Dating Impossible (10 page)

“Date?” JJ sputtered, eyes wide. “This isn’t a
date.
”

“It might as well be now, with us old farts out of the way.”
Daisy looked around the crowded restaurant. “I don’t see that friend of yours,
Josephina Jo, so you can quit pretending.” She chuckled and leaned over and
gave JJ a hug. “Tootles.”

Ben rolled his eyes at his wife’s obvious shenanigans,
grabbed some French bread and a couple of chicken kabobs from one of the plates.
“A man needs sustenance if he’s gonna keep up with your mother,” he said with a
wink and allowed himself to be marched right out of the restaurant.

Mouth open, JJ turned to Cruz. “No…she doesn’t think…I mean…that
you and I…
Fuck
!”

Chapter
Eleven

“Apparently, she does,” Cruz said calmly. He poured the last
of the champagne into their glasses and gave a nod to the waiter for an
additional bottle. He knew enlisting Daisy’s help tonight was a huge risk, but
one he was willing to take. “At least my dad was able to grab some decent food
before she made her grand exit. Her cooking is terrible.” Cruz shuddered.

“How can you just sit there?” JJ said, flabbergasted.

Cruz looked down to hide his face and pretended extreme
interest in the kabobs. He placed some chicken on his plate, grabbed his napkin,
and schooled his features before meeting her gaze. “Why not? What would you
have me do, JJ?”

Her glance shot in the direction his parents went then back
to him. “Go after her. Tell her the truth. Tell her we are only friends…colleagues…anything
but…”

“You know I could talk until I was blue in the face. She is
just going to think what she wants,” he said. He shrugged his shoulder. The
look on JJ’s face was almost comical. He had to bite his cheek to keep from
laughing.

JJ grabbed the sides of her head with both palms and emitted
a sound of frustration. Despite her aggravation, she looked sexy as hell right
now. Strawberry red hair touched her sun-kissed skin revealed by the red off-the-shoulder
cashmere sweater she wore. Hip-hugging black jeans were tucked into the same
Louis Vuitton boots she had hidden under her bridesmaids dress at Jett and
Roxanne’s wedding.

She dropped her hands and played with an intricate silver
necklace inlaid with some kind of jade or quartz, heaving a heavy sigh. His
gaze was drawn to the twin objects of his obsession and his cock twitched.

“I suppose you’re right,” JJ replied. She lifted her glass
out to his. “Congratulations on your promotion.”

Cruz connected their glasses. A soft chime rang between them
and their eyes met. In the light sea green depths of her eyes, he saw
admiration.

“Thank you,” he said, his gaze glued to her as she lifted
the edge of the glass to her pink pouty lips and sipped. His desire ratcheted
up a few more notches. Man, she had a mouth that could make every man’s
fantasies come true. He nearly groaned out loud.

Down, boy. Down.
This is a get-to-know-you date, not I’m-going-to-fuck-your-brains-out date.

Cruz didn’t know what was worse, his imagination or the
intimate carnal knowledge of just how fantastically fuckable JJ was. One thing
was certain. The tug of war between the two would be his ultimate downfall.

Her expression became solemn and she pursed her lips
together. “I’m serious, Cruz. I know you’re the right person for the job.”
Long, slim fingers twirled the stem of her glass. Her cell phone chimed and she
picked it up. “Ambra isn’t going to make it. Something came up. Wonder what’s
been up with her lately. She’s been distracted like something is bothering her.”

“Like what?” he asked between bites of food. The three-cheese
Fontina was his absolute favorite. Kudos to Daisy for remembering. He closed
his eyes briefly as he bit into the warm slice of bread he’d drowned in the
creamy confection, savoring the burst of flavor in his mouth.

“Um…I have no idea,” JJ replied, sounding a bit distracted
herself.

Cruz swallowed and cleaned his hand on his napkin. “I’m sure
she’s fine,” he said. He knew
exactly
why Ambra had been a no show tonight. A small ripple of guilt itched along his
spine.

