Saving Forever - Part 3 (8 page)

Chapter 11

It wasn’t Elijah who came through the doors. Not even close.

Charity knew her mouth hung open. She closed it and blinked several times, trying to make the man at the entrance turn into Elijah.

Alex
. The bastard of an ex-boyfriend who had disappeared when her mother had gotten sick.
What the hell is he doing here?

Samantha called her name again and Charity realized she hadn’t moved. She forced her legs to work and pasted a fake smile on her face as she headed toward Alex. He hadn’t changed much since the last time she had seen him about six years ago. His dark hair still had that sexy curl that made women want to run their hands through it and try to tame it. His brown eyes sparkled when he saw her. He wore an expensive suit. Always the guy to avoid a tuxedo.

He smiled when she came within hearing distance. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Charity.”

Her lips were pressed tightly together and she nodded, not trusting what would come out of her mouth.

“Surprised?” He grinned, his boyish charm still catchy.

She nodded.

He offered her his arm and she obliged. “Where are we sitting?”

Charity led them to their table. He pulled her chair out and sat down across from her.

“Cat got your tongue?” He apparently thought her lack of words was because she was ecstatic to see him.

That loosened her tongue. “How did you find out about the auction?”

He poured them each a glass of wine. “A friend mentioned it. They saw it on Facebook and sent me the link. What’s it been, five years?”

“Six.” She took a long sip of her wine.
Great, now he thinks I’ve been counting the years, pining after him.

“You look fantastic.”

It was just dinner. She could get through this. She had to. “Thanks. You haven’t changed.”

“You still have the Thompson last name. So you’re not married?”

She shook her head. “What about you?”

“Nope.” He smiled at her again. “It’s really good to see you. I was hoping I’d surprise you. I wasn’t sure if you would know the winners since you’re, like, in charge of the whole deal.”

“I didn’t have a clue.”

“The surprise on your face when I walked in… you definitely didn’t know.” He chuckled and lifted his glass. “Cheers.”

She tapped her wine glass against his and savoured the taste in her mouth. “Where are you now?” She knew he was in Texas but had no intention of letting him know.

“Dallas. Running the cardio department. It’s a huge hospital.”

Was he bragging? Trying to impress her? “Good for you.”

“And you’re working in Atlanta? What did you get into? Oncology?”

“I’m not a doctor.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Really? I just assumed you were when I saw your name on the list for the fundraiser. You never went back and finished?”

He would get along with her father. “I didn’t. I went in another direction.”

“Nursing?”

“No.” She swallowed. Why did she suddenly feel embarrassed about her job? She’d always been proud of what she had accomplished with her fundraising work. “I still work in hospitals. More like, with them. I do contract work to raise money for new wings, equipment and the like.”

“Really?” He looked around the room. “So you set this up?”

“I did.”

“Wow.” He hesitated, just a second too long. “Impressive. On a totally different level.” He stared at her, his head tilted slightly to the side. “Why didn’t you come back? You were great, probably the best in our residence group.”

She sighed. She’d had this conversation countless times in her head but suddenly she wanted to say it out loud. To him. “My mom got sick.”

“I know. I remember.”

Then why didn’t you show your face?
“She had cancer. My Dad wasn’t around and I took care of her. It was hard. Harder than I thought and I realized after she passed, I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t do it anymore.”

“That’s a shame. You know your patients wouldn’t be family, right?”

“I may not be a doctor, but I’m not an idiot.”

He waved his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that. Sorry. That totally came out wrong. I didn’t know your mom’s passing was so hard on you. I never realized.” He shrugged. “I guess I should have…” He let his sentence trail off.

Being my boyfriend and everything?
“It’s fine, Alex. It was six years ago.”

His face brightened. “So you’re a charity worker.” He chuckled. “Charity the charity worker. What’s Dr. Thompson think of his fundraising daughter?”

She laughed. The guy hadn’t changed at all. “He was pretty pissed. You and he would have got along famously. He didn’t get it either when I told him I wasn’t going back to med school.”

