I hope tonight is another good memory like that one. I’d love to leave here knowing I have one, maybe even two solid friendships formed. I crave girl time. I crave laughs. I crave company outside of work.
“Hey, girl,” I say joyfully as I approach Bridget and her family. “Are you all having fun?”
“We’re having a great time. We had to get the kids dinner though. They were ready to eat each other.”
I laugh and sit down beside her. “How’s the beer?”
“It’s not wine, but it’ll do.”
“It’s not a Mai Tai, either.” Simon looks up at her and winks, chuckling at the blush on her face. Clearly they’ve got an inside joke about Mai Tais, but I have no idea what it is.
“I could go for one of those,” I admit. “I don’t remember the last time I drank something other than a glass or two of wine before bed. And I’m definitely a liquor and beer girl. It’s like being here has changed me.”
They both laugh at that. “With three kids, we don’t get much drinking in either.” Simon nods his head in agreement with Bridget. “Maybe we should go out one night. He doesn’t ever work night shifts, so he could keep the kids, and we could go get drinks.”
She and I both turn to Simon, Bridget grinning, me curious to see what he says. His accent is fun to listen to, especially since he seems amused by this plan. “I’m home with the kids?”
“Mama needs some time alone.” Bridget grins. “I promise I’ll come home buzzed.”
“Does that mean what I think it means?” Simon is smirking now.
“Make sure the kids are in bed by the time I’m home and you can find out for yourself.”
He laughs, drawing the attention of the kids and others in the tent. “You two should definitely hit the town, tie one on.”
They’re fun, easy. Bridget mentioned over lunch one day she’s older than Simon, but you really wouldn’t know it. They complement each other so well. And their kids are amazing. I’m glad I met her after my first run-in with Dr. Alexander.
“Don’t look now, ladies, but your second favorite doctor is approaching.”
Naturally his words make us look, and I nearly swallow my tongue when I see Dr. Alexander coming our way.
How does Dr. Hogue know?
As if she can read my mind, Bridget whispers, “Sorry, when we walked up and saw you two earlier, he asked what was going on.”
I nod slightly, answering her in silence as Dr. Alexander approaches. His T-shirt is wet, and clinging to his body revealing each and every hard-cut muscle it should be hiding. He has swim trunks on now, not the jeans he had on earlier. And his hair is mussed up and wet, spiking out in every direction.
Who knew he could get any hotter than he already was? I try to swallow, but my mouth is suddenly dry.
Simon clears his throat behind us and Bridget and I turn back to him. “Thought I’d save you both from drooling in public.”
I open my mouth and close it quickly. I don’t even know what to say. I don’t want to tell him he’s right, but I can’t lie and say he’s wrong, either.
And Bridget, well, she just laughs and takes another drink of her beer. “You’ll always be my favorite doctor.”
I wait for Simon to answer and look to his face, watching his eyes lift right over our heads. “Hey, mate, pull up a bench and have a beer with us.”
“Thanks for the offer,” the deep voice from behind me answers, “but I need to head out to my car to change my clothes.” Despite the warm weather the hairs on my arms stand up on end and goosebumps prickle over my skin thinking about him changing. He’s right behind me. I can feel his body there. Smell him.
“Come find us when you’re done, Dr. Alexander,” Bridget adds. I want to kick her under the table, but I can’t move without him noticing.
“I might do that. I’ll definitely give you Miss Parker back, though. After I have a word with her. We have a patient I need to ask a few questions about.”
I look back at him and nearly rub my face over his damp shirt, that’s how close he is. “What patient? Don’t tell me you think I did something wrong again?” I have no idea who we need to discuss, but I know it can’t be good.
“Nothing wrong, I just wanted to double-check with you before discharge on Monday.” His words are smooth and easy, but I am absolutely confused. I have no idea who he’s talking about. “I have Monday off, I wanted to make sure we were on the same page before the nurses fulfill discharge orders.”
He must sense my confusion, and simmering anger, because he smiles down at me, knocking me for a loop and making me shut my mouth quickly to recover before I answer him. “I’m not working Monday, either. So I think our replacements can handle it.”
I can see Bridget smiling beside me, and I hear Simon clear his throat.
“In fact, I think that’s all the more reason for you to take a walk with me, and discuss now. I like the work you’ve done and I would hate to not have that relayed properly on either of our ends.” He crosses his arms over his chest, a look I’m so used to seeing on him while we talk, only this time the wet fabric makes the muscles more noticeable.
“If we talk now, does that mean I can avoid you next week?”
He laughs. “Maybe. Maybe not. I am the surgeon, and you are the new therapist, after all. You don’t get to make that call.”
I look back at Simon, then over to Bridget. Irritation has worked its way back into my pores, and they both have looks on their faces I’d rather not read into. Neither of them looks shocked by our exchange, rather, I think they are amused. That can only mean one thing.
Given their past and their positions, amusement is not my friend.
Bridget just shrugs a shoulder. “Come find us later.”
She has sold me out. Completely. And Dr. Alexander knows it, because next time I look back to where he was standing, I see him turning around and calling back over his shoulder. “Keep up, Miss Parker. I don’t want you getting lost.”
