Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“You’re unbelievable,” I say as I go to my tiptoes to kiss him. It’s a fast kiss that doesn’t touch his lips but grazes his chin. He doesn’t even have time to touch me or move his face, so our mouths connect before I’m pulling back and heading down the hall.
I call out over my shoulder, “Got to go. Come see me later.”
And then I put Reed out of my mind, because right now there are more important things. That doesn’t mean, however, that I’m not excited to see him later once things calm down.
—
The Stanley Cup sits in the middle of the hub and everything seems to be getting back to normal. The Emergency Department was the last stop, but not everyone got a turn with it. Anyone who was potentially contagious was off the list, and there was no way they could bring it into the waiting room, so that meant a select few patients got to see it and have photos taken, as well as all of the emergency staff.
Marek is leaning over the low counter that runs halfway around the hub, flirting with one of the nurses. He’s shameless, but I’ve learned over the weeks that’s just Marek. He’s got boyish good looks with dark curly hair and intense blue eyes that are completely mesmerizing. He’s a player for sure, but he’s not a douche bag. Of course he wouldn’t be a douche bag, though, because he’s good friends with Reed, and Reed isn’t a douche bag either.
Reed is chatting with Kevin and they have a few pics snapped together by the Cup keeper, a really cool guy I got to chat with at Alex and Sutton’s party before she went into labor. The winning team gets the Cup for a hundred days during the summer, and it’s his job to care for it during its travels. He was able to quote funny stuff to me, like the fact that the Cup can hold seven bottles of champagne in it and that he’s traveled to twenty-four different countries with it.
Kevin and Reed shake hands and Kevin disappears into an exam room. I’ve still got three hours until my shift is over, but all my current patients are waiting on tests or for discharge.
I saunter over to Reed and his grin back at me tells me he’s well pleased with his day with the Cup.
“So, what did you think?” he asks as I reach him.
“I think you made a lot of damn people in this hospital happy, Mr. Olson,” I say, and I don’t give a crap who’s watching or that I’m on duty. I put my hands to the side of his neck and pull him down for a quick kiss.
“That’s all well and good,” he says casually. “But did I make you happy?”
I give him a coy smile. “I’ll admit, having you around during my workday was definitely awesome.”
I expect him to laugh or smile or even give me a kiss in return, but instead his eyes turn sober. He leans toward me and asks in a low voice, “The patient that you were working on when I first got here? Did he make it?”
My smile to Reed is sad and tender as I give a small shake of my head. “He didn’t.”
“That fucking sucks,” he mutters, then pulls me in for a hard hug. “I know that’s tough on you.”
I nod into his chest and let him console me for a moment. I try not to dwell on these things, and thankfully, my days are weighed heavily in favor of saving lives versus losing them, but they still leave a mark on me.
The wall I put in place while in the hospital start to crack a little and a wave of vulnerability hits me. Tears start to sting my eyes, something I never let happen. I push out of Reed’s arms and raise the wall again. He studies my face for a second and I get an almost imperceptible nod from him that he understands what I’m doing.
That I can’t afford to be anything other than cool, calm, and collected Dr. Ives while I’m in this hospital.
“So, what do you want to do tonight?” he asks me casually, even taking a step back and tucking his hands into his pocket casually.
“Anything else you want to do with the Cup?”
“Nope,” he says resoundingly. “It’s just you and me tonight, since I’ve got to relinquish you to Aiden for the next few days to work on your project.”
God, I want to throw my arms around him and hug the crap out of him. He said that without a trace of bitterness or disappointment. In fact, he said it in such an easygoing way that I know he’s all right with this.
A heavy arm drapes around my shoulders and I turn to see Marek has come up to stand casually beside me. “Let’s take your girl out and go paint the town red tonight.”