“Can we just see a doctor really quick? I promise it won’t be a long visit. She just pulled her earring through her ear.”
The woman stares at me blankly before shoving the form in my hands.
We take a seat in the plastic chairs of the waiting room, Steph already bleeding through the tissues I’d grabbed for her.
“Let me grab a few more from the restroom, then I’ll help you fill this out,” I say, placing the clipboard on the chair and hurrying over to the restroom. I grab a huge handful of tissue paper this time, opening the restroom door and running back over to where Steph is seated, my heels clacking loudly on the tile floor. Only now, she’s not alone.
“Hey, I got a lo—Grant? I mean Dr. Rossi?” I trip over my heels and he reaches a hand out to catch me. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I’m a doctor and this is a hospital,” he gestures around with both hands.
“I meant why are you here in the ER. Aren’t you a—” I pause. I have no idea what kind of doctor he is, but I remember August saying he wasn’t an ER physician.
“I was walking through the ER and recognized Stephanie. I was doing rounds up on three, and just needed to stretch my legs. Here, let me take a look,” he says, pulling her hand away. She winces again. “Okay, let me grab a room real quick and I’ll take care of this for you.”
“Thank you,” she says with relief as he gives her hand a squeeze and walks off.
“What are the odds?” I say, huffing in my seat as I hand Steph the tissue. “Such a pompous ass,” I mutter.
“Play nice, Leigh. He’s helping me so we aren’t stuck here for hours,” she whispers as he steps back over to us and ushers us into a patient room. He pulls out a small flashlight and takes a closer look at the situation as Steph explains what happened.
“Okay, nothing serious. I’m going to clean it, which will sting, but then I’ll put a topical numbing agent on it so I can pull the earring back through.”
I watch him maneuver around the room, wheeling over on his stool to the area where the supplies are kept. His long legs encased in black dress pants extend off the stool. If not for his dumpster fire of a personality, Dr. Rossi would be sexy as hell. He glances back over his shoulder, looking directly at me as his eyes leisurely take me in. My cheeks flush when he catches me staring and I have to reassure myself that I didn’t just think those thoughts out loud.
“Having a ladies’ night?”
“Yup,” I say, not elaborating.
“You both look stunning.” He smiles at Steph, who blushes and thanks him while I make no effort to hide my audible scoff.
He pulls his blue latex gloves on slowly, making eye contact with me as he snaps the edge of one against his wrist. “Well, I hope you’re being safe,” he says with a wink, and I can’t hide my repulsion.
I glance over at Steph, who gives me a confused look that’s instantly replaced with a string of curse words as he cleans the wound.
“Let’s give this a minute to take effect,” he says, placing the topical anesthetic to her earlobe before removing his gloves and tossing them in the trash.
“So, doc, you doing anything fun this weekend or just working?” Steph asks cheerfully and I want to kick her.
“As a matter of fact, no, I’m not doing anything fun and I’m not working. My shift is over in about,” he pulls his white sleeve up to look at his watch—a Rolex of course—“two hours.”
“You ever heard of a bar called Death & Co?” she continues on, and now I want to push her off the damn exam table. I cross my legs and my arms, pretty sure I couldn’t look more uptight, but between how cold it is in here and side-eye glances I keep getting from Grant, I’m extremely uncomfortable.
“Afraid not. You ladies hitting it up?” He leans back on the stool, his legs manspreading all over the damn place like a sexy daddy long-legs. What the hell did I just think? I grimace at my own thoughts.
Steph glances over her shoulder at me and I try to wordlessly convey my message of please shut the hell up and don’t you freaking dare invite this maniacal God complex asshole out with us, but instead I just smile at her.
“Yeah, if you’re free tomorrow night, that’s actually where we’ll be. We had planned to go tonight, but obviously not now.” She motions to her ear.
“Speaking of, can you feel this?” He pulls on another glove and gives her lobe a good pinch.
She shakes her head. “Nope.”
“Okay, let’s get this back in the right spot.” Using tweezers, he quickly pulls the earring back through her lobe and applies a bit of medicated ointment.
