CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Natalie
I tried not to speed into the hospital parking lot, but it had been a crazy morning.
I took Sabine to the airport in early morning Atlanta traffic which is always a mix of native Georgians who wave you in politely if you need over—and trust me you will need to change lanes at some point—transplants who will flip you off and scream at you if you try to cut in front of them, people just passing through on their way to somewhere else who look like they’re on the verge of tears as they beg you to let them over, and tourists who aren’t looking at the road at all.
They’re just pointing at all the sights around them.
In other words, it’s super fun.
Sabine, normally unflappable, always looked terrified in downtown Atlanta traffic.
“How do people live like this?” she had gasped out as I saw an opening and shot over a few lanes.
I had given a quick ‘thank you’ wave in my rearview mirror to the person behind me who had honked for ten full seconds and flipped me off.
Sabine had then stared behind her, horrified.
“I think that little old lady said she wanted to kill you if I was reading her lips correctly.”
“Probably,” I’d said, unfazed. I’d noticed her hands shaking. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just like this. If you grow up with it, you get kind of used to it. There are so, so many things I love about Atlanta. Driving on I-75, I-285, I-85, or I-20 is not one of them.”
“So… all the roads?”
“Mainly just the interstates. But a lot of the roads are pretty treacherous, too.”
“In Paris, I walk everywhere.”
I had looked around me. We’d been about to go under the Fifth Street Bridge with Georgia Tech on our right and the iconic Atlanta restaurant The Varsity on the left. “Would you like to walk here?”
“Um… no.”
I’d laughed and shot over another lane or two while she’d grabbed the ‘oh, shit’ handle. “Don’t worry it’ll get better when we get closer to the airport. And then it’ll get worse again. Oh, and it will look like planes are about to land on top of us on the interstate.”
Sabine had looked noticeably paler. “I’ve been through all this before; I think I block it from my mind as soon as I’m safely on the plane.”
“Good idea,” I’d smiled at her.
“I don’t see how you do it.”
“Like I said, I’m used to it. And Atlanta’s worth it.
There’s so much to love here.” I’d paused while waving a crying woman over in front of me.
She’d looked younger than me and terrified.
She had a Wisconsin license plate, and I wondered if it was her first time through Atlanta.
“Still, I’m glad I live in Indigo Falls and only come to Atlanta a few times a month. ”
It had been hard saying goodbye to Sabine. I’d held onto her for an extra moment or so before leaving her at the airport.
And now I was about to start my first day of work.
I sighed as I pulled into a parking spot and immediately got out of my new car.
It was strange driving it. There were maybe two thousand miles on it, so I knew Dad had barely driven it.
It was nice, too. It was a cherry red Lexus NX that he’d obviously picked out for me.
Dad had driven only white, black, or gray cars his entire life.
It made me feel like he was still watching over me a bit to be driving the car he’d wanted me to have. Lost in thought, I didn’t even notice where I was going or that a man was pulling a door open for me.
So, that’s how it hit me, I guess.
“Shit!” I cried, seeing stars as I took a door to the face. He’d been swinging it open with a flourish, too, so he’d really whipped it right into me.
Everything went black for a moment, and I toppled to the ground.
***
I came to in what looked to be a small exam room. I tried to sit up, grabbed my head, and decided to lie back down for a bit.
“Hey, there,” a sweet gray-haired nurse said. “I’m Maxine. Can you tell me your name?”
I looked at her and she winced.
“What?” I asked.
“You’ve got… well, a black eye and a big swollen goose egg on your forehead.”
I gaped at her, then remembered. “Oh, yeah. The door.”
“Good. At least you remember.”
“Natalie Martin.”
Maxine blinked at me.
“My name. It’s Natalie Martin.”
“Oh, right,” she chuckled. Then she cocked her head at me. “Wait… are you starting here today?”
“Yes…”
“How’s the patient?” A tall, well-built man with dark hair, olive skin, and light gray eyes came in. He was wearing a lab coat and a big smile. He had dimples. He was so freaking handsome, I couldn’t quit staring at him.
And then I remembered I had a black eye and huge goose egg on my forehead. I must look like a monster right now.
He didn’t seem to think so. He came right over and winced when he saw my face. He examined my black eye and palpated the lump on my forehead. Then he took his pen light and assessed my eye movements and pupil dilation.
“I really think I’m fine,” I protested.
He ignored me. “Has anyone checked her for concussion?”
