Katie Ashley - The Pairing

She bobbed her head. “The same to you.” With trembling hands, she fumbled for the door handle. When she was finally able to open the door, she stumbled out onto the pavement. As she made her way up the driveway, she could feel Pesh’s eyes on her. The car remained parked as she climbed the porch steps and rang the doorbell. She hoped that Noah was already up, and she wasn’t waking the household.

Aidan threw open the door. “Megan? What the hell?” he asked.

His question and concern caused her to burst into tears. “Why are you crying?” Aidan demanded.

“It’s a long story.”

He glanced from her out the door to Pesh’s car. His expression darkened. “Did Pesh hurt you?”

“No! Of course not.”

“If he’s made you cry, I don’t care whether he’s Noah’s godfather or not. I’ll punch his lights out!”

She grabbed his arm. “Stop it, Ankle! It’s not him, it’s me. It’s all my fault. Okay?”

He stared at her in surprise. “What happened?”

“Give me some coffee and a chance to calm down, and then I’ll tell you everything.”

Although his expression was skeptical, Aidan nodded, and then started to close the door. Megan stole one last glance of Pesh as his car started reversing down the driveway. She hoped for her sake and his it was the last time she would have to see him.

Megan nervously tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel of her car. Her clinical placement had come through, and she was now on her way to make her introductions to her preceptor, the nurse who would supervise her. Although she had initially been disappointed in not receiving Grady, she was still excited to be doing the last part of the journey to becoming a nurse. She was also grateful she hadn’t received the night shift that some of her fellow nursing students had. She would have rarely been able to see Mason if she had to sleep during the day and work at night.

She pulled into the parking lot of the Wellstar ER and eased into the first space she found. After turning off the car, she grabbed her folder of paperwork along with her purse and headed inside. She stopped at the front desk. “I’m not a patient. I’m a clinical student here to see Kristi Parkman.”

“Go on through,” the receptionist said, before she buzzed open the Authorized Personnel Only door. Breezing inside the heart of the ER, Megan couldn’t help feeling excited. She couldn’t wait until she got her feet wet by working with patients.

Glancing around, she wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to find the preceptor. She stopped at an area teaming with nurses. “Can I help you?” one of them asked.

“Yes, I’m here to see Kristi Parkman.”

A tall blonde woman in her fifties came over to her with a beaming smile. “You must be Ms. McKenzie?”

“I am.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.”

Megan smiled. “It’s nice meeting you, too.”

“We’re so very glad to have you. I’ve taken a look at your transcript, and it’s quite impressive.”

“Thank you,” Megan replied.

“Why don’t I show you around today? That way you’ll be ready to go with the flow tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

With a smile, Kristi led her around the maze of rooms. She pointed out where the medicine room was, the trauma area, and where she would find the break room. Each time they passed a nurse or a doctor, Kristi was quick to introduce Megan.

“Everyone seems very friendly,” Megan mused.

“It really is a great place to work. Now, I’m not going to lie that some of the residents can be real assholes. But we’re so lucky to have a supervisor who is such a sweetheart.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“Yes, everyone loves Dr. Nadeen.”

Megan’s heartbeat slowed to a standstill. Nadeen. No, it couldn’t be. Surely there were more doctors with that last name. Searching her mind, she tried desperately to remember where he said he worked.

“Oh good, he’s just down the hall. Let me introduce you two.”

“No, that’s really isn’t necessary,” Megan protested feebly.

Ignoring her, Kristi called, “Dr. Nadeen, come meet our newest nursing candidate.”

The moment he turned around, Megan felt like she was going to throw up. After spending two months trying hard to forget about her infamous night with Pesh Nadeen, there he was right in front of her. She couldn’t help having the classic line from Casablanca flash in her head, “Out of all the gin joints in all the world, she had to walk into mine.” She certainly felt that way about all the hospitals she could have possibly been assigned to, she had to be assigned to his.

The shock and surprise registered on his face as well. He was quick to mask it by smiling warmly at her. “Hello again, Megan.”

Kristi’s brows shot up at the familiarity of Pesh’s greeting. “You know each other?”

“Um, well,” Megan began. How was she going to explain? The last thing she needed was to get off on the wrong foot with her coworkers.

Pesh nodded. “She and I share a godson.”

“Oh how wonderful.” Kristi patted Megan’s back. “What luck for you then ending up here out of all the hospitals?”

“Yes, what luck,” Megan murmured.

Kristi smiled. “Well, I’ll let you two catch up for a minute or two.”

“No, that’s okay. You don’t have to do that,” Megan protested.

Waving her hand dismissively, Kristi said, “It gives me a chance to go grab a snack and something to drink. Be back in a few, and we’ll finish the tour.”

Megan fought the urge to run after Kristi as she walked off. Instead, she turned back to Pesh who was staring expectantly at her.

“You don’t exactly look happy to see me,” Pesh said.

She shook her head wildly. “How could I be? The man, who I completely made an ass out of myself in front of, is at the hospital where I’m doing my clinicals. That doesn’t exactly make my day.”

“For the last time, you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Sorry, but that does not make me feel any better,” she grumbled.

“What can I do to put you at ease about working with me?”

Rubbing her now aching head, she replied, “I don’t know. If I thought it wouldn’t make me look bad, I’d request a transfer.”

