Page 29 of Dr. Fellow

“Totally understand. GDOT was able to put salt down on most of the surface streets near the hospital, but I doubt they got to the neighborhoods yet. Most of the people who came in live super close. It’s a skeleton crew, but we should make it. When are you back?”

“Uh, I think in a few days.”

“Nice,” the charge nurse responds as someone yells in the background. “Well, I’ll let you go. I would say enjoy your snow day, but there’s no fucking snow.”

Morgan lets out a forced laugh. “Yeah. Sorry again. See you next week.”

I end the call, dropping the phone on the bed as I wait for her to say something. All she does is blink up at me with those irresistible, wide eyes, now filled with reluctant uncertainty, like she’s expecting me to yell. When I remain silent, her mouth curls into a half-smile.

“You think this is funny?” I finally ask, my voice low and controlled as I try to keep my emotions in check.

Her tongue darts over her bottom lip. “I mean kind of,” she says, amusement slowly transforming to guilt. “I knew you’d be upset if I tried to go into work, and I was trying to make a point.”

“And what point is that?” I spit.

“That I’m not going to break, or run away, or whatever it is that you think will happen if you touch me. We’ve been skirting this line for two months, Walker, and every time it feels like you’re about to make a move, you pull back. It’s confusing as fuck, so I figured if you want to play games, I will too.”

“That’s what you think?” I ask, feeling my pulse skyrocket. I tug my hand away, worried that I’ll bruise her if I keep it on her hip. “That I’m playing a goddamn game here?”

Morgan frowns, her gaze drifting to the wall beside her as she shifts beneath me. “I mean you called me your friend last night and then said it was too bad. That’s kind of confusing.”

I lurch forward so that my face is inches from hers. “Hey, look at me.”

She doesn’t listen, because of course she doesn’t—nothing is easy with this infuriating woman.

Reaching out, I hook her chin with my thumb and two fingers.

“Look at me,” I repeat, waiting for her to follow my instructions. When her eyes finally meet mine, I continue, “I called you my friend because you had a shitty day, and I wanted to take care of you. Because I care about you. Because I told myself that if you were just my friend, I wouldn’t cross that line with you physically.”

Morgan huffs, blowing hot air onto my hand. “There’s nothing physical between us.”

My grip on her chin tightens. “That’s a fucking lie, and you know it. You know how I know you’re lying?”

“How?”

“Because believe it or not, I’m so in tune with you that it’s almost painful.”

Her eyes roll as a disbelieving laugh escapes her lips. “Sure you are.”

“You have no fucking idea,” I confess, rubbing my thumb along her jawline. “I hear the way your breath slightly catches when I get close, like I make you nervous, but you’re too damn confident to show it. I see the way your body tenses when I look at you, like you’re uncomfortable with my attention but not anyone else’s. I smell the way your body reacts to my touch, like it’s desperate for more even if you won’t admit to it. There isn’t a thing about you, little devil, that I don’t notice.”

A whirlwind of emotion swirls in her eyes as I watch her bravado fade. “You do?”

“Every fucking detail,” I answer, my voice soft but firm. “It’s infuriating, actually, because it means that I can’t ignore you, no matter how hard I try. And believe me, I’ve tried.”

Her lips part, but no words come out. Instead, she swallows hard, like she’s trying to digest the intensity of my admission.

“Why?” her question slips out, almost inaudible.

“Why what?” I prompt.

“Why would you try to ignore me?”

“Besides the obvious that we work together?” I joke with a soft chuckle, trying to lighten the mood even though our professional relationship is the last thing I’m actually worried about.

I release her chin and sit back on my heels, thinking for a moment before I continue, “Because I’m damaged, Morgan. Because I only officially got divorced two days ago. Because I can’t be what you need me to be.”

I don’t mean to be so honest, but the words just spill out.

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