Page 4 of Bloom: Part 2

Yet I couldn’t settle on any program to watch. I was tired of channel hopping.

On the TV, an action flick exploded across the screen in a flurry of bullets. People scampered for cover. The deafening intensity should have grabbed my attention, but my gaze kept drifting to the turquoise-trimmed clock on the wall.

He’s late. Logan’s never late.

Something’s wrong. I just know it.

I grabbed my cell phone from the bedside table laden with a bouquet, get-well-soon cards, Ferrero Rafaello almond coconut chocolate—my new obsession—a bottle of water, and puzzle andactivity books. No missed calls. No text messages. He should have been here at least forty-five minutes ago.

I punched in Logan’s number and put it on speaker.

“You’ve reached the voice mail of—”

“Where the hell are you, Logan?” I ended the call and sank back against the pillows. Shit, that was too hard. Wincing, I gently touched the bandage over the bullet wound on my chest.

It wasn’t time yet for my next dose of medicine, but the dull throb spiked. The doctor had lowered my dosage that morning, saying my body was healing well and I needed to wean off the painkillers. If the pain became unbearable, I should tell a nurse, but I didn’t want them to increase my dosage again. The medications left me loopy, and I sometimes barely remembered visitors.

I can’t wait to go home.

The best part of being stuck in the hospital was the attention from Logan, who fussed over me every time he visited. He would feed me, adjust my pillows and blankets, read to me, and even pester the nurses about my care. He was never satisfied they were doing enough for me and insisted on overseeing every detail of my recovery, despite my protests.

Nothing was sexier than Logan fussing, sheer determination on his face. Even when he glared at me in anger after I joked I was glad I got shot so he could take care of me—it was totally worth it.

A knock on the door jolted me from my thoughts.

Logan’s here!

The door opened, and Nurse Sven Riley entered. My face fell. I clutched the sheets in my hands and squeezed.

“Isn’t he here yet?” I blurted out. Maybe Logan was already at the hospital, meeting with the CEO. Since the hostage situation, his superiors had been giving him a hard time and even forced him to take a leave of absence.

As soon as I am back on my feet, they’ll have to give him his job back! I’ll make sure of it.

Sven glanced up from the tablet in his hand, eyebrows knitted. “Excuse me?”

“Logan! Dr. Collier. Where is he?”

He gave a tiny shake of his head. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen him today. If he were here, we’d know. He’d have already criticized a million things we’ve done wrong in caring for you.”

I growled, drawing a sharp breath through clenched teeth as the pain throbbed in my chest. Despite the agony, I shoved myself into a sitting position. “I’m not getting through to him on his cell phone. Don’t you have any way to reach him?”

“Like what?” Sven sighed. “I’m sure Dr. Collier is fine, and you’re worrying for nothing. You’re the one we should be worried about. Haven’t you realized that you’ve been shot?” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I swear you’re the first patient who doesn’t seem to understand they almost…”

“That I what? You can say it.”

“Never mind. Dr. Collier has forbidden us to mention it.”

I beamed a smile. “That I almost died? Silly. He’s very protective of me. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Sure, it’s super. Just not for the rest of us who have to be told how to do our job as if we haven’t been doing this for years.”

“I know, right? How awesome is that? Jamie says he doesn’t get this way with anyone else. That I’m special.”

My relationship with the nurse had changed. We’d had tiffs in the past, and he always had his nose turned up whenever I was around. But after two weeks of being around each other, we had forged an unspoken truce. I didn’t give him sass, and he kept his commentary to himself—mostly.

“The rest of us can’t speak to the good nature of the man except that he’s one of the most brilliant minds we’ve ever worked with.” He removed his stethoscope from his neck. “Butit’s clear as day how he feels about you. Look at how protective he’s been.”

For a fleeting second, a wistful expression crossed his face, but it was gone just as quickly. “Let’s check you out.”

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