Page 58 of Deal Takers

“It’s not a matter of trust,” she grumbles.

I roll over, turning away from her. “Then we don’t have a problem, do we?”

“Fine. I don’t have time for this. I’ll leave it by the coffee maker.”

I smirk as I close my eyes. “Have a good day at work, honey.”

“Wise-ass,” she mutters.

CHAPTER 38

Rainey

“May I help you?” Sarah, my coworker, says through the intercom. The doors to our unit are locked for security purposes, so we have to buzz in any newcomers. Sarah’s silent for a moment, listening to whoever’s waiting. She covers the mouthpiece with her hand and says, “Rainey, this guy says he’s here to see you. Can I let him in?”

I already know who it is, but I check out the monitor anyway and see Brody smiling up at the camera. “Yeah, tell him to come down here.”

Sarah smiles. “Come on in. If you walk straight down the hall and take the first right, you’ll find her at the nurses’ station.”

As soon as she puts the receiver down, she says, “Who isthatpiece of man candy?”

I have to remind myself not to glare at her—that Brody’s not mine, therefore, any woman is free to oglehim.

“He’s just a friend.”

Sarah gives me a skeptical look but doesn’t get a chance to say anything else, because Brody just rounded the corner.

“Hi, darlin’.” He sets a Starbucks cup on the ledge. “I thought you could use the extra caffeine after having such a late night.”

Both of my fellow nurses at the station snicker. I don’t care to have an audience when he produces my house key, so I round the desk until I’m standing next to him.

“Layla, I’m going to take my morning break. Will you keep an eye on 403? She’s only at three centimeters, so it’ll be a while before anything happens.”

“Sure thing, Rainey. Take as much time as you need.” She blushes when Brody winks at her.Oh brother.

I grab the coffee cup and yank on his elbow. “C’mon, Romeo. Let’s take a walk.”

I take a sip as we exit the unit.Yum, toffee nut breve. “Good choice. This is my favorite drink.”

“I know it is. That’s why I got it.”

I’m sure I look as surprised as I feel. “How did you know?”

“Because I pay attention.”

I eye him for a moment while I sip my drink. I’m trying to think back to the number of times he would’ve seen me with a Starbucks cup in my hand and can only name a few. After three years together, Adam was still buying me hazelnut lattes.

“Well, thank you. I do need an extra boost. Some idiot kept me up half the night.”

Brody smiles. “Well, thatidiotthinks the lack of sleep was totally worth it.”

I lead us over to the family waiting room. We only have two patients in the entire unit right now, so thankfully, it’sempty. I take a seat by the window, and Brody does the same.

“Puhleez. You got a helluva lot more sleep than I did.”

“Sorry, not sorry,” he grins.

I hold my hand out expectantly. “Speaking of…I believe you have a key for me.”

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