Moonlight Over Manhattan(57)

Clenching her jaw, she pulled at his jeans, each tug revealing a little more masculinity. Taut, muscular abs, the light shadow of hair across his chest and on his thighs.

She averted her eyes from his black boxer shorts.

He was the most gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on. Not that she’d laid eyes on that many. Her love life had been as small and cautious as the rest of her life.

Boring, some would say and she wouldn’t have argued with that.

She turned away and folded his jeans.

She was fantasizing over a half-dead guy. What was wrong with her? But she knew the answer to that, of course. Right now he was vulnerable rather than intimidating. And even half-dead, Ethan Black was sexier than any guy she’d ever met.

“Stay there and don’t move. I’m going to fetch you a drink.”

“Whiskey.”

“Not that sort of drink. And we should try and cool you down. I’m going to turn up the air-conditioning. Do you have any Tylenol? Ibuprofen?” She felt a flash of exasperation as she saw him shake his head. “What sort of a doctor are you?”

“The sort who lives at the hospital.” He coughed again and she winced.

“I can’t believe you don’t even have Tylenol.” She walked into his bathroom and wet a towel. “Here. Try this.” She wiped it across his forehead and he shuddered.

“F-freezing.”

“I’m the one who is supposed to stammer. This is role reversal.”

“You’re intimidating when you’re in charge.”

She ignored that. “Stay there. And if you try and get out of bed, I’ll give you something to stammer about.”

His eyes stayed closed. “You’re only this brave because you know I’m too weak to resist.”

It was true.

She went into her own bedroom and removed Tylenol and ibuprofen from her packing.

Then she went downstairs and filled a jug with water.

She added ice, thinking that the evening was less stressful than dinner would have been. If they’d had dinner, he would have been the one in charge. The one with the experience and the expertise. Right now, she had the upper hand.

He was easier to handle when he was sick. He’d lost some of the cool authority that made her feel a little inadequate and him seem unapproachable.

On the other hand that wasn’t a good sign.

Maybe she should do an internet search on “raging flu symptoms that come on in a matter of hours.” What if it wasn’t the flu? Should she call someone?

She was about to head back upstairs when she heard the buzzer.

It had to be someone who lived in the building, otherwise the doorman would have called.

In the time she’d been staying here the only person who had arrived directly at the door was Judy when she’d come to complain about the noise.

She glanced at Madi. “If that’s a neighbor telling me you’ve been barking again you are in trouble.”

Madi wagged her tail happily.

Harriet opened the door.

A woman stood there, her hair sparkling with snow.

“Hi, I—” She broke off, clearly bemused to see Harriet. “Did I get the wrong apartment? I was looking for Ethan.”

Harriet’s heart plummeted.

In everything Ethan had said, it hadn’t occurred to her that he was dating anyone right now.

But why wouldn’t he be?

Reminding herself that his love life wasn’t exactly her business, she remembered her manners and opened the door. “This is the right apartment. Come in.”

“No need. I don’t want to disturb anything—” The other woman seemed intrigued rather than jealous and Harriet wondered why she seemed so relaxed.

“You’re not disturbing anything. I’m Harriet, the dog sitter.” She felt she had a responsibility to make that clear. Whatever this relationship was, she didn’t want to wreck it.

“I’m Susan. Ethan has a dog?” Susan’s eyes popped. “We are talking about the same Ethan? Tall. Too handsome for his own good. A touch on the arrogant side but with a heart of gold?”

She couldn’t have come up with a better description herself.

“Yes. And it’s not his dog. It’s his sister’s dog.”

“Ah. That makes a lot more sense, although even I’m surprised he agreed to take on a dog. Ethan doesn’t love disruption in his life.”

Harriet thought about how often he’d called to see how his niece was doing. “Maybe not, but he loves his sister.”

“And that,” Susan said, “is the heart of gold part. I admit I’m disappointed. For a moment there I thought you were the reason he’s been smiling more at work lately.”

Ethan had been smiling?

“I’m looking after the dog because, as you say, he doesn’t like disruption in his life. So you don’t need to be worried at all.”

“Why would I be worried? Oh—” Enlightenment dawned on her face and she gave a slow smile. “No. I’m a colleague, that’s all. We work together. He didn’t seem himself today and he hasn’t answered his phone since he left the hospital so I wanted to check on him, because I know he lives alone.”

Harriet wondered why that news would make her feel lighter.

“Did you say you were a doctor?”