Seducing Simon(42)

But it looked as if he’d lose her by doing nothing. He needed to talk to Matt. Tell him what had happened and that he was going to pursue a relationship with Toni. This had to be handled carefully or the lives of four people could change for the worse.

He walked into the lounge searching out Matt among the group of firemen. “Can I talk to you?” he asked when he found Matt in the kitchen.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Not here. Let’s go in the garage.”

Matt gave him a curious look but followed behind.

“Something wrong?” he asked when the two were alone.

“No, not wrong. I just wanted to talk to you about something. Give you a heads up so to speak.”

“Okay.”

He paused for a moment then looked Matt straight in the eye. “I’m interested in Toni.”

Matt’s eyes popped open wide. “Whoa. I had no idea.”

“Yeah, well I think she might be interested in me as well. I wanted you to know because I don’t want anything to mess up our friendship.” Matt frowned slightly. “What makes you think she’s interested in you?”

Leave it to Matt to want specifics. “We, uh, kissed awhile back. I screwed things up which is why Toni’s avoiding us. Me in particular.”

“If you want my blessing, you’ve got it. I can’t imagine a better couple.

But I think you’ve got a difficult road ahead. I mean she is pregnant. Are you prepared for that kind of responsibility?”

“I don’t know all of that yet,” he admitted. “This isn’t something I ever expected would happen. We’ll have to take things a day at a time and see what happens. No matter what though, I’ll always be there to help her.”

“You’ll also have to figure out who the father is. I mean, you can’t exactly have a solid relationship until you find out if this guy’s going to be in the picture or not.”

Simon frowned. The idea of another man making love to Toni twisted his insides. He wouldn’t pressure her, but if they were going to become involved, the subject would have to come up. The main obstacle now, however, was convincing her to talk to him about their own relationship.

Chapter Sixteen

Two weeks. Two miserable, long weeks. She was tired, and she was lonely. She glanced over the schedule and rubbed her eyes wearily.

Thank God today was a relatively light patient load. She was even more thankful it was Friday, and she didn’t have to work the next day.

Her plan to avoid Simon had worked too well. She missed him. And she’d come to the realization she’d been a royal twit. So what if he wasn’t falling at her feet. He was the best friend she’d ever have besides A.J., and there was no way in hell she’d spend the rest of her pregnancy in solitude.

She determined the first time she saw him she’d beg his forgiveness and blame the whole episode on pregnancy hormones. Hell, if hormones were a defense for murder, they may as well be an excuse for throwing yourself at a hunky guy.

Glancing down at the desk, she resisted the urge to lay her head down on it. One more night at work then she could sleep as late as she wanted tomorrow.

Her head was nearly to the desk when the bell on the door sounded, and she jerked back up. She blinked in surprise to see Simon standing in front of her, a determined look on his face.

“Simon. Uh, what are you doing here?”

He strode over behind the desk. “We need to talk, and I’m tired of you avoiding me.”

“But I…” Her words trailed off. No need in denying it since that was precisely what she’d been doing.

“Is there some place we can go? One of the exam rooms maybe?”

“Uh, sure, just a sec. I need to let Marnie know so she can watch the front.” She gestured for him to follow her down the hallway, then opened one of the surgical prep rooms. “I’ll be right back.” Her heart racing, she went in search of Marnie and asked her to mind the front for a few minutes. She returned to where Simon waited and nervously wiped her palms on her lab coat before going in. She shut the door behind her and looked cautiously at him.

Not giving her a chance to say anything, he closed the distance between them. With one swift motion, he pulled her into his arms and covered her lips with his. Her mouth fell open in a gasp of surprise. His tongue took advantage and darted forward, tracing the edges of her lips then delving between them teasing her tongue with his.

He buried one hand in her long hair and brought his other arm around her waist pulling her against his hard chest. Of all the things she thought he might have done, this wasn’t one of them.

When he released her, she stepped back, her lips still tingling from his assault on her senses.

“That’s in case you think I didn’t want you the last time we kissed,” he said, his eyes fiery with…desire? Did he want her as badly as she wanted him?

She opened her mouth to speak, but honestly couldn’t summon any words. What could she say after all?

He cupped her chin in his hand and gently kissed her once again.

“I’ve wanted to do that for the longest time.”

“Then why didn’t you?” she blurted. Her cheeks flamed at her outburst.

He smiled a slow sexy smile. “Good question. But I plan to make up for lost time.”

She gulped. “I don’t understand.”