intend to remedy.”

But not tonight.

Forehead against the door, Trinity held her breath. Surely, any second now he’d knock. He had to knock, right?

He was there.

Just on the other side of her door, teasing her. No, not teasing really. More of a temptation to reach out and take what she reluctantly admitted she wanted.

He did tempt her. Like fresh-baked cookies tempted a starving dieter.

She wanted a bite.

A big bite.

Before she could have biter’s remorse, she undid the chain, undid the deadbolt and flung the door open.

“Riley?”

“Hmm?” His response buzzed in her ear.

“Where are you?” Stunned, she glanced down the hallway.

The empty hallway.

“My car.”

His car?

He’d left?

Her heart sank.

“You were never really on the other side of my door?”

She might kill him. He’d gotten her all worked up for nothing, had…

“I was there.”

Frowning, fighting disappointment she didn’t quite understand and definitely didn’t want, she went back into her apartment. She should hang up now, before she incriminated herself.

Why was she surprised? Disappointed? She should be glad he’d left, that he’d had reason when she’d temporarily lost her mind. Her stomach knotted and her eyes watered. Great.

Why was she not telling him where to go and turning off her phone?

“Trinity?”

“Yes?” She slumped back against the door, fighting a sniffle. Was he seriously whistling? She might just throw her phone at him for real.

“I like you.”

Were they in grammar school or what?

Eyes squeezed closed, she sighed. “So you keep saying, but at the moment, Riley Williams, I don’t like you one bit.”

He surprised her by bursting into laughter. “There’s my funny girl.”

“Are you dating Dr. Williams?”

Putting her stethoscope into her scrub pocket, Trinity spun around to look at her coworker. Karen Mathis, Trinity’s favorite coworker by far—usually—grinned at her and waited with an expectant look that said she wasn’t going to be easily distracted.

“Why would you ask me that?”

“I saw you at the Christmas party,” Karen pointed out. “I’d been looking for you because I knew you didn’t know many people yet and I was going to have you join the group I was with. I didn’t spot you until you were
all cozied up with the only cardiologist on staff who makes women’s hearts beat faster with just a flash of his smile.”

Trinity’s heart was beating pretty fast without the benefit of one of his smiles. “We just danced. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“And sang together,” Karen reminded her. “Plus, I hear you arrived at work with him yesterday morning when you both got called in. You rode home with him yesterday at the end of your shift. Despite many females’ valiant efforts, I don’t know of him ever dating anyone who works here. This all sounds like a big deal to me. So, are you two an item or what?”

Inwardly, Trinity cringed. The hospital gossip mill had sure been busy. How did She answer a question she didn’t know the answer to? Because saying he liked her just sounded a bit second grade to her. She didn’t really know what they were other than that she liked him too.

“Did you also hear that she’s going to eat with me after work tonight?”

Both women turned at the newcomer to their conversation.

“Dr. Williams.” Karen’s cheeks flushed almost as bright as Trinity imagined hers were.

“Riley,” she gasped, her eyes devouring the man before her, searching his eyes for some trace of the man who’d spent hours on the phone with her the night before. Hours and hours. He’d blown her away. They’d talked long into the night without awkwardness or long bouts of weird silence. The man was way too easy to talk to. “Anyone ever tell you it isn’t polite to eavesdrop?”

She almost called him “snowflake” but caught
herself just in time. Yeah, that would have had some tongues wagging all over the cardiac unit.

“Never. Most people like having conversations with me.” He waggled his brows, his eyes not leaving Trinity’s. The twinkle there said everything. That he knew what she was thinking, was thinking the same thing himself. “Good morning, ladies.”

Trinity mumbled a good morning, glancing away because all she could think was that this was the man with whom she’d fallen asleep while on the phone with him the night before.

He’d stayed on the phone with her because he’d said he really did want to get to know her without the physical getting in the way. Honestly, she just didn’t know what to think about him. He was unlike any many she’d ever met.

Chase sure hadn’t worried about the physical getting in the way.

Sex had gotten in the way of their relationship.

Big time.

Not because they’d rushed into a physical relationship. They hadn’t, despite Chase’s constant pressure to do so. Perhaps she should have held out longer. When she’d finally given in, it had been the beginning of the end. She’d flopped in bed.

Chase had had no qualms announcing that juicy little tidbit to the world.

So a man who put emphasis on getting to know her rather than on her bedroom performance was good. Raised her odds of success, right? Or just set up her expectations to where her failure would sting all the more?

“Trinity?” Riley interrupted her thoughts. “We
are
going to eat after work today?”

She blinked, thinking him too good looking for his own good. He was so used to getting his own way that she almost said no just to be difficult. But that wasn’t any way to start a relationship. Or to maintain one.

A relationship. Was that what they were doing? What she wanted?

“Yes,” she agreed, knowing she wasn’t going to deprive herself of spending the evening with him, even if she still didn’t trust him. “Just as long as we don’t do anything Christmassy.”

For answer, he just grinned. “Would I ever ask you to do that?”

“Never.” Trinity couldn’t keep a smile from curving her lips. She tried. Really, she did. After all, she had sworn off men, but there was something about Riley that couldn’t be ignored. Okay, so everything about him refused to be ignored.

Karen stared back and forth between them. “So the gossip is true?”

Trinity blushed.

Riley grinned. “If they’re saying that I’m pursuing the hottest nurse at Pensacola Memorial then, yeah, it’s true.”

Had he really just said that? Trinity’s face caught fire and her mouth dropped. Chase had always been so private, not wanting anyone to know how much he cared about her, saying that with them both working for the hospital they should keep their relationship on the quiet. Ha, he’d sure blown that at the end.

Then again, had he really cared about her at all? She’d certainly thought so. They’d dated for nine months. She’d thought she was going to get an engagement ring for Christmas. Instead, she’d gotten a horrendous
public humiliation and a reminder about why she disliked the holiday so much. Or perhaps it was Christmas that disliked her. Maybe she should ask Riley for a rain check until New Year.