He let out a genuine laugh that made something warm bloom in my chest. “Mean to you? When was I ever mean to you, Mireya?”
“It was during my second week in a bypass surgery. You asked for retraction, and I gave you a slightly wrong angle. You looked at me like I had committed a crime and said that remedial anatomy might be beneficial for me.”
He winced. "I said that to you?"
"Word for word."
"That was horrible."
“It was. I went home that night and cried.”
He cupped my cheek tenderly. "I'm so sorry."
“It's fine now. I got over it.” I offered him a playful smile. “I just decided you were an arrogant surgeon with nice cheekbones and a terrible personality.”
He chuckled. “I deserved that.”
Riven pulled me closer until our bodies were touching from shoulder to hip. “For what it’s worth, I'm truly sorry for my behavior. I was awful to everyone then.”
“You’re still kind of awful to most people,” I pointed out.
“But am I at least less awful to you now?”
“Only marginally,” I joked.
He smiled against my hair and held me tight. “I’ll take it.”
We lay there quietly while his hand moved in slow strokes down my back. “Emma asked me once if I thought you were handsome,” I mentioned.
“When did she ask you that?”
“It was a few weeks ago, right after you came back from your morning run. You were all sweaty and out of breath.”
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. I changed the subject very quickly."
"Why?"
"Because admitting you were attractive felt dangerous. If I said it out loud, I'd have to acknowledge I'd been noticing you." I looked up at him. "Why are you smiling like that?"
“Because I like the idea of you finding me attractive when I’m sweaty from a run.”
“You’re impossible!” I sighed.
“You like me anyway.”
"The jury's still out."
He laughed again, and I realized I was becoming addicted to that sound. “I always appreciated the quality of your work,” he said. “Even when I was being terrible and pushing you away, you were exceptional.”
The words settled somewhere deep. “Thank you.”
"I mean it. You're the most talented RNFA I've ever worked with. I should’ve told you months ago."
"You were too busy being emotionally unavailable to give compliments."
"Fair point."
