Opposite Attraction (7 page)

"
Hey, Regina is back. " Her voice had dropped and sadness echoed in its tone.

Marsha dropped her head and shook it. "I wish I could get that woman far from here. " She sighed heavy. "I 'll go out and talk to her. "

Cynthia lifted her hand in a wave and they headed back through the clinic.

She showed her where she 'd be working. It was another office, cramped much like Marsha 's was, toward the back of the building. There were two desks there, but at least there was a window.

The pride that had filled Simone earlier was quickly turning into fear. The only work she 'd ever really done was to look pretty for her father 's investors. She was trained quite well in the art of small talk and smiling pretty. Yes, she could type well, and she knew her alphabet well enough to file, but what was she really doing? There was a fine line between successfully landing your first job and failing miserably at keeping it.

Oh, who was she kidding? This job was no different than the rest of her life. Only the name dropping had changed. But she had to admit, the names being dropped now weren 't because of big money or power, it was because of influence. The names that she 'd associated with to help her into her new position in life were the names of family, people who took care of others. Yes, there was in fact some pride that went with knowing the Keller family, and even more pride in knowing, no matter what the outcome, she 'd be in charge of bringing another Keller into the world.

Curtis had wrapped and bandaged nearly thirty people on his day off. One little boy had thrown up on him. And a baby girl had peed on him. All in all it had been a fine day, especially since he hadn 't been forced to sit with Simone at lunch.

But now his stomach growled and he 'd remembered only taking a few bites of his sandwich before throwing it into the trash because he 'd lost his appetite. The way he saw it Cynthia owed him a meal, especially since she was the one who made Simone sit at their table.

He 'd dropped by home for a quick shower and a change of clothes before rapping on her door.

She was laughing when she opened the door with a glass of wine in her hand. She had her hair curled and his favorite pair of tight jeans on. Obviously, she 'd been expecting him.

"
Oh, Curtis! " Her eyes widen1ed when she said it and the laugh she 'd been enjoying died down. "What are you doing here? "

"
Not something you 've ever asked before, doll. But I 'm guessing by your expression you have company. "

Cynthia bit down on her lip and stepped back to open the door further. He stepped in just as Simone walked out of Cynthia 's bedroom wearing a pair of her scrubs.

Without looking up she walked down the hall looking over her ensemble. "Why do they think these are appealing to patients? I mean… " She looked up and her eyes locked on Curtis 's. "I 'm sorry. I did not hear you come in. " He watched her chest rise and fall as she took in a deep, uncomfortable breath. "Hello, Curtis. How are you this evening? "

"
How am I? Confused. That 's how I am. " He shifted his glance toward Cynthia. "What 's going on? "

Her lips turned into the smile he 'd seen many times before. It was the kind of smile that said she was up to something. "Simone got a new job today. She 's trying on her new wardrobe. "

"
She what? " He spun his head back toward the French beauty in the hall. "You what? "

"
Oh, settle down, Curtis. " Cynthia shoved the glass of wine toward him. "We got her a job at the clinic. I thought it would be fun to get some new scrubs and told her she could have a few of my others. "

The thought should have caught him as funny. Simone Pierpont not only had an hourly, minimum wage job, but she was excepting hand-me-downs from someone she just met. Something was seriously wrong with the situation. But before he could protest the situation there was another knock at the door.

Cynthia quickly moved past him and opened the door. Standing on the other side was Sam, and Curtis did in fact remember the tall, blond nurse Cynthia had mentioned she had a date with.

The moment he looked past her his face became uncomfortable, but he smiled and gave Curtis a nod.

"
Curtis, you remember Sam? " Cynthia stepped back and Sam walked into the house and extended his hand toward him.

"
Nice to meet you. " His deep voice resonated and his large hand enveloped Curtis 's hand.

"
Likewise. "

Cynthia stepped between them. "And this is our friend Simone. "

Curtis watched as the well trained Simone pushed back her shoulders and with a natural shift of her head, her long black hair moved over her shoulder as she smiled and slid her dainty hand toward the giant of a man.

"
Sam, it is my pleasure to meet you. "

"
You too. French? "

"
Yes. Born and raised just outside of Paris. "

"
Cool. "

Curtis took a long sip of the wine which had been handed to him. Yeah, Cynthia had picked a winner with this one.

"
Well, " Cynthia looked at Curtis as she retrieved her purse from the couch. "Now that you 're here you can give Simone a ride home. "

He heard Simone gasp from the hallway, but before he could look up she 'd composed herself in her debutant way. How 'd he walk into such a set up?

"
It would be awesome if neither of you were here when I got back, " Cynthia whispered as she reached for Sam 's hand and walked out of the house.

As soon as the door closed he finished the wine in his hand. Simone stood watching him and that made him as angry as the situation he 'd walked into.

"
You got a job at the clinic? "

Simone only nodded. Cat must have gotten her tongue. That was funny. She always had something to say.

He took a step toward her, and that was when her head snapped into its defensive tilt. Oh he was ready for a fight. Maybe it was time to let her know just how pissed he was over being left in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a swim suit.

