by Ann, Natalie
“Not really. I’ve done it a time or two, but normally when I’m dating someone they know right away it’s just for fun. It’s not that I haven’t had any relationships over the years but nothing I’d call forever after material.”
“That’s kind of sad.”
“So, how many times have you said it to men? You moved here because of a man, right?”
There was no use denying it. “Yes. Bad breakup, you know that. And I’ve said it to a few men, but that didn’t normally mean it led to a breakup.”
“Except this last time?” he asked.
“Oh, there wasn’t a lot of talking going on with that one. A lot of emotion and yelling though,” she said. No reason to say more. She didn’t even want to say as much as she had, but her guard cracked enough that it slipped out without her knowing.
“So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?” he asked.
She was happy he wasn’t pushing it with her. She’d give him points for that. “You were right.”
“Really? Every man wants to hear that. What was I right about?”
Cocky, there was no doubt, but she could tell he was joking too. “Are you always trying to make people laugh?”
“I’m the prankster of the family so that would be a yes.”
“Interesting. What things did you do?”
“You’re getting off track. I want to know what I was right about first. I’m not often told that by people.”
“Sorry. Guess there were some people or one person, not sure, that saw me leave your office twice.”
“I told you.”
“You did.”
“What happened? What did someone say to you?” he asked.
“Not much. I was stopped today when I was walking the grounds on my lunch break. She said she’d heard rumors and wanted to know if it was true that I shot you down and then was in your office twice.”
“Well, those are facts, not rumors.”
“Don’t be cute,” she said back.
“I can’t help it. My mother tells me I’m cute all the time. If you can’t believe your mother who can you believe?”
She snorted. “I don’t have that kind of relationship with my mother. But that is neither here nor there. I told her that we had a family connection. That you asked to show me around and I’d said no. You didn’t ask me on a date. I felt I was rude and went to your office to apologize.”
“Close enough,” he said.
“What’s not close?” she asked, glad he couldn’t see her frown.
“You had your nose out of joint. You thought I was hitting on you and you wanted to give me hell. It wasn’t until I explained it to you that you apologized. So you didn’t come to my office to apologize. You came to beat me over the head with a lecture.”
“I tend to have a temper. And you’re right again. Sometimes I should be more aware.”
“You were burned. I get it. It set you off. You don’t want to tell me about it and I’ll try not to pry. So what else was said today?”
He was being better about this than she thought he was going to be. Did she judge him completely wrong? “After I explained to Savanna—”
“Savanna Cortz?” he asked.
“Yes. I think that is her last name. Do you know her?”
“We might have gone out on a date or two. And no, we didn’t sleep together.”
“I wasn’t going to ask,” she said firmly. But that did explain why Savanna came up to question her when they never really talked much before. Just like she suspected, a blade in the back.
“But you were thinking it and I figured I’d tell you anyway. She wouldn’t have let it drop though,” he said.
“She didn’t. She wasn’t being catty about it. Just curious.”
“She’s like that. Friendly and all, but curiosity killed the cat. She’s known to question a lot of women about me. You aren’t the first.”
“Great. I made a list. Not the list I wanted to be on.”
He laughed at her. “Sorry. I’ll apologize this time. But I warned you when you came to my office that second time.”
“Speaking of which. She made a comment about me being there twice so that means someone in your office talks to her or someone she knows.”
“It’s a hospital. There is always talk.”
And someone like him got a lot of attention. She’d have to remember that. She’d done so well with Spencer and keeping their relationship private. Of course afterward she found out there was a reason for it.
“True. So back to Savanna. I told her how my stepmother asked your mother to show me around and that I took you up on the offer. That we played racquetball yesterday.”
“You didn’t tell her about the hike?” he asked. “I’m rather fond of that.”
“It wasn’t much of a hike and we both looked like drowned rats after. So no.”
“You still have my T-shirt,” he reminded her.
She was going to give it to him on Sunday when they met and had totally forgotten. “I’ve got it. I won’t be giving it to you at work. That would raise a lot more eyebrows.”
“So, what did Savanna say about racquetball? I’m sure she had an opinion. She has one about everything.”
“Guess you know her pretty well for two dates,” she said.
“As I said, she’s done this before. So, what did she say?”
She didn’t want to admit what was said to Wyatt but figured they were being honest with each other, so, what could it hurt? Especially since she’d gotten what she wanted out of this call. That his voice alone was heating her up when she’d told herself they just needed to keep it simple. Guess she was being proven wrong on a lot of fronts.
“She said I might be the only woman she knew that got sweaty around you and it wasn’t about sex.”
There, let’s see how he handled that statement.
* * *
It was a good thing that Adriana couldn’t see his face flush when she’d said what Savanna had told her. Here he was thinking the conversation was going in a better direction than he thought and he gets hit with that.
