Beth turned toward the voice—Crystal, walking through the employee lot beside Dr. Eric Sheppard.
Before she could respond, her stomach lurched, and she lost the breakfast she didn’t have all over Eric’s spotless shoes.
“Great. Haven’t even started my shift and I’m already covered in puke. Thanks,” Eric muttered, clearly disgusted.
Crystal wrinkled her nose and took a long step back.
Beth swayed, trying to steady herself, and Crystal’s eyes narrowed.
“Looks like Little Miss ‘I’m Too Good to Drink’ finally fell from grace,” she said, voice dripping with sarcasm as her gaze swept over Beth’s pale face, bloodied temple, and damp scrubs.
Beth blinked at her. “I wasn’t drinking. I overslept.”
Crystal’s smirk didn’t budge. “Riiight. Maybe next time pace yourself,Sweetheart.”
She turned to Eric. “You’ve got this, right?”
Before he could answer, she spun on her heel and walked off toward the building.
Eric sighed, crouched to grab Beth’s keys, and helped her up.
“Let’s get you inside. That cut needs to be checked. Once it’s cleaned, you need to go home and crawl back into bed. Working hungover is a bad idea. Besides—you look awful.”
“Thanks. Your bedside manner is truly something special. And I’m not hungover. I swear—I wasn’t drinking. I just woke up late.”
Eric raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue.
“Dr. Jensen?”
Bryce looked up from a chart. The voice belonged to Kim Ontario, one of the best nurses on the graveyard shift. She’d just returned from a month-long vacation, and he was genuinely relieved to have her back.
He’d gotten a call around 1:00 AM to cover for Dr. Gibson, who had left suddenly for a family emergency. Bryce didn’t ask for details, but he suspected it had something to do with Gibson’s rebellious teenage son.
“Have you seen Beth yet this morning?” Kim asked casually, though a knowing smile tugged at her lips. She made a point of using only Beth’s first name—and wasn’t surprised when it caught Bryce’s attention.
He hesitated. He knew Kim and Beth were friends, but after a long week and more than one graveyard shift, he’d forgotten they were also roommates. Still, he wouldn’t have pegged Kim as a gossip—but her tone and smile felt loaded.
It was only Kim’s first night back, but she would’ve had to be blind not to notice the changes in Bryce. Even if she’d missed it, the other nurses hadn’t. The gossip mill was running full speed, trying to figure out what—orwho—had brought on said changes.
Kim had steered clear of the break room whispers, even though she had her own juicy intel that her roommate was thewhobehind it.
At one point during the night, she and Bryce had ended up at a vending machine at the same time. When he pulled out his wallet, Kim caught a glimpse of a photo tucked inside—it was the two of them in Vegas. Beth had her arms raised, a radiant smile splitting her face. Bryce stood beside her, one hand in his pocket, the other wrapped around her, pulling her close. He looked like a man who had found his whole world and didn’t want to let go.
Kim had been so stunned, she punched in the wrong numbers and ended up with onion chips instead of the chocolate she’d been craving.
When Kim left a month ago, Beth had never even been to Vegas. So, the picture had to be from the medical convention they had just attended. Her friend had some explaining to do.
Now, standing in front of Bryce and watching the way he tried not to react to the mention of her friend, Kim smiled.
“No, I haven’t seen her,” Bryce said, shaking his head. “Even if she’s running late, I wouldn’t worry. If you need to head out, we should be fine.”
“Oh no, she’s already here. I was just wondering if you’d talked to her yet.”
Bryce narrowed his eyes, suddenly wary. Kim was fishing. “Is there a reason I should have?”
Kim hesitated before flashing a bright smile. “Not at all. Just wanted to let you know I’m happy to stay and work the morning shift, too. Extra cash after a vacation, you know?”
He didn’t buy it. “Kim, what are you not saying?”