“Technically, you never told me you weren’t coming back.”

“Technically, you never showed up for the funeral.”

“It was during exams.”

She stared at him. “Really? You want to use that card?” She shook her head and smiled.

A waiter came and brought their dinner. She glanced around the room and saw everyone else chatting and laughing.

“Lame excuse. I apologize… now and for back then.” He pulled his napkin open and set it on his lap. “I’m starving. I caught a direct flight right after a surgery and the plane pretzels don’t fill a guy up much.” He inhaled. “This smells awesome.”

The apology seemed typical of Alex, short and closed-booked. It didn’t erase the hurt she had felt back then, but it did let her see what had been meant to be. Surprisingly, she was okay with it. She picked her fork up and started eating as well. A thought crossed her mind. “What made you decide to bid on a dinner with me?”

“When I saw your picture on the website I thought to myself how gorgeous you looked. I’m single, I’m guessing you’re single by the lack of a ring on your finger, and I figured I wanted to see you.”

“Just like that?”

“It wasn’t like I had your phone number to call you.”

“Do you stay in touch with Simon?”

He shook his head. “Did he and Julie?”

“They’re married. Both working at my father’s hospital, actually.”

“You and Julie still stay in touch then?”

“We do.”

“They have any ankle biters?”

“Kids? No. Not yet.”

“Good for them. So yeah, I didn’t have a way to contact you and wasn’t about to start searching for you online like some stalker. I saw the dinner and figured, what the hell, and bid. This function isn’t cheap.”

She smiled, knowing exactly how much he paid to have dinner with her. She had no intention of letting him know she knew, or that he had been the highest bidder over everyone. He kind of deserved it for being the dopey pre-med doctor who had jerked her around back in school. “It’s for a great cause.”

“Then I’m glad to help.” He winked at her. “I do get a tax receipt for my donation, right?”

She tossed her napkin at him. “I’ll make sure yours gets lost in the mail.”

He easily caught the napkin and handed it back to her. “Then I’ll just have to fly back here to pick it up personally.”

Whoops. That wasn’t the direction she wanted this conversation to go in. They were having dinner. Only dinner. Her sexy undergarments were meant for someone else. Strange, she hadn’t thought of Elijah since Alex had walked in the room. She didn’t like that. He deserved more attention inside her head. “Are you single?” The words were out of her mouth before she realized how blatant they sounded. She had meant to use the question as an opener to say she was seeing someone. Now it sounded like she wanted to know if he was available.

“No one serious.” He set his fork down and reached for her hand. “There hasn’t been anyone in a long time.”

She leaned back in her chair, letting her hand slip away from his.

“What about you?”

She swallowed. Why did she have to feel guilty? He had chosen to spend the money on a dinner with her. It wasn’t her fault he was single. There was nothing wrong in her being with Elijah. “There is someone.”

“Serious?”

“Getting there.”

“Anyone I know?”

She shook her head, knowing her face was red. She could feel her cheeks burning. “I doubt it.”

“A doctor?”

Man, he didn’t give up. “Yes.”

“Here?” He looked around the room, pausing on Dr. Parker.

“No. Back in New York.”

“Who?”

The eleven-thousand-dollar question now tossed on the table. “Dr. Bennet. Elijah Bennet.”

Alex scoffed and laughed. “You’re joking, right?”

She straightened, not liking his tone. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know Bennet. The guy’s a total player. We were at a conference together a couple years ago. We hung out. Be careful, Charity. Your heart strings aren’t worth being broken over a guy like that.”

She could imagine the two of them. Alex was no different than Elijah. Well, the Elijah from back then. “My personal life is none of your business, Alex. You can think whatever you want, but you have no right to judge me, or who I date.”

“I’m just saying... I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“You should have thought about that six years ago.”

He pointed at her. “See, it does still bother you.”

She growled inside her head. “No. It does not. I don’t appreciate you coming here and then trying to tell me who I should or shouldn’t be dating. It’s very nice you bought the Valentine’s ticket but that’s all it is, a dinner. Nothing more.”

