Page 5 of Dr. Baby Daddy

The door to the on-call room opens as I turn on the taps to splash some cold water on my face. Victor clears his throat as he leans against the wall.

“It’s not often that you come hide in here after a shift.” He taps the toe of his shoe against the ground. “Unless you’re planning on staying here to work a double shift. But normally, you’re in bed. So, what’s bothering you tonight?”

I spit into the sink and wash it away. “There is no reason that the boy should have died tonight. He got here in time. The internal bleeding was expected. It should have been something that I could have fixed.”

Victor’s blue eyes soften as I glance at him in the mirror. “How many times do I have to tell you that we’re not gods, Oliver? Death is still going to happen, and we just have to accept that.”

“You’re always much better at that than I am.”

He shrugs one shoulder. “I’m better at not allowing it to get to me. You, on the other hand, walk around here like you’reinvincible. You act as if nothing can touch you because you work hard, and then when something does go wrong, you fall apart.”

“I do not fall apart.” I spin to face him and cross my arms. “I may not understand why that kid died tonight, but I’m not falling apart.”

“Says the man who spends his life at the hospital. Take your shift tonight off. I already talked to the chief, and we’re both getting it off to get some rest.”

My hands ball into fists at my side. “I didn’t need you to do that. I would have been fine working my overnight.”

“That’s a lie and we both know it. You’re barely awake right now. Go home and get some sleep.”

He opens the door and gestures out to the hallway. I step around him, waiting for him to join me as I order a ride home. Though it’s only a short walk, I don’t feel like walking tonight. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep for a thousand years.

“Getting any sleep at home is going to be an impossible task.” I lead the way to the front doors, stepping outside into the cold evening air.

“And why’s that?”

“New neighbor.”

Victor’s eyebrows arch, an amused smirk curling the corner of his mouth. “Well, now, that sounds like you and this new neighbor aren’t getting along. What did they do? Look at you? Maybe dare to talk to you?”

I roll my eyes and perch on the edge of one of the large planters near the parking lot. “Funny. No. She plays the piano anddecided that the middle of the day would be the best time to run through an entire set of show tunes.”

Victor snickers and stands beside me. “Ah yes, your favorite. People enjoying life too close to you.”

I glare at him. “Remind me, why are we friends again?”

“Because I’m the only person willing to put up with your surly behavior all the time.” He tucks his hands into his pockets and steps to the side as a nurse passes him with a patient in a wheelchair. “Let’s face it, Oliver, at this point you wouldn’t know what to do without me.”

“I’m sure I would have a lot fewer headaches.”

“So, what else is this neighbor of yours like? Is she pretty?”

My shoulders stiffen. “Why do you assume it’s a woman?”

He points a finger at me. “I knew it! You always get bent out of shape after being around a pretty woman.”

I hate that he’s right.

After years spent locked away, working toward becoming a doctor and now actually being a doctor, I don’t spend much time around women. The odd time I do go out, I rarely go home with anyone. It’s too much effort. They expect things that I’m not willing to give to anyone.

Victor hums and shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “So, how pretty is she?”

Very.

When she looked up at me with those warm brown eyes, I thought I was going to melt. I was trying to make my point whilethinking about what those blond strands would feel like running through my fingers.

I sigh. “She’s fine. That’s not the point, though. The point is that I have to go home to an annoying neighbor who is going to insist on playing her piano.”

“And I fail to see why that’s a problem.” Victor fixes me with a stern look. “I told you years ago that you were making more than enough money to get out of that cheap apartment and find yourself something nice. If you had done that, you wouldn’t be putting up with a girl and her piano playing now.”

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