Crosscheck Page 15

  “Yeah, I’d like to establish myself and my daughter as new patients.”

  Mara’s ears tingled as she perked up, the deep, delicious voice immediately giving her goosebumps. Her lips were suddenly all but buzzing as they recalled the feel of his mouth on hers, and her toes curled in her tennis shoes in response.

  “With which provider?” Christina asked in her too-bright voice that she used for patients, even though she was cruel about them behind closed doors. Her fingers tapped annoyingly loud against the keyboard, and Mara tensed, knowing the girl would be blatantly checking out Zane at the window.

  “Dr. Hayden.”

  The key tapping stopped, and Mara bit back a grin, imagining her coworker’s face. Christina was the pet of Susan, followed her every wish or command, and relayed to her any information that might get anyone in the office in trouble. Yet she complained about Susan behind her back as well, so her allegiance was forever in question. She absolutely could not be trusted, and if there was one thing she was consistent in, it was that Dr. Hayden was her least favorite provider.

  “Dr. Hayden?” she repeated, not bothering to hide her surprise. “He’s a family doctor, sir.”

  “Yeah. That’s why my family is setting up with him.”

  Mara bit back a snort of laughter, covering her mouth with both hands while leaning her elbows on her desk.

  “I can understand you establishing with him, of course,” Christina replied, again with the over-sincere voice. “But your daughter will want a pediatrician.”

  “She’s five. She doesn’t know what she wants,” Zane said in a deadpan tone that Mara instantly loved him for.

  “Right, that’s not what I meant . . .”

  “Look,” she heard Zane huff. “I’ve done my homework. Dr. Hayden has been around the block, but he isn’t close to retiring. He has better patient reviews than any other provider in this office, and everyone that I have spoken with just raves about him and his team. I want to set up with him, and I want my daughter to see him too.”

  “But . . .” Christina sputtered. “We have amazing pediatricians. Dr. Clerk alone is . . .”

  “Dr. Hayden may have done a residency in family med,” Zane overrode Christina, as he spoke louder, “but he also has a fellowship in pediatrics. I think I can safely say he is qualified to provide medical care for my little girl, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Christina had no response to that, and Mara would pay a lot of money to see her face right now, but there was no way she was getting involved in this moment.

  “What are you laughing about?” Susan hissed as she came up to Mara’s desk. “What’s going on out there?”

  Mara faced her office lead, forcing her expression to turn innocent. “I think someone is establishing as a new patient. I’m sorry, I was just thinking about something my dad said last night, and it made me laugh.”

  Susan narrowed her heavily lined eyes, her pinched expression looking even tighter against her olive complexion. It was clear she didn’t quite believe Mara’s lie, but she couldn’t exactly find fault with what she’d said. And as there was no way to prove or disprove the statement, there was nothing she could do.

  “Would you . . . would you like to schedule appointments now, sir?” Christina asked, her voice strained.

  “Nope, just hand me the forms I’ll need, and I’ll get them sent in once I have a better idea of our schedules.”

  Susan stepped out into the front office as Christina shuffled for papers. “You’ll be very happy with our doctors here, sir. We pride ourselves on excellent patient care. Don’t forget to sign up for the online portal once you establish. It makes communication so much easier.”

  “I bet. I’ve heard Dr. Hayden communicates with the patients himself rather than have a nurse do it. That’s high class right there. Glad I’m going with him.”

  “Dr. . . . Dr. Hayden. Yes, I believe he does.”

  Really, it sounded like Susan was choking on her words.

  Mara slowly pushed up from her chair and crept over to the wall separating her desk from the front office, leaning around just enough to get a glimpse of the front window.

  Zane leaned on the counter there while he waited for the papers, denim button-up doing nothing to hide his build, his public smile in place. It was a gorgeous smile, but Mara had seen him do better.

  Had been given better.

