Page 102 of Love Sick

Chen sits beside me and pulls out his phone. “Would you like to see my pictures from Greece? We were there two weeks, you know. Mrs. Chen would kill me if I didn’t show off the pictures.”

I smile and settle in to view the photos. He has dragged his trip to Santorini into every one of my conversations with him of late, but I’ll look at a million pictures of his Greek meals if he’ll shower me with praise like that.

Afterward, he stands and squeezes my shoulder. “Dr. Rose.”

“Uh. Yes?”

“Do the right thing.”

I laugh as he leaves. Do the Right Thing is Chen’s motto, his parting words to all residents at some point or another. Once he’s gone, I whip out my phone.

Me:Good day today!

Mama:That’s great. I love you, honey.

I open the Pit It or Quit It stream.

Me:Chen just told me I did a good job

Me:First time ever

Alesha:Bout time he recognizes your greatness

Raven:That’s amazing, Grace!

Beaming at my phone, my heart jumps to my throat when a hand lands on my shoulder. My head spins toward it, but my heart rate doesn’t slow at the long fingers curled around my arm.

“Congratulations,” Julian whispers beside my ear and kisses my neck.

“Julian!” I swat him away. “Someone will see.”

He chuckles and falls into the chair next to me. Our situationship isn’t defined, per se, but we’re definitely a thing. Dreading the rumors that will spread when we go public, I asked him to keep us on the DL for now. He agreed, but if his increasingly possessive caresses in private are any indication, I’m certain he’d rather I let him ravish me in the dictation room.

The ends of his dark hair curl like duck tails around the blue surgeon’s cap and his glasses strike me right in the stomach. He logs onto the computer, eyes scanning the screen.

I glance behind us. The dictation room is empty, so I graze my knuckle down the line of his jaw. “You didn’t shave.”

The no-smile appears. “Someone kept me up late, but not in the good way.” He swings his gaze to me. “All she wanted to do was study.”

My soft laugh stirs the air between us. “Sounds like a sensible girl.”

He shrugs. “Yeah. She’s worth the wait.”

I check once more to make sure we’re alone, then grab his face and press a long kiss to his lips. When we separate, I allow myself three seconds of staring into his eyes before returning to my computer, and he does the same.

Maxwell enters the dictation room, taking the place beside Julian. “Good work, Santini.”

Julian nods. “Thanks.”

Maxwell nods toward me. “How’s L&D?”

“It’s fine, Dr. DeBakey.”

Julian snorts and scrunches his face, mouthingDr. DeBakey. I smack his shoulder.

Feet stretched out in front of him, fingers laced over his stomach, Maxwell looks between us. “You two still pretending you hate each other?”

I straighten and face my computer, sticking my nose in the air. “He’s evil incarnate.”

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