Page 14 of Wild Card

“He had the potential. The whole city was rooting for him.”

“They still are. He’ll make a comeback.”

“I like your perspective. You keep that attitude, Wills will have you fixed up in no time.”

“Dr. Koch out today?”

“He got called away. Wills took his patients.”

My skin prickles and body goes on alert, the name sinking in.

“Wills?” I repeat, making sure I didn’t hear him wrong.

The guy glances back at the folder in his hand. “Your PT.”

A shrill sound echoes through the room. It’s a mix between a squeal and a squeak. Mansfield is now sitting up and smiling at a woman in purple scrubs.

A sense of familiarity glides through me when the woman pivots and her profile is in full view.

Wills.

Otherwise known as Willow Mara Richards.

The woman I haven’t stopped thinking about since she ran out of the bar over a week ago.

The background I ran listed her as a twenty-six-year-old graduate student with a clean record.

Her long dark hair is pulled back and make-up is much softer, but there’s no mistaking she’s the shy beauty from Tom’s. She skips in a circle, pumping her arms while repeating something that sounds like a victory chant.

My eyes roam over her, taking in the full view. Her scrubs hang loose, but I remember clearly the curves and lines of her body. She high-fives Mansfield, who seems to be in a trance by her.

“This is going to be fun.”

I tear my eyes to the guy who’s still standing next to me. “Fun?”

“You aren’t the first man in here to have that reaction.” He jerks his chin at the woman who is now helping Mansfield to his feet.

“That’s Wills? My PT?” I play it off to be sure and hide the fact that I’m mentally forming a plan.

“The one and only. She’s quite popular. But fair warning, she’s a ballbuster.”

God must love me.

“Is that so?”

Another woman in black scrubs approaches them, her eyes locking with mine for a split second before they grow wide. It’s the petite blonde from the bar. She whispers something and Wills turns my way, her green gaze filling with shock and panic.

I hold back my grin as she looks like a deer in headlights.

“You’re right, this is going to be fun.”

“Why do I feel like I’m on the outside of a private joke?”

“Nothing private about it.” I slap him on the shoulder. “How about introducing me to my new PT?”

“She’s a fill-in. We’re all in clinicals.”

“We’ll see.”

---