Page 12 of Safe With You

“I’d like to think it was me that made him shut up and walk away, but I’m guessing it wasn’t.” I turn around, expecting his chocolate gaze to be looking down at me, except his eyes are locked on the center of Dr. Keeton’s back. His thick forearms are crossed tightly over his chest, a furrow to that handsome face.

“Dr. Ryan?” I tug at his sleeve to gently break whatever trance he is stuck in.

He lets his arms fall, but his face is still focused away from me. Nothing more than a tic in his jaw to let me know he heard me.

“I don’t care for the tone he took with you.”

A few heartbeats pass before I can make sense of his words. “Dr. Ryan,” I prompt again, moving until I stand more in front of him. I raise a knuckle and gently rap it against his chest to garner his attention. “I handled it.”

He finally looks down at me, storm clouds still building behind his eyes, but his gaze softens ever so slightly. “You handled yourself just fine, but I still don’t like the way he was talking to you.”

I sigh, shoulders sagging. “Some men get off on talking to women like that.”

His head finally snaps as he faces me, a serious scowl on his face. “Boys, not men. A real man would never say those words to you.”

His words dance over my skin, turning me on in a way I have never felt before. Dr. Ryanisa real man. He teases and has his moments where he’s quiet and moody, preferring to do his job and leave, yet somehow, I know without a doubt, that he would never speak to me in that way.

“He was shat out of his mother’s womb knowing how to repair a ruptured spleen. He thinks he is better than everyone else.”

Dr. Ryan throws his head back, laughing, his broad chest vibrating as the tension finally dissipates. “Shatout of his mother’s womb. I like that. I’ll tell him you said that.”

“No, no, no, you won’t,” I squeal, instinctively reaching to grab his forearm as he begins to walk down the hall. “I had someballs back there, but let’s not go that far.”Dr. Keeton can think he won that round, I don’t care.

Dr. Ryan’s eyes darken, stepping forward and using my grip on his forearm to bring us close together.Too close.“You are something else, Lainey. Dr. Hendricks wasn’t lying when he said you have a spark to you.” He tilts his forehead down, voice lowering as he continues. “You have this sweetheart persona. The helper. The quiet one. But underneath you’re a firecracker ready to snap.”

My heart kicks up its pace from his proximity and his words. I inadvertently wet my lips as I look up at him. He raises a hand and combs his fingers through the side of his thick hair while we stare at each other, both unflinching and unmoving, momentarily unaware of the people around us and the eyes witnessing our interaction.

“Where is she?” Jenna’s shriek pulls my attention and Dr. Ryan uses that moment to follow Dr. Keeton down the hall. She rounds the corner, her expression softening when she finds me unharmed. “You alright? I was in another room and heard some yelling. Suzie told me you duked it out with Dr. Keeton.” She unwraps her stethoscope from her neck and drops it on the table next to us. “Where did he go?” Her hands dive into her pockets, pulling out alcohol swabs and pens, discarding everything, the nurse equivalent to removing your hoop earrings for a street fight. “I’m reading to kick some wrinkly ass.”

“Down, girl.” Meg comes up and grabs Jenna’s forearm as she tries to leave the station. “No threats of spiking coffee or slashing tires today. I don’t have the energy.”

Jenna pauses but doesn’t relent. “I’ll spike his coffee if I damn well please if it means he will leave Lainey alone.”

“I feel fine. Almost good.” I lower my voice, looking around the nurses’ station to make sure that we are mostly alone. Most of the crowd has moved on, but I still take a step closer to thegirls. “I’m surprised I had the balls to do that. That’s the first time I’ve stood up for myself in a long time.”

The smiles that radiate across their faces are infectious.

“I would have loved to see that shit go down,” Jenna says. “I could have been your backup, raising my coffee mug in solidarity so he knows I’m still serious about giving him diarrhea.”

The sound of a throat clearing behind us causes me to turn. To my utmost surprise, it’s Dr. Keeton standing there, waiting.

He heard Jenna’s last remark.

“Hi, Dr. Keeton. What can I help you with?”

He looks up to Meg, and then to Jenna, who raises her coffee mug for an exaggerated sip before resting her elbow on my shoulder in team spirit.

He clears his throat roughly. “I rescheduled the gallbladder surgery to tomorrow and educated the patient on the importance of no food after midnight.”

I nod once to acknowledge him. I expect him to walk away, to move on to his next victim, but he glances up and over my head before continuing.

“I also wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier.”

I might be having an out-of-body experience because Dr. Keeton does not apologize. My instinct is to tell him that it’s fine and to make a self-deprecating joke to partially take the blame, even though I know I am not the one at fault. Instead, I straighten my shoulders as I answer him, “I appreciate the apology.”

He nods his head once before walking away, Jenna and Meg both grabbing my arms and hiss-whispering over one another that they cannot believe what they just saw.

“Holy shit,” Jenna gasps, “it’s a Halloween miracle.”

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