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“Sounds good.”
“Thank you.” Steffan nodded to his competent nurse and set off down the hallway. Could his sister-in-law Macey help him figure out who Angelica was? She’d probably find something. If he had a picture of Angelica to send to her.
He puzzled how to take a picture of his beautiful patient as he headed back to his office. Jensen would be here soon. That would help. He hoped.
Chapter Three
Hattie breathed a sigh of relief when ‘Doctor Prince’ Steffan closed the door, but she strangely missed his all-consuming presence. He was impressive and attractive, that was for certain. Maybe more impressive than any of the thousands of successful, handsome, and inspiring men she’d met in her travels around the world rubbing shoulders with royalty, celebrities, dignitaries, and military heroes alike.
And she couldn’t care about that right now. She had to get out of here. Detective Jensen Allendale—no, Chief Jensen Allendale—was on his way. She could hear the doomsday music playing in the background.
Did she dare buzz that nurse, Melanie, and beg her to find her clothes? The woman had seemed far too perceptive. What if she realized Hattie was lying about having amnesia? Steffan had given her a few looks that made her think he might be on to her too. Crap. She hated the thought of never seeing him again, but it was what had to happen.
She couldn’t sneak out of here without her clothes. How long until Jensen got here? Her stomach tumbled with apprehension. The dinner actually smelled delicious, and she had no idea how long it had been since she’d eaten, but she didn’t have time for that now. Either she had to get brave and ask Melanie for clothes, wait for that other nurse who fawned over Steffan to track down her clothes and bring them to her room, or sneak out and steal some.
Hmm. Option number three sounded like the most proactive idea. She slid out of bed, clutching the gown at the back. She hated this stupid thin robe. Except for when Steffan had put his manly hand on her back and the tingles and warmth from that palm and fingers had seeped through the washed-too-many-times fabric.
Stop it, she commanded herself. If all went well, she’d never see the good doctor again. That stunk, as he was the first man who had truly captured her attention in … she couldn’t remember a man who’d drawn her in like the kind doctor prince had. Sheesh, that was dumb and not the most important matter of the moment. She would go to prison for murder if she didn’t get out of here. Jensen had done far too much to protect and help her when Jane had been killed. She couldn’t go back on her promise to never return to this beautiful and miniscule country. How had she landed plop in the middle of the one place she didn’t want to be? And where was Franz? Had he been injured or killed?
Creeping to the door, she wondered if she should sneak up on a nurse close to her size and knock her out and steal her clothes. Oh, and she needed a phone to call Sadie. She knew Sadie and Wolf would come for her. The only people she could truly trust in this world were her cousin and husband.
It was an okay plan, but she flinched thinking about knocking out a nurse. She didn’t like to hurt people, and would that be another crime to add to the list she’d supposedly committed in this beautiful country?
A rap on the door came and then it pushed open. Hattie startled to see the pretty young nurse stride in, holding her clothes and her Sorrells. Shaylee? Yes, that was it.
She’d forgive the lady for hitting on Steffan a million times over. Shaylee had brought her clothes. Now she wouldn’t have to knock a nurse out. She just had to sneak out and charm some unsuspecting man into buying her dinner, ‘borrowing’ his phone, and calling Sadie—or if she couldn’t remember Sadie’s number, she’d look up one of her lawyers or financial guys numbers or she could easily find the number for the hotel in Bad Ragaz. They knew who she was and had her credit cards on file. They would send somebody to get her and soon she’d have her phone, money, passport, computer, suitcases, lip gloss … ah, life would be good. It would all work out.
“Oh … What are you doing out of bed?” Shaylee paused and stared at her. “Are you all right? You should be resting.”
“I’m feeling really great, thank you so much.” She eyed her shirt, shorts, bra, panties, socks, and Sorrels hungrily. “Thank you for bringing my clothes. I can’t wait to get out of this.” She turned and showed off her bare tush that she’d guarded so carefully from the doctor prince.
The nurse laughed. “I bet. They’re fresh out of the laundry, and they even scrubbed your dirty shoes clean. Do you need help changing?”
“Oh, no. I really am feeling great. Just the bothersome amnesia thing.”
“I’m sorry. I hope your memory comes back soon. You look really familiar to me. Are you famous on TikTok or something?”
Oh, crap. Hattie posted on social media occasionally, sometimes paparazzi liked to feature her, and as a young female billionaire she had a lot of followers interested in what her latest grand adventure was.
“No. I wish. Are you?” Hattie put on a simpering look. The nurse was a very nice girl, just a bit too smitten with Dr. Steffan. What woman wouldn’t be?
“I have an account where I share tips on strength training and my favorite Paleo recipes. Would you like to follow me?”
“Ah, that’s why you look so fit. I would love to follow you, but I don’t have my phone. Can you write your tag down for me and I’ll follow you as soon as I get my phone back?”
“Of course.” The nurse set the clothes down on the bed and the shoes on the floor. She wrote down her information on a pad of paper, ripped off the top page, and then handed it to Hattie.
“Thank you.” Hattie prayed she’d leave now. She had to get moving. Detective Jensen could be here any minute.
“Sure. Do you need anything else?”
“No, but thank you very much.”
Please leave, please leave.
“Okay. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