“I told you I didn’t sleep with her. I don’t sleep with everyone I go on a date with,” he explained.
“That’s a good thing because it seems you date a lot.”
“I like people,” he said. “I don’t like to be by myself.” He was shocked to hear those words come out of his mouth. His family was aware of that and busted on him about it, but he didn’t normally admit it to anyone else.
“So you date a lot to get out of the house?” she asked.
“My brothers and cousins are normally busy and now in relationships. Most of the women I know don’t want to do what we did over the weekend.”
“Oh. So it’s just something to do?”
“Kind of,” he said. “Not that I don’t enjoy sex as much as the next person.” Might as well prime the pump and see what her reaction was.
Sam was right. He was trying to win her over to move from friends to dating. Somehow.
He’d seen the arousal in her eyes before. She could fight it all she wanted, but he wasn’t an idiot.
He just needed her to admit it to him first.
“That could be considered an activity of sorts.”
“Yes, it is,” he said. It was on the tip of his tongue to mention doing it with her but knew she’d hang up.
“Don’t even think of it,” she said, as if she knew what was on his mind.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“But I have a feeling you wanted to.”
He laughed. “There’s that temper. You’re ready to say I’m guilty without knowing for sure.”
He heard the sigh on the other line and wanted to pat himself on the back for that one. “You’re right again.”
“Twice in one phone call. Is that a record for you? It is for me.”
“Ha ha. You are kind of funny, you know.”
“I have been told that. Though my family says it’s more annoying, I like to
think I’ve got a good personality.”
“Except when you are working. I see the change in you. You’re all smiles and friendly and then you get serious.”
“My job is serious business. I don’t want any deaths on the table by my hand.”
“Have you had any?” she asked.
“No. And I hope I never do. But I witnessed one during my residency as a result of the anesthesia. Not many make it through this discipline and there is a reason for it.”
“I know. I wouldn’t want to have that responsibility. I guess maybe that is why you are the way you are all the other times.”
How the hell could she know him so well after so little time?
“So, back to the reason for your call. What did we learn today? You can’t come to my office again. Is that what you are saying?”
“No. Just that if anyone asks you, that’s the story.”
He liked that she wasn’t going to say they couldn’t talk or see each other at work. “We’ve got to have stories now? That sounds secretive.”
“You’re being cute again. It’s not funny though,” she said, but she did laugh.
“I’m being honest. I’m always honest. If someone asked me I would have said about what you did because it’s the truth. There is no story there to tell. You don’t like people talking about you. I get it.”
“I don’t. I dealt with enough of that at my last job.”
Which shed some more light on things he didn’t feel he could ask right now.
“I hate to say this because I had a great time with you over the weekend and was hoping to see if I could convince you to check out the adventure park sometime with me. But I have to be honest, being seen with me is going to make people talk.”
“I know. But we are just friends and that is what I’m telling everyone. Do you hear me?”
“Loud and clear,” he said. Only he was going to do everything he could to change that opinion of hers.
16
Bold Surroundings
Wyatt picked Adriana up bright and early on Saturday morning hoping to spend the full day with her.
The weather was nice, not too hot, and partially sunny. The mood hopefully followed suit...nice and mostly sunny.
He’d been shocked she was willing to let him pick her up and see where she lived, but he made the offer and she didn’t hesitate to text her address.
He pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex, found her building, and made his way to the second floor of the four-story building. There wasn’t much character here and he was slightly surprised to find this was where she resided.
Her personality was so vibrant and fiery, he kind of expected her to live in a unique environment or one that wasn’t so...plain.
Red brick buildings all in a row like soldiers at bed check. Some of the balconies had chairs or plants but not all.
He found apartment 2D and knocked. She opened the door right away and he realized that she lit the dull hallway up herself.
“Hello,” he said, wishing he could pull her into his arms. Touch her. Taste her.
Anything other than standing there staring at her and wishing… like a schoolyard crush on his teacher.
“Hey yourself.”
“Can I come in or are you going to rush right out?” he asked.
“I need to get my sneakers on anyway. Come on in.”
He stepped past the open door and looked around. Her place was small but definitely suited her.
“Look at all this color. This is what I expected your place to look like,” he said. There were bold prints on the wall, throw pillows on the couch and chair, and an area rug over the hardwood.
“Thanks. It’s kind of drab and boring in the hospital. I like more bold surroundings when I come home. I guess some people like to be calm at home, but I need the chaos of it.”
“So your room is like this too?” he asked.
“You don’t think I’m going to show you, do you?”
“You’ve been in my room,” he pointed out.
She closed one eye at him and pursed her lips. “My place is pretty small. Living room,” she said, opening her palm and showing it off like a model on a game show. “This way to the kitchen.”
“More colors,” he said, noticing the plates, bowls, and glasses on the open shelves and behind glass-fronted cabinets.