Thankfully, Samantha began speaking from the podium. It saved them from having to continue the conversation, at least for a little bit. Charity stood and acknowledged the success of the evening. She was glad she didn’t have to go up and talk for once.

After Samantha finished speaking, the waiters cleared tables and moved a large section to the side to open the dance floor up. The DJ began playing romantic music and several couples made their way to the wooden floor. Charity wanted to go home. She’d had enough.

She felt Alex standing beside her before she noticed him.

“Look, I’m sorry. Again.” He ran a hand through his hair and held it out to her. “Truce?”

She raised her head to meet his gaze. Carrying resentment or being angry was taking too much energy away from her. She needed to start letting things go. She was getting tired of it. “Truce.”

“Will you at least have one dance with me? It is Valentine’s Day.”

She let him pull her up and smiled. “And you did pay a lot to have dinner with me.”

He grinned. “It was worth every penny.” He twirled her around on the dance floor. “And then some when Elijah finds out it’s me who beat him out on the dinner.” He held her tight so she couldn’t escape. “I’m only teasing.”

They continued to dance and joke around. It was strange to dance with him now when years before there had been so much electricity between the two of them. Now there wasn’t even a spark – for her at least.

Near the end of the evening, Alex commented on her dancing skills. “You’re still beyond talented on the dance floor.”

And in the bedroom
. She could almost hear his thoughts out loud.

“I fly back again tonight. Unless there is any reason you can convince me to stay?”

She shook her head. He definitely didn’t know when to give up. Maybe that’s what made him a good doctor.

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” He hugged her tight. “I should get going then. My flight leaves in an hour. Can we stay in touch?”

“Sure.” She gave him one of her business cards and he gave her his.

“You’ll be the first person I call when Dallas Memorial needs help.”

“I’ll see if I can fit you in.”

He chuckled. “Thanks again.” He hugged her once more and kissed her hand. “Let me know if the Dr. Bennet thing doesn’t work out.” He winked and headed out the door before she could even say goodbye.

Chapter 12

“So who was your mysterious dinner date?” Elijah tried to sound like he was teasing, but Charity could hear the strain in his voice. It probably had been bothering him all night.

She felt guilty when she knew she didn’t have to. She hadn’t done anything wrong. “I really thought it was going to be you,” she told him. “I thought you were going to surprise me and show up. I wore a tight red dress… even bought sexy undergarments.”

“Did your date get to see them?”

What?
He hadn’t really just said that, had he? “You’re joking, right?”

Elijah breathed into the phone, like a long, tired sigh. “Sorry, that was rude. It’s been a long, boring shift. I’m just jealous. I’d rather be with you right now than here.”

“I didn’t take you as the hopeless romantic.” His last comment still burned and she suddenly felt like the hair on the back of her neck was rising, like a dog ready to fight.

He harrumphed. “I’m not really. I just don’t like other guys taking the woman I’m dating out to dinner.”

“It was a charity dinner! The guy paid eleven thousand dollars to have dinner with me!” She hated the exasperation in her voice. She lowered her tone and spoke softly. “What was I supposed to do? Tell him I wasn’t allowed to go?”

“No. I know. I’m being ridiculous.”

Alex’s words echoed in the back of her head.
He’s a player. Be careful.
“You are. I’m not a cheater.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Finally Elijah spoke, his words tense. “Are you implying something?”

“It was just dinner. Alex didn’t stay. He had to catch a flight back to Dallas.”

“Alex? Alex who?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Why did she suddenly feel like she might be walking on thin ice?
I haven’t done anything wrong. Stop worrying.

“Alex in Dallas? Is he a doctor? Why did he bid so high to see you? A stranger doesn’t do that unless they want you or are expecting something in return.”

He was pushing buttons that didn’t need to be pushed tonight. She was tired, mentally and physically, and she’d had enough of men and their bullshit for one night. “Alex is a doctor. He’s head of cardiac at Dallas Memorial.”

“The name sounds familiar.”

Charity ignored his comment and continued talking. “Alex and I dated back when I was in med school.”

