“I’ll see you both soon.” He kissed Kayden and took the lunch from me. “Thank you.”
Kayden offered me his elbow, just like he’d done four years ago, and my heart fluttered. “So, do you kick and scream? Cry? Try to punch the nurse? What’s your go-to reaction?” he asked.
I laughed and looped my arm through his. “I close my eyes and tense up so bad the nurse scolds me and I try really hard not to cry but rarely succeed.”
“Piece of cake, Olivia,” Kayden said as we left Jace behind. “Sounds just like my reaction to public transportation.”
He glanced at me as we walked to the elevator. “How did you get that nose ring if you’re afraid of needles?”
I pulled it off and frowned. “Clip-on. I like the way it looks but a needle to the face was a no-go for me.”
“Well, I think it’s extremely attractive and I can give you a dozen reasons why you probably made a smart choice.”
I popped the nose ring back on, leaned against his shoulder, and took note of the way my heart fluttered in his presence just like it had four years ago.Well, that’s interesting.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Olivia
“Do you have anappointment?” the receptionist at the doctor’s office asked.
“Yes. Olivia Riley,” I said. I looked up at Kayden who stood next to me, looking far more tense now than he had on the walk here.
The receptionist asked a few questions to confirm my identity and then handed me a form. “Fill this out and then get in line over there.” She pointed to the left side of the waiting room where a small line of people waited to see one of the four nurses sitting in makeshift, partitioned cubicles in the part of the room that had been converted into a flu clinic. I’d specifically signed up to come during a flu clinic rather than scheduling an appointment with my primary care doctor because I’d hoped I’d be in and out without a whole lot of fanfare.
“Do you have an appointment as well?” the receptionist asked Kayden.
“Oh God, no.” He shook his head rapidly and I suppressed a smirk at the obvious panic on his face. “I’ve already gotten mine and once a year is more than enough. Thank you.”
He put a hand on the small of my back and we stepped to the side of the reception desk where a table was set up for form completion.
I looked up at him as he dropped his hand.
“Are you doing okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “I might be doing better than you. You look terrified.”
He chuckled and adjusted his glasses. “Terrified is a strong word. Let’s go with radically uncomfortable.”
“About what?”
“I hate doctors’ offices. Too many sick people and germs. People coughing everywhere.” He shuddered and looked around. There was a regular waiting room on the other side of the desk where people seemed to be waiting for their provider and Kayden eyed them skeptically.
“Would you consider yourself a germaphobe?” I asked, trying to understand if this was a doctor’s office thing or a germ thing.
He shook his head. “That’s not what it’s called. Mysophobia; that’s the fear of germs and bacteria. And yes.”
I grabbed a pen and started quickly answering the questions on the form as I responded, “Then why did you come with me if you knew this was going to be a trigger for you?”
“Because I didn’t want you to do something that made you so anxious alone. There’s nothing worse than having to do something you’re terrified of alone after you thought you’d have company.”
“But you’reradically uncomfortable,” I said, setting the pen down and smiling at him. “I would have been okay. You didn’t have to suffer for me.”
“I’m fine, Olivia. I’m here for you and I can manage my own discomfort,” he said with a smile.
I took his hand, my skin tingling and my pulse increasing as I threaded my fingers through his. “Okay, well, I can’t. So how about you hold my hand to calm me down and if it justso happensto calm you down too, then so be it.”
His smile grew. “I can do that.”
