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I might already be in over my head with this girl. But whether I want to admit it or not, she makes me feel things I have no business feeling. Being so tempted by something I shouldn’t be tempted by, is fucking tempting as all hell.
Thankfully, the traffic isn’t as bad on this side of town, and once we reach the hospital, I help Brinley down from the Jeep and then pick her up again in my arms. I carry her in through the sliding front doors.
A nurse at the desk looks up, and I can tell she recognizes me by her wide eyes and the sharp pull of air that hisses through her front teeth.
I’m not usually one to use my fame to my advantage. I don’t name drop to get the best tables at restaurants, and I’m not one of those musicians who uses his face, or his money, to get what he wants. But this evening I’m not ashamed to do any of those things.
I smile my most panty-dropping smile at the nurse, tell her my name, and I tell her what’s happened to Brinley, and then, to the dismay of everyone else sitting in the waiting room, we’re ushered straight through a set of thick plastic doors, and into the back of the hospital where a multitude of doctors and nurses in white coats and blue scrubs are running around in a state of organized chaos.
I place her gently down on one of the few free beds along the corridor.
“You’ll be alright,” I tell her. “Let the doctors check you out, and I’ll be out in the waiting room.”
“You… you don’t have to wait.”
She breaks out into a coughing fit, clutching at her ribs. I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’ll be in the waiting room. I don’t care how long it takes. Tell them to come and get me when you’re done and then I’ll drive you home.”
The nurse smiles at me, a very blatant, very flirtatious smile that’s accompanied by a perfected flick of her hair and a well-executed squish of her breasts. It’s obvious and obnoxious, but I’m not about to say or do anything to put this woman in her place, not if it could ruin Brinley’s chances of being attended to.
“She’s in good hands, Mr. Devlin,” says the nurse, practically purring.
I hope she’s telling me the truth. Because right now, that’s all that matters.
I nod and head for the waiting room.
Fingers crossed we won’t be here too long.
I obviously haven’t spent a whole lot of time in the New York City hospital system, because six fucking hours later and I’m still sitting in the waiting room, my frustration level at an all-time high. I’m bored as fuck, and my backside is completely numb, and I don’t know what happened to the air conditioning system but I’m currently sweating bullets.
“Mr. Devlin?”
I startle and jump to my feet. “I’m coming.”
Following the nurse over to the desk, I talk to the receptionist for a few minutes, and organize some paperwork, before handing over my credit card to cover Brinley’s medical bill. And then the same nurse as before ushers me back down the long corridor to a small room on the left. She looks tired, and run off her feet, and she’s not nearly as perky now that she’s coming to the end of her shift.
When I push the flimsy curtain back, Brinley is sitting up in the bed wearing a thin cotton gown. She’s attached to an IV that’s dripping slowly from a bag above her head and a cannula is taped to the back of her hand.
“How you feeling?” I ask, taking a seat in the corner of the room.
“Better,” she replies with a small nod. “Thank you so much for waiting, and for bringing me in here, Reed. I’ll pay you back every single cent of my medical bill.”
“Hey, stop. It’s my pleasure,” I tell her. And it’s the truth. I would never have slept a wink knowing she was all alone in a strange place, especially if there’s something seriously wrong with her. “What’s the diagnosis? Are you going to be alright?”
The nurse adjusts a couple of switches on the machine beside the bed and then checks Brinley’s blood pressure. “She’s going to be just fine. She was severely dehydrated. That’s why we’re giving her an IV. It’ll be done in about ten minutes, and then she’s free to be discharged and head on home.”
“Dehydrated?”
The nurse nods, patting Brinley’s arm. “And her blood pressure was very low. This most likely has to do with not eating properly. She also has a chest infection, so she’s been given a prescription for some antibiotics. Should start to clear up in a few days if she eats well, keeps warm, and then she’ll be back on her feet again in no time at all.”
“So good food, a warm apartment, and some medicine will help, yeah?”
“Absolutely,” she says, nodding. She looks at Brinley with a soft smile. “Let me go and finish up your paperwork, and then I’ll be right back to take the IV out. Make sure you get something nutritious into your body before your body gives you another warning. And make sure you take the medicine.”
“I will.”
I stand and nod politely. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m too tired to flirt right now, but rest assured, Mr. Devlin, you’ve made some very frustrated nurses very happy tonight. Any chance I could get an autograph?”
