Would he have been as attracted to her if she hadn't posed such a challenge?

He thought of the kiss the other night and had his answer. He definitely would have. There was no doubt in his mind that if she hadn't had her ex in her life, Jolene DeLuca still would have been one of the most attractive women he had ever seen.

And he was willing to bet that the way she kissed had nothing to do with her ex-husband.

Walking out of the small cubicle, he saw Jolene hurrying to one of the trauma rooms.

Speak of the devil.

Instinct had him picking up his pace and following her. Bursting through the swinging doors, he saw that there was a large man convulsing on the examining table. Activity hummed around the victim.

Standing at the head of the table, Lukas Graywolf was issuing orders.

Abruptly the man stopped convulsing. The monitor attached to him was flat-lining. Lukas called for paddles to be charged.

Mac raised his voice above the din. "Anything I can do?"

Paddles in hand, Lukas looked up and saw him standing just inside the doorway. "We've got it covered, Mac. But thanks."

Just before he walked out of the room, his eyes locked with Jolene's. He could have sworn he saw tears in them, but then she turned away.

Probably just a trick of the lighting, he decided.

He stood there a moment longer, watching her. There wasn't a moment's hesitation as she seemed to antic.i.p.ate Graywolf's orders. "We've got a pulse," she declared with relief.

A strange feeling came over him as he watched her. If he hadn't known better, he would have said it was pride. But that was ridiculous. Pride was only there if strong feelings were present. There were no strong feelings here, other than attraction.

Mac walked out. He didn't have time to stand around and ponder things that made no sense. He had patients to see.

Chapter Ten.

M ac stopped leaning against the wall and came to attention the moment Jolene walked out of the staff lounge.

He'd been waiting for her. The expression on her face earlier in Trauma Room Two had haunted him for the better part of his shift. She'd looked as if she needed a friend.

"Heading my way, Nurse DeLuca?"

Still preoccupied with what had happened earlier, and what had almost happened in the operating room less than half an hour ago, Jolene hadn't even seen him standing there.

Startled, she resumed her clip-walk down the corridor. It looked as if her streak of bad luck was continuing. She never slowed her pace. "I'm going to the parking structure."

He fell into place beside her, his long legs cutting the distance quickly. "Then you're heading my way."

Her mood was bad. She shot him an annoyed glance. Great, this was all she needed to top off a perfect day, to have him hit on her. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

His expression was guileless. "Not at the moment." Mac peered at her profile. He hadn't been mistaken earlier. Hers was clearly a troubled face. "Something wrong?"

She picked up her pace. "Yes, I'm being stalked by a doctor."

"Besides that." He followed her through the revolving door. "You look upset. More upset than I could make you," he added for good measure.

Guilt had all but eaten away at her ability to maintain her temper. "It's none of your business," she snapped.

If she was trying to push him away, she wasn't succeeding. Wounds of any sort spoke to him-on both a personal and professional level.

"Healing is my business." And then, less seriously, he added, "See, two ears, no waiting." The smile on his lips wasn't seductive or sensual, just coaxing. "You look like a woman who needs to talk."

The evening air was cool, bracing. She could smell more rain in the air. All she wanted to do right now was get away from him. "I don't want to talk-"

He let her get a step ahead of him, not wanting to crowd her. "I said needs to, not wants to."

She swung around to face him. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that he could go, posthaste, to a southerly location, travel accommodations via a handbasket, but something stopped her.

Maybe it was the need he was talking about. Staring unseeing into the mouth of the parking structure, she took a deep breath. The guilt, the blame, just tumbled out.

"I almost killed him."

Mac took an educated guess. "The man in the emergency room?" He came up to her, resisting the temptation to put his arm around her in comfort. He knew she wouldn't take it that way, she'd take it as an advance. His hands remained at his sides. "What are you talking about? I saw you in there. You handled it like a pro."

She shook her head. "No, not today. The other day. He came in a few days ago complaining of chest pains. I did an EKG on him and told him he was fine."

Her admission caught him off guard. This was serious. "You diagnosed him?"

"No," she spat out, taking the question as blame. "I know my 'place,' Doctor. I just answered his question when he asked about the results."

Very carefully, Mac felt his way through the mine field. "It's not a matter of 'place,' but you should have left that for the doctor on duty."

Ready for a fight, welcoming it, Jolene fisted her hands on her hips. "I did. I told him the doctor would be by to talk to him. I even told him that he should see Dr. Graywolf, just to be sure." d.a.m.n it, she'd done everything right, why did it feel so wrong? "I didn't know he'd check himself out and just go home."

Only to be brought in by the paramedics his wife had called when she found him on the floor, gasping for air and clutching his chest.

The specter of what could have happened weighed heavily on her.

There was no point in lecturing her. She seemed to have taken care of that on her own. "What matters is that he's okay now."

Didn't he get it? Was he willing to whitewash everything just to get on her good side and crawl into bed with her? "But I could have killed him," she insisted heatedly.

A family, obviously visitors, made their way into the parking structure. Mac stepped aside to give them room, waiting until they pa.s.sed to speak.

