Hitting the Right Note by Rhonda Bowen Page B

doing this. He couldn’t let one woman unnerve him and turn him into a fool like this.
    Get a hold of yourself, Massri!
    He gritted his teeth, angry at himself, and headed down the hall.
    â€œWait! Stop.”
    There were footsteps behind him. But he didn’t pay attention, didn’t realize the calls were for him until a hand grabbed his arm. When he stopped and turned around, he was surprised to find a beautiful woman glaring at him. A beautiful, ticked-off woman.
    He opened and closed his mouth several times before coming up with an appropriate sentence.
    â€œMiss Isaacs . . .?” He blinked rapidly to confirm that he wasn’t imagining things. “Is . . . uh . . . is everything okay? Is your sister-in-law okay?”
    â€œMy sister-in-law is fine,” JJ said, crossing her arms. “I, however, am not.”
    More blinking. “Excuse me?”
    â€œDo you have a problem with me, Dr. Massri?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œDo you have a problem with me?” JJ repeated, enunciating every word for emphasis. “Do you have an issue with the way I treat my sister-in-law? Has she said something to you about me that I should know? Do you think I am not taking care of her?”
    JJ stepped toward Simon, and he fought the urge to respond with a step back.
    â€œBecause I’m getting the distinct feeling that you disapprove of me,” JJ continued. “And let me tell you, I have been better to Sheree than all my sisters, so I don’t know why you’re treating me as if I am a problem.”
    â€œI don’t think you’re a problem . . .”
    â€œThen what’s with the attitude?” JJ hissed, the intensity in her voice jumping up a few notches, her hands finding their way to her hips. He noted her pupils dilating, the veins at her temples pulsing, the pace of her breathing increasing, all biological signals that she was in as heightened an emotional state as he was. Except the emotion at work for her was probably anger. And for him, it was something else. Something he hadn’t quite been able to put his finger on thus far.
    â€œAttitude?”
    â€œYes, attitude,” JJ continued, taking another step forward. “The way you ignore me when I’m in the room, the way you barely acknowledge my questions, the way you dismiss me almost immediately.”
    â€œI have never been rude to you.”
    â€œNo, you only act like I don’t exist,” JJ shot back. “I have been with Sheree for every appointment, but you barely say two words to me. You treated my sister Sydney better on the first day you met her than you treated me today, even though you see me every time Sheree is here!”
    â€œI’m sorry if you felt that I haven’t been professional with your family.”
    â€œI’m not talking about my family!” she snapped, stomping her foot for emphasis. “I am talking about me. I may not be a patient, but I am a visitor to this hospital. And I deserve to be at least treated with regard. But you have been nothing but aloof with me since the first time you saw me—”
    Simon didn’t know what got into him. Maybe it was all the frustration of the past few weeks, not talking to her about what was on his mind. Maybe it was the curious eyes of the people who passed them in the hallway. But he grabbed JJ’s arm and pulled her into an empty waiting area off to their right. The minute he let her arm go, the words tumbled out of his mouth.
    â€œThe first time I saw you, you could barely breathe. You were curled up in the corner of an elevator in the middle of Paris, about to pass out from panic. And if I recall correctly, I did a lot more than treat you with regard.”
    Time seemed to stop.
    He watched her eyes widen and recognition flood in like the tide of a rough sea washing onto the shore. Her mouth fell open as her eyes searched his face, devoured his features. She stopped breathing even as he