Page 15 of Knight's Fall

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just tired, I guess.”

The elevator dinged as they stopped beside it, and one woman dressed in black scrubs stepped from it, her face lighting with pleasure to see Olivia.

“What are you doing here?” The woman embraced Olivia as she spoke.

“I need a favor. For a friend. Courtlyn.” Olivia reached back to pull Courtlyn up beside her. “This is Trish. Trish, my best friend Courtlyn. She works at the diner, and one of her favorite customers collapsed in the parking lot. Coco had to perform CPR until the paramedics got there. She knows she’s not family, but she just wants to make sure he’s okay.”

“I can probably give you the status of his condition, but not much else. For privacy reasons. Let’s just step into one of the offices over here, and I’ll borrow someone’s computer to look it up.”

Courtlyn managed a relieved smile. “Thank you.”

To get to the office meant passing by the waiting room again. Courtlyn couldn’t resist another peek. She’d seen the man and the woman at the diner many times, and they were often eating with Sexy Neighbor when they came.

The woman had her long dark hair pulled back tightly in a messy ponytail, her jeans and T-shirt worn from frequent washes. Her face was animated as she talked to the gentleman, and he threw his head back in a full laugh. His smile revealed a dimple in his cheek and would, as Olivia would say, make any woman’s panties melt. They made an appealing picture, one that made her feel frumpy and gross.

The man’s head tilted to the side, his eyes resting on Courtlyn. Her heart leapt in her chest, and she hurried past the door to catch up to Olivia and Trish.

“Wait. Hey, wait up. Just a minute.”

She didn’t recognize the voice that called after her, but she knew it had to be the man. Embarrassment urged her to keep moving, but her curiosity had her looking over her shoulder only to realize he had caught up to her. He touched her arm as he circled around her, stepping in front of her so she had no choice but to stop or run into him.

“I know you, don’t I?” His eyes studied her curiously.

Any other time, she might have written the question off as a pick-up line, but she knew he couldn’t be flirting with her, not when she felt so wrung out and vulnerable and probably looked as rough as she felt.

“Yes. Well, no. Not really. I mean, I see you all the time, but we’ve never met. I don’t usually get to meet people at the diner. I’m a cook, so I’m in the kitchen a lot. I’m sorry if it seemed like I was staring at you. I wasn’t trying to snoop or spy on you and your friend.” She gestured toward the lobby where the woman still waited. “I was curious. I just wondered if…I’m sorry. I’m babbling. I should go.”

“The diner.”

She almost expected him to slap his hand against his forehead as recognition dawned on him. “Yes,” she confirmed. “I see you and your friends all the time, but we’ve never had a chance to introduce ourselves.”

His tone was as smooth as silk as a flirtatious glint sparked in his eyes. “Well, we should fix that right now. I’m Brennan, but everyone calls me BB. And you are…”

“Courtlyn.” She dropped her eyes and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I should catch up to my friends. We’re checking on someone. Another customer.”

“Oh, sure. Of course.” He moved to the side and swept his hand in an exaggerated gesture for her to move passed him. “It’s nice to meet you, Courtlyn. I’ll see you soon, I’m sure. I hope your customer is okay.”

She smiled as she stepped passed him. “Thanks. Me too. Oh, uh, can I ask you…I mean it’s none of my business, but I was wondering…Never mind.”

“Wait! What do you want to ask? You can’t leave me in suspense.”

She hesitated. This was the moment. As soon as the question left her mouth, someone would realize she was stalking her neighbor. She wouldn’t have described it that way, but that’s what she was doing. Instead of checking on Mr. Fielder, she was considering asking someone she barely knew about Sexy Neighbor. Where was he, and was he okay? Asking would likely make her look crazy, but not knowing was driving her crazy.

“I’ve seen you with this guy. Tall, long hair, beard. I haven’t seen him in a while, and I just wondered. I mean, he’s my neighbor. So I haven’t noticed him when I’ve been outside or at the diner. I was just curious…You know, it’s none of my business. I should go.”

BB chuckled. “You’re talking about Wings. I can’t believe I never noticed his pretty neighbor before.”

She flushed at the compliment, delivered too smoothly for her to take seriously, and shrugged. “I keep to myself a lot. And he lives behind me, so…” She wrung her hands as butterflies battled each other in the pit of her stomach. So evidently, she wasn’t just nervous around Sexy Neighbor, but around his hot friends too. “So his name is Wings?”

“Nickname, but it’s all anyone calls him. And it’s alright that you’ve asked about him. He was hurt while at work, but he’s fine. He’s just got a lot of physical therapy in his future. That’s why we’re here. We made sure he kept his PT appointment and didn’t walk out when his therapist wasn’t looking. He’s not a very good patient.”

She chuckled nervously, an awkward sound that only made her blush deeper. “I, uh…well, if there’s anything…I mean if you think of anything I can do, you know, to help…I, uh, I’m more than happy to help.”

BB’s grin widened. “I may take you up on that if Wings doesn’t, but I’ll be sure to tell him you offered.”

Damn, this guy was charming. If she wasn’t so infatuated with Sexy Neighbor, she might have flirted back. But the idea of him telling Sexy Neighbor about her had all thoughts of flirting flying out of her head. Panic seized her, and she shook her head vehemently.

“No. Uh, that’s not necessary. Our paths don’t cross that often, so he probably won’t even realize who you’re talking about. But uh, thanks for letting me know about him. I hope he gets better soon.”

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