He walked away, leaving her standing in the hallway feeling like a total failure.
She knew her job, and she’d always thought of herself as completely empathetic to her patients’ needs, especially children. How had she so totally screwed that up today?
She headed back to the main station to update charts. It was change of shift, so she gave status reports to the incoming residents on patients who hadn’t yet been discharged.
“You have a visitor.”
She was charting notes and looked up at Marie. “A visitor?”
“Yes. Your hot baseball guy is in the waiting room.”
She cocked a brow. “Tucker?”
“Yes. He’s been here about an hour. I told him you were busy, but he said he’d wait.”
Interesting. So he ignored her for several days, then just showed up here, expecting her to drop everything and see him?
She was not in the mood for this—for him. Not after the kind of day she’d had. She should make him sit out there until he got bored or tired of waiting. That would send a message to him, wouldn’t it?
“So, do you want me to bring him back?” Marie asked.
“No. I’m due for a break, so I’ll take care of it. Thanks, Marie.”
She wandered out to the waiting room, which, fortunately, wasn’t too crowded at the moment. She searched the room and found him in the corner, slouched in the chair, sound asleep. She walked over and kicked his tennis shoe.
He opened his eyes and sat up straight in the chair. “Oh, hey, Aubry.”
“Tucker.”
He stood, yawned. “I came by to see you.”
“So I heard.”
“Are you busy?”
He was kidding, right? “I’m working.”
“When do you get off?”
“Not for a while.”
He shoved his hand in his pocket. “Oh. I thought maybe we could grab something to eat.”
“Seriously?” Since they were quickly gaining an audience of eavesdroppers, she motioned him through the doors and into a hallway. “You don’t call me for days, then show up here and expect that I’ll be available?”
“Hey. I texted you two days ago.”
“Oh, right. A text message. At eleven-thirty at night. I’m not some chick you banged that has nothing better to do than wait for you to call, Tucker. I have a life. A career. And no, I don’t have time for dinner. In fact, I don’t have time for you. So you can walk through those doors and take yourself home. We’re done.”
She turned and walked away, assuming he’d leave.
“Hey. It works both ways, you know.”
He’d caught up with her. She stopped and looked around, hoping like hell Dr. Chen had already left for the day.
“Excuse me?”
“These are modern times, Aubry. You could have called me, too. And I was in Denver for three days for a road series.”
She shrugged. “Why would I call you?”
“Because you like me? Because we had fun the other night?” His lips curved.
She tipped her finger at his chest. “And you could have done the same. Besides, you said you’d call. So I assumed you would.” No way was she going to allow him to put this on her.
“I had practice. I was busy. And I texted. But you didn’t reply.”
This conversation was going nowhere. “Because I was working.”
“You could have replied the next day.”
She rolled her eyes. “This conversation is ridiculous.”
“I agree. What time do you get off work tonight?”
“I’m off in an hour and a half. Unless something big happens. Then I might have to stay.”
“Great. I’ll be back in an hour and a half, and we’ll go get something to eat. Then we can talk some more. Or argue more if you’d like.”
“I don’t—”
But he’d pulled her against him and brushed his lips against hers. “I like arguing with you, Aubry. Let’s do that some more. But while we’re eating. I’m hungry. See you soon.”
He turned around and walked through the doors before she had a chance to tell him no.
Damn that man. He was infuriating. To think he’d assume she’d go out to dinner with him—do anything with him, was outrageous. When he came back, she’d tell him.
But he was right about one thing.
She was hungry, too. She’d barely had time to eat an energy bar today.
So maybe she’d have dinner with him. She’d let him buy, too, just for aggravating her. And then she’d tell him they weren’t going to see each other anymore.