Cerise joined in the laughter. “Because you’re engaged to my best friend, I’ll give you another chance.”
He brushed a hand across his forehead. “Phew. I would hate to perform a surgery on someone and then leave a glitter trail inside of them.”
“Yeah, probably not a good look.” A wave of tiredness swept over her and her side began to ache—a constant reminder of her past injury. She pushed it aside. She had another couple of hoursto get through and then she could go home, soak in a bath, and collapse into bed.
“And speak of the devil, how you doing, Dice?”
With her back to the door, she hadn’t realized a newcomer had arrived. Not to mention it was the person she and Mitch had been talking about. For some inexplicable reason her heart rate kicked up a notch and the pain in her side seemed to fade away.
“Tired, Mitch, but it’s a good tired.”
Knowing she was being rude by standing there with her back to him, she gripped her water a little tighter before turning, keeping her gaze on a spot over his shoulder. She wasn’t sure she was ready to make eye contact, not after almost losing her composure in the car when their gazes connected the first time. “Hello again, Brodie.” Good, her voice was steady and strong.
“Hey, Cerise. Any news on our victim?” He walked a little farther into the room.
“She’s still in surgery from what I understand.” The closer he got to her, the more she couldn’t avoid looking directly at him. The second she did, a buzzing sounded in her ears and her skin prickled in awareness.
What the heck is going on with me?
Seconds ticked by as she and Brodie continued to look at each other. Finally a clearing of a throat penetrated the fog that seemed to have surrounded her. She pulled her gaze away from Brodie and over to Mitch, who was watching the byplay between the two of them with interest.
Great. He’d tell Nadia and then she would ply her with twenty questions, but Cerise couldn’t explain anything to her best friend when she didn’t understand it herself.
“Well, I need to get back to it. I’ll see you later, Cerise.”
“Later, Mitch.”
“Dice, I’ll probably see you out at the ranch. Nadia and I are coming over for a late breakfast once we finish our shift here.”
“Sounds good, Mitch.”
Mitch walked out of the room. Then it was just the two of them and the air around them seemed to thicken. So clichéd but also the truth.
Her knees locked together as Brodie walked toward her. “You have a little something,” he reached out and brushed his thumb gently across her cheek. The tingles returned to her skin, but only in the area he touched.
He held his thumb up to the light and she could see the sparkle from the tiny spec. “Glitter? I’m surprised you’re allowed to wear glitter in the ER,” he murmured.
Normally, she was never short of a word or snappy comeback, but somehow, right this second, her mind was blank like a white board at the end of the school year. All she could concentrate on was the tender touch and how strong and handsome he looked.
In the confines of the smashed vehicle, she hadn’t been able to see that he was quite tall. His shoulders were broad and she could easily imagine him decked out in tight jeans, a nice button-down shirt, wearing boots and a cowboy hat.
She took a deep breath and a step back, which was enough to jolt her mind into action. “It’s only a sliver of glitter. I’ve yet to leave any on a patient.”
“Good to know. I like it,” he said, with a smile that crinkled his eyes and showcased a dimple hiding in his cheek.
God, she was a sucker for a dimple. “Thanks. Glitter is life. You can never have too much of it.”
Crap on a cracker. Did I really say that out loud?
Brodie laughed at the same time as the radio clipped to his belt crackled to life. “I’ll take your word for it. See you around, Sparkles.”
Her insides warmed at the nickname he bestowed upon her. “Bye, Dice.”
The farewell popped out of her, as natural as breathing. Okay then, maybe she could call him by his nickname. And she really did hope she would see him again.
CHAPTER THREE
The powerof Whiskey between his thighs as they thundered together over the plains chasing down a stray cow, was something Brodie would never tire of experiencing. The beast had taken off in the opposite direction from the rest of the herd they were rounding up. He’d left the guests participating in the exercise with Jed, the other ranch hand he was working with. The horse’s natural instinct kicked in when Brodie gave him a slight nudge in the flank, and the change of direction was effortless. Two minutes later he was trotting back up to the group, with the rogue cow hanging its head in shame because its escape attempt had been thwarted.
