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We end up on a reclining chair that faces the back glass wall. Our clothes are gone again, and Willow is straddling me as we conquer round two. Her body moves slowly on top of mine, allowing me to savor every movement. We take our time and draw it out until we both peak within seconds of each other.
Then, we stay snuggled in that spot, wrapped together in a heavy blanket, watching the water and the stillness of the night. We talk until we end up falling asleep there, awakening in the early morning hours to see a moose eating the greenery around the pond. We observe him for a while before heading back to the bedroom. After we sink into her comfortable bed, she falls back asleep in my arms.
And I don’t remember the last time I felt this content.
Especially not since my injury stole my dreams away and left me … searching.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WILLOW
A slow burn started between Dr. Cooper and me after we had dinner that night around Christmas. It was months ago, but it changed something between us. If I was honest, the shift had started even before then. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make my work life more exciting or the long nights of call and in the operating rooms somehow less grueling. Mostly because we were there together in the trenches. I looked forward to my time with him.
“Do you want me to bring you something back for lunch?” I asked him as I finished dictating on my last patient of the morning.
Sometimes, we’d go out for lunch together. Sometimes, we’d do things separately.
“Where are you going?” he questioned.
“The deli, I think,” I said before naming a sandwich place nearby.
“No, I’m good,” he answered.
His eyes shifted to look over my shoulder, and his spine stiffened. I saw him stand taller with his chest puffed out.
I turned to see Alex coming down the hall. He was one of our reps, and we used some of his implants in surgery. We had become friends over time and went to lunch together every now and then. Alex had a serious girlfriend, and there was nothing between us besides friendship, but Dr. Cooper didn’t know that. And by the cloudy look on his face, he was bothered by it. He was threatened by Alex.
“Hey,” I said, giving Alex a hug.
Alex was tall and good-looking. An affectionate guy, he always hugged me hello and squeezed me goodbye. We were around the same age. He was easy to talk to, and I enjoyed his company. If he didn’t have a girlfriend, I would be interested in him for something more. But he did have one, and I respected that. I was never the type of girl who wanted to steal something that belonged to someone else. Alex was not an exception to that rule.
But Dr. Cooper was obviously irritated by my relationship with Alex. I knew it, and Alex knew it. Alex just didn’t care. A lot of the reps stayed away from me because they were scared that any interaction with me would be stepping on Dr. Cooper’s territory. They didn’t want to incite his wrath because they depended on him for business.
Alex knew of Dr. Cooper’s reputation. He just didn’t let it intimidate him, like it did to so many others. He was an orthopedic surgeon’s son, so he had grown up around the business. And he was well aware of all the rumors surrounding my surgeon. But he didn’t let them control his actions.
“Hey, Dr. Cooper,” Alex said in his laid-back demeanor.
Dr. Cooper grunted out a reply as he watched the two of us together. Something about it thrilled me, knowing that my physician felt possessive of me. We played little games thesedays, Dr. Cooper and I. And the stakes increased more every day. His jealousy made it even sweeter to spend time with Alex. But also, I genuinely liked the guy.
“Ready?” Alex asked, looking down at me.
“Yep,” I said with a smile.
I grabbed my wallet, and we walked off together.
We had a fun, fast lunch, eating sandwiches and talking about life. And less than an hour later, I was back in the office for the second half of clinic.
“Did you have a nice time with Alex?” Dr. Cooper asked. There was something intrusive to his question. Accusatory.
“We did,” I said, acting oblivious to his possessiveness. “I always have fun with Alex.”
Dr. Cooper and I weren’t together. We weren’t a couple. He was married. And it was satisfying to sometimes remind him that I was a desirable, young, single female with a life of her own—emphasis on thesinglepart. Even though the truth was, I didn’t have much of a social life at that point. Because all I did was work, and I was usually too tired at the end of the day to do much socializing. But he didn’t know that.
Dr. Cooper had asked me once if Alex and I pulled off into a parking lot and made out at lunch, or something along those lines, like we were having some sort of illicit affair. It always struck me as odd that he had asked that question. It made me think that Dr. Cooper had done something like that before—or he would, if given the chance. Because it hadn’t even crossed my mind. Like I said, Alex and I were just friends. He was taken. And I had consistently lived with integrity so far.
I was engrossed in work for most of the afternoon that day. Our clinic schedule was always packed with patients. There weretimes at the end of the year when we saw close to a hundred patients a day between the two of us. A lot of them were follow-ups or rechecks though, so those appointments didn’t take long. It was still a lot of hard work regardless.
On clinic days, we wore nice clothing. I wore dresses, skirts, slacks, and fancy shirts. The rest of the time, we wore scrubs. And on some lazy days, I wore scrubs to the office. But most of the time, I tried to look professional on office days—for myself and, if I’m truthful, for Dr. Cooper and some of our clientele as well. I didn’t miss the appreciative glances my surgeon would give me when I wore certain outfits. Or the way his eyes would peruse my body, lingering on certain parts. I liked the attention even if it was wrong to like it.
