Almost Twilight (13 page)

He
told himself he would not get involved with the stubborn nurse. He was only
here to see if the woman needed anything.

Right
Rafe, keep telling yourself that, and soon you’ll be saying that pigs can fly.

Taking
a deep breath, he knocked on Candy’s door, feeling as if he had to watch for Selena
every second.

“Come
in.” 

Candy’s
whiskey-like voice forced Rafe to take another calming breath. He could handle
this. He was a doctor for crying out loud.

“Selena?”
Candy asked.

Rafe
stumbled into the room, holding the glass of lemonade in his right hand. Nurse
Richards was calling from the bathroom. His chest tightened when he heard the
water running in the bathtub. Combing a hand through his hair, he placed the
glass on the nightstand.

“Selena,
could you hand me a towel? I forgot to get one from the closet. You’re right,
soaking in the bath feels so good.” 

Rafe’s
mouth went dry.
Okay, buddy. You’re a doctor. You’ve worked in the emergency
room. You should know what to do in a situation like this.

Swallowing
hard, he walked toward the linen closet located directly outside the bathroom
and pulled out a thick white towel. The bathroom door was cracked open about an
inch, and he carefully pushed it open a bit more, just enough to hand Candy the
towel. He was assaulted by a hot blast of steam.

The
warm, fragrant mist swirled around the bathroom like smoke in a cigar bar. Selena
must have given Candy that coconut bubble bath Fritz loved so much, because the
place smelled like an island paradise.

“Selena?”
Candy called again.

Rafe’s
legs froze. His lungs began to pump as if he were hyperventilating.

Fritz
Clearbrook, he thought with a scowl. The man was a plague to the bachelor life.

Candy’s
voice lifted above the steam. “I’m sorry to bother you, but if you could just
place the towel inside the door, I’ll be out of here in a minute.”

Half
closing his eyes, Rafe avoided looking at the heavenly body in the suds and
quickly wrapped the towel around the bar just inside the door.

He
didn’t think Candy saw him, but when he
accidentally
caught a glance of
her white shoulders in the clouded mirror, his heart gave a sudden jolt, and he
hurried from the room.

“You’re
a dear, Selena. I don’t know what I’d do without you. By the way, I was
thinking over what you were saying...you know, about Rafe.”

Rafe
stopped halfway across the bedroom. He closed his eyes and grimaced. All right,
Candy’s name suited her. She was sugar and spice and everything nice, even that
irresistible temper, that had always sent his pulse quickening, was deliciously
sensual.

“He
did trick me about that truck he’d hidden in the garage, but then again, as you
said, the man does have a certain way of stretching the truth. He probably
can’t help himself. You know...men.”

Inwardly,
Rafe groaned. He was going to have a little talk with Selena, ASAP.

He
glanced at the door leading to the hallway, then back to the bathroom, knowing
he should leave. He felt like an interloper in his own home. But something made
him plant his feet and stay for the finale.

“Can
you believe that the nurses at the hospital call him
The Wolf
?”

Rafe’s
lips thinned. The Wolf? Now, that was carrying things a bit too far.

He
barely heard the splash of water in the bathroom, he was so consumed with rage.

“Oh Selena,
I’m having trouble—”

Candy’s
cry of distress sent Rafe’s pulse spiking with dread. He bolted to the door,
then pulled himself back.

“Candy?”
he asked tentatively.

His
heart hammered against his chest. Steam swirled past the crack in the door. There
was no sound but the running bath water.

He
burst into the room and bent over the tub. White suds covered the top and climbed
over the sides.

“Candy?”
he shouted in terror.

He
threw his hands into the tub, knowing he hadn’t a minute to lose. A numbing
fear overwhelmed him. He had seen drowning deaths before, and it wasn’t pretty.
Every second counted.

“You,
Dr. Clearbrook, are not a gentleman.” The angry voice came from behind him.

Before
Rafe could turn around, two petite hands pushed onto his backside, and he fell
into the tub with a splash.

Rafe
sputtered and looked up, disoriented.

Finally,
things came into focus. He was sitting chest deep in a bath of white suds,
staring at a brunette goddess wrapped in a terry cloth robe that was five sizes
too big.

Two
coffee-colored eyes glared at him.

Feeling
about as tall as a lizard, Rafe pulled himself from the soap bubbles, glad his
brothers couldn’t see him now. He dripped water on the floor and dropped his
gaze to his leather sandals. They were soaked, along with his shorts and golf
shirt. Of all the—

He
tilted his head in the lady’s direction and narrowed his eyes. “How long did
you know it was me?”

She
tapped a dainty wet ankle, and Rafe managed a smile.

“That
long, huh?”

“That
long,” she said, grinning.

The
devastating sweetness of her smile sent the blood rushing through his veins. “You’re
feeling better, I see.”

“I’m
a little shaky, but even after that sponge bath Selena gave me this morning, I
still felt sticky. It was a heavenly bath.”

Heavenly,
thought Rafe, his throat tightening as he stared at her. Her wet hair hung to
her shoulders, her face was pale with tinges of pink, her body was slim, yet
womanly.

This
conservative nurse mesmerized him. She probably didn’t realize how beguiling
she was, even now.

“Heavenly
until I came in,” he said, raising an accusing brow.

“Well,
no... I mean yes, I mean...”

She blushed.
Something intense flared between them, the strain so thick Rafe could slice it
with one of Selena’s cake knives. He knew he had to get out of there now.

But
like a deer in the middle of the road, he stood, frozen, staring at her.

Most
of the nurses ran after him, as if there were no tomorrow, but not Candy. It
had never been Candy.

At
that precise moment, he realized he wanted Candy Richards and no one else.

