Why had he made the effort? He’d had to come back to her. He’d made the time.
“I won’t be long,” Lizzie said as she went over to her computer and checked her e-mail.
“Don’t rush on my account.” When she made a frustrated sound, he asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Oh, nothing.” She blew out her breath. “Well, actually, I applied for four jobs last night. Two have already been filled, one was mis-listed and another I’ve been told I’m overqualified for. Usually there are a lot of nursing jobs available, but the class that graduated over this summer has taken some of the opportunities I could have used. But, whatever. At least I have the night work at the emergency department. And I put in some other applications on my lunch break today. Maybe one of them will come through….” She let the sentence drift, then headed off down the hall. “I’ll be right back.”#p#分页标题#e#
As Sean heard the shower come on, he imagined what she looked like, taking off her scrubs, stepping under the warm water, soaping up her body. He leaned his head back against the jamb and stared at the ceiling.
Wanting a specific woman was a new experience, but it was very clear that he had a case of the desperates for Lizzie. His blood was running red-hot again and the only thing that was going to put out the fire was her.
His BlackBerry went off, which was a relief. With any luck, he’d get sufficiently distracted so that what was doing behind his fly wouldn’t show by the time Lizzie came back out.
After checking caller ID, he put his phone to his ear. “Mick, what’s the news?”
“Congratulations, buddy, you did it. The Condi-Foods board signed off on the deal. You’re going to get the formal call in about ten minutes. Holy hell, biggest transaction on the books this year and it’s all you.”
Sean heard the shower turn off. “That’s great news, my man.”
Mick laughed. “You’re always so tight about these things. Most guys I know would be hopping around the room and breaking out the Cohibas.”
“Lot of work to get to the finish line even with the board’s approval.” As doors were open and shut down the hall, he imagined Lizzie walking around in a towel. “It’s not over yet.”
“We need to celebrate anyway. How long are you going to be up there in Beantown?”
“I’ll come back on Sunday night.”
“Your father’s place almost boxed up?”
“Haven’t started yet.”
There was a pause. “So what’s been going on in Boston?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re spending a lot of time there for someone who still has packing to do.”
Lizzie’s voice carried down the hall. “Almost ready, Sean.”
“Who’s that?” Mick demanded.
“I’ve got to go, buddy.”
“The hell you do. You seeing someone up there?”
“Ah…kind of.” Assuming she’d have him.
The laugh that came across the line was a low, very masculinegotcha . And it took Sean back to a similar conversation he once had with a friend. Yeah, except back then with Gray Bennett, his buddy had been the one falling for a woman. And Sean had been the guy laughing.
Guess this was payback.
“So who is she, SOB?”
“You don’t know her.”
“Then you need to bring her to New York. I want to meet the woman who’s gotten you to travelto her.”
Lizzie walked in, dressed in a fresh pair of scrubs. “I’m ready—oh, sorry.”
As she made like she was going to duck out of the room, he shook his head to stop her. “Look, I’ve got to go, Mick. I’ll call you later.” As he hung up without waiting for a response, an odd sinking sensation washed over him. Would she ever come to New York? he wondered. “So where we headed?”
“Boston Medical Center.” She frowned and tilted her head to one side. “Hey, your right eye is twitching. Are you okay?”
He rubbed at the thing, annoyed by the way it was making his vision flicker. “Yeah, just fine. Actually, I got some great news from work.”
“Good.” Her stare surveyed him in what suddenly seemed like a professional manner.
He brought his hand up again and tried to get his eyelid to quit the disco routine.
“Sean, when was the last time you slept for more than a few hours?”
He had to smile. “Probably back when I was in college. That was basically the only time I slept well. But it’s no big—”