Page 8 of The Grumpy Doc's Surprise Delivery

“No problem,” she says, then turn away from us again with what I’m sure is a sigh.

I lean in to Liam. “See? At least someone’s helpful.”

He just rolls his eyes at that, and I try not to notice how deep and emerald they are. I refuse to be attracted to this guy. It doesn’t matter how handsome he is. I will not do it.

“So, what I want from you all is to tell your partner a story of a time when you felt you had a big success at work, a day that really made you smile. All your partner needs to do is listen carefully and think of two questions to ask at the end.”

I grimace at that. I hate telling stories about work success. It always feels like bragging.

Clearly, though, Liam doesn’t feel the same.

He starts telling me all about the day he proposed a new birthing option for women who want to give birth at home, and the smug look on his face makes me want to roll my eyes right back at him. Sure, the plan he’s describing will help lower-income women not have a huge hospital bill while, at the same time, saving moneyfor the hospital. But he’s acting like he’s the only one who has ever figured out a way to cut costs.

“I assisted a brain surgery once,” I say, cutting him off when he’s halfway through describing all the research he had to do to get the program approved. “I got to make some of the key incisions.”

“An assistant?” he says with a sneer. “I’m the lead in the new birthing program. It is my idea, and I’m in charge.”

“Well, I was just an intern at the time,” I say, “I was top of my class, so I was chosen to help one of the best brain surgeons in the country.”

Liam raises an eyebrow. “Impressive,” he says without meaning to. “And I got to present my program to the board of directors of the hospital.”

“Well, we saved a patient who was supposed to be terminal. Never going to speak again. We got him to a place where he could live a quality of life nobody was expecting.”

“And I’ve singlehandedly saved dozens of babies and mothers who have come to the hospital in distress.”

After that, we dissolve into trying to outdo each other, detailing complex surgeries and cases that should have ended badly. Everything he’s saying is impressive, and he does sound like a fine doctor, but the way he talks totally rubs me the wrong way.

“All right, everyone!” calls Bruno, bringing us back to reality. “I trust you’ve had enough time to tell each other your stories and ask enough questions to really understand each other.”

Most people around us nod and agree, and I stare at the floor, ashamed of the person I have allowed Liam to turn me into.

“Now, we’ll go round the circle, and I want everyone to tell me their partner’s story and one thing they have learned.”

Liam and I both groan quietly. Neither of us has a story to tell, let alone a moral lesson to have learned, except maybe don’t argue out of smugness.

The pair closest to Bruno start, telling some saccharine stories about their first days at work and their proudest moments saving a patient. All the stories go like this, one by one around the circle, everyone sharing something lovely and heartwarming and sickening.

Sickening because every story brings the circle closer to us.

I smile politely as the person next to me speaks, but I barely hear any word because my heart is pounding in my head. Do I lie? Do I make something up? Obviously, Liam would see right through that, but maybe that would encourage him to lie too.

Lying. Is that what he is turning me into? A prideful liar.

A gentle applause snaps me back to the present, and I take a shaky breath. Bruno turns to the microphone and smiles too. “Well, everyone, thank you for sharing all your stories. I’ve really enjoyed hearing them. Unfortunately, it’s time to break for lunch. Sorry to all of you who were excited to share. We’ll see if we can find some time for it later today.”

I sigh in relief. A small mercy, this time.

“Thank God,” mutters Liam. “Right, let’s go!”

With that he jumps up to go, leaving me watching in his wake. We’ve been spared from this fate, but I have a feeling that next time, we might not be so lucky.

CHAPTER 5

LIAM

If Emma’s plan was to ignore me all during lunch, then she succeeded completely. I think she must have gone up to her room because she was nowhere to be found in the dining hall. Shame she missed out. The food was great.

But lunch is over far too soon, and despite really not wanting to, I have to go back to the training. At least we managed to escape story time earlier. That’s something.

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