Page 53 of Attached At Heart
MY BRAIN KEPT FLITTING in and out of work mode today, and considering that had never happened to me before, I wasn’t sure what to do about it.
I needed to be at work, though. Being here with my patients and beeping heart monitors and charting to get done grounded me, and after last night and my looming travel plans for tomorrow, that was necessary. My attention, as always, remained undivided when it came to my patients and the consultations I had today, and that focus kept me going, kept my head on straight.
But the minute I stepped out of the exam room? That was when my mind slipped away to somewhere very different. Like the open suitcase I had at home, which had absolutely not been filled yet. Or the plane seat I’d be sitting in at this time tomorrow. And the person who would be sitting next to me.
Blake and I had never traveled together. To be completely honest, we didn’t dofunthings together, period. He was like a work friend who had become a real friend, abestfriend, but the only thing we did together outside of work was talk about work. Imean, sure, technically, we did other things. We’d grab food and talk about work. Or meet for happy hour and talk about work. But food was a necessity. And sometimes, after a harrowing day of rounds, so was alcohol.
To be clear, that didn’t make Blake any less of a friend. Honestly, it made himmoreof one. My career was everything, and therefore, so was Blake. He was, after all, theonlyreason I’d made it this far. He was the reason I was as balanced as I was and the reason I felt lopsided when he’d unexpectedly moved to Boston. Blake was one of the most important people in my life, tied right up there with Bryan.
But still—the truth was that our friendship existed because of a particular set of circumstances. And traveling to Europe together was certainly not included in those.
“I was surprised to see you had the rest of the week blocked off on your calendar.”
I looked up from a patient’s chart to find Jack hovering over my shoulder. He was my least favorite nurse in the cardiac center at SCMC. Not because he wasn’t good at his job; in fact, Jack was a very capable nurse with a strong work ethic, and in most cases, I’d be considered lucky to have him in my unit. But he was also a terrible gossip, who always seemed to stand a touch too close to me for my liking. I hadn’t decided yet if his insistent familiarity was just friendliness I wasn’t used to or if it was something more. But either way, I couldn’t deny it made me uncomfortable at times.
I snapped the chart shut, not liking the feeling of being spied on.
“I’m going on my honeymoon,” I said, even though I knew I didn’t owe him an explanation. I also knew I didn’t owe him a smile, but I flashed a strained one anyway before moving back a step.
Jack only took that opportunity to sidle up next to me, like we were at the bar getting drinks instead of standing in front of the nurses’ station. His eyes popped wide before they dropped to my hand resting on the countertop and the beautiful ring on it—the one I hadn’t quite gotten over yet.
Jack discovering I was married was both annoying and perfect. He’d make sure everyone knew about it, which saved me a lot offaking-itwork. However, I was still relatively new at SCMC and didn’t exactly relish the idea of being a topic in the rumor mill.
“Have I just been missing that big rock on your finger this whole time?” he questioned, saying it like he already knew the answer. Like he definitely wouldnothave missed this big rock on my finger.
“Not thewholetime,” I said tentatively.
“Damn.” Jack whistled. “Were you even engaged?”
“Not for very long,” a new voice cut in, and even though I didn’t understand it, my whole body, once again, relaxed at the sound of his steady timbre. An arm wrapped around my waist, tugging me back a bit—away from Jack—and I melted into the body behind me because I knew whose it was. “We were impatient.”
Even though I didn’t need confirmation to know it was Blake, I glanced over my shoulder anyway, seeking a glimpse of him—that sharp jaw, acute gaze, and wavy, dark hair. Yep, it was him. He was here, at my work. Holding me possessively as though I would slip away. I didn’t understand, but at this moment, I was grateful.
“Dr. Blake London,” he said by way of introduction, extending his free hand for Jack to shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Jack gave Blake a nice, long look before he shook his hand. “Jack Henry, one of the cardiac nurses. Nice to meet you, too.”
“If you don’t mind, I just stopped by to talk to my wife real quick,” Blake said, his voice hardening ever so slightly. It was his way of effectively ending the conversation with Jack, and to make it even more clear, he applied gentle pressure on my waist, encouraging me to twist to face him and turn my back on Jack.
I tried not to smile when my gaze met Blake’s, but it was tough. Behind us, I could hear Jack’s footsteps shuffle away. Blake didn’t move, though. He kept his arm locked around me, caging me close to his chest.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Not as ridiculous as that guy,” he muttered. His eyes flicked up, blazing as they trailed after Jack. “He was practically standing on top of you.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I hate when he does that.”
Blake’s eyes cut back to mine with alarm. His jaw ticked as that fierce gaze of his bored into me. “You mean that’s a common occurrence?”
I shook my head because I didn’t want to get into it—not when we were still standing amidst the bustle of the cardiac center and I had things I should be doing. “What are you doing here?” I asked again. “You sure are making it a habit of showing up unannounced. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were scoping out SCMC to see if it’s better than Boston Medical.”
Blake answered me by producing a brown paper bag and holding it out to me.
“Lunch.” He gave me an assessing look, pursing his lips before adding, “I’m going to take a wild guess and say you haven’t eaten yet.”
I frowned. “Why are you so stuck on feeding me this week?”
“Because I’m starting to worry you didn’t have a single solid meal in the months we were apart.”
