“I’m sorry, Miles, but I’m going to have to cancel today. I’m not feeling well and?—”
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” His voice turns serious.
Rolling over on the cold tile floor, I lie. “Yeah, yep. I’m fine. I just have the touch of the flu, that’s all. I’ll be fine next week when we’re back on our normal schedule.”
“What’s your address?” he cuts me off.
“Why do you need to know my address?”
“Because no one has ‘a touch of the flu’ and I want to make sure you’re okay. Now, your address, doc?”
I sigh and use the back of my hand to wipe my forehead. “I’m not giving you my address, Miles. I told you I’m fine. I’ll call my parents. The minute they hear I’m sick the three of them will be rushing over ready to play Ms. Doubtfire.”
“Hanna, if you don’t tell me where you live I’ll get it from Coop. He’s a cop, it won’t take him much to look you up and tell me where you live,” he argues.
It’s sweet that he cares this much. Wait, no, it’s not. He is apatientand I cannot let my patients be sweet towards me.
“I’m pretty sure there’s some sort of something illegal in that.” If I had more energy my banter would be better but since I’m pretty sure I’m going to get sick again, this is the best I’ve got.
“Who would you rather have come and check on you: me or all three of your parents?”
I can just see the smirk on his face—tipped up in thecorner, showing off a hint of his smile and the chipped tooth he has. Maybe one day he’ll tell me how he got it.
I sigh again. “I’ll text it to you.”
“See, now was that so hard?” he teases. “If you don’t text me in the next five minutes, I’m calling Coop and having him pull your driver’s license information. Think about how not fun it would be if multiple cruisers were sitting outside your building and the cops came knocking on your door.”
“Whatever you say, fireman. Key is under the mat, you can let yourself in,” I say as my eyes start to feel heavier and heavier. I try to focus on how nice the cold tile feels against my burning skin and wonder how long it’ll be before he’s here. I tell myself I need to get back in bed but the floor feels so nice.
Maybe just five minutes, I tell myself.Five minutes would be okay, right?
“Hanna,”I hear his voice calling out to me. It’s deep and makes my insides warm but not in the ‘I’m sick and feel like shit kinda way.’ Warm in a kind of way you want to feel all night long and every day if possible.
“Miles,” I hum back, almost moaning.
“Hanna,” he says again, only this time he feels closer. This is a pretty wild fever dream I’m having because I can almost feel him touching me. My arms, then my head, then he’s holding my cheeks, framing my face and leaning in closer. The closer he gets, the more I can smell his aftershave and the more lost in the fantasy I get. My insides buzz with an energy I haven’t felt in what feels like forever and I want nothing more than for him to kiss me.
“Please, I want you to kiss me,” I whisper, pushing my face closer to his.
A low, comfortable chuckle sends a fresh wave of energy through me. “Maybe another time, doc. Come on, we need to get you off the floor.”
It’s then that it hits me that this isn’t a dream. This is a real life, Miles-is-talking-to-me moment and I justbegged him to kiss me.Pushing my eyes open, I’m surprised to see his massive frame crouching over me, a smile painted across his lips. I reach for his forehead and push a piece of hair out of the way to confirm I’m not hallucinating and sure enough, I’m not.
“Why are you standing over me like that?” I ask. My throat feels like someone’s rubbed it raw with sandpaper. I crush my eyes closed at the pain the bright bathroom lights are inducing.
“Because when I came in I found you on the floor. I wanted to make sure you hadn’t fallen or hit your head. Youdidn’tfall and hit your head, did you? I have a few concussion tests we can go through if you did. Carter or Willow could come check on you, too, for an official diagnosis.” While his tone is serious, there’s a hint of humor in it that makes me smile.
“Do you have someone on speed dial for everything?”
“Kind of, yeah.” He shrugs. “Carter is an EMT turned firefighter and Coop is a cop. His sister, Willow, is a nurse and my mom, Ivy, well she’s a mom and moms know everything.”
“You’ll have to tell me more about them. They sound like really nice people.”
“One day, doc, one day. First let’s get you off the floor and into your bed, it’ll be far more comfortable there.”
“If you say so,” I grumble.
Before I can push myself up and stand, he’s looping an arm under my shoulders and another under my waist. “Are you okay if I lift you?”
