“Well, no. Not exactly, no.”
Suddenly I feel very harshly judged by my six-year-old.
“Do you want her to be?” A small smirk tugged at his lips.
He knows exactly what he’s doing. God, this kid is too smart for his own good.
“I don’t know, bud. That’s adult stuff. I don’t want you to worry about it, okay?”
Thankfully, Ty drops the subject as I whip into the parking lot of a sushi restaurant across from the hospital.
Even though I want more with Maddie, it’s way too soon to be having that discussion with Ty. Although he doesn’t seem to be all that put off by the idea.
Chapter Nineteen
“Almostdone.”Isquint,looping the last stitch through and setting my utensils down. Derek gives me a goofy smile as he inspects his finger.
“Looks good as new, Dr. Taylor. Even better than before.” He grins, waving his hand around in the air.
This is the third stitch job I’ve done on him in as many weeks. Derek’s a carpenter and it’s truly a wonder he’s made it as long as he has because the man is more accident prone than a bull in a china shop. Clumsy doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Last week, it was a nail gun, and the week before that a wet saw. And he got his latest injury when he tried to hoist a beam up onto the table saw all by himself. At his age, working in the shop alone is dangerous in any capacity, and he’s glaring proof of that. I’ve never actually seen any of his work, but with the amount of blood this guy loses in the workshop, I’m a little curious.
“I don’t know about that.” I smirk, snapping my gloves off and tossing them into the trash can. “Try to stay away from the tablesaw for a few weeks, okay? As much as I enjoy our time together, if you come in here again, I may just insist you find a new job.”
“If you would just agree to go to dinner with me, Dr. Taylor, then I wouldn’t have to injure myself to spend some time with you.” He winks.
“Ah, charming and handy. What more could I want?” I giggle, rolling my eyes as I fill out the rest of his chart. Derek’s a massive flirt, but he never means it. Not only is he about forty years older than me, he’s got a wife at home who usually comes with him when he visits. Not today, though, because she had already warned him that working alone was a stupid idea.
“So what? Same routine?” Derek asks, grabbing his flannel and hat and following me out into the hallway.
“Yep. Keep it dry and clean, and let me know if it’s getting tender or red in the next few days.”
“You got it.” He pats my shoulder. “See you soon, Dr. Taylor.”
“Don’t make it too soon, Derek.” I wave, watching as he makes his way to the check-out desk at the other end of the ER.
It’s been a busy morning, but most of my patients have been like Derek. Quick and easy. It’s nice, but days like today are not why I went into medicine.
I duck into the staff lounge for a quick break, and I wince when I catch sight of the clock. Only noon? I barely slept two hours last night by the time Roman and I settled in, and I’m dragging.
I’ve got six hours left on shift, but it’s not nearly enough to make me regret a single second of last night. My body still aches from the things he did to me, and every once in a while, I catch myself daydreaming about it. It’s hard to focus when all I can think about is how good his body looked with the moonlight dripping in through the curtains and how his strong hands felt on my body. I’m so lost in flashbacks that I can almost hear his voice.
Wait a second.
I reallyamhearing his voice. Is he here? Is something wrong with Ty?
I jet up, poking my head out of the door
Sure enough, Ty and Roman are standing in the emergency room lobby talking with Dr. Bauer.
“It’s been a long time, Roman. How are you doing?” Dr. Bauer says. His body is stiff as he sticks his hand out.
Roman doesn’t shake it, and his jaw hardens. “Fine, thanks.”
They know each other? Did I miss that? Roman’s hatred of hospitals flickers through my mind, and I have about a thousand questions. Is it because of Dr. Bauer? Did something happen between the two of them?
Dr. Bauer isn’t just my boss; he’s been my mentor since I arrived here as a brand new resident, fresh out of school. He’s taken me under his wing and I can’t imagine him doing anything to upset Roman.
