“Before you ask,” I said, “I didn’t fly all this way just to have sex with you again. I like you, Kyleigh. I’m hoping that while you’re here in the States, we can go out more freely, not having to worry what anyone will think. We can be ourselves. Who knows, maybe you’ll find you like me too.”
“Or not.” She laughed, but there was an edge to it.
I put on a smile. “There’s only one way to find out. Let me show you Me.”
“Well, I’m here, so I think you have your answer,” she said.
I smiled. “I’m glad. And I promise not to interfere with your studies. I know how much this means to you, to the hospital.”
“Thank you. Would you like to know a secret?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“I…I was going to turn down your brother’s offer to come to the United States.”
That stunned me. “Why?”
“My parents were dead set against it. I could see it in my mom’s eyes as she begged me not to go.”
“What changed your mind?” I asked.
She looked down at her food, and without meeting my gaze, she said softly, “You.”
“Me? I don’t recall talking to you about it.”
“I accepted it because I was angry at you. I didn’t want to be where I’d be reminded of you. So I said yes, and here I am, feeling guilty as heck.”
“Kyleigh, look at me.” She did as I asked. “You shouldn’t feel guilty. I might not know everything about you, but I think I know your character enough to say that if you really didn’t want to be here, you wouldn’t be. I might be the reason you went against your parents’ wishes, but can you honestly say that you regret saying yes?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing would make me happier than to care as well as I can for the sick and the injured in Tabiq.”
I smiled at her. “I can’t speak for any of your other patients, but you patched me up good. And your bedside manner is like no other,” I winked.
“Liam, that’s horrible. I’m a professional. I don’t…give that kind of…”
“TLC?” I teased.
“Next time you need a nurse, I’m going to send Nurse Cantra. The alcohol will be the least painful thing she does to you,” she chuckled.
“Nope. There is only one nurse for me, and that’s you,” I said. My food was cold and she hadn’t touched hers for the last ten minutes. “What do you say we get out of here?”
“What do you have in mind?” she asked.
“We could go for a drive, take you back to Shaun’s house, or if you’d like, we can go to my hotel and…talk.”
“Talk?”
“You might have more questions for me,” I said. I’ll answer them all if it means we are together.
“Maybe you can just hold me tonight,” she said.
I called the waitress over, paid the bill, and we left. This limo ride was different from the last. She sat close to me, resting her head on my shoulder. It would be so easy to make love to her tonight, but we started that way and now it was time to slow things down. Not for good, but just enough for her to see that this was not all about sex – that I truly want to know all about her.
Hell, if I’m not going to be tasting those delicious lips of hers, I might as well be up listening to her tell me all her other secrets.