PRINCE CHARMING M.D. (21 page)

That question was better than his asking what she was thinking, she told herself. She looked at him, at his handsome face and the smile hovering at the corners of his mouth. "I'm fine, but you look tired."

"I am," he admitted. "Long week with too many surgeries."

"I noticed how many," she said. "You took a couple of emergencies."

"I did what I could. There was that three-car pileup and I was already at the hospital. It wasn't a problem."

"Maybe not," she told him, "but not every surgeon would have agreed so readily."

"Call me 'Saint Trevor,'" he said lightly.

She took a sip of the wine. It was delicious. "I like this," she said, raising her glass.

"It's from a winery in
Southern California
in the Santa Ynez Valley. Not very well-known, but I enjoy their wines. I visited them a couple of times when I was in
L.A.
I guess now I'll have to have the wines shipped to me. The place is more than a weekend from here."

A few minutes of silence followed. Dana glanced around the room, trying to think of something to say. Her stomach had settled down some, but that was counteracted by the heat in her blood and her hormones screaming for her to attack Trevor. She decided it would be better to resist. At least until she found out how he would react to what she had to say.

"Dana, tell me what's wrong," he said.

She set the wine on the coffee table and smiled brightly. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong."

"You're fidgeting, and rubbing your hands together. Either something is bothering you or you've got some kind of skin condition. If it's the latter, you should be seeing a dermatologist instead of a surgeon."

"No, I don't have a skin condition. It's just…"

How on earth was she supposed to bring this up without sounding like a complete idiot? She knew that most of her discomfort came from the fact that she was about to put herself on the line. After all, there was a chance Trevor hadn't meant what he'd said "that morning." It could have simply been postsex chitchat. Maybe he hadn't been interested in her all.

But he
had
been interested, she reminded herself. She'd felt the physical proof over and over again. In fact, thinking about it was enough to—

Quit stalling! The voice inside her head was so loud she was afraid Trevor could hear her. But he didn't say anything. Instead, he waited politely for her to tell him why she was visiting him on a Friday night.

"It's about the other morning," she said at last. "You know, after."

After she'd had the most incredible experience of her life.

He nodded. "What about the other morning?"

Foolishly, she'd hoped he would guess without her prompting him. Fear swelled inside her but she ignored it. After all, it wasn't as if she actually cared about Trevor. If she was risking romantic involvement, then she would have a right to be terrified. But only her pride was at stake.

"I wasn't very gracious," she admitted. "I'm sorry about that."

"I understand," he told her, his eyes unreadable. "It was an unexpected thing for both of us."

"Um, yes, that, too. It's just … I wasn't sure what you meant when you talked about, well, seeing me."

He sipped his wine. "What didn't you understand?"

She sucked in a breath. So he wasn't going to make this easy. "Why you said it. Why you mentioned wanting to see me again. The thing is…" She exhaled and tried another deep breath. It didn't work at keeping her calm. So she decided to just go for speed. If she blurted it all out quickly, maybe it wouldn't be so embarrassing.

"I didn't mean to brush you off like that," she started, her words running together. "It's not that I'm not interested in dating you—it's just there's so much to deal with. We have our past relationship, although I've decided I don't think you were the one to spread the rumors. And then there's the hospital. There's so much gossip and I wouldn't want anyone to know and—" She had to stop for air.

"That is a lot," he said.

She'd hoped for more of a reaction. She still couldn't tell what he was thinking. "That's about everything," she said. "I, um, thought that if, um, you were still interested in seeing me, you know, on a personal basis, that, well,
I'd
like it, too."

Her voice had dropped with each word, so that by the end of her short speech she was barely whispering.

Trevor didn't answer right away. Her tension increased, as did her dawning realization that she'd just made a huge mistake. He hadn't meant what he'd said that morning. He was just being polite at the time. There wasn't any attraction between them. She was a fool.

She was about to rise to her feet and bolt for the door, when he put his glass on the coffee table and leaned toward her.

"Dating?" he asked.

It wasn't the word itself; it was the way he said it. Caressing the syllables, surrounding it with meaning, making her skin tingle and her thighs go up in flames.

She could feel the heat on her cheeks, but she nodded. "Yes. Dating."

He smiled. It was the extraspecial one designed to reduce unsuspecting women to puddles, and she was no exception. The flames in her thighs spread to the rest of her body.

"Sounds like fun," he said.

The relief was tangible. She sagged back against the cushions. "Oh, good."

"When would you like to start?" he asked.

"Whenever it's convenient for you, but there have to be a couple of ground rules."

His smile faded. "Why do I know I'm not going to like them?"

If telling him she was interested in dating him had been hard, then the rest of what she had to say was impossible. She forced herself to do it anyway. "First, I don't want anyone at the hospital to know. We're both in high-profile jobs and the rumors could make our work difficult."

"I agree," he said. "I won't be telling anyone, except possibly my father, and I'm sure he can be discreet."