That asshole.
I shove out of my seat and storm off after him, the sound of Bridget’s and Simon’s laughs fill the air and follow me out of the tent.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” I hiss as loud as I need to for him to hear me, but quiet enough to not draw any more attention to us. His feet slow when he realizes I’m following and he lets me catch up.
“I’m an asshole, we’ve already established that. Yet, here you are, following me anyway.” He glances over his shoulder and smirks at me, before he turns his attention to one of the nurses from the hospital who approaches him with a crying little kid.
“Dr. Alexander,” the nurse says, glancing between us, “this is Kristen. She fell pretty hard over on the jump castles, tried jumping out of it and hit the ground. She stuck her wrist out to brace and catch herself, but came up in a lot of pain. I thought maybe you could take a look, see if it’s serious enough for her parents to need to take her in?”
Kristen looks up at Dr. Alexander, tears in her eyes, little wet trails streaming down her cheeks. “I don’t want to go back there. I just got to come home.”
Seeing her so upset puts things into perspective. Dr. Undesirable switches from his asshole self when he’s with me to the same man I watched with another sick little kid earlier. He glances at me and I give him a subtle nod. Of course I’ll wait. He kneels down to Kristen’s level. “Hey, Kristen, I’m Nate. Did you hurt your wrist?”
Her lips pout out and she nods her head. “I didn’t mean to. I don’t want to go back to the hospital. Please don’t make me.”
The nurse, who I don’t know but recognize as a nurse on the floor I work on a lot, looks back to the jump castle.
“I can take Kristen back over when we’re done here,” I offer, sensing her need to get back to where she’s clearly volunteering.
“Thank you,” Maya—according to her nametag—answers. “I’m the only one over there right now.”
“It’s no problem, we’ll take care of Kristen then find you o
r her parents.” Maya nods appreciatively and puts her hand to Kristen’s shoulder, wishing her luck and telling her not to be afraid, before she speed walks back to the jump castle.
“Hey, Kristen,” I squat down beside Dr. Alexander, “I’m Dee.”
“Hi, Dee.” Her voice is quiet, timid. She’s watching Dr. Alexander closely, waiting to see what he does and says, and she jumps when he reaches for the wrist she has cradled to her chest.
“Did that hurt?” His forehead crinkles and he pauses his hands, waiting to touch her again until she answers.
She shakes her head no, looking more and more terrified of him by the second. “Hey, sweetie, why don’t you tell Nate and I how old you are?”
“I’m eleven.”
“That’s a fun age,” he says, grinning at her. “Does that mean you’re in… sixth grade?”
She nods her head. “When I could go to school I was in sixth.” It’s a sad reality for so many kids like her, fighting illness, losing out on a childhood she should be getting to enjoy.
“I remember when I was in sixth grade. That’s when I had my first crush on a boy. Do you have any crushes?”
Her cheeks blush and she giggles. “No way. Boys are stupid.”
“Yes, they are,” I agree, laughing and looking over to Nate. “They’re very stupid.”
“Hey!” He plays along and puts his hands on his hips. “I’m not a stupid boy! I’m smart and nice. And I would love to very, very carefully look at your wrist, so maybe you don’t have to go back to the hospital. Can I do that?”
“I guess.” She lets go of it with her uninjured hand and lets him reach out and carefully take her injured wrist and arm in his hands.
“You tell me if it starts to hurt even a little bit, okay?” He is so good with her, kind and gentle. Totally not like he is around me or at the hospital.
“I will.” She’s incredibly still, but looks less afraid now.
I reach for her other hand and hold it in mine, winking at her. “He’s a really good doctor, and really nice. He won’t hurt you. I promise.”
****
Nate
The words sound so sincere; I almost think she believes them. But I know better. I know she’s just trying to comfort Kristen, but right now I’ll take it. Hell, I appreciate it. Scared little kids need hostility stowed away. It shouldn’t touch them. And Dee isn’t going to let it touch Kristen anymore than I am.
I see her purple painted nails holding the little girl’s hand, and I know she will do whatever she can to make this okay too.
I very carefully feel my way around the girl’s wrist, trying to find anything that feels noticeably wrong or off. So far there isn’t anything there, nothing that would warrant me instructing a trip to the hospital tonight. I should talk to her.
“Hey, Kristen? Where are your mom and dad? We should probably talk to them so they know what’s going on.” Dee takes the words right out of my head and puts them out for the little girl. I glance over at her and smile. “Thanks. That was my next question.”
“They were taking my brother to the petting zoo. I didn’t want to go though.”
“We should head back to the jump castle so they know where you are then.” Dee is right; we don’t need Kristen’s parents fearing for their child, thinking she was taken.
“Is my hand okay?” Kristen tucks it back against her chest as soon as I release it from my grip.
“I think it is. I don’t think you need to go to the hospital tonight, but maybe the doctor tomorrow, just to make extra sure it’s okay with an X-ray. Have you had one of those before?”
She nods. “I’ve had lots of those. Other things too.”
“I’m sorry. Doctors and hospitals aren’t much fun, huh?”
