When You're Ready (Ready #1)(8)

“Are you sure? You know it’s not the same thing, right? She’s not Ethan.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve told myself about a hundred times since he ordered the test.”

“You got Dr. Matthews? Damn, you lucked out! He’s fine, like I want to lick every inch of his body fine,” she laughed, making an obvious change in conversation.

I rolled my eyes. “Leah! I obviously didn’t notice. He’s my daughter’s doctor, I wasn’t exactly checking him out...much,” I smirked.

“I knew it. Slut.”

“Whore,” I countered back.

“Anyway,” she laughed, “You do know who he is right, like who his father is?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Although the name sounds familiar, I don’t pay much attention to the news anymore. Four-year-olds don’t get overly excited about current events or celebrity gossip.”

“Right, sometimes I forget you don’t live in the real world anymore. How is Dora these days?” she taunted. Leah loved heckling me about horrid cartoon characters. She knew Dora was on my top five most hated cartoon character list.

“Just as goddamn annoying as she was the last time you asked, jerk. I hate that stupid show,” I snapped, which sent her into a fit of silent laughter.

She pulled herself together and said, “Anyway, Logan Matthews is the only son to Mitchell Matthews, the founder of Matthews Associates, which is like the richest hedge fund company in the world.”

Of course I knew that, everyone knew that. Mitchell Matthews was known for taking his family fortune and turning it into billions on the stock market. He was a genius. Every business major in the world knew his name and studied his business’s history.

“He’s that Logan Matthews? What the hell is he doing in Richmond?” Shouldn’t he be in New York or Paris? I might be, given the option.

“No one knows. A couple years ago, he was living in New York and married. He worked at NY Presbyterian in the Trauma Center and was gaining some serious cred in his field. He’s a freaking Harvard and Yale grad. Anyway, big scandal breaks out all over the news. His wife cheated on him, and he disappeared. A few months later, he shows up here in the ER. He’s been here ever since.”

“Wow, she cheated on him?” I couldn’t imagine the heartbreak.

“I know, right? Who would cheat on that? I mean, seriously. I’ve only ever seen him in scrubs and that’s enough to make me want to go home and spend some quality time with my vibrator.”

“Really, Leah? Maddie’s like right there,” I reminded her, pointing a finger at my sleeping child.

“She’s asleep, and I know my goddaughter. She could sleep through an alien invasion.”

She was probably not wrong about that. Maddie slept like the dead.

“So, he came here to hide?” I asked.

“Well, he hasn’t exactly been hiding. No one really knows why he moved here, but according to the papers, he’s quite the player and makes no effort to cover up the fact.”

Well, I guess the crazy theory still stands. No player would want to touch this hot mess. A single mom, and widow to boot. Yeah, I was a huge bag full of fun.

“Hmm, interesting,” I said.

“So, before you leave you should ask him out!” Leah said, out of nowhere.

“Um, I’m sorry...what?”

“Ask. Him. Out,” she reiterated.

“Why? Didn’t you just say he was a player?” I was confused.

“Exactly. That’s just what you need. A hot doctor with no strings. It’s just the right thing to get the chains re-oiled and gears working right.”

“Did you just use a bike analogy for my girlie parts?” I don’t know why I’m surprised anymore.

“Yep, sure did. So what’s your deal? Is he not hot enough?” she asked.

Oh lord. She wasn’t going to let this go.

~Logan~

I had just returned to the ER wing after going over Maddie's CT with the radiologist on call. Everything looked normal, as I had expected. I’d even had the radiologist double check, keeping my promise to Clare, and helping my nerves settle. I had to be sure before I entered that room. I had no idea why I felt the way I did. I'd never felt anything so strong for a patient or her family. Being a doctor, I always wanted to heal and protect, it was in my nature. Why else would I be working these shitty hours and surviving on so little sleep? But this went beyond normalcy. I had felt something with that woman and her little girl the instant I walked in the exam room. After spending the last three years avoiding most situations that had anything to do with emotions, it frightened me. It was exactly why I was going to make sure Maddie was safe, and then send them home. Away from me and my poisonous existence.

Having been warned at the nurse’s station that Maddie was sleeping, I knocked gently at the door and quietly let myself in. Apparently my knock went unheard because as I stepped in I noticed Clare, sitting in the same seat I’d left her in, speaking with a blonde nurse from L&D. Their heads were huddled together, and slightly turned away, with their voices reduced to a low hush.

"Jesus, Leah. Just because I haven't had sex in over three years doesn't mean I'm dead. Yes, I’ll admit, he's goddamn gorgeous. He's like the Ian Somerhalder of doctors...he's --- oh shit," Clare halted mid-sentence, and her eyes widened in surprise as she spotted me in the doorway. She looked like she'd just been caught with a joint in the school bathroom. Oh f**k, was she talking about me? From the shade of red her face was turning, I’d say yes.