Page 10 of Hidden Nature

In the face of her sister’s fury, some of the bitchiness in Sloan dropped away.

“You still couldn’t take me. I won’t have to boot him, Drea. He’s booted himself. And I’m either too tired to care, or I just don’t. Would you mind getting that food out of here? Even the smell’s not hitting right.”

“Sure.”

As Drea reached for it, Sloan took her hand. “I love you, even though you think you’re the pretty one.”

“I love you. Trust me, right now I am unquestionably the pretty one.”

“That bad?”

“Avoid mirrors for another couple days. I’ll be back.”

After Drea went out, Sloan glanced toward the bathroom. Now she absolutely had to look at a mirror, but couldn’t figure out how.

As she calculated, Dr. Vincenti breezed in.

Drea had it right there. Adorable.

CHAPTER TWO

Vincenti had an easy manner with a layer of charm. She tried not to think how his adorable—obviously skilled—hands had been inside her chest cavity.

He checked her chart, then her wounds.

He had black hair, perfectly styled in a brush back, heavy-lidded deep brown eyes in a face tanned golden, and a voice she thought hit both soft and lyrical.

“Thank you for saving my life.”

“Your partner began that very important job. He made the most out of those five platinum minutes. Applying pressure, talking to you, keeping you focused.”

“You had to bring me back.”

“We did, and here you are. And healing well. I’m going to remove your catheter, and Angie here will go with you for a short walk. You’re not yet to get out of bed on your own.”

He pointed at her. “I see in your eyes what your family told me. Therefore, I will be direct. A fall will set back your process, cause complications. So you’ll be smart, and call for the nurse when you want or need to get up.”

“When can I go home?”

His smile only bumped up the charm ratio.

“You know, it should hurt my feelings no one wants to stay in our fine facility.”

“Maybe because it’s full of sick people?”

“And we work to get them well enough to leave. We’ll see where we are in twenty-four hours. You had a major trauma, and major surgery.”

She tried a smile of her own. “But you’re a highly skilled surgeon, and I’m young, strong, and healthy.”

“I am highly skilled, and you’re young, strong, healthy. But you won’t bounce back in a matter of days. You will come back, with time, effort, patience, and persistence.”

“It seems like being stuck in bed just makes me tired and weaker.”

“Today, you’ll get up, move a little. Several times. You’ll start physical therapy, and we can decrease the pain medication. Soft foods for another day or two, then we’ll see.”

He changed her dressing himself, and when he moved to take out the catheter, she just stared at the ceiling.

Whatever sound she made brought a smile to his face. “That’s a relief, right?”

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