Page 13 of Devoted

“Nice. She’s cute. You know her?” I point my eyes in that direction, but I barely glanced at Ethan’s girl before locking in on my interest. I know the last thing I should do right now is become involved with someone, let alone one of my co-workers. But this woman makes me laugh with how sassy she is and how she distracts me from the reality I’m avoiding—that my mom has breast cancer and might die.

Ethan nods slowly, his lips curling up at the same speed. “She’s a nurse at the hospital. All of those women are. Don’t you recognize some of them?”

“Yeah, a few look familiar. But I’m stuck down in the ER most of the time. I don’t get out of there much and I’m still getting to know everyone.”

“Well, they come in here once a month to let loose. I’ve been trying to show Sarah that I’m interested, but I don’t know if she knows it.” My poor cousin. The guy is so down to earth and hardworking, but his lack of height usually deters women from giving him a chance. While I’m two inches taller than six feet, my cousin comes in at just five-seven. He’s built though, putting in time at the gym to mold a muscular body and he’s an honest, reliable guy. But most girls aren’t comfortable dating a guy shorter than them, or even giving him a chance because he doesn’t tower over the rest of his friends.

“Come on, man. If you’re interested in a girl, you need to be straight with her. Don’t beat around the bush. March up to her and let her know you like her, no bullshit. Women respect that.” Again, easy for me to dish out advice even though I’ve avoided getting attached to a woman in years. One semi-serious relationship in college that ended badly was enough for me to know that I didn’t need that distraction from achieving my goals. Plus, I didn’t have much time to date when I spent fourteen to twenty-four hours a day in a hospital.

“You’re right. Maybe Jess can help me out with getting her to see me too.”

“Wait… you know Jess?”

“Duh. I see her in the ER all the time. Come to think of it, shouldn’t you know who Jess is by now?”

I sit back in my seat, studying her from across the bar. “Yeah, I know who she is.”

“Uh oh,” Ethan mocks me. “You have that look on your face.”

“What look?”

“The look that you got back in high school before you’d take the field for a game. It’s a cross between determination and infatuation.”

“Are you saying I was infatuated with football?” I glare over at him.

He laughs. “You would get so into the game, it was like nothing else existed when you were in that frame of mind. And that’s exactly how you look right now.”

My eyes veer over at Jess again to take in the natural beauty she possesses. Her long black hair is pulled back in a sleek ponytail that I would love nothing more than to pull the elastic from to let it fall freely. Her hair is always up when we’re at work, which makes me itch to see how beautiful it looks when it’s fanned out across her back. Her silky skin is exposed in a cream sweater that has cutouts on the shoulders and a deep neckline. She’s more dolled up tonight that she normally is in the hospital, not that she needs the make-up anyway. Her grey eyes do enough damage to my mind without added shimmer when she dials in to a patient and flips that switch to determined nurse, making my dick harden in my scrubs—which is very hard to conceal, just so you’re aware.

“Yeah, we’ve crossed path a few times now. She’s incredible. Knows her shit.”

“Why don’t you go talk to her?” He nudges my arm, making me almost knock over my empty bottle.

“What the hell, man?”

“Sorry,” he chuckles. “What have you got to lose?”

“I don’t know, Ethan. I mean, first of all, we work together. It’s not like we can’t date, it just might not be the best idea. And besides that, I have a lot on my plate right now with my mom.”

“Just because your mom is battling cancer,” he whispers, “doesn’t mean that your life has to stop. I’m not saying marry the girl tonight, Brooks. I’m saying, go talk to her. Believe me, you could do a lot worse than Jessalyn Harris. And weren’t you the one that just told me that if I like a girl, I should be honest with her about it?”

I laugh knowingly and then rub my sweaty palms along my jeans, preparing to stand. “Fine. But if I’m going over there, you’ve gotta come too and talk to the redhead.”

“Duh,” he scoffs and then we both prepare to stand. “Hey, before I forget, I’m going to this speed dating event at the new comedy club in town next weekend. You should come with me.”

I shoot him a confused look. “Uh, why would I go to that when you just tried to convince me to talk to Jess?”

His devious grin builds. “What if I told you that I know for a fact that Jess is going?”

That makes my eyebrows pop up. “Really?”

He nods. “Yup. And if the idea of her talking to a bunch of other single men doesn’t sit well with you, I’d say that’s a good enough reason to go.”

As soon as he mentions other guys getting to talk to Jess, my insides twist and a rush of irritation runs through me. Fuck. I don’t want other guys to hit on her, talk to her, enjoy her sass and intelligence. I want that for myself, damn it.

Holy shit. Where did that caveman declaration come from?

Am I really doing this? Am I really going to pursue a woman after being home for just two weeks? A woman that is my co-worker on top of that?

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