“I heard that.”
“I’d hope so. I’m standing five feet away from you.” Julia turned her back on the owner and kept talking as if he hadn’t threatened to fire her seconds earlier. “Man, he gets on my nerves.”
Nia wasn’t as bold as Julia, so she waited until Darnell slinked into the kitchen again before gently reminding her friend, “Brothers tend to do that.”
“Whatever. Just wait. As soon as his wife returns from maternity leave, I’m out of here.”
“Stop saying that. You’re going to make me sad. I can’t imagine working here without you.”
“I can,” Darnell grumbled through the pass-through. “I’m imagining it real good right now. Come take these orders. And somebody put that Mariah CD back on.”
Nia and Julia shared a look of annoyance with one another. It was going to be a long day.
“Thanks for giving me a lift,” Eric said to his friend and fellow resident, Dominic Choy. “I could have walked, but it’s cold as hell out there.”
“It’s no problem at all.” The Asian man pocketed the keys of his SUV in his heavy coat then gave a feline-like stretch. He’d been asleep in the lounge when Eric found him, and from the looks of things he still would have been if Eric hadn’t woken him up. “Besides, I can eat.”
Guilt kept him from just saying thank you. If anyone knew how important getting rest was, it was Eric. “Yeah, but you were sleeping pretty hard in the lounge.”
“No worries. I’ll sleep even harder on a full stomach.” Choy reached up and released his jet-black hair from the ponytail he wore at the base of his head then cracked his neck. When he was done he looked far more relaxed. “Especially since you’re buying.”
“I knew there was a catch. I should have just hoofed it.”
“There always is.” Choy laughed. “But since I’m such a nice guy, I’ll help you tow the car over to your place after rounds.”
“Thanks, but we have that auto-card thingy and tows are included.”
“I’m willing to bet you’ve gotten your money’s worth out of that piece of plastic.”
The card was seeing a little too much action for Eric’s peace of mind. His fixer-upper was requiring more fixing than he’d like, but Eric’s attachment to the car was immeasurable in dollars and cents. “You have no idea.”
“You’re going to have to do something about that junker soon.”
“Tell me about it.” He took a few seconds to gather his courage to face the cold again, before he opened the car door and stepped outside into the below-freezing weather. Automatically, he hunched his shoulders and shoved his glove-covered hands into his pocket. Without giving Choy time to catch up to him, Eric hurried to the diner’s door and the heat waiting there.
By the time he slipped inside, Choy was by his side. Neither man wasted any time before they were unbuttoning their jackets and removing their scarves. The warmth of the diner hit him like a typhoon, warming him instantly from head to toe. Eric let out a happy sigh that was echoed by Choy.
Inquisitively, he glanced around the diner as he made his way to an open booth. He didn’t see Nia anywhere, but he did spot Julia taking an order. He waited for her to notice him. It only took a few seconds, but when she did, she held up one finger and mouthed, Be right with you.
Eric gave an answering smile and headed in the direction of an empty booth. Although each waitress had a particular section, he knew Nia would eventually make her way to him. Her shift was over in a couple of hours, but it would be even longer before he made it home. That was why, instead of eating in the cafeteria at work, he’d asked Choy to bring him to the restaurant. It didn’t matter that they wouldn’t get more than a few minutes together while he was here, it was still longer than they would have gotten if he’d stayed at work.
Even though it was Nia he was here to see, Julia was the first one to come over to their table. The tall statuesque woman carried herself with the confidence of an Amazon. Her skin was as dark and smooth as obsidian glass and just as enthralling. She had shoulder-length black hair that she wore pulled back in an elegant yet efficient bun at the base of her neck and a smile that could light up a room. She was beautiful, spirited and his wife’s best friend, and Eric couldn’t have adored her more if they’d been born of the same flesh.
“Hello, handsome,” she said as she handed a menu to Eric. Without looking at Choy she thrust one at him as well. “Here.”
Used to Julia’s less-than-hospitable attitude toward him, Choy laughed off her rudeness and grabbed the menu with one hand and Julia’s hand with the other. “Why does he get a handsome and I get a here you go?”
His bold move garnered him Julia’s attention and her ire. “Let go, you big goon.”
“Answer me first,” he countered.
“Because I like him.”
True to his word, he released her. “You like me too.” A grin tugged at the corner of Choy’s lips. “You just don’t realize it yet.”
Julia didn’t bother to reply. Instead, she focused on Eric again and smiled, all traces of attitude gone. “Your honey’s in the back. I’ll let her know you’re here.”
Eric fought hard to keep his amusement at bay. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Would you like coffee while you wait?”
“Yes, and make it strong.”
“Will do,” she said, sashaying away.
“I’d like coffee too,” Choy called after her. Without missing a step or turning around, Julia flipped him the bird, which caused both men to burst into laughter. “I’m wearing her down.” Choy’s words were overly confident. “She’s warming up to me.”
Eric wasn’t sure what woman his friend was talking about, but it surely wasn’t Julia. “You don’t stand a chance.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong.” Choy’s gaze followed Julia as she slipped through the swinging doors. “That woman will be mine.”
