Jessie stopped dead, pushed voluptuous red curls off her cheeks, and looked at him.
The young man manipulated his face past an oriental lily. Chaotic, streaked waves—the man must spend alotof time in the sun—drifted across cheekbones worthy of Johnny Depp as he arched an eyebrow. He had remarkable eyes, vivid hazel with emphasis on green.
She’d always been a sucker for green eyes.No, she’d alwaysappreciatedthem. Either way, she was instantly riveted, as though he were mesmerizing her with his gaze.
His eyes lit up as they scanned her from running shoes to curls, and his inviting mouth twitched up into a smile. “I hope I didn’t step on you. I’m a terrible dance partner.”
“Oh, no. You missed. Barely.” If she’d been hooked up to a monitor, her heart rate would be spiking off the chart. This guy was seriously hot.
But as he peered through the flowers, a muscle jumped in his jaw, and fine lines appeared at the corners of his eyes. Nurses understood pain recognition all too well. She’d lay odds on himhurting.
“Are you okay?” Jessie asked, concerned. The rolled-up sleeves on his shirt revealed lines of scars on his muscular forearms—faint silver lines, and one ridged scar. They looked old. But people hid things...
He blinked. “Um. Yeah.” He shifted the arrangement again, turning it so the lilies were facing the other way. “I just really don’t like hospitals.” He flashed her a grin that revealed even, very white, teeth. It did something unsettling to her insides. “And I have no idea where to take this, so I might be here awhile.”
Jessie could have directed him to information. But they’d just send him off with a badly rendered paper map and convoluted directions. Even with such help, people always got lost in this complex.
And escorting that butt through the hospital might just be the highlight of her day.
“Where are they supposed to go?”
“Cardiac ward?” He shrugged. “I’ll take it to information... If I can find it.”
The Asper Cardiac center was a long way past Emergency. She chirped up like an uncharacteristically eager beaver. “I’ll take you right to the ward, it’s on my way.” She led him through the foyer. “Well, actually, just past it.”
Okay, she was stretching it. But she had the time. Just.
He fell in beside her and scanned her scrubs. “You’re a doctor?”
“Nurse.” Jessie corrected. “ER.”
Both arched brows rose. “That’s a tough gig.”
The perceptive comment struck home. “Can be, yeah. Most of the time I fix broken fingers.”
He waved one that was currently engaged in keeping the enormous vase balanced on a hip. It was crooked. “Coulda used you for this.”
“What happened?”
“Cranky cow. Occupational hazard from my youth.”
“And now you’re delivering monstrous flower arrangements.”
“Yeah. Life’s like that. Itismonstrous, isn’t it?” He blew a carnation out of his face. Or tried to. It refused to budge.
“Don’t think it will fit in the room, to be honest,” she assessed. “Must have cost a fortune.”
“I’m thinking major guilt complex,” he noted. “Maybe they asked him to move the piano one time too many?”
Jessie laughed. “Or they’re angling for a shot in the will. Oh, hold on, I just have to grab a muffin.” She worked her way around both man and floral monster to approach the vendor’s counter.
When she next turned around, carrying her sticky goodie in one hand and her jacket over her other arm, he’d propped the flowers on a table along the windows. Minus the monstrosity, he was revealed as long and lean, with shoulders built to carry the world’s troubles.
He shifted his grip on the huge vase and lifted it without effort. The guy moved like he knew how to use his body—and not from working out in a gym. He’d mentioned a cow. Farm boy? It would explain the shoulders.
And the butt.
Another little zing passed through her. This skated dangerously beyond simple appreciation. Her fingers itched to touch. Definitely not an appropriate way to appreciate. But oh-so tempting.
