Wash (26 page)

“
Last night…”

“
Yes?” Her breath quickened.

“
That place. That food was amazing! I ordered it again for
lunch.”

She
straightened. “Seriously?”

“
Yeah.” His head tilted to the side. “What did you think I was
going to say?”

“
Nothing.” She waved her hand, wondering if other people
noticed the room had grown warm. “I had no idea.”

“
Charity!” Her father motioned her to come over. “Come meet Dr.
Skyrt. He’s very interested in helping with the fundraiser
gala.”

She
nodded in his direction and gave one last glance at Elijah. “Duty
calls.”

Her
father introduced her to the older English doctor. He was witty and
charming, but best of all, wanted to put money toward the hospital.
Charity gave him her business card and promised to be in
touch.

She
glanced around the room. Most people were on their second, or even
third drink, and chatting amongst themselves. She cleared her
throat and raised her voice. “Everyone, help yourself to pizza and
there are platters of snack foods on the table over there.” She
pointed to the far wall. “I should probably introduce myself. I’m
Charity Thompson, and yes, my father is Dr. Thompson.” She smiled
at her dad, playing the part of the good daughter. It only had to
be believable.

“
Some of you may already know, Dr. Thompson is turning
sixty-five…” She glanced at her dad and winked. “Am I allowed to
tell them your age?”

He
smiled and nodded, playing the part of the loving
father.

“
Yes, so with that milestone, instead of retiring, my father
would like to throw a massive party to raise money for the
hospital.” A question crossed her mind. “Do you have an intention
on where you plan to use the monies raised?”

“
I do. The oncology floor needs new equipment and whatever else
we can do.”

A couple
of groups cheered when he said that. Charity, for a moment, was at
a loss for words. Then she realized his edge – he wanted to put it
toward the floor her mother had lost her battle with cancer on so
it would make him look good. Own the hospital and look like the guy
who had lost his one true love. Either that, or he felt incredible
guilty and wanted to try and make up for it.

Everyone
stood quiet, waiting for her to speak. She realized the silence in
the room was because of her. “Fantastic.” The word sounded forced.
“While you grab food, please check over the printed brochure. It’s
a summary of what we plan to do. To make this evening a massive
success, we are going to need volunteers and ideas and word of
mouth. If you want to help or have an idea to share or anything,
you can email or call me. My information is on the back. I hope to
get a chance to chat with a number of you this evening.” There. Her
speech to get the ball rolling was done. The rest of the evening
would consist of cruising the room and chatting. Having a laugh and
making sure everyone was enjoying themselves. “Now, who wants a
beer? And who wants pizza?”

Chapter 11

Two and
a half hours later, Charity slipped out onto the balcony and stared
out into the night sky. The city lights created a pretty map view.
For a busy city, it was very quiet this evening from this high
up.

The
evening had been a success. People had just started leaving about
half an hour ago. That was a great sign. Her father sat at a table
with several older doctors talking shop and enjoying the twenty
year old whiskey she’d kept hidden until after the pizza had been
cleared away. She’d slipped it to Dr. Skyrt, whose face lit up and
he went straight to her father.

The door
behind her opened and Elijah walked out. He stood a few feet away
from her with his hands spread wide around the railing. Neither
spoke as they both watched the cars and city move below them.
Charity inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“
So, are we going to talk about what happened last night?”
Elijah shifted to face her and took a few steps closer, his fingers
tracing along the metal railing.

Charity
glanced at him and then back to the view. “What about it?” She
moved her head slightly so he wouldn’t see her smile. She took a
small step toward the glass door and could feel Elijah follow her.
No one inside the room paid attention to what was going on
outside.

He
cleared his throat. “We, um, made out.”

“
Oh, right.” She turned to face him. “Sorry, I
forgot.”

He
chuckled and moved closer. “No, you didn’t.”

She
loved the intensity in his eyes but couldn’t resist saying, “I’m
glad it was memorable. I wasn’t sure I would stack up against half
the nurses and interns at the hospital here.”

Elijah
tapped the balcony with a finger then reached to gently trace it
down her forearm and wrist. He swallowed, almost appearing shy.
“Um… you were pretty…” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“You were pretty… amazing. No one here stacks up to
you.”

Charity’s heart hammered. She forgot to breathe. His eyes
never left hers. If they somehow ended frozen in that moment, she
could stay there forever.

“
I think about you… a lot… Charity.” He leaned so his head was
closer to hers, their foreheads almost touching but he somehow
managed to not make contact. “Ever since the day we talked on the
phone. I don’t have the right, but I can’t stop myself.”

She
blinked and let her gaze drop down to his mouth. Soft music from
inside drifted as if by some secret cue. “I’ve been thinking about
you, too,” she whispered.

Elijah’s
tongue ran over his lips and his hand slipped around to the nape of
her neck. He pulled and the small remaining space between them
disappeared. His soft lips pressed against hers.

All
reason and thought slipped from her mind. All she could concentrate
on was the pressure of those lips on hers and his fingers pressing
along her jawline. She knew she shouldn’t be out here, and if her
father saw them, he’d be furious with both of them. She hesitated
and pulled back slightly.

“
I’m sorry.” Elijah tilted his head and stepped
away.

Her body
didn’t like the emptiness from the sudden space between them. “I… I
just thought we should go someplace more private.”

A shiver
tingled down her spine when Elijah’s eyes grew wide and his mouth
dropped slightly. The shiver ran up her back when his sexy smile
appeared.

