Healing the Doctor (BWWM Interracial Romance) (6 page)

Hailey couldn’t really hate Greg for not taking her call.

“He’ll call you back. He’s a doctor, you can’t expect him to be available on his cell every minute of every day.” Kate tried to make light of the situation.

“Maybe,” she mumbled.

“He’s probably just busy, Hailey. Don’t you dare get all down and crybaby on me again. He’ll call you back.”

Kate was always right, and Hailey depended on the fact that her track record was great. By evening though, she wasn’t feeling that optimistic. Kate wasn’t there to keep her bucked up, and she was getting more miserable every second.

Finally, Hailey had had enough. She grabbed her beige colored parka and shrugged into it, leaving her apartment. Greg worked at Brandon Memorial Hospital and she was ready to lay siege to the place, as long as she got to apologize to him.

Chapter Ten

She stood outside the main entrance to the hospital and felt slightly shaky. Tentatively, she made her way inside and found the reception desk with nurses gathered around it.

“I’m looking for Dr. Walt,” Hailey said and the nurse, a good-looking African American man, looked appreciatively at Hailey.

“He’s probably up in his office. Is this concerning a medical emergency?” he asked, obviously following protocol.

“No. It’s actually…just a personal visit. I was hoping to find him. Would you by any chance know if he’s in the hospital or…” Hailey trailed off as the nurse’s eyes flicked over her full lips and wavy hair.

He smiled at Hailey and she tensed. She did not have time for useless flirting with a nurse, no matter how good-looking he was. She had to find Greg.

“You can wait here for a while. I’m sure he’ll be down in a minute,” he said with a smile.

“Come on, seriously. Can you just page him or call him or something?” she cried impatiently.

The nurse, whose name tag said Eli, tensed at her shrill tone, and all traces of his friendliness disappeared. He lifted his folder and left, leaving behind a shocked Hailey. “Wait...” she began but then turned around, stilling in her tracks.

Greg was walking down the hall, his eyes glued to his cell in his hand, and he was scrolling through something. Although she was slightly pissed that he hadn’t returned her call, she could feel a lurch in her chest at the sight of him.

His hair was slightly messy as if he had been wearing a cap and had just taken it off. His dark-blue scrubs looked immaculate on him, and a stethoscope dangled from his palm.

Just as he passed a shock-still Hailey, he lifted his eyes and stopped, his lips slightly parted.

“Hailey?” he said, sliding his phone into his pocket. “What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Greg,” Hailey replied, gazing into his eyes, looking for a sign that he wasn’t angry with her, that he didn’t hate her. “I came looking for you.”

“Oh,” he said, his face expressionless.

Hailey scanned his face, desperate for a hint of his earlier trust, but she found none. Instead, he just looked tired, and had dark circles around his eyes that managed to make him even more handsome, if that were possible.

Hailey’s lip trembled as he stared back at her like she was a stranger. “I’m sorry, Greg. I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered, her voice breaking as tears spilled from her eyes.

Greg’s lips parted in shock. “No, don’t. Come on, Hailey. Don’t cry,” he whispered, sliding his arms around her neck and holding her clasped tightly to him.

Hailey’s face was buried against his neck, her lips grazing the smooth column of his neck. His scent was overwhelming, masculine and warm, and she relaxed for the first time in two days.

Greg felt emotion building inside him, and he couldn’t believe that Hailey had been so affected by the truth. She looked tired, exhausted, and her eyes were swollen as if she had been crying.

He glanced around and saw a couple of the nurses peeking glances at them, and Greg freed Hailey from his embrace. Pushing her hair off her face, he whispered, “Can we talk outside?”

Hailey self-consciously glanced around. “Yeah,” she said forcing a smile on her face.

Greg followed her out in the damp night, and Hailey was slightly chilly in her parka while Greg was just wearing his cotton scrubs.

Greg sat down on a bench beneath a tree, about fifty feet away from the hospital’s main entrance.

“You look great,” Hailey said, smiling at him again, and Greg smiled back, for the first time since he had left Hailey standing at the curb outside her apartment building.

“I wish I could say the same about you, Hailey,” he said and Hailey laughed, wiping her eyes.

“You’re terrible,” she said.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t call you back,” he said gently. “I was in surgery for the past six hours, and I just got hold of my phone five minutes ago.”

“Oh. So it wasn’t intentional? Hailey asked relieved.

Greg chuckled. “No, of course not.

Awkward silence filled the space between then, and Hailey finally broke the silence. “So when you have these ultra long surgeries, how do you find time to eat?” she asked, genuinely interested.

“I just wait for it to be over, and then I grab a sandwich.”

“Can I take you out for a sandwich?” Hailey asked, instinctively reaching for his hand. To her surprise, Greg instantly tuned his hand palm up, and encased her hand in his.

Hailey’s breath shook as she watched her dark skinned hand in his tanned one. Greg followed his gaze and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand softly.

Without thinking the idea through, Hailey leaned forward and slid her free hand along Greg’s nape, pulling his head up and pressing her lips onto his.

Greg stilled for a moment, and closed his eyes, warmth seeping through his bones. Hailey kissed him softly before leaning towards him for another soft kiss. Greg couldn’t believe the way her gentle kisses were making him feel. He couldn’t think, and he had forgotten where he was. All that mattered was the girl he had laughed with smelled wonderful.

Hailey moved away, her breath shaky, her chest rising and falling as if they had been making out. Greg clasped her hand tighter, and gazed at her face, unsure of what to say.

He was confused, and overcome with sensations coursing through him. He had forgotten how to behave when a gorgeous girl kisses you, or even how to breathe, for that matter.

