I push through the ER doors and cross my arms in front of my chest. He and Susan glance my way. Susan’s eyes are full of awe and affection, looking at me with a sense of bewilderment. He has this effect on people.
Carter’s smile widens as he turns in my direction. There are two coffees in his hands, and he offers one to me.
I cock a brow, glancing from the takeout cup to his face. “What is this?”
“A coffee,” he explains with a smile, like he couldn’t read the context behind that question. He nods toward the exit doors of the hospital. “Can we chat?”
I frown. “I’m working.”
“Yeah, but you have a break.”
“Not right now,” I say, taking the coffee anyway.
“Yes, now,” he says, dipping his chin. “Susie, here, ratted you out. You haven’t taken one yet.”
I glare over at Susan, who grins madly at me. Oh, she’s been smacked in the face with Forkerro fairy dust. She sold me out to some strange man who came asking questions about me. Susan is a damn liability.
I take a sip of my coffee and wince. “Bitter.”
Carter deflates a bit, and I feel bad almost instantly.
“Shit, really? I got two milk, one sugar. The lady at the shop said that was the most common.”
“I require an immense amount of sweetness,” I say, sipping again. There are more sugars in the break room, or I could run to the cafeteria. It’s not the end of the world. All coffee is fixable.
The corner of his lip twitches upward, like he found a joke somewhere in that sentence but is choosing not to voice it. “I’ll remember that for next time. How many? Two?”
“Four.”
His eyes widen. “You’re a psychopath.”
“Me?” I balk. “You punch people. Frequently.”
He grins now, full on. “‘Frequently’is a bit of a stretch.”
“Is it?” I cock a brow.
He huffs a laugh, nodding toward the doors. “Can we talk? I have something I want to run by you. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“Fine,” I grumble, shooting one last look at Susan. We’re going to talk about this later. I gesture down the hall, away from the ER. “Let’s go to the cafeteria, though. They’ll have some sugar on hand so I can tolerate this coffee while I pretend to tolerate you.”
“Aw, Red,” he muses, placing a hand over his heart. “That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
We walk to the cafeteria side-by-side. Carter gets a lot of looks, more than he even seems to realize. Kids gawk at him as they stroll by. Grown men physically trip over their feet. Nobody stops us, and that’s probably for the best. People tend to mind their business in hospitals. Who knows why Carter is actually here?
“So,” Carter says as we descend the wide staircase, “I came up with an idea after last night.”
“A rarity,” I mutter, and he only smiles. He gets my humour, which makes me like him a tad bit more. Doesn’t take anything to heart, this one.
“I have my moments.”
When we finally reach the cafeteria, I grab three packages of sugar out of the container and tear them open. I glance back at him. That annoyingly perfect face is all sunshine and rainbows as he waits.
“Go on, then.” I sigh, shaking the sugar into my coffee. “What’s this grand idea?”
“We should probably sit.”
“That doesn’t bode well for me.”