Walter was going to know? She didn't want to think about that.

"What's the second rule?" he asked.

"I don't date with a crowd," she said. "I would need this to be exclusive. You have to promise not to see anyone else. This is a deal breaker for me, Trevor. If you can't give up the other women, then I won't go out with you."

He stared at her for a long time. "If you think I'm the kind of man who would date more than one woman at a time, why are you willing to trust my word?"

It was a fair question. "I'm not sure, but I am. I suppose it's because you don't lie."

He was silent for a while. Finally he nodded. "All right, Dana, I'll give you exclusive. Despite what you think about me, I've never dated more than one woman at a time in my life. I am, by nature, monogamous, so faithful is easy for me. Any other ground rules?"

Don't break my heart.
But she didn't say that one aloud. She couldn't. After all, her heart wasn't engaged, nor was it going to be. She was in this for the fun and nothing else. At least that was the plan. She ignored the voice in the back of her head that whispered something else might be going on. Something she wasn't willing to recognize yet.

"No, that's it for me." She cleared her throat. "That's really all I had to say."

"Great." He rose to his feet, forcing her to do the same. "Tell you what. Let's get started tomorrow. I'll pick you up at seven. Dress casual."

Then, before she knew what was happening, he'd ushered her to his front door and shown her out. She wasn't sure what it meant or what would happen now. Yet a part of her was sure she'd just done something that would change her life forever.

Trevor stared at the closed door and wondered where he'd gotten the courage to calmly discuss dating with Dana,
then
show her out. He knew it was the right thing to do. She had some strong opinions about the two of them and he was beginning to see that the only way to get through to her was to keep her off balance. But given the choice, he would rather have pulled her into his arms, kissed her until they were both weak with longing, then taken her upstairs to his bedroom and made love with her.

An intriguing idea, but not practical. Not for right now.

He returned to the living room and tried to watch the baseball game. He barely recognized either team, let alone found the score interesting. His mind raced. He was torn. On the one hand, he was thrilled that Dana wanted to start a relationship with him. For a while he'd been afraid that their night together hadn't meant anything to her. Now he knew that she'd been affected, too. Although not in the same way. After all, he'd realized that he loved her. She'd realized that dating him wouldn't be too horrible.

But while he was pleased to be in a position where he would be able to see her, he was also furious. He was still fighting his reputation and her assumptions. Until she believed in him, until she took the time and trouble to see him for the man he was, they would never have a chance at making anything work.

For now, though, he would concentrate on the opportunity to be with her. He had several ideas about
how to
make the most of their time together. Dana might not have fallen in love with him, but she'd been just as surprised and pleasured by their lovemaking. He didn't doubt the memories were haunting her, as well. He would use that to his advantage, he decided. Not by seducing her, but by playing hard to get.

Trevor wore jeans, a long-sleeved shirt rolled up to the elbows and cowboy boots. After their week at the seminar, Dana told herself she should be used to seeing him in casual clothing. And she was. What she wasn't used to and what she might never grow totally comfortable with was how gorgeous he was.

He'd showered and shaved, so the fantasy of the previous night—damp hair, freshly shaved jaw—was now a reality. She felt her heart flutter as an assortment of other organs and body parts also took notice of him. She couldn't help thinking how much she wanted him and how wonderful it had been to be with him.

"Hi," she said, and held open the door. "You're right on
time
."

"It's one of my best qualities," he said as he stepped inside, leaned close and kissed her cheek.

Dana had been hoping for a more
vigorous
greeting. In fact, if he'd taken her in his arms and really kissed her, she'd been willing to start the date with dessert. Not that she would ever have admitted that to him or any other living soul.

"You look pretty," he said.

As he'd requested, she'd dressed casually in tailored cotton pants and peach T-shirt. "Thanks. How was your day?"

"Not bad. I had to check on a couple of patients at the hospital. Otherwise, it was quiet."

She'd figured as much. She'd spent her Saturday getting caught up around the house. While she hadn't actually been listening for sounds from his place, she'd heard enough to tell her that he had indeed stayed in for much of the day. Alone. "Good."

He smiled. "Are you ready?"

"Sure. Let me grab my purse."

She locked the door behind them and told herself the tightening sensation in her stomach did
not
come from nerves, even though she knew it did. One would assume that after spending the night with him, a mere date would be simple. But she found herself trying to think of something clever to say so that he would like her.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Not far." He led the way back to his town house.

Dana followed uncertainly. "Did you forget something?"

"No." He ushered her inside. "I know you have this strange idea that I'm out at a different party every night, but that's not true. I thought it would be easier to convince you of the fact if we went on what I consider a very nice, very typical date."

As she stood in the center of his living room, she wasn't sure what to think. The dining-room table had been set for two. There were even fresh flowers for a centerpiece.

"I'm cooking," he said. "Nothing fancy. Steaks, a salad and baked potatoes."

"Sounds delicious."

"Wait until you see what we're having for dessert."