by Tia Siren
"Yes, I guess so," I admitted.
"Excellent," he said, flashing me a gorgeous smile. For a moment, he didn't say a word, instead opting to stare at me and take me in.
There was something very familiar about him. It was his eyes. They were a deep blue, and they looked at me in a way that I was sure I had seen before. It made me feel warm, for the first time since I had woken up.
"Here's the deal," he began. "You have an extremely severe and rare case of amnesia. From what I have been told, your memories are all but gone, and there is no telling when, or if, they will come back."
"They might not come back?" I blurted out.
I hadn't been told that yet. That idea was terrifying.
"We don’t know. Chances are that one day, you will wake up, and they will be there like they never left. But as I said, there is just no way of knowing for sure."
"So, what do I do?"
"I've called your emergency contact. She will be here within the hour. Maybe seeing her will help jog your memory. If not, she can at least help you get back on your feet." He ran his hand through his thick head of hair. As he did, his musk wafted off him and filled my nostrils. He smelled divine. "But the good news is that apart from the amnesia, you are totally fine. A few bruises and that's about it."
"Oh, yippee," I said dryly.
He let out a short laugh. "I know this must be hard. But be glad that you are still in good health. Your memory will come back to you in time." He slowly stood from his chair, towering over me. He really was tall.
"Where are you going?" I asked, perhaps a little too rushed.
"To see other patients. I'll come back and check on you soon, okay? Don't worry, you're in good hands." He then turned and left the room, but not without looking back at me one more time.
There was something very odd about the way he looked at me, too. It was as if he knew something I didn’t and was trying to decide if he should tell me. I had to remind myself that he was a doctor and that was most likely the case.
And, as silly as it probably sounded, a part of me was wondering if he was checking me out. I probably looked terrible in my current state, and the odds were slim, but still. He was gorgeous, and I could only imagine how I would have acted had we met under different circumstances. I had a feeling that he wouldn't have been calling me Ms. Monroe for too much longer. That's for damn sure.
But even still, as I settled myself back into my bed, I slowly forgot about the handsome doctor. Any other time, he may have stayed with me, but as things stood, I had a lot more on my mind. Or, to be more precise, I had nothing on my mind. Not a single real memory and that was what scared me the most.
CHAPTER 3
LIAM
"What are you doing?"
"Jesus Christ!" I screamed, spinning around on the spot with my hands held in front of me in an act of self-defense.
There was no need for this over the top gesture, though. It was just Clint sneaking up behind me. He had caught me completely off guard. But in my defense, I was in the bathroom and hadn’t expected company. And any company that may have made itself known, I didn’t think would pop up out of nowhere.
"Are you doing your hair?" he asked, trying not to smirk.
"No, I'm not doing my hair," I scoffed as I pushed past him and powered out of the bathroom. Yes, I actually had been doing my hair. I just didn't want him to know it. And I was only doing it a bit, just fixing up the sides and making sure that it was all in place. As a doctor, I found that my physical appearance very easily deteriorated over the day. So every now and then, I liked to ensure that everything was still as it ought to have been. At least, that was what I was planning on telling anyone who asked.
"Yes, you were," Clint called after me, chasing me down the hallway of the hospital. "And don’t for one second think that I don't know why you're doing it, either. You're trying to look your best for—"
Without a word, I grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into a nearby, empty room. As soon as he was in the room, I closed the door behind us, ensuring that we were alone.
"Speak," I demanded.
He wore a big, goofy smile on his face, and I couldn't remember a time that I had ever seen him look so happy. "You really think that I was born yesterday?”
"Will you just come out with it already so I can shoot you down, and we can get on with the day?" I knew what he was going to say, but I had chosen to play ignorance, just in case.
"You're doing it for Kate,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You want to look your best when you see her so that she thinks you're this drop dead gorgeous doctor or something? Tell me I'm wrong."
"Okay, you're wrong," I said with as much conviction as I could muster, which really wasn't very much. And, just to confirm this fact, Clint let out a long and very loud snort in derision of my statement.
He was one hundred percent on the money, too. Ever since Kate had woken up, I had been planning how I would get her back. Before that, even. The first and most obvious step in any seduction was to look my best, hence the attention to my hair. But that was only the first step. And considering the circumstances that surrounded her suddenly being awake, it may have also been the least important.
When they told me she had amnesia, I had first thought that I had the worst luck in the world. I saw it as a slap in the face. I was presented with a chance to redeem myself and apologize for how I had behaved, only to be put in a situation where she wouldn't even remember me.
But it didn’t take very long for me to realize the hidden benefit that this new scenario presented. If she couldn't remember me and what I had done, then I had no reason to apologize. In fact, as far as she was concerned, I was a total stranger. A handsome doctor stranger to be more precise. All I had to do was win her over again, for the first time. Something that I knew I could do.
"Is that all?" I asked Clint, who was still staring at me with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Because if it is, I have patients to attend to.”
"Wait one second,” he said, grabbing my arm. “That's not all. You can't be doing what I think you're doing? Can you be?"