“I knew it! I knew something was up with this guy!”

“You knew it? Then you knew he took off when my mother got sick, that he didn’t show up for the funeral and we haven’t spoken in six years. You also know that he apologized for what happened in the past.”

“Did he try to hook up with you?”

She had no intention of answering that. “Elijah, it’s late. I’m going to bed. I’ll talk with you tomorrow, when you’re not determined to start an argument.”

“I’m not arguing!”

“No? Then what do you call this? Trying to pick a fight? There’s no difference!” She huffed. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I shouldn’t have to defend myself. I’m not a player. I never have been. I don’t have the track record worth worrying about. Your indiscretions are your own. I’m not you. Whatever you’ve done to make you paranoid and feel the need to sabotage a relationship is your problem. Not mine.” She’d probably gone too far but he needed to know she knew about his past and she wasn’t like that. She had every right not to trust him and yet she did. Why couldn’t he give her the same courtesy?

“That’s cheap. You want to bring up my past to make you feel better? You’re the one who runs when things get uncomfortable. That’s your bloody track record.”

She shook her head. They were getting nowhere. “I’m going to bed. Call me tomorrow or whenever your head is clear. Goodnight.” She hung up without waiting for him to reply.

Charity spent most of the next day checking her phone. She hung around the house, dancing for an hour in the morning to try and clear her head. She did it again in the afternoon, trying to relieve the stress of the previous night. It didn’t seem to help.

MEN!
She couldn’t believe Elijah. She couldn’t believe Alex had shown up at the dinner. Then she scolded herself for even thinking about Alex. Dancing let her mind drift but it kept finding its way back to Elijah. Maybe she had done something or said something worth upsetting him. Maybe what he had said contained a little bit of truth. Did she tend to run from things when they got tough? She left New Zealand like a bat out of hell and never bothered to tell Elijah why. He had paid for her flight, introduced her to his mother – possibly wicked mother – and he brought her to his childhood home. Elijah, the playboy, took a girl home to meet his mother and see the kind of life he had left behind. Those were huge steps, especially for a player. Right? So what was she doing? He wasn’t the one running.

She balled the towel she was holding and drilled it across the room. It landed with a soft thump against the wall and slid to the floor. She had faults, but so did he. Why in the world he assumed she would sleep with the Valentine’s Dinner date was beyond ridiculous. Then he blew his top when he found out it was an ex-boyfriend. She hadn’t seen Alex in six years! It’s not like she tried to contact him.

Why had he paid all that money for dinner? Did he hope to start some kind of relationship again? Why else? No guy would do that on Valentine’s Day without ulterior intentions. Of course he did. Except Alex had never been the typical guy. He hated Valentine’s Day when they dated. He wasn’t the romantic type. It was all med school, labs, surgeries, and sex. She had been the same back then. She sucked at romantic stuff, so they had been a good match. Except that he had forgotten to include the friendship part. He should have been around when she needed him. Julie had been. Even Simon turned out to be a better friend than Alex.

Elijah had a point to be skeptical of Alex. How was she going to convince him he had no reason to worry about her? She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a long drink.

She didn’t want to lose him.

She was falling for him.

Say it!
She scolded herself.
Why be such a wimp? Admit it!
She swallowed and closed her eyes. “I’m falling in love with you, Elijah.” She whispered the words aloud, hoping that admitting them might solidify her feelings.

A sense of realization filled her. She could tell that panic wasn’t far behind. After Alex, she had vowed to never let a guy rule her heart. Elijah didn’t rule her heart; he owned it.

Panic mixed with anxiety. She didn’t want to lose him. She ran from New Zealand because she thought leaving would protect her heart. She just didn’t want to admit it. She dashed to her bedroom, grabbed her phone, and dialed his number.

She chewed her lip as she waited for the call to connect. After it clicked and rang once, she quickly hung up. What would she say? She dropped on the bed, forcing herself to breathe slowly to calm her nerves. “I feel like I’m sixteen years old again. Arrrghh!” She pounded her feet and fists on the mattress. She sat up, tapped her hands once against the air, and re-centered.

