Prescription for Desire (20 page)

“
I’d contemplated it, but
like I told you earlier today, things change and I had to get my
priorities straight. When I turned down the Chile position, I told
Cannon I couldn’t accept it because I needed to move back to the
States. He offered me the position at your practice. I actually had
some other offers in the area as well, but I assumed when he
offered it to me you were consulted.”

“
Normally, but he was
handling the hiring. Personally, if I’d known I don’t think I
would’ve been in agreement.”

“
You signed the contract
without any disputes.”

“
Well, I couldn’t very well
tell my brother and father that the only reason I would disapprove
is because I had a fling with Dr. Phillips, and he thinks he’s in
love with me.”

“
First of all, Raven, what
we had wasn’t a fling and you know I love you. Even though you’ve
never verbally said it, you love me. It’s written all over your
beautiful face when you look at me. Perhaps you should go find the
nearest mirror and see your reflection.”

She stood. “Perhaps you should leave.
Unless, of course, there’s something else you need to tell
me.”

He chuckled and stood as well.
“Honestly, there was, but … humph. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,
Dr. Arrington.”

“
Tomorrow?”

“
Doctor’s meeting.
Apparently you guys have them every Tuesday.”

“
Right. I’ll see you
tomorrow, Dr. Phillips.”

After he left, Raven stared in the
mirror over the foyer table. She let out a sarcastic laugh and
wondered how on earth she was going to work with him again. He was
right; it was written all over her face that she was in love with
him.

The next day, Raven sat numbly in her
chair during the doctor’s meeting. She tried to concentrate on the
quarterly update that Cannon discussed, but she couldn’t because
Armand sat across from her. Luckily, his eyes were on Cannon or on
the report in front of him.

The meeting continued with Sean and
Bria giving updates on the health and psychological screenings
they’d done for a veteran’s association that past
weekend.

Sean breathed in deeply before he
began. “The event was definitely a success, and I feel that we
should continue assisting The Veteran’s Association of Memphis.
You’d be amazed how many veterans aren’t receiving the proper
health and psychological help they need. A lot of them have PTSD.
It was truly heartbreaking to know that these men and women have
fought to protect our country, only to come home and have nowhere
to turn even though the veteran’s hospital is supposed to
help.”

Raven smiled at her
brother. Some people never took him seriously because of his Will
Smith type of personality. Sean reminded her of Will’s character
from the
Men in Black
movies. However, her brother was truly the epitome of what she
expected from a psychiatrist that cared about his patients and
wanted to make a difference in their lives. He may have been a
jokester and didn’t take life too seriously, but at work he was all
business.

“
As a child of military
parents, I definitely agree with you,” Armand stated. “Luckily, my
parents are among the fortunate ones, but you’d be amazed at how
many veterans are left out in the cold and shunned. Let me know
when the next health screening is. I would definitely like to be
involved.”

“
That’s awesome, man,” Sean
said. “I’m going back this Saturday. Afterwards, we can go scope
out some honeys … unless you have a woman.”

Armand briefly glanced at Raven. She
thought she was going to faint if he mentioned her, so she kicked
his leg under the table. Grabbing her foot with his two feet, he
held it hostage.

“
Nope. Apparently, she has
moved on.”

“
Cool. Well, you know what
they say about getting over a woman. We can go get drinks after
work today with my friend Garrett. He’s also a PCP.”

“
That sounds like a plan,”
Armand said, nodding his head with a wicked smile.

Raven felt the jealously rise in her.
“Excuse me, gentleman, but can we finish the meeting? We all have
patients to see in an hour.” Raven managed to wiggle her foot free
from his grasp.

“
Sorry, sis. You know I
like to help people in all aspects of their life,” Sean said,
scribbling something on the back of his business card. He turned it
back over and slid it down the table to Armand. “The name on the
back is the woman you should consider.”

Armand stared at the name
with a puzzled look on his face before slipping it into his shirt
pocket with a grin and a sparkle in his eyes.
Knowing Sean, it was some name like Honey, Candi, or
Sapphire
, Raven thought.

The ring of a cell phone sent all of
the doctors checking to see was it theirs. It was
Armand’s.

“
Excuse me, everyone,” he
said, pushing his chair away from the table. “Hello? Wait, slow
down, Anastasia, and speak slowly. What’s wrong?”

At the mention of his sister’s name,
Raven placed her focus on Armand. His eyes met hers, growing wider
and more panic-stricken by each passing second.

“
Isabella is allergic to
peanuts! Where’s her EpiPen?” He stood and rushed toward the door.
“I’ll meet you at the hospital. Who has Israel?”

Isabella?
Israel?

“
What’s happened?” Cannon
inquired.

“
I have to go. My daughter
is on her way to Memphis General.”

Raven grabbed her tote bag from under
her chair, her pulse racing at one hundred miles per second. “I’ll
drive you.”

They rushed out of the office and into
the elevator. Armand was still on the phone, listening to his
sister. Raven stood numbly in the corner, watching the floor
numbers go down. She wanted to ask him so badly what Isabella and
Israel were doing with him, even though deep down she knew the
answer. He’d called Isabella his daughter. Now she knew who Maria
was referring to.

“
This way,” she said as
they entered the parking garage and headed toward her
Mercedes.

“
I’ll drive,” he shouted,
reaching for her keys.

“
You don’t know the way,
and you’re in no condition. Just stay on the phone.”

Ten minutes later they made it to the
hospital. She dropped him off at the curb outside of the ER and
drove off to park. Luckily, this was one of the hospital’s she was
associated with and could park in the doctor’s parking lot. She had
a gazillion questions to ask him, but now wasn’t the time. The only
thing that mattered was Isabella.