Eric snorted. “You only want her because she’s not interested in you.”
“Don’t doubt it for a second. She’s interested.” Choy looked back at him with a grin. “But until she’s ready to admit she wants to take a ride on the Oriental Express, I’m going to go with plan B.”
Eric frowned in confusion. “Plan B?”
Choy nodded to the door behind Eric. “B for backup. Because if you can’t have the one you love…”
Eric turned around to see who Choy was referring to and groaned when he spotted two female coworkers standing in the doorway. “What are they doing here?”
“Oh.” Choy picked up his menu and opened it casually. “Did I forget to mention that Bethany and Corrine are meeting us?”
The lack of surprise in his friend’s tone said a mouthful. “No, you didn’t mention it. And no, you didn’t forget.”
“Yeah.” Choy lowered the menu and grinned. “I didn’t forget. I texted Bethany before we left.”
Eric glanced back at the blonde walking toward the restrooms and grimaced. “Why?” For the life of him he couldn’t figure out what his friend saw in the other resident. She was a shit doctor and an even crappier human being who lacked not only a decent bedside manner but ethics as well. “I don’t get the appeal.”
“She has a vagina,” Choy said. “And if I’m nice enough to her, she may just introduce me to it.”
Eric waited for his friend to continue, but was only met with silence. “Is that seriously the end of that explanation?” he asked after a few seconds.
Choy frowned. “What else needs to be said?”
“Well, how sure are you she has a vagina?”
The other man tilted his head to the side as if he were seriously pondering the question. “I would say a strong eighty-nine percent sure.”
“And the other eleven that has you not so sure is based on what?”
“The Maybelline factor.”
“The what?”
“You know, Maybelline, maybe she’s born with it.” Choy made a diamond shape with his hands, a rude gesture for a vag
ina, if there ever was one. “Or maybe it’s Maybelline.”
“You base your sex life on a cosmetic commercial?”
“She also gives killer head.”
“Which once again puts her in the chicks-with-dicks category.”
“Put it this way. Anyone who can do what she does can have a dick and still be allowed to touch lips to my meat any damn day of the week.”
Eric leaned away from the other man. “I think that’s the gayest thing I’ve heard you say.”
“Be that as it may, in order for me to find out for sure if I’m a star player in a hip new remake of The Crying Game, I’m going to have to do date-like things so I can get date-like privileges.”
“You never have to lie to your hand,” Eric reminded him.
“Says the happiest married man I’ve ever met. Which, by the way, is sickening.”
Eric smiled. “Not to me.”
“Braggart,” Choy grumbled.
Eric held his hands up and shrugged. “I got to be me.”
“Don’t be. At least not for the next hour.”
“Who should I be then?”
“Your best friend’s boy.”
Eric shook his head in denial. “I’m not going to be your wingman and get my wife mad at me.”
“Not asking that. Besides, I like Nia, she brings me cookies and coffee at the hospital.”
That was news to Eric. “She does?”
Choy cocked an eyebrow. “You didn’t think you were the only one getting special treats.”
“Yeah, I kind of did.” Although he was pleased to hear he was wrong. Choy was a good friend. In fact, out of all the other residents at the hospital, Choy was the one Eric liked the most. The majority of the rest were overachiever trust-fund babies who were accepted to school due to legacies and fat checks. The only type of medicine they wanted to practice was the kind that would score them a reality TV show. They were in it for the money, and in medicine there was a lot to be made, but for Eric and Choy and a few others, it was about something deeper. It was about saving lives. But still, he had to give his friend a hard time. “I’m going to have to have words with my Mrs.”
“If you make her stop, I’ll make sure Bethany shadows us all week long.”
Eric winced. “You’re cruel.”
“I need those cookies, man.”
“You should have thought of that before you invited that succubus and her minion to dine…on your soul.”
“It’s just food.”
Eric didn’t reply. Just stared at Choy until his friend rolled his eyes and gave in. “Okay, I suck and I shouldn’t have invited her.”
“Yes, you do. On top of that you’ve also missed out on a free meal.”
“So can they sit with us?”
“You’re asking too much of me.”
Choy raised his hand and gestured inward. “Then let me rephrase, they’re coming over and sitting with us. Be nice. We have to work with them.”
“Reason number one you shouldn’t be trying to get your parts to high five.” Before Eric could say more, the women were at the table. “Great,” he muttered as she slid in on the bench across from him.
“Eric,” she said dryly.
“Bethany,” he replied in the same tone.
Bethany gestured to the brunette who was still standing. “You remember Corrine.”
He didn’t know her, but he’d seen her around. “You’re a nurse in the ER, right?” He stood so she could take a seat.
Corrine smiled appreciatively as she sat on the bench then scooted in. “Yes. I just started last week. So many people, I was beginning to get lost in the shuffle, but then Bethany came to my rescue on one of her rounds, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
Eric sincerely doubted Bethany was doing it to be nice. Corrine was a pretty girl. Knowing Bethany, she was just trying to size up the competition before she went in for the kill.
Before he could reply, Bethany made a face as she picked up Choy’s menu. “Why do you guys always come here to eat? The food at Gordy’s is so much better.”
