“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s step inside the exam room, and you can give me the update there.”
Tension fills my entire body, but the only reaction I give is a polite nod.
Something tells me Cade and Lance in the same small space together won’t have a good outcome.
And I’ll be right there, in the middle.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Cade
A knock sounds on the door, and the moment Lance walks in, I want to punch him. There’s something in his smug demeanor that instantly rattles me. Just laying my eyes on him for a second has my hands balled into fists and red-hot anger washing through me. I’m sure if I didn’t know about his past with Oaklee, I wouldn’t quite feel this harshly about him, but I’m certain I would have pegged him for an asshole regardless.
“Mr. Miller, I’m Dr. Williams. Nice to meet you,” he says politely, yet I don’t get any of warm fuzzies from this guy. I also can’t help but notice how he emphasizes his title, like him being a doctor immediately makes him superior to everyone else.
Fucker.
“Call me Cade,” I reply, leaving off the part about it being nice to meet him too.
It’s not.
He pulls out the tray beneath my legs, extending them forward. “Can you tell me what happened?” he asks, looking at my cut.
I run through the details, keeping them basic and to the point.
“So,” he starts, walking over and washing his hands in the little sink before placing gloves on his hands. “You’re a construction worker, huh?” His eyes hold a touch of humor, like he finds the fact I’m in that line of work to be far beneath him.
“I am,” I reply proudly. I won’t degrade what I do, not to him and not to anyone else. My job is hard, challenging, and rewarding. Not to mention I work outside in the heat of summer and, at times, the cold of winter, often as vehicles and semis race past me on the interstate.
He moves the flesh around the wound to get a look inside. I’ll admit, it doesn’t feel the best, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to show any sign of weakness where this guy is concerned.
“Nurse, let’s get a suture kit and lidocaine. It looks like five or six stitches are needed to close the wound properly.”
I don’t know if he’s trying to sound professional or what, but referring to Oaklee by her title instead of her name pisses me off even more.
“Of course,” she responds politely, excusing herself to exit the room.
He examines my injury a bit more, the silence in the room almost deafening before he says without looking up at me, “So, I hear we have some common interests.”
“Yeah? What’s that? You like fishing and camping too?” I ask, knowing full well that’s not what he means, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to make this easy on him.
He makes a face of annoyance. “No, I don’t have time for things like that. Being a doctor is very time-consuming.”
“I’m sure it is,” I reply, hoping he gets to his point soon.
“I hear you’re friends with Oaklee.”
“You seem to hear a lot,” I reply, crossing my arms over my chest.
“This small-town thing is foreign to me. Everyone talks,” he states, finally scooting back on his little stool and meeting my gaze.
I just stare back at him, refusing to acknowledge his statement.
He sighs and crosses his arms. “Look, Cade, I understand your attraction to her. She’s hot. But Oaklee can be…difficult.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Difficult? Yeah, I suppose finding your boyfriend having an affair and breaking up with him would be cause for being labeled problematic.”
