“I was wondering if you liked Thai food?” the nurse purred, reaching out to fix Drake’s collar. “There’s a restaurant that just opened up around the corner. I happen to be free for lunch, if you want to join me.”
Tramp.
Drake and the woman turned to face her, and Love realized that she’d spoken out loud.
“Really?” the nurse snapped.
“I’m sorry,” Love mumbled. “That was inappropriate.”
“I called you this morning,” Drake said to her, an arch in his brow. A signature trait that seemed even more endearing today. “We were supposed to talk.”
Love looked at the nurse, then at Drake. “I know.” She fidgeted, squeezing her purse between her palms. “I was busy.”
“Too busy to discuss Vegas?”
Love motioned to the nurse, who was listening intently. “Can we talk about Vegas later?”
“What happened in Vegas?” the nosy woman asked, folding her arms across her chest. “Wait, you went to Vegas with Dr. Jackson?”
“Actually, Drake went to Vegas with me. And shouldn’t you be administering some medication this morning?”
“Rita, I need to take care of something right now,” Drake told the nurse.
She actually had the nerve to pout. “What about lunch?”
Love couldn’t help it; she opened her mouth and it came out. “Drake, don’t you think you should run along and get that infection checked out before it spreads?” She flinched when he pinched her.
“She’s lying,” Drake assured the nurse. Then, after a scalding glare in Love’s direction, he added, “About lunch… I don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t mix work and pleasure. Sorry.”
“Oh, I—I didn’t mean a date,” she stammered. “I was just asking as a friend.”
“Give me a break,” Love mumbled.
The nurse backed away and stumbled over a wheelchair. “But I understand, Dr. Jackson. I’ll see you around.”
Love covered her smile with her hand, but Drake chuckled out loud. And even though he’d blatantly laughed at her and boldly rebuffed her advances, Love was sure the other woman wouldn’t hesitate to let him take her to bed. That’s just how women were around the handsome, eligible Dr. Drake Jackson.
Love slung her bag over her shoulder and started for the residents’ lounge, with Drake on her heels.
His hand around her arm stopped her. “Love, wait.”
“Drake, I have to get started. I want to talk to Dr. Hastings about my patient.” Since finding out in Vegas about the woman’s death, Love had been rolling her entire history with Mrs. Rodriguez in her mind. Her father had once told her to never get too personal with her patients, but she couldn’t help it. “I have many questions.”
Drake let her go, and ran a hand through his hair. “Love, we can’t deal with this if you keep avoiding me. We have to put on a united front here at the hospital.”
“Why? No one knows anything.”
They’d managed to get her mother to promise not to share the news with anyone else, so Love felt secure in the fact that no one in Michigan would know unless they told them, and they’d decided not to tell anyone.
“Yes, I know. But there is the pesky detail of hiring an attorney to handle the annulment.”
She forgot. Sighing, she scratched her ear. “Okay, you’re right. Come over tonight and we’ll talk about it.”
Drake hesitated, tapped his foot against the floor. Nodding, he pulled his phone out of his jacket. “I’ll be over after five. I have to go.”
He walked away without another word. Love watched him round the corner toward the patient elevators. Nibbling on her finger, she sighed and entered the residents’ lounge.
“Hey, you,” Lana called, approaching her. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back for a few days?”
She peered up at Dr. Lana White and smiled. “Hey. No, I was always supposed to be back today.”
It was always good to see Lana. Her cousin was like a breath of fresh air in her life. Love had been a lonely kid. Her mother’s diabetes had prevented her from having more children, so Lana had been a stand-in sister. She was popular and intelligent and had taught Love all about boys and science.
Lana dropped a file on the table and plopped down in a chair. “Girl, it’s been boring as hell without you.”
Love set her bag in her locker and quickly dressed in her scrubs. “I wasn’t gone that long.”
“Did I tell you that my life and my stomach depend on you to be around?” She laughed, rubbing her flat belly.