NYC Angels Flirting with Danger - By Tina Beckett Page 0,52

he’d wanted her here, he would have called her like he had the day Clara had had her surgery. Instead, her cellphone had remained silent as she’d drunk her coffee alone in the park.

Alone. Maybe that’s what she was meant to be.

When she started to back toward the elevators, Brad broke away from his group and came towards her. “Were you looking for me?”

She shook her head. “I heard Clara had been admitted and came to see how she was doing.” Another flare of hurt erupted. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I didn’t realize you’d want me to.” There was a cool edge to his voice she didn’t like.

“She was one of my patients.”

He glanced away for a second before looking at her again. “There was nothing you could do. I didn’t want to worry you.”

There was more to it than that but, other than call him a liar, what could she do?

The urge to spin away and get back into the elevator was almost overwhelming, but she forced her feet to remain where they were. Her chin went up. “I thought we’d already established that I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

He studied her face before nodding. “Come back over with me, then. You can get caught up on what’s happening.”

Chloe stood in the group and listened as various updates came from Clara’s room.

“Contractions are still progressing, unfortunately. There’s no going back now.” The latest doctor to exit the room broke the news everyone had been dreading. “Let’s get ready.”

Clusters of people broke apart hurrying in various directions to do their parts in making sure mother and newborns had the best possible shot at a good outcome.

“Did the ablation procedure benefit the smaller twin at all?” she asked Brad.

“It’s only been a couple of weeks so theoretically it had an effect, but it’s hard to tell just how much of one at this point.”

She nodded. “I have to get back to work. Will you let me know how it goes?”

“Sure.”

He tweaked her ponytail as she turned to go, and when she glanced back over her shoulder, he was smiling. She sucked down a lungful of air, feeling the tension drain from her body. Maybe those weird vibes she’d been feeling had been the result of an overactive imagination. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d driven herself crazy coming up with the worst possible scenario and then worrying it to death. Except in the case of her ex it had been all that and more.

She could only hope that this time she was wrong.

The next few hours passed in a whirlwind of activity for Brad. Word had gotten around the hospital about Clara Serrano’s condition, and he’d been fielding all kinds of questions. He could only imagine what the phones were like in other parts of the hospital. The administrators must be buried under an avalanche. Laws prevented them giving out specifics on the patient, but because the syndrome was relatively rare, other facilities would soon be asking questions to help them deal with their own cases.

Clara still hadn’t given birth, but they were expecting the babies to make an appearance at any time.

He hadn’t seen Chloe again since their encounter on the floor of Labor and Delivery, but he hadn’t gone out of his way to see her either. She’d acted differently last night, and although he couldn’t put his finger on what it was, there’d been a sense of detachment that hadn’t been there on previous nights.

Oh, she’d been just as sensual as always, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d been holding something back. That had bothered him. But what had stunned him even more had been his reaction to it. In his previous relationships, when one or both parties had begun to cool, he’d been fine with it. Had had no qualms about walking away. Anything was better than being locked into something with no way out.

This was different. He’d held onto Chloe just a little bit tighter, almost as if trying to pull her closer, even as he felt her emotional withdrawal. Why did he care so much? This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. It would be a temporary arrangement.

He just had to convince his heart of that.

That was the tricky part. He’d been programmed from childhood that withdrawal was normal. That the more you cared about someone, the further away they would pull. And if you fought against it, tried to do something that got you noticed …