Saving Forever - Part 2 (5 page)

His hand paused midway in the air and a sly grin appeared
on his face. “I’m all for trying to make you feel good.”

She groaned. “Please
, don’t tease me. We need to go, and if you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to lose my job.”

“Really? I do that to you?” He seemed genuinely surprised. “O
kay. I’ll try to stop, but you’re incredibly gorgeous in that red dress and I can’t seem to stop the images of what just happened from replaying in my head.”

The way he leaned against the counter so casual
ly and perfectly made her heart race. She stepped closer to him, her mouth an inch away from his. Her eyes stared at his mouth, travelled to meet his gaze, and then back to his mouth again. “I am so going to get you back,” she whispered.

He swallowed hard
, and just as his fingers made a tantalizing trail up her forearm to her elbow, she pressed her lips to his. She pulled back instantly. “Shall we go?” She spun around to grab her coat, but not before noticing the redness on her cheeks that she’d neglected to apply blush to.

Elijah drove to the Extravaganza under Charity’s direction. They weren’t far from her place and thankfully no one noticed their tardiness. He played the perfect date
: schmoozing with the people wanting to spend money; being the doctor to the staff at Saving Forever; letting her do her thing without making her feel like he wouldn’t know what to do on his own. She planned to thank him properly later when they returned to her bedroom.

Charity made sure the silent
-auction table had flashes of the bidding entries on the large screen she’d set behind it. The bidders were not revealed, just the amount going to the fundraiser. Everything ran smoothly without a hitch.

She stood chatting with a small group of older doctors when Elijah brought her a glass of wine. “Thanks.”

“You’re most welcome.” He grinned and winked at her.

“Dr. Bennet?” A grey
-haired man from the group cleared his throat as his wife swatted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t yell, Allan
,” she hissed.

“It’s Dr. Bennet! He’s the chief over at
Scott Thompson Hospital in New York. He did Jack’s valve replacement.” He shook an irritated head at his wife, and then turned his attention back to Elijah. “What brings you here?”

“Scott Thompson’s daughter, Charity.” Elijah smiled pleasantly at the man.

“Well, I’ll be.” He smiled at Charity and nudged his wife. “That can’t be Dr. Scott Thompson’s daughter. You’re much too pretty.”

“She’s the host, Allan.” His wife rolled her eyes
at the ceiling. “You’re only allowed decaf from now on.” She patted Charity’s arm. “Ignore the schmuck of a husband I have. I love him dearly, but the man can’t handle his caffeine after nine o’clock.”

“Excuse me a moment
.” Elijah pulled his phone from the pocket on the inside of his jacket. He checked the caller ID and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?” He moved toward a semi-vacant spot by the wall.

Charity watched him, instantly concerned with the lines that showed up on his forehead and the anxious way
he rubbed his temple. Maybe the patient he had scheduled for surgery? She continued chatting with the circle of people around her, but her eyes kept wondering back to Elijah. Through the dim lights he suddenly grew pale. She touched the elbow of Allan’s wife still chatting away beside her. “Please excuse me,” she murmured.

She walked toward Elijah but waited just out of earshot so as not to eavesdrop on his call. When he took the phone away from his ear, he let his arm drop to the side and stood frozen with a stunned look on his face.

“Everything alright?” Charity slipped quietly beside him.

His eyebrows furrowed together and he pressed his lips into a thin line as his Adam’s apple went down and up several times. He turned slightly and stared at her in stunning silence.

She did not know what to say or do. She went with her gut and just waited for him to speak.

Elijah straightened, his doctor face covering the apprehension of the moment before. “Sorry about that.”

“Are you okay?”

He looked behind her. “I could use a drink.” He headed toward the bar.

She followed close behind.

“Whiskey. Neat… Please.” It was gone
a moment after the bartender set it down.

Charity settled beside him, her elbows resting on the edge of the bar’s wood
en counter. She watched Elijah from the mirror behind the bar. He appeared completely composed, but she knew something had happened. The way he carried himself, it reminded her a bit of her father.

His eyes met hers in the mirror’s reflection. He sighed and dropped his gaze to his empty glass. “That was my mother.” He played with
the empty glass. “My father suffered a massive heart attack.”

“Oh no!” Charity’s hand shot to cover her mouth. “Is he alright?”

Elijah signalled the bartender for another drink. “He passed away.”

His body’s detachment to the words as he spoke
them confused Charity. She didn’t know if she should touch him, hug him, or what to do. “How’s your mom?”

He snorted. “My mother? She’s her usual woe-is-me and how’s-the-country-club-going-to-fit-everyone
self.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “She’s fine. No need for concern there.” The bartender handed him a double shot. Elijah took a sip of the whiskey in the glass this time.

“We should go. Come on
. I’ll drive you back. You need to book a flight to—”

“No. I need to stay here and get very drunk. Then you can drive me home and take advantage of me as I pass out. I can wake up in the morning
, confused about where I am, but at least I’ll find a gorgeous, hot chick in my bed. Then I’ll fly back to New York for the surgery I have scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.”

Charity blinked in surprise. She tried to think of how to respond and reminded herself not to get angry with him. He wasn’t lashing out on her
. His frustration just needed some direction, and she was the girl in the red dress: the perfect target.

“It’s my bed,” she murmured.

“Pardon?”

“You said you could wake up and find some chick in your bed. It’s my bed. I’ll have the hot doc in my bed.”

He started to laugh. “You’ll have a hot dog in your bed? That’s disgusting.”

“No.” She liked how his shoulders dropped and his body relaxed. “I said hot
doc. A hot doctor.”

“Oh!” He chuckled again. “Still funny.”

“That’s me. Break the ice and smooth it over.” She pretended to run her hand over imaginary thin-air ice.