She picked her phone up and redialed his number. Butterflies seemed trapped inside her diaphragm and pressed against her rib cage. Maybe they were hummingbirds; they seemed to be putting up quite the fight.
Please pick up… don’t send me to voicemail.
She had no idea what she was going to say, but voicemail would be worse.

“Hullo Charity.” His voice sounded strained.

She swallowed hard, trying to force the butterflies and hummingbirds deeper down. “Are you at the hospital? Did I get you at a bad time? I can call back later if it’s easier.” She cringed. She knew she was babbling.

“It’s fine. I’m at work, just trying to catch a few winks before my next surgery.”

She imagined him lying on a cot, stretched out with his eyes closed. The image stirred something inside her that seemed to calm the butterflies, or drop them deeper and create a different kind of feeling that wasn’t particularly unpleasant. “I… I’m sorry about last night. It was just a dumb dinner. I honestly thought – I really hoped it would be you walking through the door…”

Elijah didn’t say anything. His steady breathing came through the phone and Charity thought he had fallen asleep.

“Elijah?” she whispered.

“I’m still here.” He sighed. “I feel like shit. You shouldn’t be the one apologizing. I’m the one who should be sorry. I got jealous. It drove me batty all night at work. I kept imagining some dude sweeping you off your feet and you calling me to say you weren’t interested in me. I figured it would be someone there you knew.”

“It’s not—”

“I know. I just wasn’t expecting someone from Texas, let alone another doctor. I know who Alex is. I met the guy before at a conference. Then you told me you dated him and I flipped. It doesn’t sound like it just happened by mistake. Look at it from my perspective. It seems planned.”

“I had no idea it would be Alex! The program the company uses doesn’t give names. Samantha, the boss, wouldn’t tell me and to be honest, I didn’t ask since I was part of the evening.” She inhaled and slowly released the air. “I really thought it was going to be you,” she whispered.

“Do you still have feelings for this guy?”

“No!”

“He obviously does.”

“Then that’s his problem. I’m only interested in the feelings of a different doctor.”

“Who’s that?”

She could hear the smile in his voice and pictured him still lying down, his face relaxing. “He’s extremely hot. Very sexy accent. Gorgeous eyes. Incredible in bed.” She giggled, so glad she had called him. “Oh, I hear he’s a pretty good doctor as well.”

“Pretty good?”

“He took a job with my father so I’m not a hundred percent sure.”

“Your father’s an amazing doctor. Anyone would be stupid not to say yes to him!” He chuckled. “Let me back up a moment here. Can you tell me more about this extremely hot, sexy guy who is incredible in bed?”

“What do you want to know?”

“When are you going to see him next?”

“Not soon enough.” A beep went off through the phone and Charity could hear a muffled intercom voice speaking. “That for you?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Duty calls, again. Need to prove I’m an amazing doctor to this chick I’m trying to impress.” Muffling echoed through the phone. “Sorry, just needed to get my shirt on.”

The image of Elijah lying on the cot quickly changed to him with a naked torso. She was going to need to work out again.

“I want to see you,” Elijah said. “When are you coming up here again?”

She did a mental check of her calendar. “The gala’s in three weeks. I don’t know if I can make it up before then. Do you have any days off? Maybe I can plan a quick trip before and coincide it with you? We could do something together?”

“Like a proper date?”

She could hear the teasing in his voice. “I’d like that.”

“I’ll send you my schedule after this surgery.” He held the phone away from his mouth as he asked a nurse to grab him the charts and prep the patient. He’d be ready in five minutes. “I gotta go. I’ve got to scrub up.”

“I’ll start planning something for us.”

“Sounds good. Oh, and Charity?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t book a hotel room. Stay with me.”

She grinned. Her smile was huge. She could see it in the mirror’s reflection. “Okay.”

“I love you,” Elijah said. He hung up.

Charity’s heart rate increased. She blinked and stared at the phone.
What did he just say?
Could she have misunderstood and thought he said it?