Free NYC Angels: Tempting Nurse Scarlet by Wendy S. Marcus Page A

NICU without another word to Linda, entered the lounge to get his backpack, and told Jessie to meet him in his office when she was done. He needed time to think.
    It’d taken a near successful suicide attempt for his mother to get his father to lift his head out of his prestigious surgical practice long enough to acknowledge the toxic level of dysfunction in their family. With renewed attention, love and support from her husband and some long-overdue treatment his mom’s condition had stabilized.
    Unfortunately for Lewis, the damage to his ability to form lasting, trusting, positive relationships with women was done.
    Instead of waiting for the elevator, he took the stairs down, needing to burn off some energy.
    Supportive evidence of his lack of interpersonal finesse: The past nine months of torture with Jessie.
    Although things were finally turning around thanks to Scarlet, his daughter’s friend and confidante, a woman who deserved more than a man like him, a woman whose appeal extended beyond good looks. A woman he could not have, who made him want with an intensity he’d never before experienced.
    A problem not easily solved.
    He exited the stairwell.
    One thing was for certain, having her in his condo, with the two of them alone and hot for each other, would only complicate matters. After their kiss, he no longer trusted himself, despite his promise of perfect gentlemanly behavior, which meant he needed to figure out a way to get her help in designing Jessie’s new room without her actually stepping foot into his condo.

CHAPTER FIVE
    O N T HURSDAY MORNING Scarlet fought the urge to fling her arms out to the side and twirl. She tamped down the desire to skip through the halls of the hospital shouting, “I did it!” A manager needed to maintain some degree of decorum. But nothing could wipe the grin from her face as she walked toward the employee changing rooms to wash up and change into a pair of hospital scrubs—her standard work attire.
    After months of ups and downs riding the ‘I want a baby’ ‘I don’t have time for a baby’ teeter-totter, compounded by hours spent obsessing over her finances, living situation, and work schedule, Scarlet had done it. She’d taken action, the first step. True, frequent sex until she got pregnant would have been significantly more enjoyable than page after page of paperwork, but hopefully her early morning meeting with Joey’s social worker would lead to the same outcome. Motherhood.
    Granted her chances of becoming a foster parent and later adopting Joey would be better if she were part of a married couple, but Joey needed a mom and Scarlet wanted a daughter, and if she didn’t try she’d have no chance at all.
    Scarlet reached up to push on the door to the changing area at the same time someone from inside musthave yanked it open because her hands met air. Forward momentum sent her stumbling into a hard male chest.
    How embarrassing. She’d been so preoccupied she’d tried to enter the men’s changing area.
    Wait a minute. She glanced at the sign on the door: Women Only.
    Whew.
    “I’m sorry,” a male voice said. She looked up to see a man she now recognized as Dr. Alex Rodriguez. “I shouldn’t have…” he mumbled, releasing her without looking at her. “I didn’t plan to… Damn it.” He hurried off.
    Scarlet entered cautiously, not sure what she’d find. A beautiful blonde woman, her fashionable attire covered by a white lab coat, sat on a bench, staring at a locker, looking dazed, running two fingers back and forth across her lips.
    This was none of Scarlet’s business. She walked to her locker and worked the combination lock, already running late.
    The woman sniffled and Scarlet couldn’t ignore her. “Are you okay?” she asked, walking over to where the woman sat.
    The woman must not have noticed Scarlet’s presence because she jumped.
    “I’m sorry,” Scarlet said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
    “I shouldn’t be in here,”