The Very Thought of You (3 page)

His preferences started at her nice curvaceous backside, then moved to her mouth and ended with her eyes. Her eyes. He loved to watch the play of emotion in Miranda's eyes. She'd had one of the best poker faces he'd ever seen, but it was all for naught because he could tell what she was feeling when he looked into her cinnamon brown eyes. At that moment they were darker than he'd ever seen them. And if he could guess, he'd say she'd been just as effected by his presence as he was by hers.

Finally, when the silence began to border on discomfort, he smiled. “Miranda Tyler, as I live and breathe,” Caleb said warmly.

Her brow rose and he glimpsed the slight formation of a smile on her lips. “Dr. Blackfox, what a surprise.”

He maneuvered around the bed. As if it were the most natural thing for him to do, he swept her into his arms for a hug. And as her arms wrapped around his sides, his body relaxed in happiness. Even after all those years, they still fit together and she felt damn good. Taking a deep breath, Caleb reluctantly pulled away; but unwilling to break the physical connection, he kept his hands on her arms. Looking down into her upturned face, he grinned. “We had an agreement before I even took the first MCAT that you would only call me
doctor
at a very special time.”

Blood suffused her cheeks and she looked away. A flash of triumph shot through his veins. She hadn't forgotten. They'd known each other since junior high school, but everything changed in college. Back home she'd been the girl next door. All it had taken was the sight of Miranda in a tight skirt to bring him to his knees. Their first date had been a smoldering fire; their first kiss blew his mind. Whenever they'd been in the room together, sparks had flown.

“That was a lifetime ago.”

“But the Miranda I knew always kept her promises.”

She shook her head and a slight smile curved her lips upward. “I haven't been that girl in a long time, Caleb.”

“Well, although I dislike the circumstances, I'm glad you're home. Will you be staying for a while?”

“I'll be here as long as Darren needs me.”

“He could have a pretty lengthy recovery,” he said in all seriousness. “I'm sure there's someone waiting for you back north who won't be happy to hear that.”

She shrugged. “I'm on leave from work. I can be here as long as it takes for him to recover.”

His eyes narrowed on her vague reply. As far as he could tell, Miranda had come alone. He'd taken in the lack of a wedding band the moment she'd walked into the room. That observation, coupled with her response, led him to believe that she wasn't married or in a committed relationship. And having met her parents, he knew that if she'd had a child, she would have to have a husband. Unless…

Caleb glanced around. A few of the nurses were milling about in the hallway and seemed particularly interested in what was going on. Without a doubt, all the hospital staff from the chief to the orderlies would know about the hug by the end of the day. The line between personal and private had been drawn long ago.

Caleb made a point to look at his watch. “I'm due to go on a required break and was headed down to the cafeteria. Care to join me? We could catch up. The last I heard you were in New York.”

She shook her head. “I spent a few weeks there for training, but I live in D.C. now.”

“Nice. I look forward to hearing about what you've been up to for the past couple of years.”

“I'm not so sure that would be a good idea.”

Not wanting to lose the opportunity to question her about the little girl, Caleb quickly added, “I don't bite and I don't carry needles. If you don't want to talk about your personal life, then we can discuss your brother's condition.”

“Of course. I could use a cup of coffee.”

Caleb stood close to her in the elevator, and to Miranda's surprise, heat trickled up and down her body. Miranda wanted to scream in frustration. It had taken her
years
not months to get Caleb Blackfox out of her system. Why in the world would she have a reaction to him now?

Because I am an idiot,
she told herself. It had to be. Coming back to Rome was taking a leap back in time, and she'd forgotten to bring an anti-idiocy jacket with her.

“I'm sure that this was an unexpected inconvenience,” he mentioned. “I would have expected your parents to be here.”

Miranda kept her eyes on direction markers in the hallway. There were signs for the emergency room, women's wing, restrooms, surgery and finally the cafeteria. It came as second nature for her to observe and memorize her surroundings. And that training came in handy as a distraction from the man at her side. She'd never really been in a hospital. Lucky for her no one in her family had needed a visit.

“Are your parents well?”

Caleb's question pulled Miranda from her thoughts. She turned her head to look at him. “They're teaching high school in Ghana.”

“For how long?”

“It was supposed to be a year. The last time I spoke with them things were going so well that they may decide to sign on for another year.”

“How do you feel about that? I know you were very close to your parents.”

His question, although innocent, sparked tears in her eyes. Quickly looking away, Miranda blinked rapidly. It was utterly selfish, but she wanted them home; she wanted her father to be there to tell her everything was going to be okay while her mother hugged her tight. Although she could depend on her aunt Francine to help out, her father's sister had her own household to deal with. Just as she almost gave in to a self-pity session, she found herself pulled into a man's chest.

“It's going to be okay,” he soothed.

For a moment she fought against his embrace, but it was all but impossible. No matter how much mental distance Miranda had been able to put between her and Caleb, her body still reacted to the scent of his cologne, the hard contours of his body and the strength of his arms.

She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes. A blush roared into her cheeks. Every eye on the floor seemed to be watching their little show. Pulling back, Miranda pasted a smile on her face. “Thank you.”

“I'm here for you anytime you need me,” Caleb replied. “Now how about that cup of coffee?”

 

A few minutes later, as they sat across from one another at the back of the hospital cafeteria, Caleb leaned forward and placed his elbows on the round table. “I see this place more than I like.”

