Opposite Attraction (17 page)

That was all he needed to hear. He hoisted her to his hips and her legs wrapped around him. This was familiar. This was comfort when it came to Simone.

He pressed her back up against the wall and drove himself mad with the kiss he planted on her.

Her fingers tangled in his hair. Her legs tightened around him for support. And her breasts pressed against his chest and heaved from the breath she fought for.

When he couldn 't stand there any longer without carrying her away he set her down and eased back the kiss.

"
I am glad we did not make appetizers. I think that was appetizer enough. "

"
Yep. " It didn 't sound intelligent but it was all he could get out as he tried to will his body to ease.

Simone led him to the small kitchen where she 'd set a proper table with mismatched plates and silverware.

"
I saw a beer in the refrigerator if you would like one. "

"
Thanks, but I 'm on call. "

"
Oh, " she said trying to hide the disappointment in her voice as she reached for the serving platter. "I did not realize that. "

"
I forgot. I was too busy kissing you. " He reached for her and his fingers brushed down her arm.

Her chest fluttered knowing he was there with her, wanting to kiss her, talking sweetly to 1her. Perhaps it was the perfect opportunity to just tell him about the baby.

Gathering her courage, she took a deep cleansing breath. "I am glad you came tonight. I have dreamed about this for months. "

She took her seat as he began to serve them both from the platter she 'd set on the table. "You thought about cooking me dinner? "

Simone could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. "Curtis, " he looked up at her. "Since I left you I have thought of you every day. And after having spent the afternoon with your sister I realized that there were so many wonderful things you brought to my life, and not just physically. "

Curtis sat back in his chair. "I don 't think I understand. "

"
This is very difficult for me. " She took her paper napkin out from beneath her fork and set it in her lap. "I see what you have with your siblings and I realize I missed out on that. "

He narrowed his eyes. "So you love me for my family? "

"
And your charming smile. " She joked.

"
I am very dashing. "

She laughed and he placed salad on her plate.

"
What I am very badly trying to say, is I want to be part of your family. I want to have a family like yours. "

Curtis leaned back in his seat again, draping his arm over the back. He watched her for a moment. "This sounds like a marriage proposal, but I 'm not sure it is me you want to marry. I think you 'd rather marry my family. "

She swallowed hard. Why couldn 't she just get it out? "Oh, you would think I could say this without messing it up. After all I was trained my whole life to help sell big deals. "

"
Now you 're selling me something? "

"
Me, " she said simply.

He eased forward. "I am sold on you. "

She let out the breath that had stuck in her lungs. "Good. Then… "

He1r thought was interrupted by his pager going off on his waist and only a moment later his cell phone rang from his pocket.

"
Are you kidding me? " He silenced the pager and looked at the display on the phone before answering. "Dr. Keller -yes, how many? The clinic? The E.R.? " He let out loud breath. "Fifteen minutes away. "

Simone sat silent at the table as she listened to him ramble off miscellaneous words. Before he turned off his phone he was already standing, his truck keys pulled out of his pocket.

He looked down at her seated at the table. "Simone, I 'm so sorry. There was a carbon monoxide leak at some club. The hospital is flooded. I have to go. "

It was that very moment she understood what Cynthia had said about not wanting to marry Dr. Curtis Keller. He was already married to his job. If he were her husband, this would be the norm. He 'd jump up from dinner and race out the door. What would happen if their son was pitching baseball game or their daughter was in the middle of a dance recital?

"
Simone, I 'm sorry. " He headed for the door and she quickly followed. "Listen, I have no idea what time I 'll get out of there. Or if I 'll get out of there. " He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "If I can, I 'll try to stop back by, but… " He was already out the door and hurrying down the steps to his truck. Only a moment later he was gone.

She watched him speed away before shutting the door and walking back into the kitchen. There sat the meal Regan had prepared -untouched.

The tears started from the pit of her stomach and burned her chest as they made their way to her eyes. Why did she even think a man like Curtis Keller would want to love someone? He was married to his job and his patients. Only someone like Cynthia who was immersed into that kind of life would understand him. He was good only for quick romps behind barns, a friend with benefits. Curtis Keller wasn 't the father type. He might be compassionate and caring, but not for the people who really mattered -the woman who loved him and the baby who would want to love him too.

Simone sat at the table and pushed the plate in front of her away. Why did she think she could do this? Why did she come all the way to America only to find out she should have stayed in Paris? Eventually she could have convinced her father he was wrong. Whatever it was that had driven her to Nashville had been a mistake. It was time to realize that it was a lost cause to think that Curtis would choose her.

It had taken everything within Simone 's power to not throw dinner in 1the trash. She was mad and normally that meant making a scene. But wasn 't that why she was in Nashville in the first place? In a battle of words with her father she 'd lost her temper, lost everything she 'd ever know, and now sat alone in a horrible little apartment feeling sorry for herself.

