Page 23 of My Heart Before You

“Yes,” he added. “Me too. He’ll think twice before doing that again.”

The whole ordeal quickly played over in her mind, and she shuddered now that the adrenaline was fading. She could still feel the impression of his hand on her skin. Swallowing hard against the extra saliva in her mouth, she said, “I hope heneverdoes that again.”

Colin pushed his lips together as he straightened to his full height. “What can I do?”

It was unclear if he meant to help her or to hurt Mr. Stowe.

“Nothing, Dr. Abernan,” Bettina answered. “He’s just a dirty old man.”

At that moment, Colin’s pager sounded, and his face twisted in frustration as he unclipped it from his waistband.

“I’ve got just the thing for him,” Bettina said before calling into the nursing station. “Hunter, come here a minute, please.”

Bleached-blond hair, five days of black rough stubble, and serious dark eyes looked up before folding his notes and putting them into his chest pocket. Coming to stand next to them, Hunter was an inch or two shorter than Colin, but much broader. His left arm was inked with an ocean full of life—sea horses and squid intertwined with dolphins and starfish chasing through the waves. On his right arm, tall reaching trees rooted at his wrist and grew upwards to where birds flew free over his massive bicep. An RN badge was clipped to the V of his scrub top; the picture of him looked more like a mug shot than an employee ID photo.

“How can I help, Bettina?” His words came out in a deep rumble.

“You’re going to take this patient from Emilie, and she’ll take one of yours for the rest of the shift. The man was inappropriate with her, and I think he’s done having female nurses for the remainder of his stay.”

Colin’s pager went off again and before he could even clear the screen, it sounded a third time.

“I’ve got to go.” His eyes focused intently on hers with a pained expression. “Are you okay?”

The same unusual sensation she felt when he touched her zinged through her body as she locked her gaze with his. Connection reverberated through her in an odd, resounding way, even though they were four feet apart. She heard Bettina answer before she could make her mouth form words.

“We’ve got it from here, Dr. Abernan,” she said. “Thank you for your kindness, as always.”

Only when she nodded did he reluctantly turn and stride off the floor. She felt her eyebrows pinch in confusion watching his retreating form.

What was that?

Bettina’s instructions broke her spell. “Okay. Give each other report. Just let me know who you swapped, and I’ll change it on the board. I’m going to make a note in the scheduling for the next shift that Mr. Stowe be only cared for by male nurses.”

Muscles held out his hand. “I’m Hunter, by the way. I work across the hall in the ICU most of the time, but they needed an extra body over here today.”

Shaking his large hand, she tried not to feel child size. “Emilie. Thanks for doing this.”

“Seriously, no problem. I’m sorry he was giving you trouble. No one deserves to be disrespected like that,” he said, shaking his head.

She felt an aggravated breath leave her nose. “Honestly, if I was at a bar or something, I’d still be pissed, but that’s life as a woman sometimes. Here it felt different.Wrong. It felt like such a complete personal invasion happening where I work. I’m a professional here, not an object.”

“I completely get it.” He nodded. “It makes you feel dirty. You’re just trying to do your job and should be treated with the respect your skills and education deserve.”

“Thank you!”

Immediately, guilt ran through her for mentally referring to him as “muscles” a moment before. Pulling out her notes and a pen, she asked, “Who do you want to give me?”

?Chapter 10?

The night sky was visible through the hospital lobby’s glass atrium ceiling as Colin crossed the tiled floor to the automated exit doors. His afternoon surgery had taken much longer than he’d anticipated, and it bothered him that he didn’t have a chance to head back to the floor and check on Emilie before she left for the night.

He’d seen before that she could handle herself. She’d obviously done it again that afternoon, but something in the way she shuddered in the hallway hit him on an elemental level. It had taken all of his restraint in that moment to not gather her to his chest.

Colin didn’t have a way of getting a hold of her now, and it would be completely inappropriate for him to ask the night charge for her phone number with CTSB’s anti-fraternization policy. Even though Kitty and the OR staff had been forgiving of his blowup a month ago, he didn’t need another strike against him.

His naturally quick clip slowed as he passed the closed gift shop, and the lobby’s black lacquered grand piano caught his eye. The only other person in the large space was a janitorial staff member vacuuming in a far corner. The nerves in his fingertips twitched as he checked his watch. Nine o’clock. It wasn’t that late.

Changing course, he stepped onto the low platform and sat comfortably on the bench. A sense of peace fell over him as he lifted the fallboard and let his fingers flex over the blocks of black and white. It had been so long since he’d allowed himself to connect with this side of himself.

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