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The elevator stopped at Paige’s floor, and the door slid open before the other woman said anything else, saving her from further questions. “Have a nice visit. I hope your mom gets better soon.”
With the exception of when she’d run cross-country and track in high school, she’d never had her picture in the paper prior to the auction. Even back then it’d been buried in the high school sports section where few people looked unless they had a child who competed. Paige suspected the picture the woman spoke of had appeared in the society section, a portion of the Sunday paper many people checked. Even her mom read through it from time to time. Despite more and more news being available on the computer, her parents remained die-hard newspaper readers, often picking up a copy if they stopped for gas or coffee. And every Sunday they still had a paper delivered to the house. Her father enjoyed the local news. Her mom loved to look over the local news section, the weekly commentary, and the various sales advertised. They both fought over who got the sports section first. Most of the time her mom conceded first, especially if dad promised to make waffles and bacon for breakfast.
So if her picture had appeared in the paper again, there was a good chance her mom had seen it this time—or would, because she didn’t always get through the whole paper on Sunday—which meant she’d be calling soon. She’d never told either of her parents about Aunt Bebe’s stunt at the auction. Since Mom had never called, Paige assumed her mom had skipped reading the society section the weekend of the fundraiser and thus didn’t need to know. Paige doubted she’d get that lucky twice.
Already she knew Dad would find Aunt Bebe’s actions amusing. Mom, well, she wasn’t sure what her thoughts would be. While Mom and Aunt Bebe got along well, she sometimes complained that Aunt Bebe went overboard when it came to Paige and Joe. In Paige’s opinion, Aunt Bebe’s actions this time qualified as overboard. She suspected her mom would have a similar opinion.
Overboard, but perhaps a good thing, she reminded herself. She still hadn’t decided. He said he’d enjoyed their time together, a sentiment she shared. While it might be a stretch, maybe something would develop. He’d called her. He said he was thinking about her. He wanted to see her again soon. If he were indifferent to her, none of those would be true. Don’t forget his kiss. A man didn’t kiss the way he’d kissed her if he wasn’t at least a little interested.
She set down her iced coffee at the nurses’ station and envisioned their kiss again. Why did I agree to cover for Anne this weekend? If she’d said no, she could’ve made plans with Scott and possibly received another kiss similar to their last one. She would’ve done it for me if I needed the time off, Paige reminded herself, although it didn’t lessen her disappointment. At least she had the following weekend to look forward to. It would have to do.
***
“I’m heading downstairs for dinner. If you need anything, Shelly is covering for me,” Paige told the patient and her husband in room 323 late Saturday afternoon. “To reach her, dial the same number you do to get me.”
“But you’ll be back, right? You’re Hilary’s favorite nurse,” the husband asked. From what Paige had seen the man hadn’t left his wife’s bedside since she’d been brought up from the operating room two days ago.
“I’m on until seven tonight.” She considered suggesting the man take a break himself. He looked as if he needed it. “There’s a decent selection of food in the cafeteria if you’re hungry. I can show you where it is.” While not the best food she’d ever tasted, it beat the cafeteria food she remembered in high school, and it served good coffee.
“My son promised to bring something later today.”
She wondered if that was the son with the blue hair and spiderweb tattoo on his face or the one who came on Thursday wearing a jacket with the name of a motorcycle club on the back.
“Okay. Remember, call Shelly if you need assistance.”
Paige stepped out of the room, food and coffee the only two things on her mind. Her patients were in good hands with Shelly. She managed three steps before a hand clamped around her bicep and gave it a tug, pulling her into an empty patient room.
“You’ve been holding out on me. Who’s the hot new guy?” Shelly whispered. “And does he have a brother?”
“What are you talking about?”
Shelly rolled her eyes. “The one who walked in asking for you and who’s waiting by the nurses’ station.” The phone attached to a pocket on Shelly’s pants rang, an indication a patient required her help. “Seriously, now?” She pulled the phone out. “Later I want to know who he is.”
You’re not the only one. Paige watched Shelly walk away. No one visited her at the hospital. Even when she’d been married, Benjamin hadn’t stopped by during her shifts, and he’d worked in the hospital too. “Only one way to find out,” she said, stepping out into the hall.
The sight of Scott standing there in faded jeans and a T-shirt caused her heart to pound so loud she didn’t need a stethoscope to hear it. She’d never seen him dressed so casually, and while she’d thought he looked great in a suit, he looked even better in jeans. She finished her visual inspection, something she could’ve spent a lot more time doing, and used her mind for more useful things, such as asking what he was doing here. He’d said he’d call her this weekend, not show up unannounced. Yet here he was, waiting for her while at the same time distracting every female nurse on the floor.
“Scott,” she said, walking up to him. The other nurses nearby sent looks of approval her way before going back about their business. Or at least they made it look as if they were minding their own business. Paige guessed about half of them were paying more attention to them.
He gave her a smile hot enough to melt chocolate before giving her a hug.
“What are you doing here?” Considering Scott had family in the area, it was possible someone he knew was a patient in the hospital. “Is someone sick?”
“Since you had to work this weekend, I decided to stop by and say hello. Hope you don’t mind.”
He’d come all the way from New York, or wherever he’d been, to say hello? “Don’t mind at all. I’m heading to the cafeteria now for dinner, if you want to come.”
“Good, I got the timing right. Hoped I would.”
And how did she respond to that one? “Give me a minute, I need to grab my things from my locker.”
Paige sensed many of her coworkers watching her as she walked away and into the locker room. Later she’d get a lot of questions from people. Although she didn’t usually work weekends anymore, she knew enough of the staff on today that they wouldn’t think twice about asking her about Scott. And of cour
se Shelly would want some answers too.
Neither said anything until they stepped into an elevator and the door slid closed, leaving them alone and thankfully away from curious eyes. “Sorry, I’ve got to ask. How did you know where to go and when to come?”
“The night of the auction you told me you worked in the CCU. And when I called on Tuesday you were on a break. I hoped you’d have the same schedule today.”