“It’s going to hurt when the anesthetic wears off, so to reduce that and any swelling or inflammation, take 400 milligrams of an NSAID every four hours. I’ll also send you home with some samples of this antibiotic ointment. If for any reason you do experience a fever or swelling, or if the skin is red and warm to the touch, call me.
He stands up and throws his gloves in the trash again and walks over to the door, placing his hand on the handle.
“You ladies be safe tonight. Have fun and don’t push it with that ear, Stephanie.” He nods and I offer a tight-lipped smile and hold my breath, hoping he didn’t even register her invite.
“Oh, and what time tomorrow night?” he asks and I can’t help but release the breath with a loud sigh.
“Eight. I owe you a drink,” she says, glancing over at me to confirm.
“I’ll see you then.” He winks at me again then closes the door as he leaves the room.
“What the hell?” I say, smacking Steph’s shoulder.
“Ow! Hey, I’m already injured here.”
“Why did you invite him?” I hiss.
“I was just being nice—something you should try a little harder at. Besides, you guys clearly have some weird sexual tension thing that you should just bang out.” I glare at her. “What? He’s hot. Just go for it. No one’s saying marry the guy, so just have a fling.” She wriggles her eyebrows at me and I can’t help but laugh.
She’s not wrong. Dr. Grant Rossi is the kind of hot that normally makes women lose their senses, and I’d be dead wrong if I said I hadn’t noticed. My wet panties would prove that.
“Let’s get you back to my parents’ house before you go offering to let him come over there too.”
2
Grant
I stretch my neck, rolling my head to the right and left as I take in a few deep breaths.
“Long night, Dr. Rossi?” Sherice, my head of nursing asks as I place a file on her workstation.
“Is it just me or are these 12-hour shifts getting longer?” My eyes burn and I’m running on fumes. That’s the funny thing about being a doctor: you need to be sharp and alert even though you’re fueled by caffeine and power naps.
“I think we’re just getting older,” she says, taking the file and spinning back to her computer. “Speaking of,” she pauses and I know what’s coming, “any new prospects?” She stares at me over the edge of her glasses that are perched on the tip of her nose.
It’s been nine months since my breakup with August. I tried keeping it under wraps, but of course it got out at the hospital and then spread like wildfire. Look, I’m not going to pretend that my feelings weren’t hurt by how everything went down. I was bitter and resentful toward August for a few weeks, but that quickly gave way to embarrassment. The fact that I was more concerned about my ego after the breakup was a pretty big sign to me that my heart wasn’t fully invested the relationship to begin with.
August is an amazing woman and her husband Remi is more than lucky. They belong together; she was never meant to be with me. I see that now, although that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the role Leigh played in how it all went down either. Sometimes I wonder: If she hadn’t pestered Remi to face his feelings and tell August how he really felt, would she have eventually realized they weren’t a fit and moved on from him—with me?
“Oh, I thought it was clear I was waiting on your divo
rce to get finalized,” I say, brushing the thoughts of August to the side. Sherice lets out a deep belly laugh.
“You’ll be waiting a long time, sugar. I’ve invested too much into Mr. Miller at this point. Just waiting for those retirement benefits to kick in so I can retire myself.” She shakes her head, chuckling again at my comments.
Sherice has worked here for 24 years and is loved by patients and staff alike. If you ever have any questions or problems, Sherice is your gal. Her husband Gary is just as loved as she is and makes it a point to bring her coffee and her favorite pastry at least twice a week when she works night shifts.
“Tell Gary I said not to worry; I’ll take good care of you.” I give her a wink before grabbing the next set of charts and giving them a once-over. “I’m going to take 15 to do a lap and grab some coffee. Page me if there’s an emergency.”
I take the stairs, making my way down through the ER to the cafeteria. I’m halfway through when I spot Stephanie, the bartender from The Lariat in Grand Lake, sitting in a chair with a bloody mess of tissues held up to her head.
“Steph?” I walk over to her, her expression morphing from surprise to her usual kind smile. Even with blood streaming down her hand, she’s still upbeat.