  He glanced up and saw her, but his expression barely changed. His eyes said volumes, however, and Mara felt her cheeks begin a slow burn. She winked at him, then grinned as the corner of his mouth quirked.

  There was no way they were going to get out of here together, even for a minute, and she had no idea what he was doing here. They had never talked about Dr. Hayden again since she’d mentioned her job in the car that night, and she’d certainly never suggested he become a patient of his.

  What was his game here?

  Christina finally had the paperwork and handed it all over to Zane, tossing the over-styled pouf on top of her almost pixie-cut hair as though it made anything look better. “If you change your mind on Dr. Hayden, we are happy to give you more information on any of our other providers.”

  Zane gave her a bland look. “I’m not changing my mind. Push me more, and I’ll tell anyone who’ll listen that you’re biased against him, which I consider to be unprofessional behavior. I’d really hate to file a complaint before I’m officially a patient here.”

  Christina gasped and sat back hard against her chair.

  Susan stepped forward at once. “Sir, she didn’t mean anything by that. She was simply offering you . . .”

  “I know what she meant,” he overrode, smiling almost politely. “I just don’t like being told what to do when it goes against what I want.”

  “I understand that, absolutely,” Susan assured him in her save-this-situation voice. “We love Dr. Hayden here, I promise you that. He is such a great doctor. Have you ever been to this hospital?”

  Zane straightened slowly, his smile staying put. “No, actually. I’d love to see it and hear more about the office.”

  Susan cleared her throat. “Mara?”

  Mara stepped back quickly, only to come forward as though she’d just left her desk. “Yes?”

  Susan turned to smile warmly at her, which must have hurt her features, given her true feelings. “Would you be willing to use some of your lunch to give this gentleman a tour of the hospital? He wants to become a patient of Dr. Hayden, and you are just the person to tell him all about what a wonderful provider he is and what a great experience he will have as a patient.”

  Oh, this was too good.

  Mara kept her expression carefully composed and nodded, forcing herself to look at Zane as she would any other prospective new patients. “Of course, it would be my pleasure, sir.”

  “Thank you very much,” Zane said with a nod, folding up the papers neatly. “So kind.”

  Mara smiled and turned to go back to her desk to lock her computer, only to find Susan hard on her heels.

  “Recover this,” Susan muttered, her eyes hard. “Don’t overembellish, but keep him interested in the practice. He clearly has money, and we could use a stable patient who can afford to pay his bill in a timely matter.”

  “I understand,” Mara replied, biting back the desire to make a retort about a patient’s money being none of her business.

  It wouldn’t get her anywhere, and it might earn her some snide comments, if not another round of petty retaliation in passive-aggressive ways.

  Besides, this way she was getting to spend an extensive amount of time with Zane. At Susan’s own request.

  Checkmate, Susan.

  Mara grabbed her hospital jacket and walked down the hall to the waiting room door, her heart skipping an energetic dance within her.

  Last night . . . after the wall moment, they’d grabbed some food and just talked while sitting in his SUV, exchanging kisses throughout. They were a thing, he’d said. And they were both in.

  F
irst sighting after such an eventful, emotional, intense evening.

  When would this excitement fade? Or would it?

  She stepped out into the waiting room, her fingertips tingling. Zane was casually gorgeous, berry-colored jeans working with his denim shirt beautifully, his hair covered by a white baseball cap with a black N on it. His scruff gave him a rugged look despite his crisp style of dressing, and his build was perfectly enhanced by all of it.

  Her mouth dried, and she gestured to the doors of their department. “Shall we go?”

  “Absolutely,” he said with a nod, moving to the door to hold it open for her. “Lead the way.”

  Without looking back, they slipped out into the hall, Mara leading Zane away from the family medicine offices as though she really was leading him into the main part of the hospital. Once out of sight of the windows of her department and tucked into an abandoned hallway, however, she turned to face Zane, walking backwards and grinning at him without shame. “Are. You. Serious?”

