“And you couldn’t have called me? I waited in that restaurant for an hour. An hour, Sean! A man tried to pick me up.”
Sean signed the form. “Was he nice?”
“Do not joke about it. It was the most embarrassing hour of my life. Don’t ever, ever do that to me again.”
He handed the form back to the nurse with a brief smile. “You’d rather I left a patient to bleed to death?”
“I’d rather you honored your commitments.”
“I’m a surgeon. My first commitment is to my patients.”
“So what you’re saying is that if you had to choose between me and work, you’d pick work?”
“Yes.” The fact that she’d asked that question showed how little she knew him.
“That is what I’m saying.”
“Damn you, Sean. I hate you.” But there was a wobble in her voice. “Tell me honestly, is it just me or is it all women?”
“It’s me. I’m bad at relationships, you know that. Right now my focus is my career.”
“One of these days you’re going to wake up alone in that fancy apartment of yours and regret all the time you spent working.”
He decided not to point out that he woke up alone through choice. He never invited women back to his apartment. He was barely ever there himself. “My work is important to me. You knew that when you met me.”
“No, important is being dedicated to what you do but still having a personal life. What work is to you, Sean O’Neil, is an obsession. You are single-minded and focused to the exclusion of everything else. That might make you a brilliant doctor but it makes you a lousy date. And here’s a news flash—being charming and good in bed doesn’t stop you being a selfish, workaholic bastard.”
“Sean?” Another nurse appeared at his elbow, her pink cheeks and awkward demeanor suggesting she’d overheard that last sentence. “The team coach is waiting outside for news along with the boy’s parents. Will you talk to them?”
“Are you even listening to me?” Veronica’s voice came down the phone, shrill and irritated. “Are you having another conversation while you’re talking to me?”
Hell.
Sean closed his eyes. “I’ve just come out of the operating room.” He rubbed his fingers over his forehead. “I need to speak to the relatives.”
“They can wait five minutes!”
“They’re worried. If that was your kid in recovery, you’d want to know what was going on. I have to go. Goodbye, Veronica. I really am sorry about last night.”
“No, wait! Don’t go!” Her voice was urgent. “I love you, Sean. I really love you. Despite everything, I think we have something special. We can make this work. You just need to flex a little bit more.”
Sweat pricked at the back of his neck. He saw the nurse’s eyes widen.
How had he got himself in this situation?
For the first time in years he’d made a misjudgment. He’d thought Veronica was the sort of woman who was happy to live in the moment. Turned out he was wrong about that.
“I have to go, Veronica.”
“All right, I’ll flex. I’m sorry, I’m being a shrew. Let me cook you dinner tonight, I promise I won’t complain if you’re late. You can show up whenever. I’ll—”
“Veronica—” he cut across her “—do not apologize to me when I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. You need to find a guy who will give you the attention you deserve.”
There was a tense silence. “Are you saying it’s over?”
As far as Sean was concerned it had never started. “Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. There are hundreds of guys out there only too willing to flex. Go and find one of them.” He hung up, aware that the nurse was still watching him.
He was so tired he couldn’t even remember her name.