"No," he said patiently, "he could have killed him. You don't get a body like that overnight," he pointed out. The man was three hundred and fifty pounds if he was an ounce. "He'd slowly been killing himself for years and when he pressed you for answers, he just wanted to hear someone tell him that he wasn't."

It didn't make her feel any better about it. "And I came to his rescue."

"Yes, you did," Mac told her firmly. "You were part of the team that saved his life." He stopped, realizing he was taking something for granted. "You did save him, didn't you?"

She nodded. Otherwise, she didn't think she could have stood it. "He's in CCU."

The h.e.l.l with playing it safe. Mac slipped his arm around her in the most gentle way possible. One friend to another. "All right, then stop beating yourself up. You got a degree in nursing, not clairvoyance. Bad calls happen to all of us, even Super-nurses."

She drew in a long breath, then exhaled, trying to calm down, trying to gain perspective. She looked at him. This wasn't what she expected. "Why are you being so nice?"

A twinkle came into his eye. "I'm a nice guy, Nurse DeLuca. Haven't you heard?"

She tried to remember this was the man she'd been warned about. That this was the man who collected women's hearts the way others collected baseball cards. "I heard a lot of things."

His grin was quick, bright and went straight into her chest, unsettling her heart. Waking up b.u.t.terflies sleeping peacefully in her stomach.

"Only the good parts are true." They'd reached her car. He paused, knowing she still needed to talk. And he still needed to help. "Feel like grabbing a cup of coffee somewhere? Or is your mother going out on another hot date?"

"Not tonight-"

His car was on the next level. He sank his hands into his pockets and took a step away from her. "All right."

She realized he thought she was turning him down. Something scrambled within her, telling her not to let him leave. "No, I meant she's not going out tonight."

"Oh?" He retraced his steps. "Then coffee would be all right?"

She couldn't seem to prevent the smile that came to her lips. It was a continuation of the one she felt inside. "Coffee would be all right."

There was something slightly different about her now. More open. He decided to take a chance. "How about dinner?"

She opened her mouth to say no, to tell him not to push it. How the word yes came out she had no idea. But it did. Naked and vulnerable, but with its head held up high. And eager.

"Yes."

"Where would you like to go?" He thought of several places in the area she might like.

"Home first. I need a shower." She wanted to wash the last of her guilt away before going out with him.

My G.o.d, she was actually going out with him.

The thought struck her like a marble headpiece across her chest.

He could do with a change of clothing himself, he thought. "I'll pick you up in an hour? How's the Italian House sound?"

"Fine, but I'll meet you there."

She was still cautious, he saw. Well, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was the road to Rome. Amus.e.m.e.nt teased his mouth.

"Separate cars, very independent and modern. Do we get to share the same table?"

"Yes." Funny, she didn't balk at his teasing the way she might have. Today had really shaken her up. "But all we do is talk."

He looked at her very solemnly. "I never make love in a restaurant. Doesn't go with the entree."

Jolene heard herself laughing. It felt good.

Mac glanced at his watch. It was seven-thirty. He'd been sitting at the table, working his way through the bread sticks, for the last half hour.

Maybe she wasn't- And then he saw her. Following in the wake of the hostess. Looking better in a simple light-blue dress than anyone had a right to. He half rose in his chair, feeling his knees lock into place.

The hostess left Jolene at the table with a menu and faded into the background.

Everyone did.

As far as he was concerned, Jolene was the only one there. "I was beginning to think that you'd changed your mind."

Jolene opened the menu, but although she skimmed it, she didn't see a word. She was suddenly acutely aware of the man sitting opposite her. Aware of how handsome he was in a light-gray suit, aware of the light scent of aftershave that seemed to burrow its way into her senses.

"Not about dinner, just about my clothes. I couldn't decide what to wear."

She could have come wearing aluminum foil and it wouldn't have mattered. He just wanted her there. "I'm flattered you went to all that trouble."

She didn't want him to think he had any more of an advantage than he already did.

"Don't be. I just couldn't remember where anything was packed." She took another look at the menu, trying to focus this time. "My clothes are still tucked away in three boxes."

"Only three?" he marveled. She really was unique. "Most women I know would have had five or seven boxes-and that would be just for the weekend."

She looked at him pointedly. "Most women you know wind up naked."

He laughed, tickled, not taking offense even though he had a feeling she would have preferred to start something now. "I'll be sure to tell Wanda that next time I see her."

Jolene frowned. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do. And you're wrong." The woman was taking things way out of proportion. "If I had the kind of life you're crediting me with, I wouldn't have time to eat, much less operate."

She raised a brow in his direction. "I'm sure you operate just fine."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the food server approaching their table. Her stomach contracted at the same time, making her realize that she was starved, as well as nervous.

She welcomed the diversion.

She really hadn't expected MacKenzie to be as nice as he was.

All through dinner, she kept telling herself it was just part of his act, part of his plan to get her to lower her guard. But she'd driven her own car and was free to leave at any time, so maybe he really was as nice as he came across.

Or maybe he just wanted her to think this way.

By the end of the evening, her head was buzzing and it had nothing to do with the single gla.s.s of wine she'd had. She just wasn't sure about him or the way she felt, both earlier and now. She wasn't sure about anything except that she was still shaken up by the events of the afternoon and what she'd almost done.