“I offend you that much?” Pesh asked. As she gazed up at him, his expression was wounded.

“No, no, you don’t offend me. It’s just that…” She chewed mercilessly on her bottom lip before she continued. After taking a ragged breath, she replied, “It’s just that for the past two years, I had pretty good control of my life. The night I was with you, I let all that control crumble. By getting drunk, I became someone else—someone I used to be. The girl, or woman, who would do anything to get a man’s attention. I don’t like that person very much, and I don’t ever want to go back there. Seeing you just makes me remember all of that.”

Megan couldn’t help being surprised by how honest she’d been able to be with him. Pesh remained silent for a moment. His dark eyes bore into hers. “I am sorry that you reflect so negatively on the night we were together. For me, it was not marred by drinking or you getting sick. I enjoyed spending time with you and getting to know you.” He swallowed hard. “I enjoyed waking up with you. I would give anything for you to be able to look at me without having to feel bad about yourself.”

“You really enjoyed being with me that night?”

He nodded. “When I told you I wanted to see you again, I was serious.”

She sighed. “That’s very sweet of you, but I haven’t changed my mind about dating.”

“You haven’t?”

With a shake of her head, she replied, “I have too much going on in my life right now to get involved with someone. It wouldn’t be fair to them…to you. Especially since we still want very different things from each other.”

“I see,” he replied.

Megan noticed the sadness that darkened his expression. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“You have nothing to regret. Any grief I’m experiencing is once again my fault.” He gave her a rueful smile. “I seem to keep falling for women who aren’t meant for me.”

She sucked in a harsh breath at his words. “Falling? You are…you were falling for me?”

Pesh opened his mouth to reply, but at the sound of Kristi coming back from the break room, he shut it. Closing the gap between them, he whispered, “Don’t worry about working with me, Megan. We’ll always be friends, and I will respect your wishes and your distance.”

For some reason, his words had the opposite effect they should have, and regret ricocheted through her. Finally, she managed to say, “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

With a smile, he then turned and walked away. She heaved a painful breath as Kristi walked up to her. “Such a sweetheart, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is,” Megan murmured.

“Not bad on the eyes either.”

A nervous giggle escaped Megan’s lips. “No, he’s not.”

“I swear that half of the women here in the ER act like they’re in heat whenever he comes around.” Kristi fanned herself. “I mean, that body, those eyes, and those dimples. Lord, if I wasn’t a happily married woman, what I wouldn’t want to do to that man!”

Megan knew exactly what Kristi meant. Unfortunately, she was never going to get the chance to experience it for herself. Somehow she’d managed to find the only man left in the world who wouldn’t partake in just a sexual relationship. No, Pesh had to want more than she was willing to give.

“Did you hear what I said?” Kristi asked.

Megan snapped her gaze from Pesh’s retreating form back to face Kristi. “I’m sorry what?”

Kristi laughed. “Oh no, I’m about to lose another one to Dr. Nadeen’s charms, huh?”

Shaking her head wildly, Megan replied, “No, no, we’re just friends—I don’t feel anything like that for him.”

Kristi winked. “Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, honey.”

As Pesh exited one of the exam rooms, he saw Megan sitting on a stool at the counter, working on a chart. When the door shut behind him, she jerked her head up and caught him staring. He cleared his throat and walked over to her. “Hello,” he said, pleasantly.

“Hi.”

“So, are you settling in?”

She nodded. “Everyone has been so nice and helpful.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that. We usually have very good success rates with our clinical candidates.” Megan smiled before her head dipped back down to work on the chart. Nervously, he scratched the back of his neck. Things were rolling along with them now that he knew he shouldn’t try to rock the boat. After all, he had promised her he would keep his distance. But he couldn’t help himself. In the two months since their first encounter, he hadn’t stopped thinking about her. Now that she had shown back up in his life so out of the blue, he couldn’t help feeling that it was fated.

Ask her to dinner, his mind shouted. He bit down on his lip to keep the question he was burning to ask from escaping his mouth. Finally, it rushed forth before he could stop himself. “Why don’t you let me buy you dinner after work?”

Megan’s scribbling pen stilled on the chart. She glanced up and cocked her head at him. “Dinner implies a date, and I thought we were clear on that.”

He gave her a nervous smile. “Well, I was only offering some less palatable cafeteria food. I hardly think that constitutes a date.”

“In my realm of dating consciousness, any time you sit down at a table while eating and drinking together, it is a date.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, he countered, “If that were true, it would mean you were dating your father and brother every time you sat down together. I know your family is close, but I don’t believe they’re that close.”

Megan’s brows rose. “Oh, is the good doctor cracking jokes now?”

“Perhaps.”

The corners of Megan’s lips turned up. “Then what exactly would you consider a date?”

Pesh leaned back against the wall, surmising her teasing smile. “A mutually agreed upon event.”

“You’re so proper,” Megan teased.

He rolled his eyes at her, something he rarely did until he began spending more and more time in her presence. “And you’re avoiding the initial question.”

Megan put down the pen and chart and crossed her arms over her chest. “So, if you could take me on a date, where would we go?”

Pesh rubbed his jaw in thought. “Well, if would have to be something you would want to do, but I would begin with dinner.” When she started to protest, he held up his hand. “Somewhere that was romantic with candlelight and soft music—perhaps a place where we could dance in between courses.”