Page 45 of Stone Vows

The alcohol from my third shot burns my throat on the way down. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

He studies me. “Maybe it’s not a what. Maybe it’s a who.”

“A who?”

“Come on, Kyle.” He raises his brows at me. “Your patient. The one you talk about incessantly.”

“Well, sheismy only patient,” I say. “Who the hell else am I supposed to talk about?”

“It’s not that you talk about her, it’showyou talk about her. It’s been obvious to me from the beginning that you have a thing for this girl. First you arrange to pay her hospital bill, then you have your sisters-in-law and your friends come and keep her company. Hell, you get a stupid shit-eating grin on your face every time you talk about her, bro.”

“I do?”

He nods.

I run my hands through my hair in frustration. “Shit, Cameron. What the hell is wrong with me? She’s my patient. And she’s pregnant. And I don’t know the first thing about her. But I can’t get her out of my goddamn head.”

“Does this infatuation go both ways?” he asks.

“No. I don’t know. It’s obvious she wants me there with her, but for all I know she might want Jack the Ripper there, too, if it meant he’d keep her company.”

He tosses a few peanuts in his mouth. “I checked in on her the other day,” he says, to my complete surprise.

“You did? But you’re not on Red’s service.”

“I know. I made up a lame excuse about looking for an ultrasound machine.”

“Why would you do that?”

He stares me down. “Why do you think, Kyle? Because my friend is seriously close to fucking up his life and maybe even his career. What if she’s a con artist and she’s after your money? Did you ever think of that?”

“What the hell, Cameron? That’s ridiculous. As if she planned her pregnancy and then willed herself into placenta previa so that she could scam me. What’s your problem?”

“Okay, you have a point,” he says. “But I’m just looking out for you, bro. Anyway, I’m pretty sure she’s not a con artist. In fact, she’s just about one of the nicest people I’ve met.”

I nod, absently tracing the rim of my shot glass.

“Hot, too,” he says, laughing. “If you take away the hugely pregnant belly. And I’m no Jack the Ripper, but she didn’t try to getmeto stay and keep her company. I’m also fairly sure she mentioned‘Dr. Stone’no less than five times in the two minutes I was in her room.”

“What do I do, Cam?”

“She’s your patient, Kyle. You take care of her and make sure that baby is healthy. She’ll only be here for a few more weeks, right? After that, it’s no one’s business but yours if you want to see her, fuck her, or raise a child with her.”

“Do you have to be so damn crude?” I ask, giving him a look of disdain.

“Oh, what, you can fuck Gina to kingdom come, but when I mention fucking Elizabeth, you look like you want to pin me to the damn ground.”

“I don’t think of her that way,” I say.

“You don’t think about fucking her?” He winces when he sees my angry stare. “Sorry, you don’t think aboutbeingwith her?”

I blow out a long breath and run my hands through my hair once again. “Therein lies my problem, Cameron. That’sallI think about.”

Chapter Twenty-one

“You know what today is?” Elizabeth asks with a smile.

“Your birthday?” I ask, even though I know it’s not, because her date of birth is written right here in the chart, and it’s only a week away from mine. That makes her two years and one week younger than I am. But who’s counting?

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