Page 40 of Irresistibly Risky

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!” I yell.

She’s smiling at me now. “You said you wanted it done as soon as possible. Tomorrow by six in the morning, you’ll be on my table.”

Oh, hell.

11

“Good morning, Mr. Reyes,” I greet him, taking a sip of my much-needed coffee and ignoring how he’s staring at me in my scrubs. “How are you feeling today?”

He gives me a slow drag, a smile lighting up his face when he reaches my scrub cap. “Better now.”

I make an unimpressed noise. “Mr. Reyes, this is Dr. Jones. He’s going to be assisting me.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Reyes.” Asher sits up and shakes Jequai’s hand, and I think Jequai is about to pass out in a puddle of fan-boy mush right here on the floor. “Do you mind if I draw on your shoulder?”

Asher blinks at him. “Like an autograph?”

I hold in my laugh. “Something like that. Only it makes sure we know which shoulder we’re cutting into.”

Asher wipes at his jaw. “Is that a problem around here?”

“Not for me, but it’s what we do to prevent any errors.”

Asher waves his hand at Jequai. “Go for it, man.”

“Did the nurses go over what you can expect before, during, and after your surgery?”

“Yes.”

“And has anesthesiology met with you?”

“Not yet.”

His short answers and stiff posture tell me he’s unbelievably nervous. I turn to Jequai. “Dr. Jones, would you go and make sure everything is prepped and ready in the OR?”

“Of course.”

He leaves us, and I close the curtain, coming over and sitting on the edge of Asher’s bed while making sure to leave plenty of space between us. “You doing okay?”

“Uh.” He laughs, running his hand back through his short hair. “Not really. I mean, yes, I’m fine. I’m not about to freak out or anything. But I’m nervous about what you’ll find when you open me up.”

I scoot a little closer. “Lean your head back.” He does instantly. “Now close your eyes,” I tell him. I take a quick moment to observe him without his eyes on me, making my insides dance the way he always does, and wow, Asher Reyes really is a beautiful man. “Now take a deep breath in through your nose and then release it slowly through your mouth.”

He does, his body already starting to relax.

“Good. Stay like that for a moment while I talk. I have performed this surgery well over a hundred times, and I have never had a negative outcome. I am not promising you anything other than I will give your shoulder every ounce of my focus and skill. Okay?”

“Okay,” he breathes out.

I open my mouth to say more and then hesitate. I’ve been thinking a lot about his offer. Weighing the pros and cons of it. I don’t particularly want to live with him, but that’s my own hang-up. All I know is it won’t be forever. Neither of us wants this to come out during his season, so in order to protect my son and that secret, concessions and sacrifices must be made.

But once that’s over and it’s all out in the open, there is no reason I have to stay with him. Yet another reason not to allow him to buy me the apartment. I can get my own place with Mason, live close by to Asher, and then figure out a co-parenting situation that works for both of us if that’s what he wants.

For now… I lean in and whisper by his ear, “Mason and I will move in with you.”

His eyes flash open, and the biggest, brightest smile I’ve ever seen on him overtakes his every feature. “You will? You mean that?”

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