Page 77 of Off the Wall

“It doesn’t matter, because you’re missing one important detail that makes all of this a moot point.”

“What’s that?”

“Cash isn’t interested in me.”

“Now, that’s just false,” Hayden objects. She might as well bang a gavel in a courtroom. “That man is interest personified. He’s interest with a capitalI. He practically drooled when I told him you’re my maid of honor. He was picturing you in a sexy dress, and his eyes glazed over.”

“They didnot.”

“Oh, please. Cash Briggs was staring at you over his laundry basket like he never wanted to stop looking.”

“But—” I cut myself off.

I’m not about to betray Cash’s trust and share what he told me about his past. How he used to play for the Black-Caps, how his fiancée left when he broke his back. How he’s hoping to move to LA someday. So I stick with the relevant, irrevocable fact.

Cash Briggs is not in the market for a girlfriend.

“He told me he doesn’t have time for a relationship. With anyone.” I expel a breath. “And as it turns out, I’manyone.”

“Men are wrong all the time, Nori.”

“And maybe he is. But I’m not volunteering to be the guinea pig who finds out he’s right.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Cash

“What’sthis I hear about you skipping out on a Hahn case on Saturday night?” Jason tosses out the question before I’ve had a chance to take a seat. He’d asked me to meet him at the Bean and Leaf this morning, so I rushed over from Mercy General as soon as I could.

“Yeah.” I grimace, dropping into a chair. He’s got a tall coffee and a bran muffin in front of him, but I bypassed the counter and headed straight to his table. “That did happen.”

“I’m aware it happened, Cash.” He levels me with a stare below his receding hairline. “What I want to know is why.”

I glance around the bustling shop, where no one else knows or cares what’s happening at our table. I thought I’d prepared my gut for his potential disappointment. But as it turns out, trying to be the best at everything you do for most of your life is a hard habit to break. And not going in for that burst fracture wasn’t me at my best.

Or maybe it was.

“Here’s the thing.” I brace myself to present the argument. “When Dr. Hahn texted me, I was a half hour away—in the middle of something important—and the patient wasalready on the table. So I made a split-second call to prioritize the surgical outcome over winning his business.”

“That part I get.” Jason’s forehead creases. Another wrinkle in the world that’s my fault. “But then you took things a step farther and actually told Hahn to call Alex? What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking Alex would get to the OR faster than I could, and I was sure he’d have sterilized sets at the hospital because that’s how I trained him.” I grit my teeth. “I also knew he and Dr. Hahn have worked together before, so the case would probably go smooth without me. Even with a Vortex system.”

“That’s noble of you, Cash.” He rips open three packets of sugar and pours them into his coffee. “And I appreciate you looking out for patients. But if you need more support—like maybe another rep to share the territory?—”

“Saturday’s conflict was a one-time-only event,” I interrupt. And I can absolutely make sure that’s true. “Honestly, I think the situation could still work in our favor.”

“Oh yeah?” He swishes a stirrer around his coffee mug. “How do you figure?”

“I took a risk showing Dr. Hahn I’m not some mercenary who’s fixated on the bottom line. Dollars are important, yes. But I got to prove to him that a man’s spine comes before what I could make on the sale. I’m hoping that scored me some points. And once we’re back in the OR together, I can prove everything else: That Powell’s products are superior, that I know my stuff, and I’m as loyal as they come.”

“And you think Hahn will give you a second chance?”

“His PA already called me.”

“Really?” Jason’s eyes widen. “That’s promising.”

“We’re booked for a posterior cervical on Wednesday and a fusion on Friday.”

---