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.”

Chapter Eight

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.”

Staring at him in surprise, Megan replied, “You’re serious?”

“Of course.”

She slowly shook her head back and forth. “Okay, go on.”

“Once we finished wine and dessert, I would then want to take you somewhere you’ve never been—”

“Like your bedroom?” Megan interjected with a smirk.

“I do believe you’ve already been there before.” The teasing faded from Megan’s expression, and a flush entered her cheeks. “May I continue?”

“Yeah,” she murmured.

“I would want to be with you to experience something you never have before—an art gallery, an opera, a musical. Anything that would bring wonderment and excitement to your face.” He gave her a small smile. “And it would mean all the more that I was getting to share it with you.”

He watched with almost mild amusement as she processed his words. Most likely she had never had a man speak to her the way he was, and it was certainly affecting her. Feeling like it was time to go in for the kill, he asked once again, “So, will you have dinner with me?”