With a casual interest, Miranda eyed the shiny new PDA he placed on the table halfway between them and pried off the lid of her cup of coffee, added three containers of cream and a few scoops of sugar. She took a minute to stir and then took a sip. The rich French vanilla flavor felt warm and smooth going down her throat. She knew that it would take at least ten to fifteen minutes for the caffeine to be absorbed into her bloodstream, but just the taste made her feel more alert.

“Thank you, God,” she said with a smile on her lips.

His mouth curved upward into a warm grin. “Still not a morning person, are you?”

“Actually, I love mornings. I adore them. I usually get into the office at seven. But this past week has completely disrupted my schedule.”

Over the large cup of coffee, Miranda stared at her ex-boyfriend. Years had passed since they'd seen each other, and here they were, after all this time, sitting across from one another like old friends. But they'd never been real best friends. He'd been her soul mate, her first lover, her first love and the last man to break her heart and her trust.

He still looked wonderful—tall, boyish yet distinguished and devastatingly handsome. His skin was a deep earth and his face was clean-shaven with masculine contours and angles. His midnight brows were coal black and finely arched over discerning eyes. She'd seen all the men in his family, and when Caleb reached the age of forty his hair would turn salt-and-pepper, enhancing his already nice-looking face. She'd loved him once, loved him enough to stand up to her brother, enough to overlook his semimanipulative ways and socioeconomic status.

Misgivings and self-doubts she'd thought long buried rose as Miranda remembered meeting Caleb's family and friends for the first time. Although they'd grown up mere miles from one another, it might have been another country for the differences. She'd gone to public school and fought for a scholarship to college; Caleb had graduated from one of the top private high schools in the southeast. She'd lived on campus in a dorm and participated in the work-study program; Caleb lived off campus in a luxury condo.

At the time she'd somehow convinced herself that none of the material things had mattered. What mattered was how she'd felt; and she'd felt more than she could ever imagine. Even when they fought she'd loved him; after breaking up she'd loved him. Only her family had witnessed the fallout from the night she'd shown up at his apartment and seen him with another woman.

She couldn't eat or drink for days. The next week, after a chance run-in with Caleb's younger brother had left her in tears in the frozen-food aisle of the local grocery store, it became crystal clear she needed to get away. Rescue from her own misery had come in the form of a job offer in D.C. The process of packing up her things, finding a new place to live and moving there allowed for little time to feel sorry for herself. Her work at the Justice Department helped her cope with the loss of the one true love of her life, and her new friendships had helped her smile again.

Still, she'd seen a psychiatrist for a month because Miranda had gotten to the point where she didn't think she could stop loving the man. Shaken with the very memory, she forced her mind to stop and concentrate on the reason she was in the hospital to begin with. “Thank you for saving my brother's life,” she rushed.

“Miranda, I haven't earned your gratitude. I wasn't on duty the night your brother was brought into the emergency room.”

“Oh.”

“But I will be taking over his case and administering treatment for his time in the hospital and if he chooses I can assist with his outpatient rehabilitation and follow-up treatment.”

“You put that nicely,” she replied with a weak smile. “I think in this matter I won't be giving Darren a choice. I've done my homework and you're the best, Caleb. If you're willing to help, we can't afford to turn you down.”

“Did you're research, huh?”

“Some of the nurses couldn't stop singing your praises. They may have been a little biased, but they were honest. You're a good doctor.”

“Good luck in convincing Darren of that.”

“Don't worry, I can handle my older brother.”

“You look great, Miranda.”

She took a sip of her coffee. “That's the second time you've said that, Caleb.”

His brows rose and then he recalled giving her a compliment during the elevator ride down. “Then it's doubly true.”

She placed her cup on the table and sighed. “Look, Caleb. This is really awkward.”

“It doesn't have to be. What's past is past, right?”

“Yes and no. It took me a long time to get over what went down between us. And I may have gotten over it, but I can't forget what you did.”

Part of him wanted to just give up and let go, but part of him that was practically turning backflips in enjoyment of Miranda's presence held out hope of getting her back into his life.

“I didn't know she was in my bed that night, Miranda. I thought—”

She cut him off. “That it was me. I know. You told me that a million times. And the truth be told, I believe you, Caleb. I used that night as an out. We were different and eventually we would have broken up.”

“You don't know that.”

“Long-distance relationships don't last. You were about to go to Stanford and I didn't want to leave the East Coast. We would have seen each other maybe once a month or less.”

“We could have made it work. You could have flown up on a weekend and I could have come down.”

She shook her head. They could have made it work on his terms. She would have been more of a trophy girlfriend. They'd had their fiercest fights about money when they were dating. Caleb had plenty of it. He bought her diamond earrings for Christmas, expensive handbags for fun, delivered flowers to her dorm room just because. She may have wanted to go to a local diner for breakfast, but he would pick her up in his BMW and drive up to Buckhead for champagne mimosas and gourmet brunch.

The thing was that it was natural for him and over the top for her. And no matter how many times she tried to communicate it to him, nothing worked. It was insane that she would resent him for spoiling her, for loving her too much, but she had. After spending most of her life under the slightly smothering supervision of her brother and father, she'd wanted to spread her wings more in college. But the deeper they got into the relationship the more Caleb had resembled the men in her family.

She looked at him levelly for a moment and then down at the cup she held in her hand. “That's water under the bridge, Caleb. There's no sense in us resurrecting the past. Why don't we just concentrate on the present?”