We all walk back toward the jump castle. “No, I hate them. We always have to go though.” Her little shoulders shrug beneath the weight of her little world. She is exactly why we do this.
“I hated them growing up, too. We were always at them, just like you.”
“Really?”
“Yep. And now I work at one. Isn’t that crazy?”
Kristen laughs at my question and nods rapidly. “So crazy.”
I don’t know if Dee is paying any attention, but I slipped up again, divulging more about me than I ordinarily do. More information I really hope she keeps to herself.
“There they are.” Kristen carefully removes her good hand from her tender wrist and points. “That’s my mom and dad.”
We approach them all and I stick my hand out to her parents, introducing myself and Dee, explaining what happened to Kristen and what my specialty is at the hospital. Just as I told her, I advise them to keep an eye on it overnight and call her doctor in the morning, but suggest they let her stay tonight and have fun. I know we have some wraps in the medical tent, so I point them in the right direction and text the doc I know is in there to expect a little girl who needs her wrist wrapped.
Once Kristen and her parents walk away from us, I turn to Dee. She’s watching me close, head slightly tipped.
“Do you mean to keep sharing information about yourself with me? Or am I going to get accused of eavesdropping again?”
“I’m well aware I shared with you in earshot. I’m trusting you won’t sell me out at the hospital, I value my privacy.”
“Your secret is safe with me, Dr. Alexander. I have no reason to share anything about you.”
“Nate,” I correct her.
Her brows rise in question, as though she thinks I don’t know what I’m saying. But I do. I know damn well what I just said. She used my name with Kristen, and I swear on all that’s holy, I’ve never heard my name sound so good on anyone else’s lips, ever. She doesn’t need to know that, but I definitely want to hear it again.
“Okay, Nate.” There it is again, like music to my ears. “I’m presuming this only counts when we happen to run into each other outside of the hospital?”
“Naturally, Dee.” I look down at my clothes, still damp, but much dryer now. “I still need to change. Walk and talk with me?”
“Are you about to turn into a dick again?”
“I’ll cut you some slack this time. Today is about being kind and helping, that shouldn’t only apply to the kids.” I wink at her and start to walk away. “My car is this way, Miss Parker.”
Ten
Dee
I should have figured he’d drive something big and expensive. The gravel crunches beneath my feet as we approach what is clearly his Range Rover. His very sleek, very pristine Range Rover. The lights flash as the sound of the doors unlocking inside clicks quietly.
“How did you do that?” I’m watching his every move while I walk behind him, and his perfectly sculpted ass through his trunks.
“Do what, exactly? Walk? It’s usually one foot after the other. You should know that being in PT.”
“No, smart-ass, unlock the car. You clearly don’t have keys hanging in your pocket and you didn’t reach for anything.”
He stops at the passenger door and grins at me. “You were watching me close, huh?”
“What, no, I wasn’t, I mean I didn’t hear any keys.”
“You were caught in the act; you can’t backpedal now.”
I stop a few steps away from him and throw my hands in the air and drop my head back, looking up at the dimming sky. “Someone, anyone up there, please help me put up with this man and his dickishness.”
He opens the door to his car and laughs. “Dickishness?” He peeks his head around the door and raises an eyebrow. “Is that even a word?”
For the love of God. “Yes, it is. And you are the definition of it.” The interior lights on his Rover illuminate his face just enough for me to see the amusement twinkling in his eyes.
“Hmmm. I don’t think that’s right.” His head disappears again momentarily before I see his arms rising above the open door, his shirt going up with them.
I’ve never been the jealous type, but right now? I’m jealous of a
hunk of metal painted a dark color. He may be a dick, but he is a dick who I know will have a stunning body beneath his clothes. And I’m woman enough to admit I want to see it. “Mhmm.” I’m not sure what I just agreed to, my mind was on what’s behind the door and not the words he’s speaking.
“Mhmm? So you did make it up?” He steps out from behind the door, answering my unspoken prayers. His body is smooth and tanned. His muscles are taut and clearly defined. He’s gorgeous. I say that as a very single woman, and as a trained professional who appreciates every facet of the human body.
His words don’t register immediately. I’m too busy taking in everything from his deltoids, to his biceps, his pectorals down to his abs. “Wait, what?” My head snaps up, finding him watching me, taking in all of me while I do the same to him. “I didn’t make anything up.”
“I don’t know about that. Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. What did I supposedly make up?” I put my hands to my hips and purse my lips.
“You’re cute when you get caught gawking and not paying attention to the conversation at hand. Did you know that?”
“Listen, I was too paying attention. I was just... I was professionally admiring your physique. The human body is sort of my thing.”
“Your thing?” He tugs on a fresh T-shirt and grabs a stick of deodorant out, applying it. “What does that even mean?”
“It means I’m a therapist, a physical therapist, your body is my business!” The man is infuriating. He tosses the deodorant into the car, which, honestly is a crime. What if he gets it on those seats? That would be awful.
“My body is your business?” He reaches into his car for his jeans and pulls them out. “In that case, you won’t mind me changing these right here, right?”
“Oh. My. God. You’re unreal. You go from being an asshole to insinuating I want to see your… body.
Doctor Desirable: A Hero Club Novel Page 6
