“You’ll also have to figure out who the father is. I mean, you can’t exactly have a solid relationship until you find out if this guy’s going to be in the picture or not.”
Simon frowned. The idea of another man making love to Toni twisted his insides. He wouldn’t pressure her, but if they were going to become involved, the subject would have to come up. The main obstacle now, however, was convincing her to talk to him about their own relationship.
Chapter Sixteen
Two weeks. Two miserable, long weeks. She was tired, and she was lonely. She glanced over the schedule and rubbed her eyes wearily. Thank God today was a relatively light patient load. She was even more thankful it was Friday, and she didn’t have to work the next day.
Her plan to avoid Simon had worked too well. She missed him. And she’d come to the realization she’d been a royal twit. So what if he wasn’t falling at her feet. He was the best friend she’d ever have besides A.J., and there was no way in hell she’d spend the rest of her pregnancy in solitude.
She determined the first time she saw him she’d beg his forgiveness and blame the whole episode on pregnancy hormones. Hell, if hormones were a defense for murder, they may as well be an excuse for throwing yourself at a hunky guy.
Glancing down at the desk, she resisted the urge to lay her head down on it. One more night at work then she could sleep as late as she wanted tomorrow.
Her head was nearly to the desk when the bell on the door sounded, and she jerked back up. She blinked in surprise to see Simon standing in front of her, a determined look on his face.
“Simon. Uh, what are you doing here?”
He strode over behind the desk. “We need to talk, and I’m tired of you avoiding me.”
“But I…” Her words trailed off. No need in denying it since that was precisely what she’d been doing.
“Is there some place we can go? One of the exam rooms maybe?”
“Uh, sure, just a sec. I need to let Marnie know so she can watch the front.” She gestured for him to follow her down the hallway, then opened one of the surgical prep rooms. “I’ll be right back.”
Her heart racing, she went in search of Marnie and asked her to mind the front for a few minutes. She returned to where Simon waited and nervously wiped her palms on her lab coat before going in. She shut the door behind her and looked cautiously at him.
Not giving her a chance to say anything, he closed the distance between them. With one swift motion, he pulled her into his arms and covered her lips with his. Her mouth fell open in a gasp of surprise. His tongue took advantage and darted forward, tracing the edges of her lips then delving between them teasing her tongue with his.
He buried one hand in her long hair and brought his other arm around her waist pulling her against his hard chest. Of all the things she thought he might have done, this wasn’t one of them.
When he released her, she stepped back, her lips still tingling from his assault on her senses.
“That’s in case you think I didn’t want you the last time we kissed,” he said, his eyes fiery with…desire? Did he want her as badly as she wanted him?
She opened her mouth to speak, but honestly couldn’t summon any words. What could she say after all?
He cupped her chin in his hand and gently kissed her once again. “I’ve wanted to do that for the longest time.”
“Then why didn’t you?” she blurted. Her cheeks flamed at her outburst.
He smiled a slow sexy smile. “Good question. But I plan to make up for lost time.”
She gulped. “I don’t understand.”
He ran a hand through his hair and started pacing in front of her. “I know I probably hurt you with the way I reacted last time, and I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t know how the hell to act. I wanted you badly, had wanted you for quite awhile, and suddenly you kissed me. I felt like a toad for taking advantage of you when you were vulnerable. And,” he said after a long pause. “I didn’t want to screw up our friendship.”
She stared at him open-mouthed. She knew she must look ridiculous gaping at him like an idiot, but she couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Here was Simon admitting he was attracted to her. He laid a kiss on her that had curled every single one of her toes, and all she could do was stand, speechless.
“Now, I’ve laid my cards on the table,” he murmured, stroking a hand through her hair. “Now suppose you tell me why you kissed me.”
“Couldn’t you kiss me again and forget about talking?” she asked hopefully.
He chuckled and dipped his head to kiss her lips. In between kisses he said, “I have no qualms about kissing you again, but it isn’t going to get you out of answering me.”
“Mmmm,” she murmured against his lips.
He drew away slowly, his eyes half lidded. “Now, talk to me.”
Feeling a bit more confident now that she had the man of her dreams showering her with kisses, she cleared her throat. “I’ve had the biggest crush on you forever. I’ve been doing everything I can think of to get you to notice me, and until now thought I’d failed miserably.”
“You little minx. Do you mean to tell me the sexy lingerie, the braless T-shirt, that was all for my benefit?”
She blushed. “Yes. Mike gave me the ideas.”
He nearly choked and dissolved into a coughing fit. “Wait a minute. You mean to tell me Mike was coaching you on how to seduce me?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Well I had to do something,” she said defensively. “I didn’t know how to make you see me as anything more than a little sister.”
“You certainly succeeded,” he murmured. “Now that we have this settled, I have plans for us for the weekend. Starting as soon as you get off from work.”
She looked regretfully at him. “I have to work dispatch tonight.”
“Not anymore,” he said in a smug tone. “I cleared it with Lonnie. You have the night off and you don’t go back to work until next Wednesday. You need the time off. You aren’t taking care of yourself and I plan to remedy that this weekend.”
Liquid heat curled in her stomach and spread into her chest. A huge silly grin fought to break out of her lips. She had the insane urge to twirl round and round in delight. And once again reality crashed in.
She still had to tell him about the baby.
“Why the frown?” he asked in concern.
“Oh nothing,” she said brightly. “A weekend off sounds heavenly. What do you have in mind?”
He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “You’ll see.” He leaned over to kiss her once more, his lips lingering on hers for a long moment. “I’ll see you in an hour at the house. Don’t be late.” He winked at her and walked out of the door.
Toni sagged against the counter. Holy moly, that man was sex in a jar. A giddy thrill washed through her and she succumbed to the desire to do a victory dance.
She bopped out to the front where Marnie was sitting, a wide grim nearly splitting her face in two.
“What’s got you so chipper?” Marnie asked giving her a speculative glance.
“You just saw the sexiest man who ever lived go through that door,” she said, easing into the chair beside Marnie.
The older woman’s eyes twinkled. “I thought he might have something to do with that spring in your step. It’s about time you landed that young man.”
“Oh, I haven’t landed him yet. But I’ve definitely got him on the hook. Now if I can just reel him in.”
On the way home she thanked God there weren’t any cops out because she was exceeding the speed limit by a good ten miles an hour.
When she pulled into the drive she saw all three trucks there and frowned. Somehow A.J. and Matt being there hadn’t fit with her expectation of the evening.