She leaned over and wiped a bit of cheese from the corner of
his mouth with the pad of her thumb. An electric bolt zinged from her brief
touch. A small gasp escaped her lips and desire mixed with longing burned in
her eyes. All his cravings for this one woman roiled in a heaping ball of need
combined with a tenderness he’d never experienced for any woman before—not even
his own mother. This was very different and new to him. He grasped her hand and
twined his fingers with hers.

“It’s her loss,” he said softly, planting a soft kiss on her
knuckles. He felt a small tremor skitter the length of her arm up to her
shoulder. JJ wasn’t as immune to him as she pretended to be. Her exotic perfume
teased his senses. He inhaled deeply, savoring everything uniquely Josephina Jo.

“Cruz, I—”

“Cruz!” another woman purred. “What are you doing here
tonight?”

Fuck!
What the hell
was Angie Baum doing here? The nurse he’d had a one-nighter with about six
months ago seemed to crop up everywhere he went.

JJ stiffened and withdrew her hand from his grasp, scooting
to her edge of the couch.
Fabulous. Some
first date.
Cruz didn’t need to look in her direction to know the intimate
moment and preciously small progress he’d just made with JJ had just flown out
the door of Kazimierz.

“Angie,” he said, irritation rising.

Angie squeezed right between him and JJ on the sofa. Her
flowery scent tickled his nose and he sneezed.

“Bless you,” Angie cooed. “Congratulations are in order, I
hear,” she said, turning her back to JJ and facing him full on.

There was a possessive glint in her cornflower blue eyes
that rang warning bells in Cruz’s head. She leaned in and planted her painted
red lips right on his, opening her mouth. Her tongue tried to tease his lips
open. He could smell the alcohol on her breath. Revulsion crawled along his
spine. Cruz grasped her by the shoulders and firmly pushed her back.

“Er…thanks, Ang,” he said, resisting the urge to wipe his
mouth with the back of his hand. He spotted JJ as she slipped on her leather
jacket and zipped the smooth leather closed. He stood and moved by her side. “Where
are you going?”

“Home,” JJ said simply. “Ambra was a no show. Your parents
left. It’s time I did, too.” She rummaged in her jacket pocket and yanked out
her wallet and a Kleenex. “What is my share of the tab?”

JJ wiped Cruz’s lips with the napkin with just a bit of
extra force. She was pissed about something. It was then he saw the slash of
red on the white cloth and realized Angie’s lipstick had been smeared all over
his mouth.

Could JJ be
jealous? Hm, maybe Angie’s intrusion wasn’t
a complete bust after all.

“Nothing. Tonight is on me. I will walk you out,” Cruz said
and moved in to carry JJ’s motorcycle helmet for her. With a swift back step,
she evaded his grasp.

“No need,” JJ said. “I know the way.” She nodded in Angie’s
direction. “Thanks for…” Uncertainty mixed with anguish showed in her overly
bright eyes. “Well…have a good night.”

She turned and headed for the exit. Tantalizing silver bling
in a complex pattern hugged the back pockets of her jeans, accentuating the
firm curves of her ass. An ache in his chest grew as she reached the door.
Turn around, JJ. Turn around.
But she
didn’t listen to his silent plea and walked into the night.

Chapter
Twelve

JJ awoke, her head aching and her eyes swollen and puffy from
her tears. She hadn’t cried herself to sleep over Cruz since their high school
graduation, the night she realized she wouldn’t be seeing him on a daily basis
as they both had been accepted into different med schools. As the semesters
flew by and school vacations came and went, she’d come home less and less. The
time away from him had helped her heal her schoolgirl crush. Or so she’d
thought.

With a groan, she rolled out of bed and haphazardly threw
the deep red bedspread in place. The color reminded her of Angie’s signature lipstick.
The deep dark rich color that pseudo-blonde wore every damn time she saw her. JJ
yanked the coverlet from the mattress, stormed off to the kitchen, and shoved
the bulky material into the garbage can as best she could. She’d have to deal
with the trash sooner or later. A heavy sigh escaped her.

She kept telling herself over and over again that it had
been a good thing Angie had shown up when she had because JJ had been in danger
of listening to her heart and giving in to Cruz. The romantic brush of his lips
on her knuckles had been sensual, endearing, and had been mixed with a dreamy
look in his deep gray eyes.
 
