“Wasn’t grateful,” he finishes for me.
My chest hums with pride. He knows all the answers more than he realizes. “He wasn’t. Not at all. He had a very high tolerance to pain and was very quiet with each poke of a needle he received. He barely squirmed when I inserted the catheter too, to get a cleaner sample, so I didn’t bother going through with it.”
“What happened to him?”
“He promised to find me someone better if I didn’t expose him for what he’d done.”
“Was it something he did to you?”
I swallow hard. “Something he was going to do to me, but I was quicker than him. Smarter. And he had a terrible poker face. He was the kind of person who carried all his secrets on the surface, and anyone with a good eye could see it.”
“What about me?”
“You only share just enough and make me work for the rest. You have me on the edge of my seat as I slowly peel each layer to make what I’m already seeing clearer.”
“You’re not easy to figure out either. Probably worse than me.” His gaze doesn’t stray from mine, even when I pull my fingers away.
“The person who truly wants to know me will.”
“I’ve been here a little over a week and I can’t say that I know you.”
“You know all the important things—what matters.”
“I know you’re a doctor and very loyal to your favorite patients.” He takes a breath before continuing. “I know you don’t snore when you sleep, your favorite food is tacos, and you can watchLord of The Ringsevery day without getting bored.”
“Keep going,” I say in an encouraging tone.
“I know that you don’t like being on the phone much or wearing wrinkled clothes or anything that isn’t black, gray, or navy blue.”
I laugh. “Go on.”
“I know you prefer the right side of the bed, using homemade soaps, and only light unscented soy candles. I . . . I . . .” His chest rises and falls heavily. “I know you.”
“Yes.” I smile, tracing the seam of his lips. “You do.”
“You’re a doctor, but practicing in a professional environment isn’t enough for you.”
“It’s not.”
“You don’t see me as your second patient.”
“No,” I say without missing a beat.
“You see me as your only patient.”
“The only one I’ll ever have and want.”
He nods in understanding, hands lowering to fumble with the bottom of his shorts and the string of his pants. “Twelve weeks.”
“What about it?” I cock a brow.
“I don’t think I’ll be ready to leave at least until after that.”
“Then I don’t either.”
He sits up, pressing his back to the couch cushions, and laces his fingers in mine. “Can we go for a walk now?”
“As long as you’re feeling up to it.”