Chapter Eleven

Greg and Hailey were seated on barstools at a quiet diner, where Hailey had assured him made the best steak sandwiches.

Greg had swapped his scrubs for a pair of jeans. His blue shirt peeped through the front of his thin jacket. He was telling her details about his surgery, and she was enthralled, even though he had to explain all the medical terms as he spoke.

As they left the diner, Hailey wrapped her coat tighter around her chest, and caught her breath as Greg took her hand in his. They walked down the road, hand in hand, looking like a couple in love who couldn’t keep their hands off one another.

Hailey bit back her smile. The more time she spent with Greg, the more she found wonderful things in his personality. She was glad she had shown up at his hospital because it had turned out better than she had expected.

So far, she hadn’t brought up his wife and son, and he hadn’t either. She was fine with the understanding that she knew about his past. Although, in her heart, she knew that sometime they would have to have the discussion face to face.

Greg drove her to her place, and this time when she got out, she did what she had been desperate to do the last time they had been in the exact same situation.

“Do you want to come up for a coffee?” she asked. “It’s going to be horrible tasting though since I’m not really domestically inclined,” she said with a smile.

Greg walked to her, his keys in his hand, and bent his head to take her lips in a long, sweet kiss that made Hailey gasp. It was nothing like the chaste peck she had given him at the hospital bench. His lips were moving fiercely over hers, stroking her lips as if he was trying to memorize the shape of her mouth.

Hailey’s soft moan made Greg slide his hand around her waist, and Hailey’s head tipped back as she let him take over her mouth. His tongue probed her lips, making them part, and tangled with her tongue.

Greg was losing control. He knew he should slow down, and that he would probably scare off Hailey with the way he was kissing her, but he just couldn’t stop himself. She tasted so sweet, and her tiny waist felt wonderful against his palm. He clutched her tighter, pulling her body to his. Hailey slid her hands up Greg’s chest, her breath harsh, her mind buzzing.

She met every stroke of his lips, every touch of his tongue, and her skin was sensitized to the point where she just wanted to slide her body closer to his and feel his skin on hers. She had never been so eager and desperate to sleep with a man on a first date.

At the back of her mind she knew that this wasn’t even a first date, but she was losing control. With a groan of longing, she pressed her body to his, shaping her frame to his.

The moment Greg felt her body pressed against the bulge protruding through the front of his jeans, he snapped back to reality. He pulled away from Hailey, his breath harsh, his eyes wide, and stared at her gorgeous face.

Hailey’s cheeks were tinged with blush and her lips were parted, slightly swollen from his ravaging kiss. His blood was roaring in his ears, and his cock was throbbing with an urgency that he had forgotten existed.

“I’m sorry, I…I’m sorry Hailey,” he whispered and Hailey’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“What happened?” she said, taking a step toward him, and he backed up instantly, making her stop in her tracks. “Greg?”

“I…I can’t. I need some time,” he said and Hailey stopped. Her heart clenched painfully but she kept her face impassive.

Greg sped off in his car, and Hailey made her way up to her apartment. She knew what he meant. He was still not over his wife, and the intimacy had scared him.

Hailey picked up her cell to call him, but then changed her mind and instead wrote him a text message.

I understand. Call me when you can. Hailey.

She walked to her bedroom and stared at the mirror over her dresser. Her face was still flushed, her eyes bright, and a smile spread across her face as she remembered the way he had kissed her.

It had felt like he wanted to claim her completely. It was thrilling and heart-stopping, but left her all too unsatisfied.

***

Greg fell onto his couch, completely exhausted and bewildered. He didn’t know what had taken over him to kiss Hailey like that. One second he had been about to say good night, and the next he had kissed her.

The thought of his wife made him ache, and then he forcefully pushed the thought aside, like he had practiced for years now. He couldn’t think about her, it was confusing and painful. He had to let go of his past and move on, or he was going to go insane. Swiftly, he picked up his phone and called Hailey.

“Hello?” Hailey asked almost happily.

“Hey. I was wondering if you’re free for lunch tomorrow?”

Hailey bit back a smile at her end of the line. “I actually have a job interview at around one p.m.,” she said.

“Okay, I’ll pick you up after. Where is the interview?”

Hailey laughed softly. “It’s at Baster and Company,” she said.

“Okay. I’ll be outside at 1:30. Take your time inside, I’ll be waiting.”

Hailey smiled broadly when she hung up. She was finally going on her first date with Dr. Gregory Walt.

The next day, Greg waited impatiently for the sight of the dark-haired girl whose thoughts had kept him awake half the night. He was hoping to take her out to lunch, just so he could watch her face light up while she spoke.

Hailey hurried out, her high heels clicking discreetly on the tiled floor outside the gigantic building of her father’s company. Her gray suit was pristine, and her white starched shirt shone against her ebony skin.

Greg couldn’t smother his appreciative smile when he saw her. She waved and hurried over, opening the car door and sliding into the seat next to him. He couldn’t help but notice her bare knees, and the skirt of her suit slid up slightly to give him an extra view of her thigh.

Her skin was smooth and begged for man’s touch, and he was already flaming with the need to slide his hand over her leg and feel her skin against his palm.

“How’d it go?” Greg asked when Hailey beamed at him.

She laughed, her perfect smile lighting up the car. “My father will be livid.”

Greg’s smile froze. “Baster is your father’s company?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Oh. You didn’t mention that earlier.”

“It didn’t come up.”

“So, are you getting the job or what?”

“Um, I can’t be sure, but that doesn’t really matter. Let my file cross my dad’s desk and I’ll be happy.”