“Vance likes you,” he muses. “He’s never given an employee a ride to work before.”
I knew it was never about that employee satisfaction crap.
I scoff. “He thinks I’m naive and can’t manage to take the bus without getting murdered.”
Duke flashes me an adorable grin. “I doubt that.”
I suck in a breath, the pain a little worse today since it’s raining. “He feels bad that I won’t leave until he does the surgery.”
Duke’s head cocks to the side. “He’s still saying no?”
“He insists another colleague will take my case, but not him.” I toy with my shirt. “I think I’m going to take his offer and consult with another surgeon. I don’t know if I can wait any longer, and I’m ready to move on.”
Dark eyebrows that should not be blessed to a man, furrow. “Did he mention the surgeon’s name?”
I shake my head. “Nope, but I almost have the money now, so whatever surgeon he gives me, I’ll be able to afford the procedure soon.”
Duke drags a finger across his bottom lip, worrying it. “You asked Vance again last night?”
I like how he doesn’t call his brother Dr. Potter, rather referring to him by his first name. It humanizes the scary Dr. Potter—enough that when Duke speaks of him, it sounds like we’re discussing a mutual friend and not the man who gave me a flat, “No,” a few weeks ago and threw me out of his office, crushing my dreams underneath his expensive loafers.
I shrug and turn to stock the cabinet. The pain from Vance’s decision is still very raw. “Yep.”
“And he said no?”
I’m not sure why Duke seems so surprised. Vance has been clear from the beginning about not taking me on.
“He did,” I answer quietly, blowing out a breath. “I shouldn’t have insulted him during the appointment with the layaway comment.” I finally look up and meet Duke’s confused gaze. “It was inappropriate.”
“It was hilarious.” He tips his chin at my body, still grinning. “Where are the scars you want revised?”
“Uh… on my legs… my hips, too.”
Duke studies me a moment as if he could see through my clothes. “Can I see them?”
A knot forms in my throat, but I swallow past it. “Sure.” He’s a doctor after all. Surely, he won’t be like his brother. Maybe I made an appointment with the wrong Dr. Potter.
Nodding, Dr. Duke takes a gown from the stack on the counter and hands it over. “When you’ve finished changing, knock on the door, and I’ll come back in.”
My voice is barely a whisper. “Okay.”
In a matter of seconds, Dr. Duke is gone, and I’m left standing in the empty exam room. My stomach clenches, and it suddenly feels hard to breathe. With Dr. Duke looking at the scars… does that mean he would agree to do the revision? I mean, he and his brother are equally credentialed plastic surgeons. Granted, they each have different specialties, but Dr. Duke is still a plastic surgeon. No matter how many cases he’s done, he could make the scars less noticeable.
Anything would be better than the scars left by the trauma surgeons.
And I would be achieving my goal.
That’s what I came here for. It’s what I’ve worked toward for so many years. Maybe I was wrong letting Vance delay my dreams. Just because life doesn’t go as I think it should, it doesn’t mean it’s the wrong move.
A flutter of excitement quickly replaces the nerves as I strip down and change into a gown and knock on the door. And like a good doctor, Duke waits a minute so I can get to the exam table and situate myself before he opens the door and flashes me an easy-going smile.
“I’m no Vance, but if it makes you feel more comfortable, I can scowl and not speak to you while I do the exam,” he teases, pushing the door closed.
“That’s okay,” I chuckle. “I’m not nervous.”
Duke approaches with a file in his hands. “I don’t suppose you are. A crush injury and six months in the hospital will do that to a person.”
Nodding, I offer him a half smile. Being used to strangers seeing me naked might be something I’ve grown accustomed to but being confident in that body is another issue entirely.