*****

“
Oh thank God, you’re
okay.” Armand sat on the edge of the bed with Isabella on his lap
rocking her back and forth. “Daddy’s here.”

“
I’m so sorry, Armand,”
Anastasia pleaded. “I had no idea the cookies had peanut butter in
them, and we couldn’t find her EpiPen.”

“
It’s okay, sis. She only
broke out in hives this time. You did the right thing in bringing
her here. She’ll be fine, isn’t that right, big girl?” Armand asked
as Isabella smiled at him. Suddenly, her eyes diverted from his
face and she jumped off of his lap.

“
Dr. Arrington!” Isabella
and Israel both screamed, running toward her for a hug.

“
Well, hello, Isabella and
Israel.” She hugged them tightly and exhaled. He saw the tears well
in her eyes, and she blinked several times. Armand knew then he’d
made the right decision.

“
We missed you,” Israel
said.

“
I missed the two of you as
well. Very, very much.” She looked at Isabella. “How do you feel,
precious?”

“
Just a little sleepy. The
doctor gave me something to make the hives go away.”

“
They’ll be gone before you
know it.” Raven stood and faced Armand. “What did the doctor
say?”

“
He said she’ll be fine.
She’s actually been released. Luckily, her breathing is fine, and
there are no sores in her throat or mouth. I rechecked myself, of
course. She’s only needed the EpiPen once a few years ago according
to Maria. We went over everything I needed to know when I adopted
the twins a couple of weeks ago.” He stopped and turned to his
sister. “Anastasia, this is Dr. Raven Arrington.”

Anastasia reached out her hand to
shake Raven’s. “Pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you
for the past few months, and now I see why my brother was
determined more than ever to move back to the States.”

“
Oh … nice to meet you, as
well. Armand tells me you’re a personal trainer. You definitely
have a strong grip.”

“
Thank you.”

Raven tilted her head to the side.
“You look familiar, like I’ve seen you on television.”

“
You probably have. I do
commercials and brochure ads for my family’s gym, The Fitness
Palace.”

“
Wait.” Raven glanced at
Armand and back to Anastasia. “Your family owns The Fitness Palace
Gyms? They’re one of the top gyms in the country.”

“
Yes. Our parents started
it about a year after they retired from the military. We’ve
branched out all over the United States in the last five years and
business has been very lucrative.” Anastasia turned toward her
brother. “Armand, do you want me to take the twins back to the
Peabody?”

“
Um … yes, and I’ll be on
shortly. My rental car is back at the practice.”

“
Okay. Kiddies, I’ll be
outside in the hallway while you say good-bye to your … father and
Dr. Arrington.”

“
Are you coming soon?”
Isabella asked.

“
Yes. I just need to take
care of a few things at work, and I have an appointment to look at
another townhome for us.”

“
And will you come, too,
Dr. Arrington?” Israel asked.

She smiled and ruffled his hair. “I’m
sure I’ll see you later.”

The children hugged both of them one
more time before running out into the hallway.

Exhaling loudly, Armand sat on the
edge of the bed. “Wow, my first big scare. I don’t think I’ve ever
been so frightened before in my life. My heart was racing a mile a
minute.”

She rubbed his back, and his heartbeat
began to settle down again. “Thank you for bringing me. I would’ve
crashed into something driving like a mad man.”

“
You’re welcome. I … well,
I needed to come, too. When you said their names, I was in shock. I
had no idea you’d adopted them. I’d called Maria to do the same,
but she said that someone had adopted them and they were in good
hands. I prayed it was the truth. Now I know that they are because
they’re with you.”

He stood and cupped her face. “Well, I
couldn’t leave them. I just couldn’t imagine my life without them
in it. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t take the position in
Chile. The other is you. Why do you think we’re here?” He wiped a
tear that had fallen down her cheek. “I wanted to tell you last
night, but—”

“
I was a bitch.”

“
No, no, baby. You’ve never
been that. You were just scared, but I promised you I was coming
for you.”

“
So you still want to be
with me?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Well,
I don’t know … that depends on something.”

“
What?”

He removed Sean’s business card from
his shirt pocket. “Do you think I should go out with
her?”

She smacked her lips and huffed. “One
of Sean’s stripper friends? Who is it … Diamond? Luscious?
Chardonnay?”

“
Read it.” He handed her
the card, and Raven flipped it over. He watched as her
almond-shaped eyes turned into saucer-shaped ones. Laughing, she
shook her head.

“
This is my name,” she
said, pointing to it.

“
Yeah, shocked me, too.
Unless, of course, he knows something I don’t know.”

“
Well, I know I need to
tell you something.”

Instantly, a grin etched his face. “Oh
really, and what’s that, beautiful?”

“
I love you,
Armand.”

“
I love you, too, Raven.”
He kissed her, tempted to toss her on to the hospital bed, until he
heard a code red across the intercom system. Remembering where they
were, they both laughed.

“
Let’s get out of here,” he
said in a tone laced with passion.

A few hours later, they were on the
floor at the bottom of Raven’s staircase, unable to make it up the
stairs to her bedroom. He caressed her back gently as she lay on
top of him, placing kisses on her forehead.

Raven ran her hand along his
clean-shaven face. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I was
wondering how you were able to buy into the practice and now I
know.”

“
Yeah, I used some of my
trust fund. Plus, I own a percentage of the Fitness Palace. Just so
you know, I could’ve bought the entire practice ten
times.”

“
I guess we have a lot of
explaining to do with my family about us,” she said, circling her
finger around the lion on his chest. She glanced at her watch and
sighed. “We need to leave in a moment.”