I can’t even deal with this right now. If Philip wants to be a creepy older guy hitting on his twenty-five-year-old receptionist, I’m just going to have to let it happen.
Chapter 41
Harper did her best trying to reschedule everyone for next week, but it still feels like I have a million patients to see today. By the time the last of them leaves the examining room, it’s nearly seven.
I feel guilty about it, but Harper insists on staying to help me. But after I send the last patient out, I come out to tell her to go home immediately. For all I know, she’s got a big exam to study for this weekend. I don’t want my drama to be the reason she doesn’t get into medical school.
When I reach Harper’s desk, she’s packing up her stuff. She smiles up at me when she sees me. “I was going to head out, unless you needed something else?”
“God, no. Please go home.”
“Thanks.”
I watch Harper for a moment, realizing not for the first time how pretty she is. That long dark hair. And when she looks up at me, her eyes are so blue.
Just like Shelby Gillis and Amber Swanson.
And Mandy Johansson.
I swallow and look at my watch. “It’s pretty dark out. Do you want me to call security to escort you to your car?”
“No, that’s fine.”
“Really, you shouldn’t go out alone. It’s not safe.”
Harper bites on her thumbnail. “Actually, I’m not going alone.”
“You’re not?”
“Philip waited for me.”
My stomach sinks. She called himPhilip. Great.
As if on cue, Philip emerges from the back. He’s changed out of his scrubs into a nice dress shirt and slacks, and he looks devastatingly handsome. Harper glances over at him, and I can see her swoon a bit.
Perfect.
“Harper and I are just going out for a quick drink.” Philip grins at me. “You’re welcome to join us, Nora, if you’re over your stomach bug.”
I don’t appreciate the sarcastic edge in his voice when he says “stomach bug.”
I’m tempted to join them, just to make sure there isn’t any hanky-panky. But I have way too much work to catch up on, and I’m meeting the home security guy in only an hour. So I shake my head.
“Have a good time,” I mutter.
Philip winks at me. “We will.”
As much as it burns me up that Philip is going out with Harper, even though Irepeatedlywarned him against it, at least I know she’s safe. Philip could be a jerk sometimes, but he won’t let anything happen to her. She won’t be wandering the streets at night all alone if she’s with him.He’ll make sure to deposit her directly at her door.
I return to my office to do the part of my job I like least: paperwork. There are mounds of it waiting for me. I bet fifty years ago, surgeons didn’t have to go through this crap. You just cut into people, fixed the problem, scribbled a quick note saying something along the lines of, “took out appendix,” and then that was it. Now we are expected to documenteverything. It’s a job in itself.
As I work my way through my documentation, I find my mind wandering. Mostly, I keep thinking about the empty home I’ll be going back to. Even with the security system in place, it scares me. For once in my life, I don’t want to be alone.
And maybe not just entirely because I’m scared.
I take out my phone and bring up Brady’s number. I never called him, because if I did, he would have my number. And that would open up a whole can of worms. But then again, he’s been treading more carefully since I dropped my revelation on him. Maybe I could send him a quick text message. Not that he’s likely to even respond. But you never know.
I bring up the text box. And I write:Hi.
