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Randy nodded. “Ah, long distance and young love. Must have been tough.”
“It was, but not a dealbreaker. At least not for me.”
He raised a brow as he stopped at a door. “Sounds like a story for later. But if it helps at all, she’s not done with you.” Before I could answer, he walked into the patient room, so I had to follow.
No, that did not help at all, Randy.
Chapter 11
Jaz
A week had flown by. The schedule was odd to get used to, but I was slowly getting it. I had hoped running into Mike would ease the feelings over time, but that wasn’t the case…at all.
Some things never change. He still rushed to open doors for me, pulled my chair out in the cafe when found each other in line, and he cleared my trash when we were done. He ate fast as hell but watched and listened intently as I droned on about procedures and cases we had earlier in the day. It was nice to have someone to talk to who understood what I was talking about without getting grossed out. Onyx wanted nothing to do with my first few stories.
And then something else happened. I was charting with a fellow intern near the nurse’s station and noticed a strikingly attractive woman speaking to Mike. She was a nurse according to her scrubs, but not one that belonged in the ER. She was part of OB, from what I researched. She was short and voluptuous with cute little twists in her hair, a beautiful smile, and a bubbly personality.
I hated everything about her.
Hate was such a strong word, but there was no better explanation of the fiery burn that filled every vein and artery in my body every time she playfully patted his arm.
“Could she be more obvious?” I muttered.
“What was that?” Dr. Han asked without looking up from the tablet.
“Nothing.”
“Mmhmm.”
I went back to charting then looked up again. Mike was smiling at her. “I mean, how unprofessional. Shouldn’t she be delivering babies or something?”
“Is there something you’d like to discuss with me or are you going to keep pretending you just don’t like outsiders on this floor?” she asked, finally looking at me instead of the tablet.
“It’s nothing.”
She turned the tablet off and tucked the stylus into her lab coat pocket as her black eyes glared at me. She pushed her silky black hair behind her ear. “Dr. Stewart, what is the deal with you and that man?” I started to speak but she raised a slender finger to stop me. “And please don’t insult my intelligence by saying nothing. I didn’t become a doctor by being naive or oblivious.”
I blew out a breath. She didn’t know me before last week and already had me figured out. “He and I used to date.” She nodded, encouraging me to continue. “We broke it off in college.” Her dead stare was unnerving. But at this point,what the hell? “Okay,Ibroke it off. And I regretted it. But…” I bit my lip as I tapped my stylus on the counter. “Have you ever messed up something so bad you knew you couldn’t go back? Like, you couldn’t fix it?”
The stare just got more intense. “Unless they’re dead, you can fix it.”
I stared back as I processed that. “Well, I mean, it’s not life or death I suppose, but–”
“Unless they’re dead, you can fix it. You may not get the results you desire, but anything can be fixed.” She pulled the stylus from her pocket then continued, “Unless they’re dead. Even then, I saw someone come back after flatlining earlier, so you never know.” She shrugged then looked down at her tablet.
I looked back down the hall. Mike was now standing with Randy, and Miss Perky Pink Scrubs had left. The fire that burned in my veins began to simmer down, but as I stared at him laughing and smiling, bile rose up in my throat.
Could I fix it?
No. What I did was beyond repair. I just couldn’t reason with someone with such a sharp mind, who clearly made a statement with zero context. And who was I kidding? He was obviously not fretting over this. Over me. He was chatting it up with Perky Pink Lady.
What was wrong with me?
I haven’t acted jealous, well, ever. When I was with him before girls fawned over him, but I never once questioned his loyalty. He was always kind and polite to everyone, including other girls, but even when I wasn’t around, he made it clear I was it for him.
And I screwed it all up. The perfect relationship. With the perfect man. Ruined because I thought I knew best.
Looking up again, I watched him walk toward a patient room.
