I coughed away my rising heartbeat and hopped off the bed, letting Marco get in for his final checks, another couple of nurses following him.
“Ready to go?” He released the brakes on the bed which kept it stationary.
“You bet.”
I stayed at the side the bed as he was wheeled out, following Marco and the other nurses, passing through the security doors and down to the operating rooms, until we reached the one he was going into.
I kissed him quickly, before sending him on his way. “I’ll see you on the other side. I’ll be waiting in post-op.”
He grinned up at me. “I’m in love, love you, Doctor Marks.”
“Please stop talking like you’re about to die. It’s knee surgery; you’ll be in and out in sixty minutes.”
He laughed at me. “I’m not, I just like saying that I’m in love with you. Say it back.”
“I love you.”
“No, I know you love me. You have to say that you’re in love with me, love me.”
“I’m in love, love you.”
“Yeah, you are.”
Marco coughed to interrupt from over my shoulder. “Sorry to break this up, but we need to get him ready.”
“Okay, go.”
I stole one last kiss as Marco wheeled him in, and turned to see Moody Dipshit and his sidekick walking down the corridor.
“Hey. You two all set for this?”
The permanent scowl Hunter had been wearing, deepened. “What? Of course we are.”
“Good. Just wanted to let you know, if you fuck this up, I will hurt you.”
“Whatever, Mol.”
I blocked his way before he could pass by. “I’m trusting you.”
“I don’t need you to trust me. I’m an excellent surgeon with the ability to focus on my job, which is more than I can say for you at the moment.”
My head craned back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He narrowed his eyes in contempt, pushing past me into the OR scrub room. I grabbed Jameson before he could follow.
“James, what the fuck is his problem right now?”
He shrugged but didn’t quite meet my eyes, because he’d never rat out his best friend, even if he was being a colossal dick. “He thinks you’ve lost focus.”
He stood there staring at my dropped mouth, because that statement was, quite frankly ridiculous. He stood there until he couldn’t stare any longer, patting me on the shoulder.
“Okay, good talk, Mol. I need to get in there and fix your boyfriend.”
Lost focus? I didn’t even know what that meant. I’d never lost focus. I was the most focused all the time.
Asshole.
A loud group of interns pulled me out of my head, and my wondering about whatever the fuck Hunter was talking about disappeared, along with the niggling feeling in the pit of my belly. I followed them into the gallery, wishing I’d got here earlier. Not one free seat was available, just like the day of his accident when I’d fixed his femur. But this was an ACL replacement, these happened every day. Didn’t they have actual work to do?
