Heart and Soul by Carrie Elks

18

It was almost five in the evening by the time Meghan got to the hospital. She’d called, of course, and gotten regular updates via text from Rich, but the shop had been too busy for her to sneak off any earlier, even if all she could think about was Gloria.

And Rich. But that was inevitable. He was the first man she’d slept with in the longest of times. Not just because being a single mom meant dating was pretty damn difficult, but because she hadn’t wanted to date anyway. She’d been burnt once and that made her choosy.

And last night her libido had chosen Rich.

Not that she regretted it. Even if the morning after had been stressed as hell, with Rich running off to the hospital and Meghan having to shower, get dressed, and rush to the ice cream shop with only two hours sleep to tide her over. Last night – or this morning really – had been the most devastatingly sweet sex she’d ever had. And from the way he’d stared at her as he cradled her face against his chest, as they both slowly slipped into sleep, Rich had felt the same.

“Can I help you?” the receptionist in the main hospital lobby asked.

“I’m here to see Gloria Barker. She came in last night with a heart issue.” In all her texts and updates from Rich, she’d forgotten to ask what ward Gloria was on.

“Are you a relative?”

“Her neighbor. I was with her when the ambulance came for her.”

The receptionist tapped on her computer. “There she is. On the cardiac care unit. You’ll want the Cedar Ward, on level eight. Take the elevator behind me to eight. You’ll have to buzz the door to be let on to the unit.”

Gloria was in a private room on the ward, with large picture windows overlooking the town and the ocean beyond. Light flooded in, making the already-white room look almost heavenly. Her face lit up as Meghan walked in, and she slid a bookmark into the paperback romance she was holding, putting it on the tray in front of her.

“How are you feeling?” Meghan asked, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. It felt cool and papery.

“Bored.” Gloria wrinkled her nose. “It’s not like the movies in here. I was expecting a constant stream of hot doctors and pretty nurses.” She sighed. “But at least I have Rich. He’s been in three times already.”

Meghan smiled at the mention of him. “Have they said what happens next?”

“I have two more tests tomorrow, but they’re happy that my heart rhythm is back to normal. If the tests are fine, I’ll be released by mid-week and then I get to come back in a month for follow up.”

“You’ll be released that soon?” Meghan blinked.

“So they say. And I won’t be sorry. I miss my apartment. And you, of course. How’s Isla?”

“She’s good. She spent the weekend at my parents’ house. My dad’s bringing her home in about an hour.”

“I bet she loved that.” Gloria smiled.

“She did.”

“And I bet you loved having the break.” Gloria frowned. “At least until I ruined everything.”

“You didn’t ruin anything. You got sick, that was all.” Meghan smiled softly at her. “Have you heard from your son yet?”

“He called a little while ago. It’s evening in London now. I had to tell him not to get on a flight to see me. Everybody’s making such a fuss.” She clucked her tongue. “It was just a little fainting episode.”

“It was more than that. Rich was worried about you.” Meghan squeezed her hand. “I was, too. If you start to feel bad again you need to ask for help right away. We don’t want you to get sick.”

Gloria patted her cheek. “You’re a sweet girl. And I promise I won’t leave it so long next time. Now tell me, what were you and Rich doing in the hall when I came out last night?”

Meghan’s cheeks flushed. “We’d been out to see a couple he knows. We were saying goodnight when you came out.”

The older woman smiled. “Was it a date?”

“No. Just as friends.”

“You two don’t act like you’re just friends.” Her voice was light. “There’s something more there.”

Meghan swallowed, the need to hear Gloria’s thoughts outweighing her natural embarrassment. “What makes you say that?”

“The way he looks at you. There’s a softness there I only see when he talks about his sister. He cares about you, I can see that. And I know you feel the same.”

“Do you?” Meghan’s voice was low.

“Don’t you?” Gloria teased.

Meghan pulled her lip between her teeth. “It’s complicated.”

“It always is. But there are always solutions. Now can you pour me a glass of water please, dear? All this talking about hot doctors is sending my temperature soaring.”

Meghan grinned and did as she was told, changing the subject to tell Gloria how busy the beach had been today. “You could barely see a patch of sand. It’s like everybody’s been cooped up for too long and they can’t wait to get some ocean air.”

“I can’t say I blame them. I’d like to be there myself.”

“Hey.”

Rich was standing in the doorway, looking ridiculously handsome in his green scrubs. A stethoscope was looped around his neck, and his ID card was clipped to the chest pocket. His arms were crossed in front of him, the short sleeves revealing his bulging biceps and strong, sinewed hands.

Meghan blinked as her mind flashed back to the previous night – or rather early this morning. To him bracing himself on the mattress as he came inside her. His muscles tensed, his kisses stilled, and how another wave of pleasure had washed over her.

