I’d worked with people like him before, those that were intimidated by others who showed promise and skill. Instead of cultivating it, they resented it.
After eighteen hours on the go, I finally managed to drag myself into an on-call room. I kicked off my shoes and all but collapsed face first onto the mattress. I was asleep within minutes.
An hour later, my pager went off. Groaning, I rolled over and flung my legs over the side of the bed. I quickly slid into my tennis shoes and was out the door.
I popped a small mint into my mouth and made my way to the nurses’ station.
“I was paged,” I said to Lizzie.
“I didn’t page you,” Lizzie said.
I frowned and grabbed the pager at my waist, which had no missed notifications. I felt another vibration in my pocket and checked my cell phone.
Boxer:Turn around.
I turned—and saw him rising from a chair in the hallway waiting area.
I strolled toward him, my traitorous heart fluttering like a caged butterfly. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to make sure you had some decent food instead of having to eat that shit in the hospital cafeteria.” His hand touched my cheek. “Damn, you were asleep.”
“How did you know?”
He leaned forward and whispered, “You have a pillow crease on your face.”
My hand flew to my cheek, and I groaned. “This is what I get for rolling out of bed and not bothering to check my appearance.
“This is how you look just waking up?” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah.”
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“What?” I asked.
“Never mind.” He held up the brown bag. “You have time for some food?”
I nodded. “Let’s go to the cafeteria.”
“Sorry I woke you up, darlin’.”
“Don’t apologize,” I said. “You brought me food. That was—you didn’t have to do that.”
“I was at The Rex when I thought about you not having a decent meal, and then I remembered the restaurant has killer steak and mashed potatoes.”
“You didn’t.” I opened the brown bag and peered into it, the smell of meat wafting to my nose. “Yousodid.”
“Careful, you’re drooling.” He winked.
I pushed the down elevator button on the wall and stood back. The doors opened, and I stepped in with Boxer next to me. Once the carriage closed, he wrapped his arm around me and dragged me toward him. His lips covered mine in a hungry, demanding kiss. I curled my hand into his shirt, desire zinging through my blood.
He pulled back and looked down at me with a lopsided grin. “Three birds, one stone. That was the first bird.”
I laughed and pressed the button for the cafeteria.
“I wanted to bring you food, which I’ve now done, so that’s the second bird.”
The elevator opened, and we stepped out. It was quiet this time of night, but there were a few people sitting on the other side of the room.