Page 29 of Rules of the Heart

As much as she liked Valerie, she was one of the most infuriating people Ella had ever met.

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Valerie

Once again, Valerie found herself thinking about Ella. She supposed that thinking about Ella was better than thinking about Tommy, but it was an exercise in frustration rather than one in grief.

Ella had been stiff and off with her ever since that day in the office—ever since Valerie had turned her down for the date. Valerie thought it was rather immature, giving her the cold shoulder just because the rules forbade them from dating. It wasn’t like Valerie could very well go making exceptions for herself to the rules she had written.

Well, if Ella was going to be stubborn about this, then Valerie could be stubborn right back. She wasn’t going to break the rules, not for Ella, not for anyone. She missed her daily lunches with Ella, but she was just going to have to deal with that until Ella got her head out of her ass.

The week passed slowly. Valerie loved her job, but without lunch with Ella to look forward to, she seemed to take less enjoyment in everything. As much as she was annoyed with Ella, she couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Having sex had been a big deal for Valerie. She had forgotten how good it could be—not just the physical pleasure part—but being that close to another person. She wanted it again, and she wanted it with Ella.

She couldn’t have that, though. It was against the rules, and the thought of trying to find someone else outside of the hospital to date held no appeal to her.

The week took a turn for the worse when a grieving patient’s family opened a lawsuit against Dr. Roth. He hadn’t done anything wrong but trying to explain that to the family of the patient who died on his table wasn’t going well.

Valerie eventually gave up on negotiations and handed the entire mess over to their lawyers.

On Friday afternoon, she walked out of yet another long meeting between Dr. Roth, hospital legal representation and herself, thoroughly frustrated. She wanted someone to vent to, and Ella was the first person who came to mind.

Maybe Ella was being stupid about the whole dating thing, but Valerie couldn’t think of anyone she wanted to talk to more right now. She hesitated for a moment before pulling out her phone and navigating to Ella’s number. Ella answered promptly, as she always did.

“Hi, Valerie. What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my place tonight, Ella? I could make us dinner.”

Valerie was already having second thoughts about this. She and Ella had barely spoken for a week. Ella was bound to say no.

“I’d love to. Does seven work?”

It took Valerie a moment to respond, not having expected Ella’s answer. “Yes, seven is perfect. I’ll see you then, Valerie.”

“See you then.”

Valerie hung up, her mood suddenly much improved.

Ella arrived at exactly seven, quite a feat given how unpredictable both of their jobs could be. She must have made an effort to shift things around so that she didn’t have any surgeries that were likely to run overtime at the end of the day.

She had showered and changed out of her scrubs. Her hair was still slightly wet, and she was wearing jeans and a red t-shirt that hugged her breasts in a way that threatened to drive Valerie to distraction.

“Please, come in. I’ve made us a casserole.”

“That sounds perfect.” Ella smiled at Valerie, a smile that made Valerie want to kiss her so badly, it felt like an ache in her chest.

Valerie led her inside. Ella sat down while Valerie served up dinner.

“So, what made you decide to break the wall of silence and invite me here?”

Valerie shrugged. “I had a bad week. I needed someone to talk to. You were the only one who came to mind.”

“My week hasn’t been great either, Valerie. I don’t like not talking to you.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have gotten all offended that I don’t want to date you. It’s quite immature, Ella, and frankly, it’s beneath you.”

Ella raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you think?”

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