Page 29 of Doc Showmance
“I don’t know what I’m saying.” She redirected focus to the images on the computer screen. “Problem with this case is the owner has no money. I thought if you did the surgery we could cut them a discount and have you do it as a learning case.”
“I’ve never put a fixator on anything that small. The anesthesia alone scares the hell out of me.”
“Exactly. Learning case.”
“Sure, I’ll do it so long as someone else handles its anesthesia and post-op care. I don’t know anything about rabbit medicine.” My phone buzzed. “My lunch is here. Got to run up front.”
Dr. Carmac called out, “Hey, Amber, if you and Dr. Todd get married and have beautiful babies, I’m taking credit.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
She laughed as I left. “Sounds like there’s some history there. We need to get beers, girl.”
“Next week.”
I found Bruno leaning across the front desk flirting with a receptionist. When he saw me, he boomed, “There’s my doctor.”
I reached for the white paper sack in his left hand, but he held it out of reach. He pulled me in with his right hand to hug me and plant a kiss on my cheek. “Rough morning?”
“Meh. Surgery.”
“It’s your night on dinner. What’s your plan?”
“Did you only stop by with my lunch as an excuse for you to ask me what’s for dinner?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged and blushed like a third grader rather than an almost thirty-year-old law student.
“Give me my lunch and go to class.” I snatched the bag out of his hand. “I got dinner under control. Might do your favorite. I’m thinking something extra fishy like mackerel.”
He made a face. Notorious for despising anything fishy ever since a vomiting incident in middle school, I enjoyed watching him turn an interesting shade of green.
“No?” I asked. “How about sushi?”
“Seriously, Amber.” He scowled. “Stop it. My stomach’s about to empty right here. Then poor Marci will have a nasty cleanup.” He winked at the receptionist at the front desk, whose cheeks turned pink.
“I might do lasagna.”
“Thank God.”
I caught Martin out of the corner of my eye when he pointed at his camera meaningfully. At least he abided the rule that Bruno stayed off camera. “Time for me to go be on-camera…”
Bruno leaned in to whisper, “Remember you’re hangry. Don’t give Mr. Sexy tooharda time.”
11
Ian
She had a boyfriend?
A roaring noise filled my ears as I watched Amber playfully hit the Hispanic man in the shoulder. The charming guy brought her food. He kissed her. Okay, the kiss landed on her cheek and not lips, but still, his lips made contact with her face. It was an acceptable public kiss. The guy was about two inches shorter than her, but he made her laugh, and the way he looked at her as if he adored her…
A flipping boyfriend.
I fisted my hands, feeling the bandage tighten on my left hand where the parrot had chomped the shit out of it a half hour ago. Darned thing didn’t get that I wanted to stop its blood feather’s bleeding. A blood stain spread beneath the bandage. Great.
When Amber walked through the connecting door to my side of the clinic, the side opposite surgery and the dog exam rooms, I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the exam room reserved for exotic animal patients. I slammed it shut in the cameraman’s face. And stood with my back against the door so he couldn’t get in or see through the door’s small window. Because this conversation wasn’t for the camera.
“You have a boyfriend?” I gritted out. The roaring returned inside my ears.
