Where We Belong (A Touch of Fate #1)(26)

“I love my job," I state sarcastically with a grin, turning my head to look at her.

She smiles shyly and pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. “So, you’re from around here originally, right?" she asks, turning back to continue her charting.

“Yup," I nod. "Well, I was raised across the river in Illinois, but I grew up in the area. How are you liking it here so far?"

I turn around when someone taps my shoulder. “I took Mr. Cook down for an X-ray of his ankle. I’ll let you know when he’s done," Callie says as she walks by the nurses’ station.

“Thank you, Callie!" I holler at her retreating back and she throws her hand up over her head in response. I turn my attention back to Avery. “So...how are things going?”

She averts her eyes, appearing nervous. Do I make her nervous? “It’s okay, I guess," she says with a shrug. “I don’t really have any friends and I don’t know anyone other than the staff here, so I spend most of my time off at home working around the house.”

“You’ll make friends," I say, nudging her shoulder with mine. "The nurses here are all really great. You just need to get to know a few of them.”

“Yeah, I will. I’m sure it’ll get better soon." She logs out of her computer and stands up, stretching her arms above her head. When she lowers her arms, she places her hand gently on my knee. I look down at it and frown.

What the hell is that about? Is she hitting on me? The sad thing is that I’m a twenty-eight-year-old man and I’m not even really sure if a woman is hitting on me or not. Jesus Christ, I was with Brit for too long. And she never flirted with me—okay, sure she did in the beginning, but not after we got to New York. After the move, our relationship became strained and we never saw each other. You’d think that would’ve been a sign that maybe I shouldn't have proposed.

I raise my head when Avery tightens her grip on my thigh. "Wow, you're really bruising my ego here," she says with a hesitant smile.

"What?" I ask.

Her blue eyes dance with amusement. "You keep spacing out on me. You're either preoccupied or I'm really boring."

"No, you're not boring at all." I stand up and her hand slides off of my leg. A slight frown crosses her face before she looks at me, the smile firmly back in place. "I'm just preoccupied, that’s all. What were you saying?"

She steps toward me. Holy f*ck, she's bold. "I asked if I could maybe go out with you and your friends sometime. You know, to get out and meet some new people outside of work." She raises her eyebrows in question and gently bites her lower lip, but what sets off the alarm bells in my head is the hopeful look in her eyes. No way in hell am I going to do anything to mess up the groundwork I've laid with Harley. I hate to be a dick, but Avery needs to know that I'm not interested.

I step back, leaning a hip against the desk. "Sure, we could go out sometime," I say nonchalantly. "I'd be happy to introduce you to some of my friends."

"Great," she says, her smile growing even brighter than it already was. "I can't wait."

I rub my hand against the back of my neck and divert my eyes. Fuck, I hope this doesn't come out wrong. "Avery, you and I are friends...and if we go out, it will be just as friends."

Her face falls but she quickly recovers, straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin. "Oh. Umm, yeah." She nods slowly. "Absolutely. I wasn't...are you dating someone?" she asks, tilting her head.

I appreciate her audacity. I wish every woman would say what she is really thinking or ask for what she wants. "No, I'm not, but there is someone that I really care about."

Her eyes soften in understanding and her hand grazes my arm lightly. "She's a very lucky woman." Running her hands down the front of her scrubs, she takes a deep breath and sighs before stepping back. "I better get back to work."

I reach in my pocket as she walks down the hall. All this talk has me thinking about Harley. It makes me happy, knowing that she's in the hospital and I could run into her at any time. Pulling up my contact list, I click on Harley's name. I wonder if she ever changed her number? Only one way to find out.

Me: Did you enjoy your tea?

What I really want to say is 'you looked amazing the other night,’ but I don't want to scare her off so I'll stick with the tea.

I make sure my phone is on silent and shove it back in my pocket. "Callie, who's up next?"

I spend the next forty minutes examining an elderly gentleman with chest pain. "Callie, Mr. Pierce is going to be a direct admit to cardio. I've already talked to Dr. Davis and he's writing orders now."

"I'm on it." Callie is a great nurse, but she's not very talkative and prefers keeping to herself. "You're free for a little bit, Dr. Grawe. Dr. Pierce took the next patient."

"Thanks," I murmur, pulling out my phone on my way back to the break room. I unlock the screen and my heart pounds at the sight of her name.

Harley: Who is this??

What does she mean, "Who is this?" How many people does she have buying her tea?

Me: Are there other doctors bringing you tea? Give me names so I can kick their asses!

I pour myself a cup of coffee, anticipating her reply. My phone lights up almost instantly.