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Head bowed, she dropped her cell phone into her handbag as she blinked against the bright sunshine, and then collided with a rock-solid chest. “Oomph!”
Strong hands grasped her arms and steadied her. “Easy.”
She looked up and locked gazes with the last person she expected to see right now. Jordan.
“I didn’t think I’d run into you here,” he said, dropping his arms and stepping aside.
She followed suit so she wasn’t standing in the way of pedestrian traffic. “I just finished visiting an elderly patient of mine who needed surgery.” Sera searched her brain for pleasantries even as she drank him in—he looked sinfully good. “What are you doing here?”
“I work with the Once upon a Dream Foundation. I’m visiting the pediatric floor.”
She couldn’t keep the surprised look from her face.
“Want to join me?” Jordan asked.
Sera looked around and noticed he was alone.
Jordan’s eyes crinkled. “I don’t normally bring a camera crew with me on these visits.” He shrugged. “I prefer not to make it a media event. Sometimes the kids like it when they’re on the news, but other times it freaks them out.”
“I’d think a kid would freak out just because Jordan Serenghetti showed up in his hospital room.”
Jordan grinned and nodded toward the entrance. “Then, come inside with me and calm things down. You’re good at puncturing my ego.”
Sera flushed. “Yup, you’re right.”
He was easy on the eyes and, now that she didn’t have quite as many of her negative conceptions of him, dangerous. Today was another blow to her armor—he did charity work with sick kids?
“So what do you say, Angel? Ready to head back in?”
She couldn’t even get annoyed about his use of the pet name at the moment. She was a sucker for people in need—and those who helped them. It was why she’d become a physical therapist. “Another appearance with you in front of a live audience? How could I refuse?”
Jordan gave her a lopsided grin. “Before long, you’ll be a pro.”
That was what she was afraid of. Nevertheless, she turned to follow him into the main hospital building. He placed a guiding hand at the small of her back, and she felt his touch radiate out from her center, heating her.
Upstairs, the nurses broke into smiles when Jordan appeared. As brief greetings were exchanged, Sera wondered how many other sick kids Jordan had visited in the past.
A portly middle-aged woman in scrubs pulled a hockey stick out of a closet next to the nurse’s station.
“Thanks, Elsie,” Jordan said, flashing a killer smile as he took the equipment from her.
“Anything for you, honey,” Elsie teased. “My husband knows I’m a fan.”
Catching Sera’s expression, Jordan looked sheepish. “I came by yesterday, but it was the wrong moment for a visit. Elsie was kind enough to hold on to the hockey stick until I came back.”
Moments later, another nurse directed them down the hall. When they stopped at an open patient-room door, Sera waited for Jordan to enter first.
He rapped on the door and then stepped inside. Immediately, there was whooping and hollering from a handful of adults in addition to a boy who was sitting up in his hospital bed.
Sera paused on the threshold. Of course she knew Jordan had a fan base, but seeing his effect on people in person was another thing. At the Puck & Shoot, he was surrounded by regulars who weren’t surprised when he showed up. And Sera had always dismissed a lot of the rest as just the adulation of adoring, unthinking women. But now, when she saw the frail and bald boy sitting up in his bed—he couldn’t be more than ten or twelve—and how his eyes lit up at the sight of Jordan, emotion welled up inside her.
Stepping over the threshold, Sera scanned the crowd. An assortment of adults continued to laugh and smile.
“Hey, Brian. What’s going on?” Jordan said casually.
Brian broke into a grin. “Number Twenty-six. I can’t believe you’re here.”
Sera recognized the number as the one that Jordan wore. The local shops in Welsdale sold that jersey more than any other.
