Page 13 of Just One Chance
David blew out a breath and his face relaxed. “After all the ridiculous things I’ve said to you today, I think offering friendship is pretty nice of you.”
“You haven’t said anything ridiculous.” Avery reached over and squeezed his arm. “I really like that you’re so open about everything. And I promise I didn’t make up an old ex-boyfriend just to keep you from asking me out. If the timing were different...” Avery’s words trailed off, leaving David room to fill in the blank however he wanted. She wasn’t actually sure thingswouldbe different if she wasn’t seeing Tucker again, but David didn’t need to know that. “What do you say? Friends?”
“I hardly know anyone else in Charleston,” David finally said with a shrug. “I could use a friend.”
Avery held out her hand. “Here. Give me your phone.”
David unlocked the screen and handed over his phone. Avery opened up his text messages and sent herself a text before handing it back. “There. Now you have my number, and I have yours.”
David looked at his phone, clearly amazed that it had been so simple. “Is that how people exchange numbers these days? That was so easy.”
Avery chuckled. “You really should get out of the hospital more.” She glanced at her watch and then dropped her napkin onto the table. “I’ve got to get back to work.” She stood up. “Thank you for lunch, and for coming to see me. I’m really glad you did.”
David stood up as well. “Of course. I had a really nice time.”
Something about the way he looked at her made Avery’s breath catch in her chest. It was a tiny something, but it wasn’t so tiny that she didn’t notice, that she didn’t wonder why this man, so very different from anyone she’d ever dated before, still affected her. She bit her bottom lip. “So, I’ll see you around?”
He gave her that same full smile she’d already grown to appreciate. “I hope so.”
Chapter 4
Davidpulledthecurtainclosed around his patient and ran a weary hand across his neck. “Hey, Annie?” he said to the nurse walking toward him. “Can you call ortho down for a consult on this broken arm? Patient name Gregory?”
“Sure thing. Have you seen Dr. Wiseman?” Annie said. “Lab results just came back for her.”
“I’m here,” Lucy said, as she rounded the corner. Lucy took the results from Annie then fell into step next to David. “Hey, how was the aquarium?” she asked. “You never responded to my text.”
David grunted. He hadn’t responded because there wasn’t anything to say. Sure, Avery had given him her number, but she’d made it really clear she only wanted to be his friend. Talking about it just made him feel more ridiculous.
Lucy nudged him. “Hey. I deserve more than a grunt.”
“She inviteseveryoneto the aquarium. It wasn’t a special invitation. Just something causal that she says to anyone new to the area. And it was clear that she knew I thought it had meant something more which just made the entire thing embarrassing and awkward.”
Lucy bit her lip, obviously trying not to laugh. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”
“It was, Lucy. It really, really was.”
“Did you get her number?” she asked, giving him some side-eye.
He hesitated. “Only because she’s my neighbor and she said we could be friends. But she made thefriendspart really clear.”
Lucy shook her head. “I still count that a victory. She wouldn’t have given you her number if she found you repulsive, right?”
David groaned. Were things really so bad that his success was defined by whether or not he wasrepulsive? “What an accomplishment,” he said dryly.
They stopped outside a curtained triage area. “This is me,” Lucy said, “but we aren’t done talking about this.”
The last thing David needed was Lucy hounding him about Avery. It was already hard enough to keep her off his mind. At work, he managed fine. The ER kept him engaged enough there wasn’t much time to sit around and think about his neighbor. But when he wasn’t at the hospital, it felt as though he was suddenly seeing Avery everywhere. At the little grocery store on the island. At the coffee shop next door. In her front yard or on her porch or in her driveway. It seemed like every time David came home from work, she was outside, her sun-bleached hair and tan skin taunting him on an almost daily basis. Did the woman never go inside her house? And it’s not like David worked consistent hours. He rarely got home at the same time of day. How was shealwaysaround? Was that new? Or was it that he was simply looking for her more than he had before?
Despite their frequent encounters, weeks went by and David never did anything more than raise his hand and wave in a friendly,neighborlyway. Whenever he thought of their not-at-all-a-date day at the aquarium, his face still flushed with embarrassment. He couldn’t quite muster the nerve to try and talk to her again. Even if she hadn’t found him repulsive.
David looked over the chart of his next patient, sharpened his focus, and pushed Avery from his mind. He wasn’t a lovesick teenager. He was an adult, perfectly capable of schooling his wandering thoughts. And school them he did, all the way through the end of his shift and the first two hours of his evening at home.
Then Avery showed up on his back porch, blood dripping down her leg.
He pushed open the screen door. “Hey.”
She stood, slightly hunched, a rag pressed into her inner thigh. “Hi.” She swallowed. “Um, I think I maybe need some stitches.”