“Not yet, Dr. Reyes. Do you want me to order an MRI?”
“No. But do a thorough concussion check. Based on what I just saw, I think she’s fine. But we need to make sure.” He finally stood up and addressed me. “Listen, I am so sorry about this. Please let me take you out to dinner to make it up to you.”
I blinked. Was he asking me out? Like out out? “Um… why do you need to make it up to me? Is this just a super friendly hospital?”
“I… ah… hit you with the door.” He grimaced, obviously embarrassed. “Listen, I’m sorry. I saw this beautiful woman coming into the hospital, and I couldn’t help it. I had to try to impress you. It, um, backfired.”
I laughed a little, and then he did, too.
Something started hurting. I glanced at the nurse in confusion and realized she was putting hydrogen peroxide on scratches that were on my legs.
I frowned. “How did I get the scratches?”
“Oh. Well,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “After you blacked out, you fell in a large holly bush. It’s one of those with pointy leaves.”
“Dr. Reyes fished you out of the bushes, picked you up, and carried you through the hospital. It was like a scene from Grey’s Anatomy or something.” Maxine looked entranced with the handsome doctor, who had to be at least thirty years younger than her.
Dr. Reyes looked embarrassed, then chuckled.
“It was a strange way to start the day,” he admitted.
“Anyway, who were you coming to see at the hospital? I can get word to them that you’re recovering from a doctor-induced injury.
” An alarm went off on his watch. “Excuse me. I have to go meet my new surgical physician’s assistant.
” He looked at Maxine. “Can you handle Mrs…” He glanced at me, and I realized he wanted my name.
“Natalie Martin. Ms. Natalie Martin. I’m not married,” I smiled and so did he.
“My day just got better,” he said. Then something seemed to hit him. He dug in his pocket and pulled out his phone, scrolling through something. Then he stared at me. “Natalie Martin?”
“Yes,” I said slowly, wondering why he was asking me again.
“You’re my new surgical PA.”
My mouth dropped open. “I don’t think so. I was interviewed by Dr. Lyon and told I would be her PA.”
“Dr. Lyon actually left the hospital a few weeks ago. There must have been a miscommunication. She got offered her dream job at Grady Hospital in downtown. Atlanta,” he tacked on, as if I might think either Halliwell or Indigo Falls had a booming downtown area. “It’s closer to her family, too.”
“Oh.” That took the wind out of my sails a little bit. I’d been looking forward to working with her. And now that Dr. Reyes had sort of asked me out, it might be awkward working with him.
He seemed to think that, too. “I can get you assigned to another surgeon.”
I waved a hand in the air, like it was nothing. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure we’ll make a great team.”
He grinned, and my stomach flip-flopped. “Well, that’s the thing. I think we’d make a great team, too, but I’m thinking about outside of the hospital. And I can’t date you if you’re regularly my surgical PA.”
I turned pink while Nurse Maxine giggled like a schoolgirl. This was super awkward.
He leaned a little closer. “Say you’ll go out with me. It’s the least I can do for attacking your face with a door.”
“Okay. Sure. As long as it doesn’t break any rules around here.
” I couldn’t help but smile at him. He was so handsome—more like a doctor on television than one in real life.
I hoped that didn’t mean he was a bed hopper like Tim was.
Ever since I’d been with him, I’d made the conscious decision not to go out with ridiculously handsome men.
I didn’t think I could take being cheated on again.
I started to get down from the bed to go start my first day.
“No, no, no.” Heath gently lowered me back down to the table. “You’re not starting today. I’ll go talk to the Chief of Staff.” He winked at me. “He’s my dad,” he whispered.
“Oh, please don’t do that,” I had visions of the other nurses already hating me. Here was this hot doctor asking me out and now he was going to pull strings for me.
“It’s not a big deal. But you can’t be in surgery with a possible concussion. You know that.”
“True.” He was right. I laid back on the bed again.
He got my number, apologized again, and left.
Maxine looked at me with big eyes after he left. “Honey. You don’t even know how rare that is. Dr. Reyes doesn’t date much, and when he does, it’s never anyone in the hospital.”
I smiled, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed by the lack of spark I’d felt when he’d touched me to help me lay down in the hospital bed.
But that was silly. The only person I’d ever had much of a spark with was the only one I literally wouldn’t date if he was the last man on Earth.
I could be friends with Tim… but I could never be with him romantically again.
***