  He laughed and shrugged, tipping his hat back and sliding his hands into his pockets. “What can I say? I have a vested interest in making sure a certain doctor succeeds, and I have no problem speaking my mind when people irritate me.”

  Mara shook her head, almost squealing in delight and amusement, and went to him, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. He lifted her off the ground, still laughing, then tightened his hold as the laughter faded, sighing into her.

  “What?” she murmured, folding her arms about his neck.

  “Hi, baby,” he replied as his hands rubbed slowly along her back. “I missed you.”

  Mara buried her face into his shoulder, hiding a smile. “Hi.”

  “I haven’t kissed you today. I hate that.”

  She snickered and lifted her head, shivering as he lowered her very slowly to the ground, her body brushing all along his with the motion. “What are you going to do about it?”

  His smile lit up every corner of her body, and he gently tipped her chin up before kissing her in the slowest, softest, most spine-tingling way known to humankind. She gripped his shirt in her hands as she tried to do something, anything, in response, but apart from breathing, she had nothing to match this.

  When he broke off, she exhaled slowly, almost like she had stepped out on a wintery day and her lungs were adjusting to the temperature. “That . . . was something.”

  “More where that came from, but let’s grab lunch.” He winked and put a hand at her back, turning down another hallway. “We’ve got a good half hour, and I don’t want to waste it up here.”

  “Half an hour?” Mara shot back, looking up at him in shock. “What in the world makes you think I can take a full thirty minutes away from the office? Susan would never . . .”

  “Susan thinks you’re in recovery mode,” Zane reminded her. “And besides, I said I did my homework. You are legally entitled to a thirty-minute lunch break. If that isn’t happening, it could be reported, and violators could be prosecuted, and that publicity . . . yeesh.” He grimaced, shaking his head. “Anyone with a decent lawyer would have it easy.”

  Mara laughed and slipped her arm around his waist. “I take it you have a decent lawyer?”

  Zane pulled her tight into his side, crooked smile in place. “I have an amazing lawyer. He gets the best presents out of anyone on my Christmas list, family included.”

  “Good to know.” She looked up at him, surprised at how comfortable walking with him like this was. “How was breakfast with Jax?”

  “Great,” came the easy reply. “He was upset you weren’t there, since he really wanted to meet you officially, but he was really happy to see Hope.” He shook his head with a reluctant smile. “She really loves her uncle Jax. No clue why.”

  “That’s adorable,” Mara said with a laugh. “She has all these big tough hockey players wrapped around her finger.”

  Zane chuckled in response as they reached the stairs and began to head down them. “It’s true; she could get anything she wanted from any of us. Easily. Maybe not Trane, he’s a tough nut to crack, but he still turns soft around her.”

  Mara smiled at the imagery, remembering the huge goalie Zane had pointed out the night they’d watched the game together. She had no idea what he really looked like or how he behaved, but by size alone she was amused by the possibilities. It was easy to imagine Hope winning over anyone, even impressive guys like her father. Mara loved the girl herself, and part of her attraction to Zane was his fatherhood and how much it meant to him.

  How much it was a part of him.

  How much Hope adored him.

  Attractive as Zane was just by sight, seeing that part of him was that much more appealing.

  As if he needed the help.

  “Do you have plans for Hope’s birthday?” Mara asked as the two of them entered the hospital cafeteria. “I know she’s pretty set on one of those stuffed animals.”

  “Don’t remind me,” he muttered, trying to look gruff even though he smiled. “The price tag outweighs my indulgence.”

  Mara snickered as she stepped away from him to grab a tray. “Why do I doubt that?”

  He coughed in mock distress, following her with a tray of his own. “I beg your pardon, Mara Matthews, but have you seen anything in my house that indicates I spoil my daughter?”

  He had a point there; for all the money he must have made with his career, his house was fairly simple. Nice, comfortable, but nothing to indicate that he was a professional athlete making a fortune.