“Hey, Dr. Grant!”
“What the hell happened?” I bend over to examine her ear as she pulls her hand away. Just then, a disheveled Leigh comes rushing over, her hands overflowing with a fresh set of tissues. I watch as she does a double take when she sees me. Her feet get tangled around each other, an ankle wobbling as I dart my hands out to catch her around the waist. Her hair falls forward and hits me in the face, and I note that it smells sweet and floral.
Her mood switches almost instantly from concern for her friend to annoyance at my presence. Leave it to Leigh to be pissed about a doctor being present at a hospital. I release her as she steadies herself, and I use the opportunity to take in her appearance. She looks like she’s practically shrink-wrapped in a red dress that’s stretched over her delicious curves. Her legs are tanned—glistening, actually—and end in sky-high gold heels. I’m surprised she can even walk in those things. I try to resist, but immediately images of those heels up by my ears as I grip her ankles flood my brain. What I wouldn’t give to fuck that annoyed expression right off her pretty little face.
I tend to Stephanie’s ear, a quick fix with no major damage. She won’t even need any stitches, and with a little antibiotic ointment she’ll be just fine. I’m about to leave when she extends an invite to join them tomorrow night at a bar in Denver. I’d actually planned to go back to Grand Lake tomorrow morning. I could use a long weekend at my lake house, but the invitation is too tempting when I see the expression on Leigh’s face. She’s pissed that Steph invited me. I place my hand on the handle of the door, opening it and stepping out before turning around to take her up on the offer.
I give myself another glance in the mirror by my front door. I smooth down a small curl next to my ear. I opt for my glasses tonight, since my eyes need the break from contact lenses and they look good with my navy button-down and dark gray wool slacks. I grab my keys and make my way toward the parking garage of my building.
When I get to the bar, I park my car and make my way inside, scanning the room for Steph or Leigh’s familiar face. It’s a quarter after eight, and I made sure to arrive a few minutes after Steph’s suggested time of 8 p.m. so I didn’t look too eager.
“Can I get you something?”
I casually lean against the bar as a tall blonde woman asks for my order on the other side.
“I’m good for now, thank you.” I turn back to the room and that’s when I spot Steph, who waves at me, her long arm flailing as her eyes light up. I give her a nod as Leigh’s head whips around, her eyes spotting me and narrowing. There’s a woman I don’t recognize with them. I see her lean into Steph, her straw perched on the edge of her lips as she asks a question.
I don’t know what Steph says, but the woman’s eyes widen, her mouth forming into an oh of recognition before mouthing, “He’s hot!” to Steph. I can’t help but smile. This is going to be fun.
“Ladies,” I say, approaching the table.
“Hey, Dr. Grant, this is Marlaina, Leigh’s cousin from Boulder.” Stephanie gestures toward the woman sitting next to her.
“Doctor, huh? Pleasure.” She holds a limp hand toward me as she chews on the end of her straw.
“Pleasure’s mine,” I smile, grasping her hand briefly before taking a seat next to Leigh, who’s making a point of ignoring me.
“So what kind of doctor are you?” Marlaina continues.
“General physician, family medicine. I’m the attending over at Porter.”
“Oh, you probably know Doctor Weidner then? He delivered both of my daughters. Amazing obstetrician,” she says, leaning forward a bit for emphasis. “I almost lost my youngest daughter and very well could have hemorrhaged to death myself if it hadn’t been for him.” She clutches at her chest. “That man is an angel sent by God himself.” She crosses herself.
This is the downside to being a doctor. The moment people find out, they either have an ailment they want you to diagnose right then and there, or they have a harrowing life-and-death story they want to share with you. I don’t mind the latter, but honestly, I just want to enjoy a beer and flirt with Leigh.
“Yeah, I do know him. He really is one of the best. Great man.”
Stephanie nudges Marlaina. “Do you need to use the restroom?” I can see that Marlaina is about to say no when Steph’s eyes bulge and she gives her a look that says you need to use the restroom now.
“Oh, yeah, I should freshen up my gloss.” She gives me a smile as she grabs Steph’s hand and they both dart off before Leigh can join them.
