The anticipation of kissing her rushed through him, riding a surge of adrenaline. His lips were just about to meet hers when—
“Dr. Hart?” Tanya called out as she knocked on the door. A second later, the electronic reader beeped as she apparently flashed her badge over it.
“Ah, Jesus,” Evan grumbled as he dropped his arm and stepped away.
Staci moved to the side just as the door flew open.
“Oh!” Tanya pulled up short. “You’re right here, Miss Kay. Getting ready to leave. Perfect timing.”
“For?” Staci cautiously inquired, her tone tinged with lust, though Evan was certain only he heard it because Tanya hurriedly explained the reason for the intrusion without batting an eye.
“Paperwork. Here are the claims forms, in the event you choose to file against the hospital for your accident.” She handed over one packet. Then added, “Or, if you waive your right to hold the hospital responsible for your injury, you’ll need to complete these forms.”
“She doesn’t have an injury related to her fall,” Evan insisted, irrationally enraged by the interruption. It certainly wasn’t Tanya’s fault that it’d taken him so goddamn long to make his move on Staci. But he’d been locked in the anticipation of kissing her and hadn’t quite been ready to be released from it.
“Actually,” Staci said as she snatched the paperwork from Tanya’s hand, “we haven’t fully determined if I have an injury to collect on. My butt is still pretty sore.”
Evan shot her a sardonic look. She gave a noncommittal shrug of one shoulder. “My decision to sue all hinges on whether Dr. Hart stands me up this evening.”
She winked at him, then breezed out of the office.
Evan stared after her, admiring those long legs of hers—before catching the slight limp on her right side that she seemed to try to hide, if the stiffness of her body was any indication.
Damn it.
Here was where it was all about to fall apart for him.
Evan wondered how long she’d suffered from plantar fasciitis in her right heel.
And he wondered how he was going to treat it without falling in love with her.
The Stiletto Goddess.
Shit.
Chapter Ten
Staci checked in to the Plaza Hotel and allowed the butler to unpack her suitcase. She had no idea how long she’d be in New York—especially considering how difficult it’d been from the onset to connect with Evan—so she’d stashed away a week’s worth of clothing and amenities in her Rollaboard.
She stepped into the marble-tiled bathroom with the gorgeous twenty-four-karat gold plated fixtures and accents and took a long, hot shower that neither warmed her insides the way Evan’s hands on her body had nor washed away the feel of those hands.
The memory of his long fingers gliding over her skin—confidently, yet tenderly—would likely be forever ingrained in her brain. His searing touch and smoldering gaze would no doubt stay with her until the end of time as well.
Good Lord, the man was a blazing inferno even behind those glasses and that lab coat. Every time she was with him, she felt his virility and burning passion as though they were living, breathing, tangible entities.
And, God, how she’d wanted him to kiss her again!
Lust roared through her at the thought of Evan so close, so intense. His head lowering, his lips just a breath away from hers…
Then Tanya had interrupted.
A total bummer because Staci had wanted to feel Evan’s lips on hers.
Not Nick’s lips but Evan’s.
Dr. Evan Hart.
The pompous ass.