But Ava was right. He couldn’t keep putting it off.
Magnus slid his hand down her arm, over soft, smooth skin, and stopped when his hand covered her much smaller one over his heart.
He remained like that for a moment, pretending this was a lover’s embrace, that he was comforting Ava and she was comforting him. He wanted nothing more than to move past this friendship and jump feet first into something more with her. However, Ava had lived through hell and come out the other side. She had healed on the outside, but he knew the damage to the inside was still a bloody, gaping wound that would continue to fester until she sought treatment for it, too.
“I’ll go back to work under one condition.”
She tilted her head back to peer up at his face. He glanced down, forcing his eyes to remain on hers and not lingering on her soft lips. He’d never kissed her, but he’d wanted to so many times.
“What condition’s that?”
“You call Dr. Briggs and see if you can get an appointment.”
Ava huffed, but she didn’t pull away.
“Even if you make it for a month from now, you need to take that step.”
“Okay.”
He held her stare. “Promise?”
Ava tapped his chin. “I said I’d do it. Don’t push the issue.”
Magnus smiled, then leaned down and kissed her nose. “Fair enough.”
***
“Hey, Trey. Would you mind doing eveningmeds?”
Trey poked his head out of the small laundry room as Gia strolled past. “No problem. You headin’ out?”
“Not for another hour, but I need to go through the SAR training schedule for next week.”
“I’ll get it done,” he assured her and went back to folding the towels they used to clean up spills and messes.
“Thank you!”
“Yep,” he muttered to himself even as he smiled.
He found it amusing how these mundane tasks made him feel useful in a way he’d never felt at his previous jobs. Having been a security guard at various hotels for most of his adult life, he’d never had to care much for anyone but himself. Here he had four-legged canines to keep him company all day, and they gave him purpose, even if it was cleaning up after them.
Once the towels were folded, he carried them to the storage closet and placed them neatly on the shelves. With that task out of the way, he turned to go to the medical supply closet, only to come up short when he saw Magnus blocking his path.
“Everything okay?” Trey asked, surprised to see Magnus in the building. The man hadn’t left Ava’s side in months.
“Ava kicked me out.”
He couldn’t help it; he laughed. Trey had been expecting her to drop the hammer down sooner rather than later. Although she’d been a good sport about Magnus waiting on her hand and foot, he’d sensed the woman was hoping for a little more breathing room.
“What can I help with?” Magnus offered.
Realizing he was staring at Magnus as though seeing him for the first time, Trey looked away. “Ask Gia. I’ve gotta get the meds; then I’m headin’ out.”
Unfortunately, he had to walk toward Magnus to get where he was going, and the man didn’t make it easy on him, refusing to move out of the way. Trey had to brush against him as he slipped past, but he forced himself to do it, pretending not to notice the way his body hardened from that simple touch.
He really was fucked up when it came to Magnus. Didn’t matter how many talks he’d given himself over the last few months, Trey was still hanging on to something that was no longer there.
Just as he stepped past Magnus, the man grabbed hold of his wrist.