“Yeah. Unlike your place.”
“I’m not there much,” he admitted. “It’s pretty much the way it was when I moved in. Basic works for me.”
“Ah, but we know you are anything but basic.”
He smirked at her. “I think that is a compliment.”
“If you want to take it that way.”
“I do,” he said back. “So, no more tour of your place?”
She let out a sigh. “Down this way is the bath and two bedrooms. And before you ask, I didn’t pick this place out for myself. My father found it for me.”
“I get the feeling there is a story behind that,” he said. “The question is if you are going to tell me or not?”
“The story is what you suspected. Bad breakup and I wanted to get out of the area fast. I didn’t want to live with my father while I looked for a place so he narrowed it down to two places for me and I did the rest online. I signed a lease sight unseen, but he checked it all out fully. Even all the security measures and probably grilled the property manager for hours.”
“Sounds like your father just wants to make sure his baby girl is safe.”
“I can’t tell you the last time I was referred to as a baby girl.”
He wanted to say that she was keeping the wrong company but knew that might result in being shown the door.
He decided not to reply at all and just followed her down the hall. The very small hall with three doors. One bathroom and two bedrooms. “You’ve got a bike,” he said.
“I do. I haven’t ridden it here yet. There aren’t that many trails close by and I’m not a big fan of riding on the roads.”
“We’ll have to go biking next. I know some great trails.”
“I’m sure I can shove it in the back of my car if I need to,” she said.
“We can work it out when it’s time. There are some great trails not that far from my place. I normally bike over from there.”
“I’d like that one day. But today is rock climbing. I can’t wait. I’ve never done it.”
“Seriously?” he asked. “With as active as you are you’ve never been rock climbing?”
“No. Not indoor. Or these setups. I’ve never been to one of these parks either. It’s definitely not somewhere I’d want to go alone and just never had anyone to do it with me.”
Now he had no problem saying, “Then you haven’t kept with the right company until now.”
“I guess so,” she said.
* * *
Adriana hadn’t been sure she wanted Wyatt to pick her up, but the truth was there was no reason they had to keep meeting places.
She’d been very clear they were just friends. Even if deep down her body was telling her that her nose was growing each time she’d said those words.
And when his imposing frame came into her apartment she felt even smaller than normal.
She knew he was going to ask to be shown around and really had no reason not to. It’s not like she invited him into her room. Though he did pop his head in and comment on all the colors again.
They didn’t have far to drive to their destination and when they pulled up she couldn’t help but say, “This isn’t what I had in my mind. It’s huge.”
“It will be fun. There is so much to do.
“I don’t see a rock wall anywhere,” she said.
“I think it’s in the back, something new. They were putting in an obstacle course. I hope it’s finished.”
“Me too. I can’t wait to do something like that. Almost like basic training. It can fill the thrill of wanting to join the service and then changing my mind.”
“Okay, now you are g
oing to have to tell me about that,” he said. “What branch and then why did you change your mind? I could see you doing it. I could see you doing anything you wanted. You might have a temper, but you’re pretty serious on top of it.”
She never thought she was that serious of a person. Until recently. Until she’d been burned so badly she felt like she’d have to stay wrapped in gauze for months for fear of infection.
Competitive, definitely. But serious, not as much as she was now.
“I was thinking the Army. I wanted to go into medicine. Not a doctor. Too much responsibility but nursing in the service. Yeah. That crossed my mind. But then I realized that I wasn’t sure I could handle being in places in the world where there were so much poverty and lack of good medical resources. War torn counties and all. I think I’d get frustrated wanting to help so many people and not being able to.”
Not to mention her father really talked her out of it. He would have supported any decision she made, but when it came down to it, she was a Daddy’s girl and the thought of not being able to at least talk to him weekly, let alone see him if she wanted to, was what made it easier to decide against it.
“I can understand that. I think those of us in medicine mainly go into these fields to help and when we can’t do as much as we hope it can get frustrating.”
“Can I ask why you went for anesthesiology?”
He shrugged. “Because it’s not what anyone expected of me and I wanted to prove them all wrong.”
Not what she expected. “So you didn’t go into it thinking you could help people?”
“I wanted to help people. I did when I was a resident. But like you, sometimes I just wanted to help more than I could. Sometimes I had a hard time walking away from a patient when there was no hope or nothing I could do.”
“And in your position now you are only dealing with them for the short term. You don’t get close to anyone. You don’t always know their whole story. You don’t get attached.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Funny coming from someone that likes to be around people, isn’t it?”
“No. It makes sense,” she said. “That’s why I like the OR too. I don’t talk to the patients much at all or they don’t remember me. I get to help, but I don’t have to always see or feel their pain. I don’t have to take it home with me on a personal level. I guess in some instances we share that.”
