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“Endocrinologist?”
Her full, pink lips curl up into a soft smile. “We’re learning all sorts of personal things about each other today, aren’t we? Though I’m better at sharing than you are. I’m a type 1 diabetic, and I had some things I wanted to discuss with him, as well as renew my prescriptions for my insulin pens.”
“You don’t wear a pump?”
She makes a dismayed noise in the back of her throat and her hands fly out around her. “What is it with the men in my life being all about pumps?” She freezes, her eyes going round and her lips parting in an oh shit expression. “Not that you’re a man in my life. I mean, you’re a man and you’re in my life, but it’s different with us.” She exhales a heavy breath and then laughs in a self-deprecating way. “You know what I meant.”
“I do. So, no pump?”
“No pump.”
I hold my hand up. “Got it. It’s none of my business, and it sounds like you’re on top of your care.”
“I am.”
“I didn’t know you were a diabetic. When I knew you before, I mean.”
“I didn’t go around telling people. I’m not ashamed of it, and it’s not a secret. But when you have something like that, a chronic condition, people can sometimes treat you differently, and I didn’t want anyone going easy on me simply because I have to manage my blood sugars and take insulin. Besides, back then, I didn’t have a continuous glucose monitor stuck to the back of my arm the way I do now.” She twists her arm, revealing a small, round disc covered in a white protective barrier affixed to the back of her upper arm. “See. Much harder to hide this now.”
“I get it. But I’m also glad I know. And no, I won’t go easy on you simply because you’re a diabetic.”
She gives me a soft smile, and we fall into that silent staring thing again until I force myself to look away.
I clear my throat. “I should go up and check on my mom.”
Katy stands. “I should get going too. I have a twenty-four-hour shift starting tomorrow morning.”
Pushing away from the table, I stand, cleaning up the mess of blueberry muffin and tucking the book under my arm. Shit. I didn’t realize she was doing that shift with me. “I do too, actually.”
Her eyes linger on me, and I can tell she wants to say something else, but is, for once, holding back.
“What is it?” I question.
“You can tell me, you know. Not because I’m curious, though I am, but because I’m a good listener if you need someone to do that for you and I’d never say anything.”
Once again, Katy has managed to knock the breath from my lungs. But Katy isn’t my friend. She’s a fantasy, a dangerous temptation, and I’m her boss. More than that, despite my wanting to trust her, I don’t trust fucking anyone right now.
“Thank you,” I say with a half-smile. “I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll see you tomorrow, Katy.”
She comes over and stands before me, reaching up and touching what are likely purple bruises beneath my eyes. “You should get some rest, Doctor. Perhaps take your mother’s advice.”
I pull my face away from her touch, forcing her hand to drop to her side. Her touch is making me want what I can’t have and shouldn’t crave. “I will in a bit.”
She smiles. “Okay.”
I smile back. “Okay.”
“I hope your mom feels better and gets discharged soon.”
“Thank you. Me too.”
She’s still smiling, and so am I.
“Bye, Katy.”
“Bye, Bennett.” She walks off, leaving me to stare after her for a moment before I drag myself away and haul my exhausted ass upstairs.
I do need sleep. Especially if I’m going to survive my twenty-four-hour shift with her.
