That shouldn’t make my body tremble, but it does.
I shake my head.“No, but thank you, we’ll order together.”
Leon nods.“I’ll come over and take your order in just a moment.”
I move toward Adrian.He’s chosen a table away from the main crowd, far enough from the sports fanatics that we won’t have to yell to be heard, but not secluded enough to draw attention.It’s a good spot.
“Hi.”My voice comes out a little breathless.I hate that.
Adrian rises from his seat, giving me a full view of him.He’s changed out of his usual work attire.No suit and tie.Just dark blue jeans and a fitted charcoal shirt, the sleeves rolled up his forearms.Relaxed but still devastatingly good-looking.
“You look beautiful,” he says with a warm smile.
“Thanks.”I unbutton my coat, draping it over the back of the chair.He pulls it out for me—a simple gesture, but one that sends a strange tug through my chest.I sit, and he pushes the chair in slightly before taking his own seat.
“Leon said he’ll come over to take our orders soon.”
“Okay.”Adrian’s smiling, but there’s something in his eyes… something tired and distant.
“Rough day?”
He sighs, leaning forward slightly.The table between us is small, leaving little space.My arms rest against the wood, and his aren’t far from mine.
“Interesting,” he says finally.
“Interesting good or interesting bad?”
He doesn’t get a chance to answer before Leon arrives with a small bowl of complimentary nuts.We place our drink orders—Beer for him, white wine for me.Adrian orders us an appetizer.I add to it, because somehow, I already know we’ll be here for a while.
Once Leon leaves, Adrian runs a hand over his jaw.I notice the stubble there, darker now under the tavern’s light, and for a second, I wonder how it would feel against my skin.
I shove that thought aside when he speaks.
“So, there was a problem at work,” he starts.“An elderly patient came in with pain, but showing signs of confusion.My gut said something else was going on, but my superior ordered me to discharge her.”He pauses, eyes dropping to his hands, which are tapping the table.“He said that confusion comes with being old.”
Leon brings the drinks over and then quickly leaves again.Adrian immediately takes a long pull from his drink as if he needs it to steady himself.I stay quiet, eating nuts and just listening as I try to process this new information.This isn’t the doctor I’ve been writing about.The man sitting across from me is talking about gut instincts and patient care.
“I couldn’t do it.So I ordered more tests anyway.”His jaw tightens.“Turned out, she had a severe UTI that was causing early signs of sepsis.If I’d discharged her like he wanted…” He shakes his head.“She could’ve died at home.”
His words settle heavy in my chest.This Adrian genuinely cares about his patients and isn’t the controversial doctor I thought he was.
The weight of holding that type of responsibility, having to choose between following orders and potentially letting someone die, I can’t even imagine.“But you saved her.”
“This time.But it gets me in my own head, you know?Makes me doubt myself.After my past mistake, I sometimes wonder if I’m just stubborn or if I actually know what I’m doing.”He meets my eyes briefly.“I don’t like following orders when they feel wrong.That’s what got me in trouble before.”
That earns a small smirk from me.“Yeah, I kind of gathered that.”
He huffs a quiet laugh.
Holding his gaze, I feel exposed under his attention, those blue eyes seeing right through me.I was wrong and force myself to say what I’ve been thinking.“There’s one person I trust when it comes to judging character, and that’s Keith.If he believes in you, then I do too.If he wants you at his practice—the most important thing to him—then I trust that you’re not some reckless doctor who doesn’t care.And in the time I’ve spent with you, I see it too.You care.You’ve been kind to me and to my family.If you were truly an ass, you would’ve been an asshole to all of us.But you haven’t been.That tells me something.”
The words hang between us, my cheeks heat from the possibility of saying too much.
Adrian watches me, like he’s searching for the right words but can’t quite find them.Something flickers across his face, surprise, maybe?Before he looks down at his hands.
I take a slow sip of my wine, letting the rich, sweet taste settle on my tongue before setting the glass down.Across from me, Adrian leans back slightly, rolling his beer bottle between his fingers.His eyes lock on mine as he takes another swig, setting the bottle down with a quiet thump.
The silence stretches, thick with unspoken thoughts.Finally, he clears his throat, as if shaking himself from whatever internal debate he’s having.“I keep thinking about what you said about whether I belong here.Moments like today remind me of why I became a doctor in the first place.The patients here are just so humble, and it makes going to work easy.”Adrian takes another swig of his beer before setting it down.“Anyway, how was your day?”
