Page 5 of Just One Night Together
A very hot superstar, whose attention was completely fixed upon her.
She stammered a bit, aware he was still waiting for her reply. “I was curious about your mom’s heart rate. It drops a lot on Friday nights and she sleeps much better. She even takes fewer painkillers. I heard from the other nurses that you gave your mom a massage each Friday, so I wanted to see.”
“Why?”
“I’m interested in alternative therapies for both routine care and palliative care. I particularly want to know about making a difference even when there can’t be a cure. The benefits of therapies like massage aren’t as well documented as would be ideal, but are more anecdotal. It wasn’t clear to me whether it was your presence or your massage at root, so I wanted to see.” Haley knew she was chattering, but she couldn’t stop. She nodded toward his mom’s room. “This looks like a perfect example of an improvement from massage.”
Damon’s expression became guarded then, and she realized he understood his mom’s situation. “So, you want to study her...” His opinion of that was clear.
“No. I want to learn.”
It was only when he glanced back toward his mom that his features softened. The sight of his love nearly broke Haley’s heart.
“I want to help.” She put her hand on his arm, compassion making her bold. She had an idea and she blurted it out before she could think better of it. “You probably have a job and a family and can’t be here all the time,” she said, her words spilling forth in a rush. “If you could teach me what you do for your mom, I could give her a massage on other nights.”
He looked back at her with surprise. “You can do that?”
Haley thought about schedules and shifts. She’d do it on her own time just to learn more. “I can make it happen.”
His eyes narrowed. “Youwoulddo that?”
“Yes,” Haley said, feeling in this moment that she’d do pretty much anything to keep this man talking to her.
He straightened a little, his gaze brightening. “You were going to say something, when I told her not to go.”
Haley looked at the floor. It wasn’t her place to tell him, if he didn’t know.
He cleared his throat and his next words were husky. “Am I right to expect that you wouldn’t have to help out for long?”
Haley had that lump in her throat again. “I’m not your mom’s doctor.”
“But you know.”
She nodded.
He sighed. “I talked to the oncologist today,” he admitted quietly, defeat in his tone.
Haley lifted her head and met his gaze. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.”
Their gazes clung for a long moment, one in which Haley was afraid to take a breath and risk breaking the spell.
Then he shrugged. “But that doesn’t change anything. We’d better get started if you’re going to be able to help.”
“Good idea.” Haley didn’t start until the evening the next day, so maybe they could meet in the morning...
But Damon had other ideas. His tone filled with purpose. “When does your shift end?”
“At two.”
He nodded and Haley felt like he’d taken command of the situation, leaving her behind. “I’ll still be here. Your place or mine?”
“Excuse me?”
He smiled just a little, the corner of his mouth lifting in a way that made him look unpredictable—and very sexy. “How were you planning to learn massage?”
“Well, I’ve studied books and there are mannequins in the classroom...”