  “Well, I don’t know,” she protested, batting away a hand of his that had wandered to her hip. “I haven’t seen Hope’s room or her . . . what did you call it? Imagination Station?”

  Zane laughed at her amused confusion. “That’s the name, yeah. Josie just calls it Hope’s cubby, but there’s a room on the second floor that we converted into a playroom, and she has a mini office in there. Creative stuff there, art supplies and the like. My mom and Rae put it together for her when she turned four. If I ever can’t find Hope, chances are she is there.”

  “A mini office,” Mara repeated as she started assembling a salad for herself. “And you expect me to believe she isn’t spoiled.”

  “It’s not like she has a Jeep.” Zane bypassed the salad, going around Mara to the rest of the buffet. “And I didn’t do it; the grandmas did.”

  Mara shook her head, piling more toppings onto her salad. “Do you know how incredible and unheard of it is that your mom and stepmom do things together?”

  Zane exhaled a chuckle, reaching for a second roll. “I do know, I’ve heard it all before, trust me. Mom and Rae go to the same book club. Dad and Wayne are golf buddies. Now, I know they haven’t always gotten along, but they never let that trickle down to us kids. We always came first.”

  “I imagine that affected how you parent Hope,” Mara murmured, sliding her tray closer as she reached for a roll herself.

  “Sure. She comes first and last, the end.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Being an athlete can be a pretty public career, though I can’t pretend hockey players get the same attention as some other guys.” He made a face of pretended exasperation before grinning at her. “But that actually works out well for me. A few of my teammates know about Hope, since I’ll bring her to the family activities the Hounds organization puts on, but otherwise, there isn’t much to tie us together. I want to protect her from the publicity, if that makes sense.”

  It did make sense, and more than that, Mara was touched by it. Some guys might use their single-dad status as an improvement in their dating prospects, but Zane was a father first, single second.

  Well, not as single now as he had been a few weeks ago, but still.

  “How often does Hope get to see your family?” Mara asked as they moved away from the buffet to the cashiers. “You mentioned they’re still in Chicago.”

  He nodded, tugging a credit card out of his wallet and gesturing that he was paying for both trays. “They come out for a couple of games ev
ery season, if they can. Every time I play Chicago, they’re there. We’ve been in Chicago a little more in the last few months, so that’s been fun. We’re going back next weekend for a Northbrook event . . .”

  Mara frowned as he trailed off, nudging him with her elbow. “Yeah? And?”

  He turned to face her, his eyes wide, a small smile curving one side of his mouth. “Come with us.”

  She blinked in response, wondering why thought was suddenly difficult. “Do what now?”

  He took a step closer to her, smile growing. “Come with us. To Chicago, to the event, everything. Come.”

  “Zane, I can’t,” she told him, laughing in disbelief. “I have work, and you don’t need me tagging along with you and Hope, especially with your family and your Northbrook friends . . .”

  “I’m serious,” he insisted, putting a hand on her arm and squeezing gently. “I want you there. I want you with me.”

  Her heart made a strange keening sound that only she could hear, and it was as though her stomach fluttered. She wanted to be with him, wherever he was, whatever he was doing, but admitting that to herself was terrifying.

  She’d been in this relationship for days. Officially, not even one, but unofficially just a few.

  The phrase head over heels had always seemed strange to her and hadn’t made sense, but now that was exactly how she felt. Flipping end over end in the air, dizzy with exhilaration and all consumed by the experience.

  She could drown in all of this. In Zane.

  Happily.

  But should she?

  “I . . .”

  “Sir?”

  They turned to look at the cashier, who was holding out Zane’s credit card expectantly, expression bland and bored.

  Zane smiled anyway and took the card from her. “Thank you. Have a great day.” He tilted his head towards a table, and Mara followed, exhaling slowly.

  Could she go to Chicago with him? It felt like he would be introducing her to his family, and it had to be too soon for that, right? He wouldn’t want to do that this early in their relationship, right?

  She didn’t want to rush into anything, right?