"What do you think I'm doing?" I asked, deciding to keep playing dumb.
"You're going to try and pick up Kate? Under the guise that you don’t know her, and she doesn't know you?"
"Well, technically she doesn't know me," I tried, not sounding anywhere near as confident as I would have liked. I knew the ethics behind my scheme weren't exactly golden, and I wanted to try and play it off as casually as I could.
"That's not right. I don't know, Liam. There is something not quite right about any of this. It feels like you're taking advantage of her."
He was right, of course, and it was something I had been wrestling with since finding out about her condition. On the one hand, I knew that I should have told her the truth. The second that she woke up, I should have told her who she was and what our history was. If I had done that, then maybe I could have even helped her get her memory back. A part of me meant to do exactly that. But when I went into that room and saw her for the first time in a year, I just couldn't.
I had forgotten how beautiful she was. Her dark brown hair, her big green eyes, and that cute little pixie nose. Her athletic body and her bright smile. Every part of her was perfect, and I cringed at the idea of admitting to her that I knew her, that we used to date and that I had broken her heart, as well as my own. So, I didn’t tell her. Instead, I chose to act totally normal, like I would with any patient.
But as I spoke to her and realized the severity of her condition, I came up with an idea.
My original plan, before learning of her amnesia, was to convince her that I had changed and that I still loved her. Well, I couldn't do that anymore, but I could go one step further. I could show her that I had changed. If I could convince her to go on a date with me and show her how great of a guy I was, then there was a chance, albeit a small one, that when her memory came back, she might see it in her heart to for
give me? And that's if her memory ever came back.
It was a long shot, but one I had to take. Second chances didn’t come around very often, and I would have been a fool to ignore it when it did. Unfortunately, when I told him about my plan, Clint didn’t see it in quite the same light as me.
"You're joking?” he asked. “That's dishonest. There's definitely something not right about it."
"How come?" I defended, using the same arguments I had been going over in my mind for the past few hours. "I'm not going to force her to be with me. I'm not lying to her. Not really, anyway. All I'm going to do is ask her to go on a date with me, hopefully, and show her that I have changed."
"And when she gets her memory back?"
"Hopefully, by then, she'll see then that I am different. Look, you remember how it was when we broke up? You were there. You know how much it crushed me. All I want is one more chance, just to tell her how I feel. Well, this is that chance. I may never get another one. That’s why I have to give this a shot, even if it’s not exactly ethical.”
Indeed, Clint had been there for me when Kate and I broke up for good, a year earlier. He was there to console me and tell me that everything would get better. But everything wasn't better. A year had passed, and I still thought about her. She was the only romantic interest that I had ever had and ever wanted. Clint should have known that I would do anything to get her back. I loved her, and love made people do crazy things.
"So, tell me, now. Is it wrong if I don’t tell her that we know each other and we used to date? If you think it is, then I won’t ask her out. But if you think that there is even the smallest gray area, where this is okay, then get out of the way and let me go and ask out the woman of my dreams."
Clint remained where he was for some time, staring at me as he bit the inside of his lip. Finally, he spoke. "Ethically, you should probably tell her that you two know each other. But romantically, I don’t think you’re obligated to tell her about your shared past. Still, you know this has the potential to blow up in your face.”
“I know that,” I said.
“Are you sure? Because all this trying to get her back nonsense is great, but it won’t mean shit when she gets her memories back and finds out that you tricked her.”
“I’m hoping that by then, she’ll have seen that I’m a good guy now. A changed guy. One who truly appreciates her, instead of the guy who thought he’d be better off without her. It’s a risk, but it’s one I have to take. I think it’s a bigger risk if I pass up this opportunity and don’t try to get her back. That would risk me spending the rest of my life without the woman I love.”
Clint shook his head and sighed. “I wish you the best of luck, but I think this is a mistake.” Despite his words of warning, he stepped to the side and let me pass.
I nodded my thanks to him as I walked past and made my way down the hall toward Kate's room. The whole time, I told myself that I wasn't doing anything wrong or dishonest. All I was doing was showing Kate what it was that she saw in me in the first place. And then, if she still had feelings for me, she might see it in her heart to forgive me when her memory came back.
That was what I told myself, anyway. Although in truth, I would be lying if I said there wasn't a small part of me that hoped that her memory never came back.
CHAPTER 4
KATE
The handsome doctor had visited me two more times since the first. Each time he visited me, he was kind in a way that the other nurses and doctors weren't.
They all treated me like some sort of medical experiment. I couldn't even recall one actually using my name to address me. That was a huge point of contention, too, considering that I couldn't even remember my own name. It would have been nice for them to have used it, for my sake at least.
But Dr. Morgan was different. Well, Liam actually. He had asked that I call him Liam, and I was more than happy to grant his request. Both of his visits had been short. Neither one lasted more than a few minutes. But both times, he was so friendly and warm. He called me by my first name and assured me that he would do all he could to make this whole thing as easy for me as possible.
