Page 57 of Forever Offsides

“He’s so hot.” Valerie fans her face. “And clearly wants you back.”

“Last I checked, this isn’t General Hospital, and we’re not a soap opera. We have a patient on the table who deserves all of our attention.”

Shockingly, they let it go. The surgical fellow is up in the gallery ‘observing’ the surgery, which isn’t protocol, but he trusts me and my work enough at this point that he can get administrative stuff done while I work. Once he gives me the thumbs-up, we send the patient to the PACU, and I go to scrub out.

“Should I keep the sharps from you?” Sandra asks.

“Nah. I won’t kill him here. Too many witnesses and people who could save him.” I wink at her, toss my paper towels in the trash, and go toward the nurse’s station, expecting to find him there, but I don’t get that far. He’s off to the side, leaning against a wall and talking on the phone. The bridge of his nose is a dark purple that matches two streaks under each eye. Crew really nailed him.

He spots me, says something into his phone, then tucks it in his pocket before offering me a smile.

“I got you this.” He extends his hand with a to-go cup of coffee in it. “It might be a bit cold now. You were in there longer than I expected.”

I don’t take the coffee. Instead, I ask, “What are you doing here?”

His smile slips, and he glances around, noting the people coming and going who are watching us without attempting to disguise it. “Do you get a break?”

“Not really.”

He sighs. “Come on, Quinn. Give me five minutes.”

I walk past him and head for the double doors at the end of the floor. I hit the pad, and they swing open. He’s behind me but quickly falls in beside me as I climb onto the elevator.

“You look cute,” he says in a low tone, and I twist to glare at him.

“Pardon?”

He waves his finger at my cap and scrubs. “I never got to see you like this. All doctored up. It’s a cute look on you.”

“Cute?”

Now I sound like Rhett, which actually makes me laugh, considering what I called cute on him. “I’m a surgeon, not a candy striper.”

He holds up his hand as other people climb onto the elevator, crowding us back. “Fine. Not cute. Cool. Badass. Fierce.” He eyes me up and down. “Don’t slice off my nuts for saying this, but you look beautiful too. Really beautiful.”

I should have accepted something sharp from Sandra.

“You don’t get to say that to me.”

He grunts, and we’re quiet the rest of the way until we reach the ground floor. He follows me outside, annoyed that I brought him here.

“Can’t we talk inside? Where it’s cooler.”

“No. I don’t want you in my hospital, and it’s easier to get rid of you if you’re already out here instead of in there.”

His hands dive through his hair, and he paces for a moment. “Fine. Out here. I have two things to tell you, and then I’ll be on my way.”

I pan a hand toward him, indicating he has the floor.

He stops pacing and stands directly in front of me, forcing me to look up at him. “The first is that the trade went through, and I’m officially a Boston Rebel again.”

I don’t react. Crew texted me this morning about that. I already knew.

“And the second?”

His eyes flicker back and forth between mine. “I’m sorry.”

“For?”