He squeezed her hand. “Sorry
about what I said. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s fine. I get—”

Someone called her name from the microphone on stage. “Miss Thompson, Charity Thompson. Where are you hiding?”

A spotlight whipped around the room and settled on Elijah and her. He quickly dropped her hand and moved to the shadow just outside the spotlight.

“Charity!” It was Malcolm speaking on the stage. “Folks, this is the gal who created this fantastic event! Charity, can you please come up here and say a few things?”

Charity felt her eyes grow wide. Her mind whirred with thoughts. What should she say? Where was Elijah? She couldn’t decline speaking tonight
; there were media personnel here so it would be great for the hospital. Confusion set in. Her brain seemed stuck momentarily in a fog.  She smiled and waved to Malcolm, who was standing on the stage across the room.
Move
! She mentally commanded her legs to get going. Thankfully, they listened. She walked forward and glanced back to see where Elijah had disappeared to. She didn’t see him among the faces behind her.
Focus, Charity, focus. One thing at a time.

She made it to the stage in one piece, composed herself along the way
, and had a friendly smile on her face when she calmly crossed the stage to Malcolm. The people on the floor clapped and she gave Malcolm a hug. “Shucks, you know how to make a girl feel special,” she said into the mike. “However, please don’t clap for me. You should acknowledge yourselves. You made this event a gigantic success. The donations, the kids today, the silent auctions… which I’m sure the papers can’t wait to announce the total of tomorrow! It’s been a great night full of surprises. This town loves Forever Hope Hospital and I’m glad.”

Malcolm leaned into the mike. “As am I – I get to keep my job.”

The audience laughed as he played the joker. Charity took the mike off the stand and confidently walked around the stage to catch the audience’s attention. “Speaking of Dr. Parker,” she said and glanced back at him, winking exaggeratedly. “Valentine’s is the next big thing after the Christmas holidays. Forever Hope is going to be hosting another sort of auction the last week of January. A number of our handsome, single male doctors and staff have signed on to be part of a Valentine’s Hope Dinner. So all you single ladies be sure and grab a handout as you leave with details. There is no need to eat alone when these lovely gentlemen are willing to wine and dine you.” She glanced at Malcolm clapping his hands and pointed to one of the doctors near the stage. “That includes you too, Dr. Parker.”

Malcolm stopped clapping and his jaw dropped. The crowd burst into laughter.

Charity kept the mike close by so he couldn’t take it off her. He calmly, but with quick feet, walked after her. He caught her by the Christmas tree and wrestled the mike away. As he jogged out of reach he said, “Our gorgeous female staff is also taking part and since Charity Thompson is single, I believe she will be participating as well.” He gave her a smug look.

His comment on being single reminded Charity she had come with someone this evening. Someone who needed a friend more than anything. Elijah had no one here in town and here she was playing cat and mouse on the stage. She held a hand up in defeat and leaned into the microphone. “I concede. I’ll be part of it as well. Check out the website to see photos of your possible dates. It’s online with new faces being added. Join the mailing list so we can tell you when you can purchase a raffle ticket for a surprise date or pick your doctor. It’ll be a great evening, for a wonderful cause. Now please everyone go back to enjoying your evening. There is another,” she checked her watch, “fifty minutes left on the silent auctions. The computers will automatically lock bids out when the time is up. Thanks again for making the evening a grand success. Merry Christmas everyone.” She slipped off the other end of the stage before Malcolm could stop her. She tried to find Elijah through the large crowd but he was nowhere to be seen. She moved throughout the room, frustration boiling inside each time someone tapped her arm to chat. Normally she never minded the chitchat, but her focus now centered on Elijah and making sure he was alright.

When the silent auction computers began locking bids, people throughout the room turned to focus on the large screen near the stage that flashed the item with the winning price and bidder number. No names would be declared unless winners had signed a form that allowed the release to the press. Charity slipped out of the room and headed to check if Elijah might be in the bathroom.

She knocked several times on the men’s door before blowing her bangs away from her face and walking in. She called out his name but it only echoed against the walls of the empty room.

She tried the coat room next and handed the coat check attendant her stubs. “By chance did a good-looking guy with an accent come by and grab his jacket?”

The young girl stared blankly at her. She shrugged. “I don’t know. No one’s collected their stuff in the past half hour if that helps.” She disappeared into the back and came out a moment later with both Charity and Elijah’s jackets.

“Thanks.” Charity took them and dropped some bills into the tip jar. She slipped her coat on and decided to check if Elijah might be waiting by where she had parked the car.

“Are you leaving?” Malcolm’s voice had her pausing mid-step.

“I’m not sure actually.” She tucked Elijah’s jacket over her arm.

“I didn’t upset you onstage, did I? I didn’t mean to force you into participating. I just got a little caught up in the teasing and the crowd enjoying it.”

Charity smiled. “It’s fine. I did it to you, so it’s only fair you got me back. I don’t mind.”

“Good. I was afraid for a moment that I’d upset you.”

She shook her head. “Not at all. I’m just looking for my friend.”

“Dr. Bennet?”

Charity nodded.

“I saw him leave the room while we were on stage.”

Before or after she’d said she was single and agreed on the date night for Valentine’s Day? “His father passed away today. His family’s in New Zealand and he received a phone call just before I went up on stage.”
Idiot
! Why in the world did she think she had the right to share Elijah’s personal information with Malcolm? How utterly unprofessional. Now wonder Elijah took off.

Malcolm looked sympathetic. “Go find him. I’ll cover the rest of the evening. I doubt I’ll even be needed.”

She buttoned up the last button on her coat. “Thanks. I really appreciate it. I’m going to have a look outside. He has the keys to my car so if the car is gone… he’s gone.”