And now she was blushing. Thanks, brain.

“Here he is now. Talk of the devil and he will appear.” Gloria grinned as he walked in, kissing her cheek. He stared up at the monitor, as though he was studying it. “Aren’t you supposed to be working in the ER?” Gloria teased.

Rich dragged his eyes from the monitor. “I am. It’s just everybody in cardiac keeps complaining about some hellcat causing mayhem in here. I had to see you for myself.”

“He’s very rude,” Gloria said to Meghan. “What happened to his bedside manner?”

Rich’s gaze connected with Meghan’s across the bed, and she had to remember how to breathe. Because she knew exactly how good his bedside manner was. A slow smile curled at his lips.

She found herself grinning stupidly back. Yep, his bedside manner was definitely perfect.

Rich pulled his gaze from Meghan’s and settled it on Gloria. “Have they told you what’s happening tomorrow?”

“I’m having some tests.”

“Yeah. Your rhythm is back to normal, thanks to the drugs, but they want to run an echocardiogram, which is like an ultrasound of your heart, just to make sure all is okay in there. They’ll do a lung x-ray, too. Once they have the results of those and your blood tests, they’ll make a decision on the next step.”

“They said they’ll hopefully release me after that.”

Rich nodded. “If you need any treatment it can be done as an outpatient. But I suspect it’ll mostly be monitoring you, and considering if a pacemaker can help. There are things that can cause atrial fibrillation, so they’ll want to narrow it all down. Plus they can’t wait to get rid of you. Since you’re so demanding and all.”

Gloria giggled, and Meghan bit down a smile. He was so damn good at this.

“And how was your day?” Rich asked, looking at her again.

“Busy. Yours?” She tried – and failed – not to flutter her eyelashes at him.

“It was very, very good.” He grinned. “From start to finish.”

Her skin felt all tingly. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Not as glad as I am.”

Gloria turned to Meghan, an enquiring look on her face. “So you both had good days.”

Meghan looked down at her fingers, trying not to laugh. “Pretty much.”

“Well I’m glad somebody did,” Gloria huffed.

The doorway to her room darkened as another doctor walked in. This one was older than Rich, wearing a suit and tie beneath his white coat. He looked at Rich with an arched brow. “Are you trying to steal my patient?” he asked, with good humor.

“Nope. Just making sure she isn’t causing mayhem.”

“Rich is my neighbor,” Gloria said, as the doctor walked over to check her monitor. “He’s the one that brought me in.”

“I read about that. Good work.” The other doctor nodded at him. “I’m off for the day, but I’ll be back in the morning,” he said, turning to Gloria. “Do you have any questions before I leave?”

“I should go, too,” Meghan said, standing to kiss Gloria’s cheek. “Isla will be home soon. Do you need anything before I go?”

Gloria shook her head. “I’m all good.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Rich said, standing aside as Meghan made it to the door. She walked out to the hallway, her bare arm brushing against his. She felt his palm press against her lower back as they walked to the elevator and he leaned forward to push the call button.

“Are you okay?” he asked, tipping his head as he looked at her.

“I’m great.” She smiled, because who wouldn’t be great after last night?

“And Isla? Have you heard from her?”

“She called this morning to ask if she could stay with my folks for church and have them drop her home tonight. She’s having a ball.”

The corner of his lip quirked. “That’s good.”

The elevator pinged and they walked inside. An elegant couple were in there, along with a nurse who smiled at Rich. “Hey doc.”

“Hi.” He smiled back.

Nobody said anything else as the elevator descended, stopping a couple of times to pick up more occupants. Meghan had to step back to let them in, her back pushing against Rich’s front. His hand curled around her hip to steady her.

And she felt that tingling all over again.

When they reached the ground floor and everybody spilled out, Rich walked her to the exit, smiling and saying hello to people he knew as they walked past.

“Isn’t the ER that way?” she teased, as he followed her outside.

“I just wanted to make sure you got to your car safely.” He grinned. “And to say thank you for last night.”

She turned to look at him. The sun had caught his face, warming his skin and making his eyes shine. “I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

“We should thank each other. So I guess you’ll have Isla back tonight?”

“Yep.”

“Can I call you when I get home?”

Her heart did a little thud. “Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing at all. I just want to hear your voice.”

Damn, he knew how to make her insides tingle. “I’d like that,” she said softly.

“I guess I should get back.” He didn’t look in any hurry.

“I guess you should.”

They were silent for a moment, staring at each other as the evening sun beat down on them. The parking lot was half empty and for a moment it was just the two of them.

“Are we okay?” she asked him.

“Yeah. Definitely.”

“So you’re not going to ignore me?”

