Chapter 3 #2
Angel Fire definitely wasn’t an eighties girl band. They were hard rock to the core. And the shirt would look good on him. It was black with the outline of a guitar sporting angel wings on fire, an iconic picture from one of the most popular rock bands in recent history.
She pulled out an extra-large shirt and held it up to his chest to check the size. His eyes widened.
“Do you want it or not?” She lowered the shirt. “What’s the matter? You picked it out.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” He shook his head, a dark furrow etched between heavy brows. His eyes were hidden to her, buried behind the stupid mirrored lenses.
“Yes. I ruined your shirt. Honestly though, I need to get going.” She pulled out her cell phone and checked the screen. “My shift starts in ten minutes.” She lifted the shirt. “Yes or no? Bangles or Angel Fire?” She found another one. “Or what about Metallica?”
He laughed. “I’m definitely an Angel Fire man. Although Metallica rocks.”
“Good.” She took the Angel Fire shirt to the cashier and pulled out her credit card from the lanyard at her neck.
“You’re not like most girls,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
Ash pointed at the lanyard. “That’s a pretty odd-looking purse.”
“Well, when you work in a hospital, purses don’t work. You learn to keep what you need close at hand.”
He grabbed the lanyard, and his fingers brushed against her breast. It was a quick motion, but was it intentional?
He took a closer look at her ID while the cashier rung up the sale. “Skye. Pretty name.” He looked over the top of the glasses. “You’re a nurse?”
Typical. “Really? I’m female, so that’s what you assume?” She pointed to the two letters after her name. “MD. That means doctor. I hate stereotypes.” She waited for his apology.
The cashier finished her sale and rung up Ash’s ball cap and ugly glasses. He paid cash and wore them out of the shop after pulling off the tags. “I’m full of charm today, aren’t I?”
She couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on his face, but her laughter died in her throat when he pulled off the soiled shirt and tossed it in the trash.
Holy hell, six-pack anyone? A woman walking past stared as well.
The unfortunate woman was so focused on Ash’s bare chest that she plowed into the trash can in front of her. Skye smothered a laugh.
Ash took the bag from her hand and fished out the Angel Fire T-shirt. In the blink of an eye, all that glorious flesh was covered by black cotton and a guitar with flaming wings.
“Now, tell me where this coffee shop is, and I’ll buy you that drink.”
“Sorry. Time’s up. Gotta go.”
It was a shame they didn’t have more time.
“Can’t you be a few minutes late?”
“I don’t like being late. Besides, after a twelve-hour shift, you’re pretty beat. It’s nice when your relief shows up early.”
“Well, at least let me walk you there.”
Skye nodded because she really wasn’t ready to see him go.
He led her through the underground mall and up to street level, and then he pulled up short as Forest Skye Memorial Hospital dominated the landscape.
She had to tug him forward. “Come on. I work in the emergency department.”
“Damn, that place is huge.” The behemoth structure of metal and glass glittered in the early morning light.
“It opened less than four years ago. Took seven years to build. I was in the first group of residents who trained here, and now, I’m on the staff.”
Ash pulled at her lanyard and checked her badge. His gaze darted to the glowing hospital signage and dipped back to her name. “Forest Skye Memorial Hospital. Any relation?”
Skye blurted one mild, “Ha!” and tossed her head back. Her cheeks flushed, and she pulled him along the sidewalk, unwilling to answer that question. “Come on. It’s freezing.”
She enjoyed the way his hand enveloped hers but frowned as a gust of chilled air swirled around them. The hairs on his arms stood on end although he didn’t seem otherwise affected by the cold.
“I should have bought you a sweatshirt.”
He tugged her close. “You can keep me warm.”
“You don’t have to walk me to work.” But if she were honest with herself, she wasn’t ready to let him go. A few more minutes of his captivating smile would make the rest of her day so much better.
“I know, but I want to.”
Normally, she would have pulled away. Ash was a stranger, but there was an easiness between them, a familiarity she hadn’t experienced in a long time. And it was cold, the perfect excuse to snuggle into the warmth of his body.
He brought her to the doors of the emergency department and pulled up short, giving a low whistle. “Big place.”
Empty ambulances filled two of the five loading bays.
She pulled him over to the staff entrance, an awning sheltering them from the cold.
With a practiced flick of her badge, she activated the exterior security lock that opened the outer set of doors.
She gestured for him to follow her inside to the small antechamber.
For a moment, the world narrowed down to the two of them.
One set of doors led to the frigid world outside.
The other set would take her into the chaos of one of the country’s busiest trauma centers.
But, for now, they were alone. Sadly, their time was almost at an end.
She tried to memorize the planes of his face and the hard angle of his jaw.
He pressed the pad of his thumb against her lower lip. “I feel bad about your drink.”
Her knees nearly bucked, weakened under the press of that thumb. He had found a way inside her private bubble, and the way he took her in with those mesmerizing eyes made her world tilt and tremble.
When he cupped her jaw, her stomach tumbled. Pressing her palm to her belly did nothing to calm the riot going on in there.
And then it happened. His eyes shifted between her mouth and her eyes, and he leaned in for a kiss.