They
were at a point in their relationship, good or bad, that had to be resolved. They
couldn’t go back to what they had at the hospital. It would be impossible.

He
stepped toward her. “Candy—”

“I’m
feeling a little shaky,” she said hesitantly, breaking the magic between them. “I
think I need to sit down.” She began to sway toward the towel bar.

“Not
again.” Rafe scooped her into his arms. Her feet were smooth and white. Her
legs were delicate and slim. She smelled delicious and fit perfectly into his
arms.

He
lowered her into a wicker chair in the corner of the guest room and tried to
appear calm as he tucked the robe tighter around her body. “Better?”

“Yes,
um, thank you. I probably shouldn’t have sat in the bath so long.”

He
stood, wondering how his feelings for her had escalated so fast. “I thought I’d
come up and see how you were feeling. Brought you some lemonade.” He handed her
the glass on the table, and their fingers touched, sending a jolt through his
arm.

Get
a hold of yourself, Clearbrook. You’re a doctor, and doctors don’t fall in love
with their patients. Or at least they shouldn’t.

She
sipped from the glass and rested the drink back on the table. “Thank you. I was
feeling a bit dizzy.”

“After
a night of what you went through, I would imagine you would feel dizzy. Let’s
see how you’re doing.” 

Trying
to give her his cool doctor approach, he lifted her hand to check her pulse. “A
little fast.” 

But
so was his.

There
was no way he could stay here a minute longer, or he would kiss her again, and
who knows what else he would do or wanted to do!

He
stared out the window, his clothes still dripping from the bath, then he shifted
his gaze back to her. “I want you to know that you don’t have to leave. You
deserve a vacation, whether my father used you or not. I can stay at the hotel
down the way.”

She
lifted her head, her eyes growing round. “Please, don’t go. I should be the one
who should leave.”

When
Rafe peered into those tear-filled eyes, he felt as if someone had socked him
in the stomach. “Let’s call it a truce. Until you’re better, which will
probably be a few days from now, you can stay here. I’ll check in on you, and Selena
can be our chaperone. How does that sound?”

Her
lips pursed into a little bow, and Rafe suddenly wanted to kiss her. “Candy?” 

He
bent down and cupped her chin in his hand. A fat tear slipped down her cheek,
and his chest tightened. He’d never felt such feelings for any woman before. He
wanted to comfort her. Take away her hurt. Protect her.

As a
doctor, he was usually able to keep his feelings at a distance from people. But
not now, not with
Nurse Richards
.

He
brought his mouth to hers and met her sweet, trembling lips with a kiss.

“Don’t
worry about my father. He likes to interfere with people’s lives all the time. We’ll
make the best of the time we have here, and he won’t be the wiser.” 

Another
silent tear slipped down her cheek. He brushed it away with his hand.

“Aw,
sweetheart, don’t cry. You’ll feel better soon.”

“What
are you doing in here with your lady,
sweetheart man
?”

Rafe
fell back at the sound of Selena’s voice.

“And
you’re dripping on my floor, too!”

“This
is my floor,” he said, feeling as if he had been caught stealing a quarter from
Selena’s purse.

“This
my floor when I have to clean it.” The older lady lifted her ample bosom and
threw her hands to her hips, glaring at him.

Candy
giggled. Rafe turned to her and smiled. “You think this is funny, Nurse
Richards?”

She
nodded.

“Not
very funny to me,” Selena said sharply. “Now, you skeedaddle.”

“Skeedaddle,”
Rafe laughed, walking across the room. “Where on earth did you hear that word? My
dad, I’ll bet.”

Selena’s
eyes rounded on him, and Rafe scooted toward the door. “All right, I’m going. I’m
going.”

Another
giggle sounded from the wicker chair, and it was the sweetest sound he knew. He
gave Selena a swift salute and glanced back at Candy.

“Tomorrow,
you’ll be able to sit beneath the palm trees.”

“No
sun for your pretty lady.”

Rafe
scowled. “It’ll be in the shade, Selena. I’m not a complete idiot. I am a
doctor you know.”

Selena
gave Candy a wink. “No, you’re not a complete idiot. You’re just a man.”

Candy
rested in bed, staring out the window. Moonbeams danced off her dresser and
onto the floor. The sound of the crashing waves mingled with the voices of Selena
and Rafe. The two were having another argument, and it seemed Selena was
winning again.

The
housekeeper was obviously trying to protect Candy from Rafe’s advances. But to
Candy, the damage had already been done. With only two kisses, she had fallen
head over heels for Rafe Clearbrook.

She
chewed her bottom lip. She was falling in love with a doctor, something she had
vowed never to do again.

Was
Rafe like Roger? Would he leave her? What was she thinking? She never had Rafe
in the first place. The very idea of rich Dr. Rafe Clearbrook loving her was
preposterous. Rafe didn’t even like her. He was just being the same old Wolf
from the hospital, chasing after nurses, and dropping them like flies at a
picnic.

Candy
rolled to her side and vaguely heard the screen door slam. A few murmured
curses flew past her window. The next thing she knew, the truck’s engine was
revving, then the sound slowly disappeared.

So,
Rafe was going into town again. She wondered if he had a woman there.

“Are
you asleep?”

Candy
turned her head. Selena stood in the doorway, her purple turban skewed to the
side. She looked more tired than usual. “No, Selena, I’m still awake.”

“You’re
mad at the doctor for coming into your room today?”

Candy
laughed. “No, not after I pushed him into the bathtub.”

Selena
let out her distinctive high-pitched chuckle. “He’s a fine boy, my Rafe. But he
was very wet after taking that bath.”

Candy
sat up, wanting to talk. “Do you have your own children?”

Selena
smiled and tilted her face toward the moonlight. “I will soon.”