"
How is it you could land a job it one afternoon? "

"
Cynthia was very gracious to vouch for me with her supervisor. "

He chuckled. "You have skills an employer would want? "

Her hands came to her hips and she balled her fists. "How dare you speak to me like that. "

"
How dare I? Oh, I think I have every right. "

She dropped her hands. "I am trying to make a new life for myself. I would think you would appreciate that. "

"
Oh, sure. I 'd appreciate it if it were in Paris and not right under my nose. "

Her mouth opened, yet she still didn 't seem to have anything to say. She wasn 't very good at this fighting thing, but he wasn 't quite done.

"
Do you have any idea what you 're in for? Do you think you can show up in your pearls and your diamonds and they 'll hand you a pay check? That 's not how it works, doll. "

Her nostrils flared and the corners of her mouth tightened. "Do not call me that. "

"
You 're not a working stiff. "

"
Maybe I want to be. "

"
And who in their right mind would want to be? " He found he 'd taken a step closer to her and she to him. Now they were standing nearly toe to toe. Her blue eyes seared through him and it wasn 't a comfortable position to be in.

Curtis took a breath and let his shoulders fall. "Simone, why do you want to do this? Why move here, get a job, and wear a uniform? " He motioned to her clothing. "You don 't have to do this. " His voice was soft now and it irked him. Damn it he cared about her and he didn 't want to.

"
Did your father ever want you to do something and it was not what was in your heart? "

He thought back. He supposed there was something. But he couldn 't imagine what it was. His parents had never been anything but supportive, no matter how many times they brought up the cost of educational loans.

"
What is it that your father makes you do that has driven you across the world to prove him wrong? "

She looked away. He 'd made her uncomfortable and he wasn 't sure what to do about that. He 'd wanted to pick a fight, but the nature of his job and his upbringing had him wanting to scoop her up and hold her. But he fought the urge. She deserved to be uncomfortable in his presence.

"
I should get changed. If you want to leave I will call for a taxi. " She turned from him and shut the bedroom door behind her.

Simone fell against the door. Was it possible for her heart to actually explode? She placed her hand on her chest. One moment Curtis had looked at her as if he hated her and the next moment his eyes and voice had softened as if he still cared. Could she possibly make the best of this horrible situation she 'd caused herself?

She changed back into her regular clothing and folded up the scrubs Cynthia was letting her have. She 'd never have imagined she 'd need to borrow uniform either, especially one with teddy bears on it. Even worse, she couldn 't afford her own uniforms yet. This was a feeling she 'd never known -utter desperation.

When she walked out of the bedroom, adjusting the pearls on her wrist, Curtis was still there seated on the couch.

"
You are still here. " She tried to keep her voice even.

"
I 'm not going to let you take a taxi home. It 'll be dark soon and I 'm sure, no matter how many times you 've been in Nashville, you don 't know your way around. And I 'm darn sure you 've never called for a taxi. "

He was right she had never needed a taxi, there 'd always been a car waiting for her. More than likely she 'd have called Zach because she couldn 't afford at taxi, but she 'd keep that to herself.

"
I 'm ready to go. Thank you in advance for the ride. "

Curtis stood and scrubbed his hand over his face. The shadow of his whiskers darkened his face and gave him a rugged look. Heat stirred in her belly as he dropped his hands to his side.

"
I 'd showed up here looking for company for dinner. Looks like Cynthia had other plans. So what do you say? Want to grab a bite? "

It certainly was the most backward of invitations, but in her state she thought it best to take the opportunity to be alone with him. She was going to need every second she could get to make him fall in love with her. And this time she couldn 't run.

"
I could use some dinner. Thank you. " She reached past him for her purse on the couch and her arm brushed his. She tried not to tremble as their skin touched, but she heard him suck in his breath. Would it be wise just to look up at him and kiss him? Could she make him forget that she 'd run from him -abandoned him. She swallowed 1hard and stood straight, but he was already backing away.

It was going to be harder than she thought to win him over again.

Curtis was driving around in circles, but he wasn 't sure she noticed. He 'd thought of taking her to some diner and just getting a meal and taking her home. Then he decided she deserved something better than some greasy hamburger, so he 'd started toward a nice Italian restaurant. Now he was back to thinking that if he hit McDonald 's it would be good enough.

She hadn 't said a word since she climbed into the passenger seat of his truck. A million questions were racing through his head. Maybe he should just drive through somewhere and park. She 'd be a captive audience if he parked on some dirt road and made her tell him why she left him alone on the yacht. Didn 't she think what they 'd shared was important? Didn 't she know how he felt about her?

And then there were the rising concerns over her moving to Nashville and taking an hourly job. Who did she really think she was trying to fit into the working class in Cynthia 's hand-me-downs? She must have thought it was a great big joke to walk in there in her red high heels and pearls. He had a mind to -well he didn 't know what he 'd do. That was his problem. When it came to Simone Pierpont he lost all common sense.

His fingers were tensing around the steering wheel and the heat under his collar was growing almost unbearable. He turned to look at her, to sense her, to get even more worked up. She was asleep. Her head was rested against the back of the seat. Her dark hair curtained her face. God, she was beautiful.