Page 33 of Off the Wall

Without realizing what I’m about to offer, I open my mouth and the words “I could drive you” fly out.

Oops.

Nori scoffs. “Oh, sure. I’ll bet Dr. Hanson would love that.”

“Uh.” I pull down my brow. “Excuse me?”

“Your girlfriend,” she says. “Margaret? Maggie? The one from Vincenzo’s?”

I shake my head. “Dr. Hanson’s not my girlfriend.”

“Ahhh.” Nori nods. “So you’re with Sandra, then. I wondered, after you two came into Serendipi-Tea together, but obviously, who you’re dating is none of my business.”

I arch a brow. “So youdidsee me there last week.”

“Oh, right.” Nori winces, staring out the window. “Sorry I didn’t say hi. I was just … I’m the manager there, and I was in the middle of something. I’d just been talking to my boss … and … well. There was a lot going on.”

“You were busy. I get it.” I glance at her, and spots of red bloom in her cheeks. “Anyway, I’m not dating Dr. Hanson or Sandra.” My focus slips back to the road. “I work with them at Springs Memorial. But there’s nothing going on between me and either of them. With me andanyone.”

Nori clears her throat. “Well, like I said. It’s really not my business.”

Something pecks at my chest, an instinct to explain myself. “The thing is, I don’t have time for relationships.” I force a laugh. “I barely have time for coworker-ships.”

“Hmm.” Nori presses her lips together. “I’m not surprised. I’ve seen you coming and going from the building at all hours.”

Aha.

So shehasbeen paying attention, which means she’s probably been avoiding me on purpose. But why?

“I knew doctors worked long days,” she says. “But I had no idea how crazy things could get.”

“They do work long hours.” I huff out another chuckle. “But I’m not a doctor.”

Nori shifts in her seat to fully face me now, and her gaze dips to the ID tag clipped to my pocket.

“I work for Powell MedTech,” I elaborate. “I’m in medical device sales.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I sell the instruments and implants for spine surgeries. Then I consult with the doctors and assistants during their cases. That’s why I was out with Dr. Hanson. And Sandra, too. Being friendly and available to them is all just part of keeping their business—or earning it in the first place.”

“So why the scrubs, then?”

“I’m in the OR all day, every day. It’s just easier.”

“Wow.” Nori blinks. “I assumed …” She shakes her head.

“Yeah, no.” I shrug. “Not a doctor. And no girlfriend.”

“Still.” She furrows her brow, just a small crease down the middle. “You really do work a lot.”

“My schedule’s pretty unpredictable.” I bob my head. “Emergency surgeries come up. Cases get pushed out or run long. I never really know when I might get called in. And if I don’t go, the doctors use my competitors’ products.”

She flashes me a pointed look. “In other words, you can’t really drive me to work every day. At least not reliably.”

This pulls a grimace out of me. “It would be tough,” I admit. “Offering seemed like the neighborly thing to do, though.”

She snorts. “You’re lucky I turned you down.”

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