Page 14 of In Your Wildest Dreams
“Nice to meet you, Hannah.” Smiling, I rest my good arm on the desk and lean forward. “Busy night?”
“Yes,” Bridget says, returning her gaze to her textbook at the same time Hannah says, “No.”
I look at Hannah. “Did Bridget tell you we’re old friends?”
“We are not friends,” Bridget interjects quickly.
Ignoring her, I keep my attention on Hannah. “We met at a game. I gave her a puck during warmups and tried to get her number. I’ve been looking for her at every game since. Imagine my surprise when I end up here and she’s my nurse.”
The accusatory glare Hannah sends Bridget makes me chuckle. “You went to a Wildcat game? And met Ash Kelly?” Her voice climbs higher. “When?! And how could you not tell me something like that?”
“It was forever ago and it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Last month,” I clarify. “The home opener.”
Hannah tips her head to the side. “With Gabe?”
Bridget says nothing but gives her coworker the tiniest of nods.
“Is that the boyfriend?” My jaw clenches remembering the way that asshole talked to her. I’d forgotten about him in my excitement at seeing Bridget again.
“Ex-boyfriend.” Hannah’s big grin matches mine.
Giddiness I haven’t felt since I was a kid spreads through me.They broke up.Hell yeah. Best news I’ve had all day.
5
BEEN CALLED WORSE
BRIDGET
It’s been a weird shift.Everyone’s lost their mind over Ash being here. All night I’ve fielded questions about him. What’s he like? Is he nice? Is he just as hot as he looks on TV? And on and on. The guy is obscenely good-looking from every angle, and it just gets worse the closer you get to him. It’s like a contact high. But there’s no way I’m admitting that to anyone.
He’s signing scrubs and scraps of paper for all my coworkers while I try to drown it out and study. School is kicking my butt this semester and I need every minute of study time I can get. But Ash’s presence has thrown me off completely. Before he walked up, I’d reread the same section of my homework notes five times and I still don’t remember a word of it.
I’m not usually so easily shook, but today has been one too many things piling up on my plate. First, I found out my landlord isn’t extending my lease. I live in this cute one-bedroom guesthouse. It’s tiny, barely more than a bed, bathroom, and a counter with a hot plate and sink, but it’s within walking distance to the Whittaker campus and the rent is cheap.
Crisis number two: I went to get my morning coffee and saw my ex-boyfriend. Gabe didn’t see me (thank goodness), but just seeing him added to the already crappy start of the day. A sighting of my dick ex would be enough to put me in a bad mood, but at my coffee spot? Surely I should get custody of the Starbucks near my house and school? He doesn’t live or work nearby, so I’m pretty sure he was there just hoping to run into me. We broke up a month ago and he still thinks there’s a chance we’ll get back together (never going to happen).
And finally, after a day of stewing over points one and two, I forgot to put my favorite scrubs in the dryer and had to wear my backup pair that are too tight on my butt.
I thought coming to work tonight I could unwind, forget about everything and just get lost in work and studying.
Then Ash Kelly happened.
I’ve spent all night ignoring the butterflies in my stomach when I’m near him while trying to remain an objective and considerate caretaker.
I adjust my glasses and then turn the page of my book at the same time the group of nurses surrounding Ash break out in boisterous laughter. Instead of the words on the page, all I can concentrate on is the hot patient charming my coworkers. I look up and inadvertently meet Ash’s gaze. He’s smiling, but it looks strained. I wonder if his shoulder is hurting him. He put on a shirt before he left his room earlier—small mercies, but he looks too good to be true in a basic gray T-shirt and his athletic pants.
I’m not too proud to admit that I looked him up after he tried to get my number at the game. I knew, or I sort of assumed, that Ash was as big a player as he seemed. I was one hundred percent correct. His hockey stats are impressive, but so are the girls he’s dated.
All the women he’s been pictured with are stunning. His last girlfriend was an actual model. He doesn’t post on his social media accounts that often, but there were still several images of the two of them on beautiful vacations and attending fun, local parties.
The phone on the desk in front of me rings and I jump like a girl in a horror film.
While I answer, Ash and Hannah slowly make their way to me. Hannah takes the seat next to me again. Ash stands in front of me on the other side of the nurses’ station.
He watches me as I chat back and forth with the guy in the emergency room department downstairs. My face warms under his gaze. He has this way of watching me that’s unnerving. Like he’s checking me out but noticing more than my physical appearance.
