TWO
Oaklee
“Ummm…is that guy for real?”
Allison snorts before grabbing her drink and sipping. “Oh, he is. Cade is the king flirt and completely full of himself. From what I’ve seen, he’s harmless though.”
I glance back over my shoulder, feeling his intense blue eyes on me. He’s leaning against the bar, sipping from a beer bottle. His gaze is locked on mine as his twin brother talks to him. He has to be his twin, because they’re identical. Well, nearly identical, though their hair is cut a bit different and Cade looks a bit more sun-kissed and weathered than his brother.
“So, tell me about your boyfriend,” Allison states, drawing me away from the man who has completely captured my attention.
I stifle a sigh and paste on a wide smile. “He’s originally from Cincinnati, the youngest of five kids. He moved to North Ridge for his residency in medical school and stayed.”
“A doctor,” she replies with a beaming smile. “How long have you been dating?”
I swallow over the sudden lump in my throat. “Six years, off and on.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s quite a while.”
I nod.
“Yeah. I had just graduated nursing school, and he was starting med school. He was awarded an internship in rural medicine and began shadowing the physicians at the clinic I was working at. We hit it off right away, but between his schooling and our work schedules, it’s been difficult to maintain our relationship,” I tell her, my throat thick with emotion as I think back over the last six years.
If I’m being honest, I’ve felt like this relationship reached a dead end about four months ago, and I was preparing to end it with him. He started working at North Ridge Medical and moved, leaving me behind in a lonely apartment and surrounded by the dreams I always wanted but kept putting off. We would go days and days without communication. Well, he wouldn’t communicate. My texts went unanswered, and my calls not returned for small stretches of time, and I tried not to complain. I knew he was busy. He was working his ass off, every day reaching for the degree he strived to achieve. He rarely invited me to join him for the weekend, because he was either working or wanted to sleep.
Then, during one of our rare phone conversations, he asked me to move.
Not with him, of course, because he has a small studio apartment near the hospital used by medical staff, but whatever.
Finally, I felt like a future staring at us both was within my grasp.
It took a little time to make it all happen. I had to contact my apartment manager and get out of my lease. Fortunately, living near a college and hospital made it easy. They allowed me to break my contract without a hefty fee, so all I had left was to quit my job and pack up my belongings.
When Allison reached out to tell me about the available RN position at North Ridge Medical of Cooper Town, a short twenty-minute drive from North Ridge, where Lance was working and living, I readily submitted my résumé. The smaller, neighboring town appealed to me much more than the bigger city, even though there were job listings posted for the hospital itself. However, I wanted to avoid working directly with Lance. It’s always been important to me to maintain a boundary between personal and professional. Just because I date someone doesn’t mean I want to work with them on a daily basis.
I’ve seen too much reality TV to put myself through that.
“I can understand that. Relationships are hard regardless. I can’t imagine adding distance and crazy-busy jobs on top of it,” she replies.
I nod, taking another drink of my beer. “How about you? Anyone special you’re seeing?” I ask, loving catching up with an old friend.
“Not right now. After my marriage to Zack ended, I’ve been hesitant to get back on the horse again,” she says with a chuckle. “Plus, I know everyone here, and frankly, there’s just no single guys I’m interested in.”
I glance back over my shoulder toward Cade, who is still standing at the bar talking to his twin brother and the woman bartender. As if sensing my eyes, he glances toward me and smiles. “What about Cade?” I ask, returning my attention to my friend.
“Uhh, no thanks. He always seemed like a good guy, but he’s not my type.”
Handsome with a killer smile and body isn’t your type?
I don’t reply, just take a few seconds to enjoy the atmosphere. Allison suggested we get together for dinner and a few drinks, and I’m glad she recommended this place. The other bar didn’t sound too bad, but I prefer the casual, laid-back vibe I get from here. Plus, the eye candy isn’t terrible either.
The moment I think it, I feel guilty. Lance seems to be making more of an effort lately where our relationship is concerned, and I should focus on that, not the hot guy across the bar. Of course, I’m not doing anything wrong. I turned down every advance Cade made, including his offer to dance, and I told him I’m in a relationship. While he might have flirted a bit, he seemed to respect that enough not to make an ass out of himself or make our exchange uncomfortable. He’s just a flirt, that much is evident, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
We spend the next forty-five minutes catching up, and I have to be honest, I feel very comfortable here, and I’m not just referring to the bar. The entire town feels like home, and I’ve only been here since this morning.
When the clinical manager for the hospital, Dina, called me to set up the interview, the doctor in charge of the clinic agreed to meet with me after he was done seeing patients on a Saturday. That worked out perfectly for me, so I wasn’t required to take any time off from my other job. Even though they know I’m leaving and relocating, I wanted to avoid putting them in a bind during a workday.
So, I arrived in town just before noon and took a quick little drive through the downtown area before locating the clinic where I was interviewing. In addition to Dina, I met with Dr. Houston, who is the physician I would be working with daily, and it was a great interview. They presented an offer on the spot and granted me the rest of the weekend to think about it, with the promise of calling them Monday to either accept or decline.
