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“Is he expecting you?”
“No, we brought him lunch. We’re his partners.”
Her mouth formed an O which slowly turned into a smile. “One sec. Let me see if I can find him. You’re lucky you got here when you did. We were busy this morning and now coming out of a rush.”
She disappeared down the short hall behind her where she swiped a card to get behind the locked door. It didn’t take long before she returned with Corbin. He had on a set of scrubs and his hair was a bit of a mess. His eyes crinkled in the corners behind his glasses when he smiled.
“What are you two doing here?” he asked.
“We brought you lunch,” I said.
He gave us each a quick kiss and ushered us into the back with him. I liked knowing the ER was secure and that patients couldn’t easily get to where the staff was. I also liked seeing the security guard off to the side in his own booth. It made me feel more comfortable with Corbin working here.
It didn’t matter how safe a place was supposed to be. Shit happened. I would always worry about Corbin and Val.
“Let me introduce you to Autumn before we eat, or she’ll burst. She’s been itching to meet you.” Corbin had mentioned her before and how they’d grown close while he worked here. He said she never gossiped about him or broke his trust. I was glad he had a friend like her at work.
Autumn was all smiles when she saw us coming. She was in scrubs as well. Her red hair was pulled back away from her face, showing off her cheekbones. She was a good deal shorter than Corbin and me, but she made up for it when she didn’t hesitate to hug me tight before moving to Val.
“It’s great to finally meet you both. Corbin has told me so much about you.” She looked us over. “Yup, I can see why he was drawn to you. You’re both hot as hell.”
“Okay, visiting time is over,” Corbin cut in.
“The hell it is.” She lightly smacked his arm. “It’s not every day I get to meet your partners. You’ve met my husband and kids countless times. Let me enjoy this.”
“The last time Gregory was here I had to stitch his finger.”
Autumn put her hand on her hip. “You know I didn’t marry him for his carpentry skills. I told him to hire a professional. He had to try to repair the stairs on his own. He still has a small scar from where the wood splintered and sliced him.”
Val held up his hand. “I’m fine with blood, but I don’t need the details of how the wound happened. You can gloss right over that part.”
“Oh, honey, you hang around here long enough and you’ll see all kinds of things.”
“Thanks for the PSA. I’ll be sure to leave visiting time to Xaiden after this.”
Corbin chuckled and reached out to bring Val in close to hug him. “You’re lucky my scrubs are clean. I just had to change them.”
“Don’t want to know, Doc. Don’t. Want. To. Know.”
Corbin kissed him then reached for me. I went easily, passing the bag with our food in it to Val so I could wrap my arms around Corbin. I didn’t mind blood or wounds. When I was fighting, I saw plenty of them. It didn’t faze me anymore. Though if it was one of my men bleeding; I’d probably feel differently.
I gave myself an internal shake. I wasn’t going there right now. We came to have lunch with Corbin, not have me drag us down with my morbid thoughts.
“Do you have a place we can eat?” I asked.
“Yes. If a patient comes in, I’ll need to leave.”
He led us to a break room which was empty. A round table sat in the space with chairs around it. There was everything they’d need in here from a fridge to a microwave to a well-stocked coffee maker. Autumn said she’d grab him if she needed him. We were on limited time. If I could get him fed, I’d feel better. Val and I could finish our lunch whenever. Corbin had to squeeze meals in when he could.
We met a few more nurses and some of the other staff who came and went. It was nice being introduced to the people Corbin worked with. I especially liked the look of pride on his face every time he told them we were his partners. We seemed to have left the boyfriend title behind when we moved in together.
Corbin was a good man. Genuine. Kind. He’d give the shirt off his back if someone was in need. It was obvious by the smiles on those he introduced us to how much they liked him. Working in an environment that could be stressful as hell like this was, it was important for him to be able to depend on those he shared his shift with.
It was about twenty minutes into our meal when he was finally pulled away. We were cleaning up the food, Val and I had both finished, when we heard Autumn talking quickly to someone.
28
CORBIN
