Page 5 of Sweet Heart

“Mary?”

Fuck.

“Doctor, if you feel I mistreated a personal connection, we could—”

“You didn’t,” I snap. “She was a patient in acute need of care. You disregarded that.”

“I did no such thing.” Her voice rises, and she pushes herself out of the chair, her chest heaving. “You might be the Chief, Doctor, but I still know what I am doing. I did not misassess any pat—”

“You didn’t assess her at all. That’s the problem, Nurse Wilder. Now sit back down, do your job, and if I ever catch you disregarding patients again, any patient, you won’t be working my ER anymore. Do I make myself clear?”

The nurse grits her teeth so hard I can hear her molars grind against each other. She lets out a loud, sharp breath through her nose and glares at me before she finally sits down.

“Yes, Doctor.”

I take no satisfaction in her confirmation, but simply nod in return. This reprimand is enough of a warning, and writing her up isn’t going to help any of us. My message was received loud and clear.

By the time I pass through the sliding doors to the exam rooms, my hands have unclenched and my thoughts have calmed. This wasn’t about the patient at all. It was simply frustration with the incompetence of my staff and my fear of how this reflects on our hospital, which is probably the reason for my confusion. And it has nothing to do with those piercing blue eyes that looked right into your soul.

I feel my pulse flutter right before I open the door. If it weren’t for that extremely low reading, I would have left it to the nurse to wrap things up. But I can’t risk that. Especially not after what happened at the desk.

I brace myself and step back inside the room, where, as soon as her eyes find mine, she flashes me that incredulous, taunting smile. A smile that makes my breath stutter. I swallow and march back to the screen to hide it. A soft huff behind me tells me that I might not have been as successful as I had hoped.

“How are you feeling?” I ask in a surprisingly steady voice.

“Like I could walk for another hour or two.”

I instantly spin around, my eyes already blazing. She is grinning, and she gently bites the corner of her bottom lip. Seeing her teeth scrape the skin sends a shiver down my spine and goosebumps up my arms. Joder… She sees it. Of course she does.

I monitor her glucose again, press a juice box into her hand, and sit down to watch her drink it. She scowls at me as she sips. When she’s finished, she squeezes the package triumphantly and flashes me a proud smile.

“Do you tend to make a habit of punishing your body?”

Her smile falters as I raise my eyebrow, and she swallows hard. For a moment, she seems to be frozen in place, but then raises her chin and huffs out a sarcastic laugh through her nose.

“Funny how you call it punishing when I call it upkeep.”

Her eyes sparkle again, almost daring me to disagree. The doctor in me bristles. I know some patients disregard their bodies’ needs because they don’t care. But there is something different about the way Mary calls it upkeep. It’s not callousness underneath, it’s fear.

“Eat regularly,” I say in a flat voice. “And monitor more often. You are harming yourself by letting your body crash.”

She blinks once and then shrugs.

“It’s not that simple.”

The statement comes out soft but clear, and I instantly search her face. She has dropped her gaze, and there is a soft frown that disappears almost instantly again.

“It is,” I say, stepping a little closer. My nearness is enough to make her eyes meet mine. I hold her gaze for a beat before I continue. “You just have to allow yourself to be taken care of.”

The tiniest shudder pulses through Mary’s body, and there is a tight silence between us. For a brief moment, I can see straight through her bravado, but before it can touch anything, her smile slides back into place.

“Well, Doctora,” she teases, and my traitorous body instantly responds to it. “I will do my very best not to die.”

She flashes me another stupid grin, and I feel it hit my core. Stupid freaking pheromones. I grit my teeth and nod.

“You do that. Come back in three days for a recheck.”

Her eyes widen, and she huffs out another soft laugh.