A Matter of the Heart. Patricia Davids

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      Determined to find out who had leaked the information, she spun around to confront him. Her abrupt change in direction caught him off guard and he plowed into her. The impact knocked her backward.

      His strong hands shot out and grabbed her arms to keep her upright. “Sorry about that, Doc.”

      The feel of his long fingers curled around her bare arms triggered a thrill of awareness that shocked her. She drew a deep breath to steady her nerves. It didn’t help. Instead, it flooded her senses with the masculine scent of his aftershave and a hint of caramel coffee.

      She focused her gaze on a small damp stain on his pale blue shirt. He must have sloshed coffee on himself just as she walked by the waiting room. The thought that he had been lurking there expressly to waylay her brought her anger rushing back. She used it to suppress the strange and unbidden attraction she felt as she jerked away from him. “Who told you I’d be here this morning?”

      His eyes sparkled with mirth and a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a dimple in one cheek. For a split second, she envied his self-confidence and friendly poise.

      “Now, Doc, you know a reporter never reveals his sources. Besides, you haven’t returned my calls. I wasn’t left with much choice except to track you down at work.”

      She rubbed her upper arms trying to dispel the tingle his touch caused. “How often do you have to hear that I have no comment, Mr. Dale?”

      “Call me Rob.”

      “I prefer not to, Mr. Dale.” She turned and began walking away.

      He quickly fell into step beside her. “I’d like to know why you object so strongly to being interviewed about Ali Willis’s case?”

      “Medical information is privileged. I’m sure you are already aware of that.”

      “I have copies of a release from the boy’s guardian as well as from the Children of the Day organization. Would you like to see them?” He pulled several folded sheets of paper from his hip pocket.

      Ignoring the missives, she paused long enough to swipe her ID badge in front of a small black sensor on the wall. The OR doors swung open, revealing a flurry of activity as men and women dressed in green scrubs moved patients on gurneys and carts loaded with supplies and equipment through the wide, brightly lit halls.

      She paused to glare at the man following her with a small sense of triumph. “I won’t help your paper or anyone else profit from a child’s suffering. We’re done. You aren’t allowed in here. If you don’t leave, I’ll have security remove you.”

      Granting Rob Dale or any reporter an interview was the last thing she wanted to do. It was their job to pry, to uncover stories and reveal secrets. There were things in her past that were best left undisturbed.

      He stepped back as the doors began to close but leaned to the side to keep eye contact with her. “If you won’t talk to me about Ali, why don’t we talk about the Children of the Day organization? I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.”

      She merely arched one eyebrow and waited until the steel panels clicked shut, eliminating him from her sight.

      The man was certainly persistent…and attractive. There was no denying that fact. Not once since her husband’s death six years ago had a man affected her so strongly. Her reaction to the reporter was an aberration, but not something she couldn’t handle. Rob Dale would have to take no for an answer this time and she wouldn’t have to deal with him again.

      Closing her eyes, she reached up and curled her fingers tenderly around the locket at her neck. She had more important things to think about than a man with friendly blue eyes, an engaging grin and strong hands that sent shivers down her spine when he touched her.

       This is crazy. Get him out of your head. Refocus.

      Forcing thoughts of the man out of her mind, she tucked the locket beneath the scooped neck of her top and proceeded into the scrub room. A long morning loomed ahead of her.

      Rob admitted only temporary defeat as the doors closed between him and the intriguing doctor with shoulder-length blond hair, a cute upturned nose and intense hazel eyes. Dr. Blake might not want to speak to him, but he wasn’t about to give up so easily. His paper had sent him to do a story. It wasn’t an earth-shattering feature, but he would have to make do until a better story came his way.

      He returned to the waiting room and scooped up his interrupted cup of mocha caramel latte. After taking a sip, he walked back down the hallway. Perhaps he could get what he needed for the story without using Dr. Blake.

      At the nurses’ station, he paused to speak to the short, friendly brunette who had told him of Dr. Blake’s surgical schedule after only the mildest probing earlier that morning.

      “You were right,” he said, leaning both elbows on the waist-high countertop and gracing her with his best smile.

      She closed the chart she was writing on and stuck it in a silver wire rack. “I told you Dr. Ice Princess wouldn’t give you the time of day.”

      An older nurse seated beside her looked up and said, “Traci, that’s no way to talk about Dr. Blake. She’s an excellent surgeon. Your patient has just arrived in pre-op number two. I think you’re needed there.”

      Traci rolled her eyes and rose with an exaggerated sigh. “I didn’t invent the title, Emily, and you know she’s earned it.”

      Rob watched her walk away, then turned his attention and his smile on the woman still seated at a long desk behind the counter. “Emily, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Rob Dale. I’m doing a story on a little boy having surgery soon named Ali Willis.”

      “We aren’t allowed to give out patient information.”

      “Of course, and I wouldn’t ask you to do that. I already know that Dr. Blake will be doing the surgery, and I’m interested in finding out more about her. I’ve been told she does quite a bit of charity work. That doesn’t sound like an ice princess to me.”

      Emily sent a wary look his way, but he gave her his most disarming grin.

      After a moment, she relaxed and said, “If she does, she doesn’t advertise the fact, but then I’ve never known her to give an interview. She’s a very private person.”

       Or she has something to hide, he mused to himself. In the past he’d often found that the people who didn’t want to talk to him were the ones that deserved a closer look. The phone on the desk rang, and Emily excused herself to answer it.

      Rob straightened but he didn’t move away. With half an ear, he listened in on Emily’s end of the conversation. Dr. Blake’s reluctance to talk to him had piqued his interest. The fact that she was prettier than any surgeon he’d ever met made him consider trying to interview her again, but his assignment was to do an in-depth piece on Children of the Day, a Christian charity devoted to helping innocent victims of war, not specifically on Dr. Blake. The only reason he was here was because of her work for the organization.

      It was a fluff piece, but while he was in the States, he had to go where he was assigned. He glanced down at the red puckered scar on his forearm and flexed the fingers of his left hand. He was as healed as he was going to get. СКАЧАТЬ