Eric didn’t recall inviting her to eat with them to begin with, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. Choy was working overtime to get visiting rights to her pussy and Eric didn’t want to mess it up for his friend. Even if the pussy in question was connected to one of the bitchiest women he’d ever had the displeasure of meeting.
“I told you we were coming here when I invited you. You didn’t have to come if you didn’t want to,” Choy reminded her.
“I know that,” she said with just a tad less attitude. “I simply don’t understand why we had to come here. There are so many diners around the hospital. What’s so great about this one?”
“She is,” Eric said, spotting Nia at last coming out of the back room.
“Who’s that?” Corrine asked softly.
Eric slid out of the booth and stood. “My wife.” The smile that automatically appeared on his lips the second she was in sight immediately slipped away when he noticed the man coming out with her holding her hand.
“If that’s your wife, who is that?” Bethany voiced the question running rampant in his mind.
“I don’t know.” But he sure in hell planned on finding out.
Chapter Four
Despite the less-than-pleased expression on her husband’s face, Nia was very happy to see him. Even if he was in a bad mood, he was still there, which was all she needed to make her day better. Her husband. On a normal day anyway. Today, though, she needed him for something a little bit more important.
“Eric,” she called from across the room. “Can you come here please?”
Not that she needed to ask. From the second he’d spotted her, he’d begun to make his way in her direction. Knowing help was on the way put her mind at ease and helped her focus on the injured boy next to her. “Let’s go sit over there.” With his hand in hers, she led him to an empty booth then helped him take a seat.
Poor kid had burned the crap out of his arm lifting one of the big pots in the kitchen. Nia was sure he was going to need medical help, and there was no one more capable of fixing the youngster up quicker or better than her husband.
“Keep your arm as still as possible,” she warned him. “Is it hurting too badly?”
He grimaced but shook his head. “Not too bad.”
“Good. I’ll get my husband to help you.”
“Thanks, Nia,” Oscar said with a shy smile. “I really appreciate it.”
“Of course.” Happy she was able to soothe the young man a bit, she turned around to get Eric, only to find him standing right behind her. “Oh hey. The fates must have known I was going to need you tonight.”
“Fates?”
“Of course.” She stepped to the side so Eric could see Oscar. “This is Mario’s nephew and our new busboy.”
Eric didn’t spare the other man a glance. He kept his intense gaze directed on Nia, and it was beginning to make her a bit nervous.
“And he’s hurt.” She emphasized the last word, hoping the doctor instinct would override whatever he was upset about.
She was pleased to see she was right. It had only taken the word hurt to get Eric moving toward the table. He took hold of Oscar’s fingers and gently turned his arm so he could see the burn more clearly. After a few seconds, he pulled back and frowned. “That doesn’t look good.”
Nia was afraid of that. “I immersed it in cold water for a bit to cool it down, but I think you’re going to have to do more than that.”
Eric nodded. “I am.”
“Want me to get your bag from the car?” His medical bag had saved many fingers and soothed many burns in the diner. It kept the uninsured staff from having to make trips to the ER, and it kept Eric and Nia fed three square meals a day for the service he did for the diner. It was more than a fair trade in her mind, but from the frown on her husband’s face, Nia began to wonder if it was one too many things piled on an already heavy load he was carting. “Or should I take him to the
ER?”
“No. To both.”
Nia frowned. “You don’t think this needs to be wrapped?”
“Yes, but I don’t have my bag with me.”
“Why not?”
“Because the car broke down. All my stuff is with it at the hospital.”
“Oh.” Nia tried to keep the lack of surprise out of her voice. Eric’s car had been on its last leg when he’d inherited it—moving it from the sunny dry climate of California to the arctic Midwest had put that leg in a cast. Instead of reminding him of all of this, she bit back a sigh and offered him a comforting smile. “Sorry, babe.”
“No big deal. Let me go ask Choy. I’m sure he has something with him.”
“Dominic’s here? I should go say hi.” Nia glanced down at Oscar and rubbed his shoulder sympathetically. “Why don’t you go to Darnell’s office? The boys will be back there soon to fix you right up.”
“Okay,” he said as he stood. He gave her another shy smile before heading to the office.
Like any good nursemaid would, Nia waited until he was out of sight before glancing back at her husband, who was watching her with a little amused look on his face. “What?”
Eric shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. “You don’t even realize it, do you?”
Nia slipped her arm through the crook of his and walked with him toward the booth where Dominic and two women were sitting. “Realize what?”
“You’ve just added another notch to your heartbreaking belt.”
Nia bumped him with her shoulder. “Oh stop. I was just being nice. I thought you would approve of my bedside manner.”
“He did, that’s for damn sure.”
“Would you begrudge a sick boy a hug?”
“From you? Hell yes,” he said in all seriousness. “And he’s not a boy. That’s a man.”
“He’s like eighteen.”
“Thank you for proving my point,” he mocked.
“He’s a kid.”
Eric shot her a pointed look. “A kid wouldn’t have been staring at your breasts the entire time.”
“He’s hurt. The last thing I’m sure he’s thinking about is sex.”
Priceless: Urban Fairytales, Book 3 Page 4