Page 8 of Hot Response
“Don’t go there,” he gently instructed. “We all know how things can go south in the blink of an eye. We all do. In our line of work,”—a muscle twitched beneath his eye—“we see it every day, Ronnie. But today wasn’t that kind of day. All we can do is count our lucky stars and keep moving forward,” he laid out all too wisely.
“Jesus,” Logan said, clearing his thorat. “What he said.” He nodded. When our eyes connected, I knew he was thinking about the day he met his now future wife. Shit, the three of us had been on scene for the end of the high-speed pursuit and whenViolet’s car had been almost squished by an electrical pole with live electric wires surrounding it with her inside of it.
“The day I picked up the cake? For your engagement party? I asked Sara for a sign.” I cleared my throat. “You think it’s weird I think she put Evelyn in my path?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I don’t. Sara would want you happy. She’d hate knowing that you’ve been alone, not sharing your life with anyone.”
“Fuck.” I swiped my face. I knew Logan was right. We had all grown up together. “You’re right.” I nodded and stood. “You guys mind? I wanna get back in there and check on her.”
“We understand,” Logan said, watching me closely. “You got this.”
“Just, you know, don’t fuck it up,” Nate warned, and I laughed roughly. “I mean, you have been out of the game for a while.”
“Nate,” Logan warned, but Nathan was a jokester.
“What? It’s true. Do you even know how to be charming?” he teased, and I rolled my eyes.
“He might not have been in a relationship, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to talk to women. We’ve both seen him do it at bars when we’ve gone out,” Logan defended me, but Nate wasn’t far off.
I thought of how grumpy I’d been going into the bakery the last couple of weeks. How I’d tried to force myself not to smile the way I wanted to, how she’d tried everything to make me laugh. How she’d stopped a couple of days ago. But today had been different.It’s you.Those first words she’d said to me when I arrived on scene clung to my head.It’s you.
“True… but when it means something, that’s when you know the risks are higher, and you get in your head and fuck crap up,” Nate said all too wisely.
Something in his gaze made me wonder if he had someone who he’d screwed shit up with. If he was talking from experience rather than speculation. Nathan was older than us by two years and the ultimate bachelor.
“Just trust your gut,” Logan said, patting me on the shoulder. Nate waved as they both walked away. I turned and headed back into the ER, straight to the room she’d been in.
“Hi.” She waved shyly as she sat up in bed. Her dark hair was a mess of wild waves plopped up on top of her head with a couple of strands falling in front of her face, and she was wearing a green hospital gown, but to me, she had never looked more beautiful.
“Hey.” I walked straight to her, unable to stay the hell away and play it cool.Fuck that.I wanted her to know exactly how interested I was. I was done trying to fight the urge to be close to her. I sat down and took her hand, tangling our fingers. “How’d the X-rays go?”
“The tech said he couldn’t tell me much but winked and smiled, so, maybe that means it’s all good?” The hope was clear in her voice. I didn’t like the tech flirting with her, but fuck, who could resist?You need to lock it down, and fast,a voice in my head shouted at me. A voice I sure as fuck wasn’t going to ignore.
“I’m sure everything’s good, baby.” Up close, I could see little scrapes at her neck from the accident.
“Baby,” she repeated, her cheeks tinged with pink beneath her smooth tan skin. “What’s that all about?” Curiosity was shining in her caramel gaze.
“It’s that—“ A knock sounded, interrupting us. I turned and felt my jaw clench.
Of course, we would get interrupted. But not only was it a nurse popping in, it was Dr. Jack Leon, who was on call. Just my luck. He was a good guy. One of the best. But he was also a good-looking motherfucker. A regular Rico Suave. I had seen morethan a fair share of women aged eighteen to a hundred swoon over the emergency room doctor.
“Hey.” He grinned, and his eyes widened when he saw me at her bedside. “Ron, how are you?”
“Good, Doc.” I nodded, not bothering to get up nor let go of Evie’s hand. “How’s my girl?”
“Your girl, huh?” The doctor smiled. “You and your friends are taking all the good ladies out there.” He winked, and I heard Evie giggle.
But not once did she try to argue that she was mine. Hope bloomed inside my chest.
“Evelyn, how are you feeling?” he asked.
“Nervous.”
“Nervous?” The doc and I both asked at the same time, and I watched as she shrugged.
“I’m connected to a bunch of machines but feel okay, so I’m not sure why I’m here.”
“A car drove through your bakery, and you were stuck between the wall and the car, Evie.” I couldn’t believe I had to remind her. Her pretty gaze connected with mine.