She searched the kitchen for storage containers and packaged up the dinner. If Curtis did show up she 'd feed him. She 'd tell him about the baby, and then decide how she 'd make plans to head back to the life she knew.

"
It smells good in here. " Sam stood in the doorway of the kitchen. "Got any left over? "

Simone let out a breath and smiled at him. "Of course. Sit down. "

Sam washed his hands and Simone made him a plate of food as he sat down at the table.

"
Did you eat all ready? "

She sat down across from him and watched as he cut into the chicken on his plate. "I was trying to impress Curtis. "

"
He got called out on the carbon monoxide call, didn 't he? "

She nodded.

"
The clinic was packed. " He took a bite. "This is great. You make this? "

"
Regan. " She watched him take another bite. "If the clinic was full, why are you home? "

"
Shift was over, " he said with his mouth full.

And just like that she knew her fate was sealed. She 'd personally seen Sam work with his patients and he had just as much compassion as Curtis, but Curtis would always run out and back to the job he was married to -Sam would go home to his family.

"
So, " he stood to retrieve the beer from the refrigerator, "what are you doing with the rest of your night? "

Simone shrugged. "Nothing I guess. "

"
Star Wars marathon is on TV. Want to pop some popcorn and watch? "

Sam was easy to get along with and she was comfortable with him. Never in her life had she sat on a couch and watched a marathon of movies 1with popcorn. Suddenly her ruined evening didn 't seem so bad.

"
Regan brought a cheesecake. We could just go in after it with two forks. "

Sam took a pull of his beer and then laughed. "That 's my girl. Go get something on that 's comfy. You look too uptight. "

He dumped his plate in the sink and headed out to the couch.

Simone looked down at her outfit. It was very obvious that she was out of place in Nashville. Even in her own home she was dressed as though she were on parade.

She 'd found a pair of pajama shorts in the clothes Regan had given her and a loose T-shirt. She knotted her hair on the top of her head and had taken a moment to wash off her makeup.

Sam was already sitting on the couch, his feet up on the coffee table, when Simone emerged from her bedroom. Star Wars played on the television and the cheesecake sat next to him with a fork stuck in the middle.

He looked up at her when he heard her. "Couldn 't help myself. I started it. "

He patted the seat on the couch next to him. He moved the cheesecake to the coffee table and Simone took the seat he offered.

"
Have you seen these movies? "

She sat stiff and upright next to him. "Of course. "

"
Cool. Sit back and relax. Kick your feet up. " He tucked his arm under her legs and lifted them up. "You need to relax. "

Simone sat back and tried to loosen up. Old habits were hard to break.

Sam picked up the cheesecake, handed her a fork, and began digging into the center of the cake.

Simone took a small bite.

"
You have to dig in. You can 't just take little bites. "

She laughed. "I did not know there was an art to this. "

"
Pigging out on the couch. Heck yeah. " Sam took her fork out of her hand and dug up a big piece. He held it to her lips like a parent feeding a child. "C 'mon1, open up. "

Simone parted her lips slightly and inched toward the fork.

Sam pulled it back. "You can 't do this can you? "

"
Why would I want to? "

"
To be normal. Now open. "

She opened her mouth a bit wider, but before she knew it he had taken another piece of the cheesecake and shoved it into her mouth like a groom would shove wedding cake into his wife 's.

An evil laugh emerged from him as Simone wiped at her mouth. "Oh, God, you 're a mess! This is great. How about another? "

"
Are you crazy? ' She wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. What was wrong with this man she shared a home with? "Why did you do that? "

"
Because it was funny. "

"
I do not see the humor, " she said fighting back a laugh as she tried to scrape the smashed cheesecake off of her face.

"
Oh, someday you will. You have to let go a little or you 're going to go crazy when you have your baby. "

The humor in the moment was over. Simone sat there on the beat up couch. Her face was covered in cheesecake, and she stared at Sam. Was she over reacting or did he say what she thought he had.

"
I beg your pardon. "

"
You 're almost through your first trimester, right? "

Simone swallowed hard and tears welled in her eyes. She wiped at the desert that stuck to her skin. "I never said I was pregnant. "

"
You didn 't have to. I work with pregnant women all the time. And I have four sisters. I usually know someone is pregnant before they do. "

She was finding it hard to breathe. She fought for air, but it was as if her lungs didn 't know what to do with it.

Sam set down the cheesecake and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Now calm down. Don '1t hyperventilate on me. I 've been known to be wrong in my life. So if I 've said something that… "

"
I am pregnant. " It was only the second time she 'd said it aloud to anyone and it wasn 't getting any easier.

"
Okay, okay. Well no need to get worked up. "