“Better?”
“Y-yes…” she stammers.
Giving her a few minutes, I don’t move and observe her from across the room. She’s more beautiful than I remembered. Something in my chest settles with my proximity to her. I’m fucked. I can’t treat her and need to notify Greta immediately, but I fear she’ll take off on me.
“You’re a doctor?” she asks reluctantly, and I nod.
“I mentioned that, sweetheart.”
“You didn’t say of what!” she snaps.
I smile. “I don’t like to announce I’m interested in women’s health. It turns off most women.” I shrug and step backward until I’m leaning against the farthest wall. I shouldn’t be in here, but I need a few minutes.
“Why did you leave?” I ask, hearing the hurt in my voice.
Ava’s eyes drop to her hands. After a minute or two passes, I turn toward the door and she clears her throat. “I don’t have one-night stands. I didn’t know the protocol, and honestly I was ashamed…”
“Ashamed?” I ask the door, unable to face her if it’s me she’s ashamed of.
“I don’t go home with men.”
Taking a deep breath, I turn and nod. “I understand.” I wave a hand around the room, “So, this can’t happen. I’ll notify Greta.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
“Before I step out… Just so you know, I haven’t stopped thinking about you. I’d love to take you on a proper date.” I remove a business card from my coat and place it on the counter. “My numbers are on there.”
Unable to bear another rejection from this woman, I hurry into the hall and meet Allicyn. Her head cocks to the side, and she peers past me at the closed door.
“That was quick. Everything all right?”
“Where’s Dr. Froberg?” I ask, avoiding her question. The last thing I need is my business floating among the nurses and office staff.
Allicyn’s brows draw together. “She just stepped into her office.”
I nod and take deliberate steps until I’m shutting the door behind me. Greta looks up from a file with surprise.
“What’s the matter, Jason?” she asks, her words dripping with concern.
Shoving a hand in my hair, I sigh. “You need to treat room two.”
“Something happen?”
Forcing myself to look at her, I state, “I know her… intimately.”
Greta leans back and smirks with surprise. “Who?”
“Ava King.”
“Okay,” Greta says and pushes to her feet. I hold her gaze, watching her move around the desk and stop in front of me. “Is she the reason you’ve been out of sorts the last few weeks?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Jay… You haven’t been here long, and only a woman can turn a man inside out. Take a moment to gather your shit, and you can take my ten fifteen.” Greta pulls me away from the door and slips out.
Scrubbing my face, I mutter, “Fuck!”
I’m not sure what it is about Ava King, but Greta is correct. The woman has turned me inside out. Like an addict, I want more. Not the sex—although I’d gladly take more of her soft warm body—but the woman is who I can’t get enough of. A few hours in a bar and I’m a goner. What on earth is wrong with me?
“Get your shit together!” I scold myself.
Turning my gaze to the left, I spot the clock on the wall. After another round of cleansing breaths, I step from the room. Walking past room two, my steps slow. With only a door between us, I fight the temptation to run in there. She’s come here for treatment, not a caveman threatening to storm in.
Seeing the file hanging across the hall, I read it through and force a smile on my face. “Good morning, Mrs. Barry. I’m Doctor Zmudosky.”