He swallowed, his thick throat undulating. “I’m definitely not going to ignore you. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Every time I close my eyes I see you behind them.” He leaned down, brushing his lips against her cheek. “I really have to go now.”

“I know.” She nodded. “Goodbye, Rich.”

“I’ll definitely be calling you later.”

It was crazy how much she liked the sound of that.

* * *

“What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?” Rich’s voice was low and lazy. She imagined he was laying in his bed, the way she was lounging in hers. It was almost midnight – Isla was fast asleep, the way she had been every night this week when he’d called.

“I don’t like ice cream,” she told him. Rich spluttered so loud she swore she could hear him through the wall.

“What? How can you not like ice cream? You run a shop for the damn stuff.”

“I’m kidding.” She bit down a grin. “I love ice cream. That’s why I used my grandma’s money to put a deposit on the shop. For the record, I love vanilla. I know it’s boring as hell, but it’s perfection. All creamy and cool and makes my stomach growl with joy.”

“Say creamy again.”

“Stop it.” She shook her head even though he couldn’t see her. “You have a one track mind.”

“Then distract me. Ask me a question.”

She breathed in, leaning her head against the pillow. “What’s your favorite flavor?”

“You are.”

“Rich! You’re supposed to answer sensibly.”

“Okay, okay. I guess I really liked the lemon ice cream you made that one time. But to be honest, ice cream is ice cream. I’ll eat any of it.” He cleared his throat. “What’s your middle name?”

“I don’t have one. My parents don’t see the point in middle names. They don’t like waste or anything like that, and they think middle names are wasteful.”

“Does Isla have a middle name?”

Meghan smiled. “It’s Anya. It means gift from God. They couldn’t really argue with that one.”

Rich laughed. “Even your rebellions are sweet.”

“Shut up. What’s your middle name?”

“That’s not important. Ask me another.”

A smile pulled at her lips. “What is it?” she asked again. “Now I’m intrigued.”

“It’s a stupid name that should be forgotten by everybody. Why don’t you tell me what you’re wearing right now?”

“Quid pro quo. Tell me your middle name first.”

“Ugh. It’s Archibald. After my grandfather. So I’m Richard Archibald Martin, which if you shorten leads to a lifetime of teasing.”

“Ram?” She tried to swallow her laugh. “Is that what they called you at school?”

“Among other things.” She could hear the irony in his voice. “Hot Doc Ram is my favorite.”

“You poor thing. It must be awful being called the Hot Doc,” she teased.

“You wouldn’t even believe it. Now, what are you wearing?”

“My usual pajamas. A tank and shorts.”

“Take them off.” His voice was lower. Thicker.

“What?”

“Please?” There was a little inflection at the end of the drawn out word. It sent a shiver down her spine.

“Are we doing this?” she asked him. “Because I haven’t shaved my legs today.”

He chuckled. “In my mind you have.”

“Have you shaved?”

“Not since last night. I’m dark and dangerous right now, so take your pajamas off before I climb over the balcony to persuade you.”

She grinned because she knew he’d do no such thing, even though he’d admitted to scoping it out. His balcony wrapped around the side of the building, but stopped ten feet short of where hers started.

“You take yours off first,” she suggested.

“I’m already naked, Meghan.”

Her thighs clenched at his words. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“You want me to video call you?”

Her cheeks flamed at his offer. “No,” she squeaked. It was one thing dirty talking to him when she couldn’t see his face, another to look into his eyes while doing it. “I’m still learning how to do this stuff.”

“Well you’re doing pretty damn well at it. I’m hard as a fucking rock right now.”

Her breath caught in her throat.

“Are you touching yourself?” she asked him.

“Not yet. I want you to come first.”

“Always a gentleman.”

He laughed. “The thoughts I’m having right now are as far from being a gentleman as you could get.”

“What are they?” she asked, her voice low.

“I thought you weren’t good at this.”

“I’m getting better.” She smiled.

“Yeah, you are. And for the record, I’m thinking about how amazing you tasted when I had my face between your legs. And those tiny little gasps you make when you’re turned on.”

She exhaled, sliding her hand between the waistband of her shorts and her body.

“Are you touching yourself now?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Mommy!”

Meghan sat up, pulling her hand out of her shorts at the speed of light.

“That’s Isla.”

Rich started to laugh. “I can hear her.”

“Through the wall?” she asked.

“No, on the phone.”

“Mommy! I need you!” Isla called out again.

Meghan’s cheeks flamed. “I have to go.”

“Yes you do. We’ll get back to this discussion another time.”

“Talk to you later.” Her heart was thudding against her ribcage.

“Oh, and Meghan?” His voice was thick.

“Yes?” she asked, breathless.

“You were wrong. You’re really, really good at this thing.”