What
willpower Charity had disappeared. She slipped her arms around his
neck and pressed her lips to his with an uncontrollable passion she
had never felt before.

Elijah
returned her kisses, pressing his warm body against hers. Groaning,
he slowly pulled away. “Let’s get out of here.” He scratched the
stubble on his chin and smiled. “Can you do that? Are you allowed
to slip out? What about your father?”

She
laughed. “I’m pretty sure it’ll be okay.” She squeezed his hand.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure my dad doesn’t suspect a thing.”

“
Your dad?” He walked over and held the door open for her. “He
loves me.”

Charity
laughed and gently tapped his cheek as she slipped by. “That’s what
he wants you to think.”

Elijah’s
fingers trailed down her back and traced along her side. Charity
nearly moaned out loud but caught herself just in time.

“
Elijah!” her father called out from the men at the table.
“Come join us for a drink. I need your opinion on a
case.”

Now
instead of moaning, Charity had to swallow back ironic laughter.
They didn’t stand a chance slipping out of the room together
without being noticed. She’d gotten caught up in the heat of the
moment out on the balcony and should have realized.

She
spotted Julie and Simon at another table playing cards. Who had
brought a deck of cards to the room? She hadn’t.

Elijah
gave her a frustrated smile. “I need to go see your
dad.”

“
I know. Go mingle and get those men to agree to come to the
gala. At a thousand dollars a ticket, that’s ten thousand dollars
sitting over there.”

“
Well, I’d better get over there, then. I don’t want to
disappoint you.” His eyes lingered on hers before he finally walked
over to the table. Someone had pulled a chair beside her father for
Elijah. He sat down and was immediately poured a glass.

It
wasn’t hard to see that he was well liked amongst the doctors. He
was younger than a lot of them, but they didn’t seem to mind he was
their chief. He must be very, very good, as her father wouldn’t
settle for anything less at his hospital.

For
once, she agreed with him. She walked over to Julie and Simon’s
table. “What are you guys playing?” she asked as she sat down on an
empty chair, which just happened to face Elijah.

Chapter 12

Two
weeks passed quickly. Charity had a lot going on down in Atlanta:
she held a similar staff party, she met with Forever Hope’s board
and together they agreed on hosting a small event in three months
and another larger one six months later. They wanted a sporting
event of some kind. All great ideas which had Charity researching
locations and unique possibilities.

After
flying back from New York, she got cold feet over letting herself
be interested in Elijah. Maybe they had a connection or some kind
of chemistry, but now away from the Scott Thompson hospital, it all
seemed a bit more of a dream than what was really there. It had to
be based on physical attraction; the man was a demigod.

She
pushed herself at work and planned several functions with the local
hotspots in the city to get the word out about the hospital. The
response was very positive and it encouraged her. Even in a town
tight on funds, there would be ways to raise the money for the
hospital.

Elijah
had given her his phone number before she left and she hadn’t sent
him a text or called him. She had started several times and ended
up deleting the message or ending the call before it even went
through. She talked herself out of it the first few days, and then
when she didn’t contact him over the weekend, she felt guilty and
thought it was too late to message him. She’d see him the following
Friday or Saturday back in New York when she flew back.

On
Friday morning she caught up on everything, and by ten o’clock she
had finished her work for the day. She called the airline and found
out there was an earlier flight leaving in an hour that had
availability. Julie had wanted to go shopping this afternoon and do
dinner in New York. Leaving two hours earlier would give her a jump
start on the details for her father’s gala.

Everything seemed in her favor; the flight went quick, the
car rental had next to no one there, and the roads were not that
busy for a Friday. What were the chances it would
continue?

Charity
rode the elevator to the sixth floor and pulled the strap of her
briefcase higher on her shoulder. What would she say to Elijah if
she ran into him in the hallway? Should she lie and say she lost
his number? It seemed unlikely since she’d typed it into the
phone.

She let
out a puff of air when she saw that his office was closed with the
lights off. He probably had surgery. She stopped and stood outside
her dad’s office with her fingers flying over her phone. She sent
Julie a text to meet her at her hotel around three. She could
change after she spoke with her dad. Closing the phone with one
hand and fixing her hair with the other, her mind raced with ideas
to go over for the gala. Most contracts and hospitals or companies
she dealt with were very easy to talk ideas with and brainstorm.
Dealing with her father… Grrrr! She had to stop being so paranoid
and worried he wouldn’t like it. She rapped her knuckles against
his door.

“
Come in,” his baritone voice bellowed.

Charity
walked in and almost turned around to walk out again. Elijah sat in
a chair opposite her father’s desk, obviously in a meeting with her
dad. Elijah looked at her and quickly glanced away before he could
make eye contact. Her heart sank. She should have called him or
texted or something… anything. Seeing him had her questioning why
she hadn’t. It seemed ridiculous now.

“
Charity! You’re early.” Her father’s voice broke through her
inner thoughts.

She tore
her eyes away from Elijah and forced a smile at her dad. “I caught
an earlier flight.”

Awkward silence followed. Charity shifted her weight and
hesitated sitting down across from Elijah.
Stop this!
She scolded herself.
How old are
you?
She
forced herself to walk by him and touched his shoulder. “Hi,
Elijah. How are you doing?” She sat down in the chair across from
him.

His eyes
lit up when he smiled. “I’m good. How’re you doing?
Busy?”

“
Extremely.” She sent a mental
I’m sorry
but knew he wouldn’t hear
it.

Elijah
put his hands on the arm of his chair, about to get up. “I’ll let
you guys talk.”