So damn sexy.
A shiver swept through her. She rubbed her bare arms exposed by the simple
white T-shirt she’d worn to bed. God, she’d spent countless summers dreaming of
having a moment like that with him…and then little perfect Barbie doll had to
show up.

Her warm bare feet were chilled by the freezing mosaic tiles
of her kitchen floor. JJ hurried over and ground fresh coffee beans and poured
them into the filter of her coffeepot along with a measured amount of water. She
punched the start button on her coffee maker and headed to the bathroom. With a
flip of the overhead lights, she stared at her reflection.

Deep dark circles hugged the delicate flesh under her eyes. Her
lids were swollen and the whites of her eyes were bloodshot. Just as she’d
expected. Crying always reddened and puffed up her face. From one of the delicate
baby blue chintz jars on the granite counter top, she lifted a lid, chose a
couple of tea bags, and ran them under the cool water of the sink. Tea bags in
hand, she lay on her mattress and placed them over her closed lids.

A fatal mistake. As soon as her eyes closed, images of Cruz and
sweet memories of them from her childhood bombarded her. The first time Cruz
had caught her attention was when she’d been twelve and he’d saved her old dog
Beau from the rattlesnake that had been hiding under her dad’s porch. He’d been
her absolute hero from then on.

The first year of high school her mother had died from
cancer. She’d been so lonely. She’d wanted to die herself. Cruz had been her
sole support through that entire experience even though her dad had tried. His own
grief had been too strong to help his daughter in any way.

Not one to have many girlfriends, there had been several
times she’d gotten into catfights with other girls at school. Usually the more
popular girls, the ones Cruz had dated back in the day. Then there would be
Cruz, coming to her rescue once more. He’d stuck up for her and doctored her
cuts and bruises. Those instances usually ended whatever relationship he was in
at the time. JJ had been secretly glad.

Cruz had been everything to her back then. Fresh tears stung
behind her eyelids. She still loved him.
Oh
my fucking God!
The revelation tore up her gut like a meat grinder. She always
had and always would. An anguished sob burst from her throat and she curled up
on her side into a tight ball. The tea bags slipped off as the waterworks
sprang anew. Agony seared her heart to her rib cage.

What a fucking mess. Cruz wasn’t just a co-worker now. He
was the director of the ER, her boss. How was she supposed to go to work every
single day and face him? When he walked into a room, her heart accelerated to
new heights. It was getting tougher and tougher to control her physical
responses to him, as well. Cruz was the one person she wanted most out of this
life and the only person she couldn’t have. How fair was that?

Life isn’t
fair, sweetheart.
Beverly Hills
taught you that lesson the hard way.

JJ wept harder. Raw tormented agony echoed from the walls
around her. Unable to stand the sound of her own pain and suffering, she tugged
her pillow tight between her arms and buried her moist face into the linen. For
a long time, she lay there as her deep sorrow seeped into the empty room around
her. Spent, she sniffled and rolled over and grasped several Kleenex from the
box on her marble-topped nightstand.
Time
to quit feeling sorry for yourself.
She sat up, firmly planted her feet on
the plush carpet, and blew her nose with gusto.

There was more than one hospital in the
Phoenix
area. She’d just have to find another
ER to practice medicine. But none of the other facilities had what Phoenix
General had to offer. That was why she’d chosen PGH over all the others in the
Valley. She’d known Cruz was on staff there, but she’d thought her girlhood
crush long gone and buried. A half-hearted snort escaped. That’s what she got
for thinking. Beggars couldn’t be choosers. Isn’t that how the saying went? And
she definitely had no choice in the matter. Seeing Cruz every day at work would
be too sadistically painful. A sadist, she was not.

With a heavy heart, she lifted her T-shirt over her head,
walked toward her bathroom, and kicked out of her hot pink cheeky lace panties.
Time to hit the shower and get ready for work. She searched for inner calm and
peace as she would as if performing Reiki on one of her patients. A silent prayer
went out to Usui, Hayashi, and Takata asking for their help with keeping her
tattered heart in one piece. Until she found another job, JJ was going to need
all the help she could get.