I turn my body toward Leigh. She takes a sip of her now-empty cocktail, clearly trying to avoid eye contact with me. I don’t hide the fact that I’m enjoying the view. Her shapely legs are crossed, exposing a healthy portion of her upper thigh. She’s wearing a different set of just-as-sexy high heels.
“I like your heels,” I murmur, admiring the intricate way the black leather strap winds around her ankle and partially up her calf.
“Thanks,” she says, still not looking at me.
“Your tits look fucking delicious,” I say, amping up the tension and causing her eyes to snap to mine.
“Excuse me?” she asks, crossing one arm over her cleavage.
“You heard me,” I say, leaning forward and narrowing my gaze. “You wouldn’t wear that dress unless you wanted me to notice them.”
The dress is black, falling softly off one shoulder. It’s simple and understated but beyond sexy—tight and short, showing off not only her sculpted ass and thighs, but her delicate shoulders and ample breasts.
Her breathing has quickened. She doesn’t deny my comment and I see her pupils dilate as I lean in even further.
“What would you do if I leaned in all the way right now, Leigh? Would you let me kiss you?” I drop my hand down and run a single finger up her leg from her ankle, stopping at her knee. “Would you let me bite this lip?” I lift my hand and run my thumb along her lip. I’m about to lean in all the way when I see her eyes dart to look over my shoulder. I glance back and see Steph and Marlaina returning to the table.
“We’ll finish this conversation later,” I whisper.
“Ladies, what are you drinking? I’ve got the next round.”
“Cosmo for me,” Marlaina says with a smile.
“Vodka soda with a twist,” Steph adds.
“Same for m—”
“Oh, just these two ladies.” I smile at Leigh, who looks at me in shock.
“Why?” she snorts, clearly offended.
“Because you’re going to buy me a beer. I think it’s the least you can do. You owe me.” I can see the confused look on Steph and Marlaina’s faces as I give Leigh my million-dollar grin she’s grown to hate so much.
“I owe you? For what? Having an attitu
de at the hospital? Come on, grow up.” She rolls her eyes.
“No, I’m very accustomed to your constant attitude toward me. It’s endearing, actually. I’ve grown to love it. I’m talking about breaking up my would-be marriage.”
Her face contorts from annoyance to shock to utter distaste as Marlaina and Steph both gasp. If they weren’t sitting here right now, I’m 99% positive I’d have Leigh’s handprint across my face.
3
Leigh
“Are you fucking serious right now?” I want to punch that perfect, stupid grin off his chiseled face. “You’re such a dick. You know that, right?”
Gah! Why do I let him get to me? Why do I still wonder if he would’ve finished what he started a second ago if Steph and Marlaina hadn’t walked up and interrupted us?
“One hundred percent,” he says nonchalantly as he flags down a waitress to put in the drink orders. “And I’ll have a Stella, on her tab.” He points to me and the waitress looks over.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” I wave.
“So, ladies, you look absolutely stunning again tonight. What else you have in store for the evening?
“I can’t stay out too late, I have two little girls at home and I’m sure my husband will be covered in glitter and bows before the night’s over,” Marlaina says with a smile. He cocks an eyebrow toward Steph, who glances at me nervously, unsure if she should tell him if we have other plans, which we don’t.
“Back to what you said a moment ago . . .” I start, but then our waitress reappears, placing the drinks on the table and double-checking if we need anything else. I start back up where I left off. “What did you mean by that? I didn’t ruin your would-be marriage, because the fact is you’re the one who broke things off with August. Nobody dumped you.”
“Yes, I am the one who broke things off, but not before you got to her and Remington first.” He leans back in his chair, casually tossing his ankle over his knee, his hands folded in his lap. He looks like he’s kicking back on an expensive yacht, taking in the scenery. I glance down at the exposed skin on his ankle. It’s olive, and for some stupid reason, I immediately imagine taking those pants right off his long, toned legs.
Only For Forever: An Enemies to Lovers, Small Town Romance (Men of Rocky Mountain) Page 2