Page 33 of Bloom: Part 1

“Whoisthat?” Nicholas asked, his voice full of awe.

“Dr. Dehaney’s date, it seems.” Grimm wasn’t with his boy, which meant James had taken Bloom as his plus-one. What were they up to? Bloom was already a force to reckon with. With James in tow, he spelled trouble with a capital T. Nothing good could come from this duo tonight.

“Damn, he’s getting all the attention.” Nicholas took my tie in his hand and tugged. “You aren’t even looking at me anymore.”

I couldn’t. I couldn’t take my eyes off Bloom. He was listening keenly to whatever James was saying. When had they become close friends? It made everything more suspicious.

What were they up to?

“He’s not supposed to be here.”

“You know him?”

“Yeah.” I took another sip of my drink. James was introducing Bloom to Aaron Price, one of our colleagues. Nothing out of the ordinary, except Price was one of the few openly gay men at the hospital. I scoffed. Was that their strategy? To bring Bloom heretonight, flirt with a colleague of mine, and drive me to jealousy so I confessed my undying love for him?

Did they think me gullible? That I could be swayed by such childish games?

Price touched Bloom’s arm, and I held my breath.Here it comes. Bloom will punch him for sure.

Bloom hung on to every word Price was saying.

“Whoa, why that scowl?” Nicholas asked. “You keep looking at him like that, and I’ll think you and he have something going on.”

“Absurd.” I tore my gaze away from Bloom. “He’s just a kid.”

“Doesn’t look like a kid to me.”

Dammit, he was right, and no matter how many times I told myself that, it was simply not true. Bloom looked more mature than he ever did. And he was behaving for a change. What the hell had James done tomyBloom?

Well, not my Bloom, but the Bloom I’d come to know. A vicious little monster who made me want to cuddle him to death. The Bloom who would wound himself to get my attention. Now he wouldn’t even look at me.

“More champagne, sir?” a server, carrying a gleaming tray of glasses, asked.

“No, thank you.” But I gave him my empty glass. Nicholas snagged one and downed it before the server could walk away.

“Come dance with me.”

“Maybe later. I’m not in the mood to dance.”

“Well, when you’re interested, call me.” He flounced off, but I didn’t care. Not when my gaze wandered back to Bloom, who was still chatting with Price and laughing at something he’d said. An odd pang of jealousy surged through me. Bloom shouldn’t be getting along with anyone. He was wild and unpredictable and had no filter.

No one else is supposed to want him.

Sucking in a deep breath, I turned my back to them. I couldn’t allow such dark thoughts to fester. I should be happy he was paying attention to someone other than me.

“Hi, Dr. Collier, are you excited about tonight?”

My breath hitched, and I slowly turned to James. Two could play this game. I smiled. “It’s good that the medical association acknowledges the work I’ve been doing at the hospital after all these years.”

“And as your mentee, I am thrilled to present you with the award.”

“I’m glad it’s you, James. You’re a gifted doctor, and one day I see you taking on this position.”

“Really?” James’s eyes lit up. “You believe I can one day fill your shoes?”

I dropped my gaze to his feet arched gracefully in strappy heels. His nails were painted a glossy midnight blue. “Not exactly my shoes, but you fill out yours very well. You’ve shown you’re not afraid to handle tough cases and make even tougher decisions. I’m proud to be your mentor.”

Color rushed into James’s cheeks. “You’ve never praised me like this.”

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