She scoffed. “Yes. Yes, that’s it exactly. I’m a good nurse because I’m Dr. Sinclair’s daughter. There’s no other reason for it. How would I have gotten this job if it weren’t for my father?”
He eyed her peculiarly. “I’m detecting a note of sarcasm.”
“If you like my dad so much, why don’t you go and tell him yourself?” With that, she turned and saw Kate Winston watching them.
She had been moved from the intensive care unit yesterday and would be held in recovery for a few more days, possibly a week. She was lucky to be recovering from a gunshot wound to her abdomen. She was still weak, but alert and observant. Lucy would rather she didn’t observe her with Thad.
“You aren’t close to your father?” Thad asked.
“I’m very close to my father.” She checked her vitals and IV fluids. The oversized blue hospital gown didn’t suit such a dynamo. She had short brown hair with a hint of graying at the temples, wasn’t tall at five-five and had a petite frame. It was a miracle the bullet hadn’t killed her.
“How are you feeling today, Ms. Winston?” Lucy asked.
Her clever, light sapphire eyes turned from her son, who’d moved to the other side of the bed. “Better than I was the day I was rolled in here. Call me Kate.”
Lucy had to look at Kate again to make sure she’d heard right. The potential presidential candidate was asking her to call her by her first name?
“Lucy is a fine nurse, Thad. That has nothing to do with who her father is, although I believe I do owe him my life.” She struggled to sit up more. Lucy helped her.
“I didn’t mean to imply—” Thad started.
“Do you need anything?” Lucy asked Kate, going to the clipboard on the built-in desk to jot down some notes.
“Yes. I need my son to find a girl like you.”
Lucy turned in her surprise. “You must be feeling better,” she quipped. “I don’t think your son can handle a woman like me.”
Thad’s brow rose as they spoke as though he weren’t there.
“Au contraire, my dear. He needs someone who isn’t afraid to call him to task when he’s being politically incorrect.”
What if she was the one who was incorrect? She glanced at him standing there so comfortable in his skin while enduring what she and his mother were saying.
She did get defensive when people implied that bragging rights belonged to her father when it came to her abilities. It was the only complaint she had about her father—her whole family for that matter.
“Most women are all too eager for a chance to marry Kate Winston’s son. Little do they know he’s altar-shy.”
“Mother...”
Kate laughed softly and then coughed with a wince.
Thad went to her side and held her hand. “Take it easy. Don’t try to talk too much.”
Lucy watched the care he had for his mother. Altar-shy, huh? Too bad. She studied his strong hands and from there his arms and face, profiled with chiseled features. Nose. Jaw. Eyes. Everything about him was sexy. But he wasn’t what she was looking for.
Why was she even considering that? Flustered over her reaction, she put down the clipboard. “Press the button if you need me. I’m here until three today.”
“Thank you, Lucy,” Kate said. “Don’t give up on Thad, okay?”
Give up on Thad? She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Kate’s wily smile. Even in her weakened state she was shrewd and perceptive. How had she picked up on the undercurrents between her and Thad? They were subtle, especially to Lucy. Sure, he was great to look at, but not a dating option.
He stood by the bed, watching her. Or was he waiting for a reply to Kate’s comment?
This was too much. Leaving the room, she heard footsteps hurrying to catch up to her.
“Lucy.”
Lucy kept walking and he caught up to her.
“I... Look, we got off on the wrong foot before, and...” He struggled for what to say. What did he mean to say? Why had he come after her?
She stopped and faced him. “Are you here to see your mother or me?”
“My mother, but that could be about to change.” He grinned.
Was he flirting with her? When unexpected heat flashed in response, a welcoming response, she couldn’t gather her wits. She took in his hazel eyes that now held a little mischief, and a mouth she suddenly found kissable.
What on earth was going on?
“Would you like to go out for a drink later?” he asked.
A date? With Mr. Altar-shy? While her heart urged her to say yes, her much smarter defenses rose up to protect her. As sexy as he was, he would be a waste of time.
Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, offering a diversion. She saw Cam had sent her another text, this one asking her what she was doing later.
Lucy showed him her phone. “I have a boyfriend.”
Thad looked at her phone and then those clever eyes shifted back to her. “Is it serious? ‘How’s my new girl’ doesn’t sound serious.”
Lucy replied to Cam, agreeing to dinner tonight. “Not yet, but it could get to that point.” Finished with the text, she noticed Thad’s amusement. Far from intimidated, he was about to pursue her. She sensed it.
“How long have you known him?” he asked.
He had to know it wasn’t long. But she played along. “Almost a week.”
“I just broke up with someone I saw for that long.”
She tucked her phone back into her pocket. “What happened? Did she start talking about marriage and babies?”
“Don’t listen to my mother.”
“Is it true?”
“That I’m altar-shy?” He cocked his head. “I wouldn’t say ‘shy,’ but I do question the ideology of marriage.”
“You don’t believe in it?”
“Let’s just say I’ve seen too many people fooled by the illusion.”
“Have you ever been married?”
“No.”
Then how could he know if marriage was an illusion? What made him view it so negatively? She couldn’t afford to care.
She leaned so that her face was close to his. “I joined an online dating site so that I could find a man to marry and have babies with.”
The way his head moved back a bit, she thought he may have flinched.
“I’m twenty-nine,” she said. “I want babies by the time I’m thirty-two or thirty-three.” If that didn’t scare him away, nothing would. This attraction they seemed to have stirred up made her uneasy. His idea of love and family was the opposite of hers.
“You have it all figured out.”
“It’s called plans. I have plans for my future.” What kind of plans did he have? None? He’d romance women his entire life?
Why did going out with him tempt her still? It had to be the masculine aura about him, the inner strength and confidence. And, of course, those green-gold hazel eyes and hard, strong body.
“Aren’t you thirty-two?” She had to put an end to this crazy attraction that made no sense.