I didn't know if it was normal for doctors to act that way, or if it was just him. I was glad that of all the doctors, he was the one that had chosen to act that way around me.
Apart from how nice he was, he was also stunningly handsome to boot. I know it was a silly thing to concern myself with, considering my state of mind. But I am still a woman, after all, and some instincts can't be forgotten.
The last time he came by, less than an hour ago, it was to tell me that my emergency contact was on their way. Her name was Liana, and that was all that I, or anybody else, knew about her.
It was a strange feeling, knowing I was about to meet someone who could potentially be my best friend. Someone who I couldn't even picture in my mind. Heck, she might be my sister for all I know. I just hoped that she could tell me a little more about myself. I had been awake for two days, and all I knew about myself was my name. And that was literally it.
I don't really know what I was expecting from Liana, but it definitely wasn't what I got. Liana burst into my room like a whirlwind, and it took me all of two seconds to deduce what kind of personality she possessed. Loud, over the top, and in your face. She had big, bushy blonde hair, even bigger blue eyes, and a smile that seemed to stretch from ear to ear.
"Oh, my God!" she screamed, the moment that she spotted me. She had very long limbs, too, taking only a few steps to reach me. And the moment that she did, her long, spindly arms wrapped themselves around my body and pulled me in for a tight hug. "Two days! Two whole days! Do you know how worried I was!"
"Ah, hi," I managed, my head peeking out from under her arms.
I didn't recognize her at all, but I was able to guess from her over enthusiastic greeting that she was Liana and that she knew me.
"Oh, hell, I forgot," she said, letting go me. "You don't remember. You have no idea who I am, do you?"
I shook my head, trying to look as apologetic as possible.
"You poor thing!" She threw herself on me again. "I'm Liana. We're best friends! Best friends forever, in fact. I can't believe this. This is tragic!" She held her hand up to her head in dramatic fashion.
I got the immediate sense that Liana was a little bit of a drama queen. I rather enjoyed watching her, though. She was entertaining. Even though I couldn’t remember much of anything, Liana felt like the kind of person I could be friends with.
"So, we're friends then?" I asked. "For how long?
"Only six months," she said, letting me go again. "But it feels like years. At least, to me it does, anyway. And I'm sure to you, it will, too. Trust me. A few hours with me, and those memories will come pouring back to you!"
"And how do I know you?" I asked, hiding my disappointment at the short amount of time that I had known Liana for.
I was hoping that she would say we had been friends for years. Since childhood even. At least then, she might have been able to fill me in on some of my past.
"Oh, we work together. Well, not together so to speak. But for the same company."
"And what is it that I do, exactly?" I asked curiously. I knew that I liked writing. It was literally the only hint of a memory that I had. I prayed that Liana would confirm that my job was within that wheelhouse.
She slapped her palm to her head. "Right, of course, you don’t remember. We're both—"
"Ah, I see Liana found the room, okay?" Dr. Morgan interrupted as he sauntered into the room.
Every time I saw him, I did a double take. It may have been the white doctor’s coat, or it may have been the fact that he stood well over six feet tall, and it may also have been his square chin and dark eyes, but my god he was good looking. And, judging by the look on Liana's face when she spotted him, she evidently agreed with me.
"Why, hello," she cooed, the moment her eyes landed on him. “I'm, oh, you already know my name." She giggled to herself. "But what's you
rs? I don't believe I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance just yet." She held her hand out for him to take, which he did.
"I'm Dr. Morgan, but you can call me Liam," he said in that deep voice of his. "I wanted to stop by and see how everything was going in here?" He looked back and forth from Liana to me when he asked the question.
I shrugged. "It's—"
"It's all going amazingly," Liana cut in. "Me and Kate, here, were just getting reacquainted, in fact."
"That's good to hear," he answered, looking over her shoulder at me. As he did, he made sure to offer me a smile, which I returned gratefully. "And how are you feeling? Anything coming back to—"
"Not yet," Liana again cut in. "But I'll keep working at it and let you do your thing. Actually, how about I give you my number, and that way, you can get in touch with me if you have any questions." She reached into her handbag and pulled out a small card, which she pressed into Liam’s hand.
"Thanks," Liam said, sounding nonplussed as he took the card and slipped it into his pocket. To my relief, he didn't seem too excited over the prospect of getting the card. It looked like he just took it so he didn't seem rude.
He moved closer to my bed and gazed down at me. "I was hoping that you might let Kate answer a few questions, herself? She is the one with the amnesia, after all."
"Ah," Liana said, hanging her head as she stepped to the side. Funnily enough, despite her most obvious flirting with Liam, I actually liked her. She had a positive energy that was hard to ignore, and I sensed that whether I got my memory back or not, the two of us were going to remain friends.
"I'm okay," I said, smiling a thank you at Liam. "I still don't remember anything, though. Even my name. I only know that because you told me."
"Well, that's why I'm here actually," he began. As he spoke, his eyes darted toward the door and then back to me. It gave me the distinct impression that whatever he had to say to me, he wasn't looking forward to it.