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“Then, the mafia men who came in, they were the scariest. I remember one time when I first started in the ER with Dr. Wakeford in Philly, I was so new I had no idea what I was doing. They were rough and battered and bruised… But turns out, they are actually really nice guys!” I say, smiling, remembering the first time I met Carter Grange. Eddie looks at me for a moment, only blinking, before continuing.
“When I was backpacking in Asia, I remember one night I went to the local market to grab some food, and I tried a local delicacy that made me so sick I was in the hospital for days,” he says, and my eyes widen.
“Oh no, what did you eat?” I ask, wincing. Food poisoning is the worst.
“Goat testicles.” I sit in shock as we both look at each other before we totally lose it. I laugh so hard, my eyes are watering again, and that makes him laugh even harder.
“Goat balls?! You ate goat balls?” I clarify through my laughter.
“Well, in my defense, I didn’t know they were goat balls when I was eating them. I just thought it was chicken. I guess it wasn’t cooked properly, because I had to be strapped to an IV drip for two days.” He leans forward, his thumb connecting with my cheek, and he swipes a stray tear that was falling. The minute his thumb grazes my skin, the world stops. I forget how to breathe, and his eyes look right into mine, the temperature in the room increasing.
“Sorry, you just had a tear…”
“It’s okay,” I whisper, seemingly forgetting how to talk as he brushes his thumb across my cheek a few more times. It would be so easy just to lean in, maybe touch my lips to his. But I can’t, so I lean back a little, my cheek feeling cold as his hand drops away.
“So where is your family? Are they still in Philly?” he asks, and my body stiffens. It is an innocent question, but he doesn’t need to know. It is not worth bringing up.
“I grew up in Boston,” I offer, leaving it at that. I don’t want to get into it. Not here, not now. There is no point. I can’t go thinking that these feelings I am having whenever I am around Eddie are worthwhile. Nothing good lasts in my life. My history has taught me that, and it is a history that is not worth repeating. “I should go.”
“I didn’t mean to pry,” he says, sitting forward as I stand, and I feel my nails dig into my palms. Because, really, I don’t want to leave him.
“It’s fine. It’s just getting late, and the day is catching up with me.” It’s only an excuse, but as I say it, I yawn, my body agreeing. I gather my things, having been sitting here with him for the better part of an hour. I want to stay. I want to curl up on his lap and never leave. But… I can't get attached. Everyone I attach myself to leaves. My parents, the one boy I thought was my forever. He is the one that hurts the most. I thought we would be together through thick and thin. Turns out, he was the worst thing to ever happen to me.
“Take it easy on that arm, okay?” I offer him a small smile as I start to step back to the door.
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, giving me a mock salute as he grins at me. It is contagious. As hard as I try to tamp it down, the feeling of happiness is too overwhelming and my own wide smile beams.
“See you around,” I offer with a wave.
“See you around, Pinkie.” He winks, and I almost trip as I walk backward through the door.
What the hell is happening to me?
CHAPTER EIGHT - EDDIE
It has been almost a week since I last saw her in her scrubs after work, patching me up, and every day I have been here, in my maintenance uniform, hanging around Brian like a bad smell, hoping to run into her again. I will admit, while I was delirious and probably looked like an idiot fainting at the sight of my wound, I didn’t mind her hands on me and wouldn’t mind feeling them again.
Katie Taylor, the pink-haired, tattooed pocket rocket from 10A, intrigues me. Her eyes are haunting, yet captivating. She has a quick wit, and is obviously well educated, since she is a nurse. Independent, since she is living on her own, at what I think is her early twenties, especially in a new city. I also noticed she didn’t have a ring on her finger as my body thrummed under her touch.
I should have asked for her number. That is what a normal guy would do. But no. I am a billionaire hiding in civilian clothing. Prancing around this complex like I fucking know what I am doing when, in reality, this woman has thrown me, and now I feel almost out of control. I could go and knock on her door, but it is her home, and I don’t want to invade her personal space without her permission. So, like a pathetic idiot, my plan is to hang around here in the lobby until I run into her, to see if these feelings I have are reciprocated and, if so, maybe ask her for a date.
“You back again, bossman?” Brian says, watching me walk toward him after getting changed out of my suit.
“You never know what might need fixing,” I offer, ignoring his nickname for me and looking through my toolbox, trying to act inconspicuous while my eyes flick to the building entrance. I am never here during the week. Monday through Friday is strictly Edward Rothschild’s time. But this week, Eddie, the maintenance man, has been in full effect. I even got a jump start on a few minor projects I had been putting off.
“Well, she hasn’t arrived back from work yet, so you might be in luck tonight,” he says, a sly grin on his face. He clearly knows what I am up to.
“I have no idea what you are talking about, Brian.” I shake my head at being caught.
“No, bossman, I am sure you don’t.” He grabs some paperwork and starts logging his work into the computer.
I know her shift finishes at seven, but now that she is also volunteering, she gets home at all different hours. A cuddler. I have never even heard of that before. I am not ashamed to say that I looked into it this week, and the statistics around the number of babies born in Maryland with opiates, alcohol, narcotics, or other drugs in their systems is frightening.
It is dark outside, and I don’t like the fact that she walks home from the hospital at night. Baltimore is not overly dangerous, but it is a city, with lots of different characters. Personal safety is something that you have to watch wherever you are, and Baltimore is no different. I walk toward the front glass doors, looking at my own town car and driver waiting outside, and a thought comes to me.
I am about to turn around and head back to Brian, when the doors open, and she rushes in, looking panicked.
“Oh, hey, Eddie,” she says, seemingly out of breath, striding straight up to me, but glancing back out the doors to the night sky. Her expression is full of worry.
