Chapter 11

Jane leaned against the wall of the hallway, down from Mika’s room, around the corner. She was hiding. There was no use trying to pretend otherwise. What were the chances of running into Sam and King again like this? A million to one? Of all the hospitals in all the world, they walk into hers. “Ugh,” she groaned as she closed her eyes and bounced her head back against the wall. One minute it was hard wall and the next it was soft hand. Her eyes flew open and she stared into King’s smiling face.

“I like it round,” he said.

“What?”

“Your head,” he told her. “I like it round. If you keep doing that, it will be flat and that would be a shame.”

“I can’t do this,” she blurted out. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. “This is mortifying.”

“Why?” King sounded so confused she pulled her hands away and stared at him incredulously.

“Why? Because I acted like a complete ho with you guys,” she whispered furiously, looking up and down the hallway to make sure no one could hear her. King stepped in front of her, standing very close, protecting her from prying eyes.

“And?” he said with that infuriating smile.

“And I never thought I’d see you again,” she said, letting her exasperation show. “I mean, what are the odds? Really? But to have to face you. God, this is awful.” She dropped her forehead onto his big chest. He smelled delicious. She could feel the heat of his skin through his T-shirt, and an image of his naked ESPN The Magazine cover flashed through her mind. Not now, she told her wayward imagination.

“I hoped we’d see you again,” he said, disconcerting her. “We’ve both been thinking a lot about you.”

She looked up at him in shock. “You have?” she asked stupidly. He laughed. God, she remembered that laugh.

I like this watching, he’d said. She shivered at the memory.

“Of course,” he said. “We acted like hos, too.” He winked. “We never did that before you, you know.”

“I know.” Did she sound as dumb to King as she did to herself?

“So we don’t think bad of you,” he explained slowly. “Only good.”

“I’m having a terrible day,” she blurted out, unable to comprehend what he was saying. “I can’t do this right now.” He frowned and gently took her shoulders in his hands as he leaned down to put his face level with hers.

“You okay?” he asked with genuine concern. To her utter dismay, her eyes filled with tears.

“I’m so tired,” she admitted. “This is my second shift today. Earlier, I had a construction-accident victim. He lost his leg and broke his back and almost died. We had to use the crash cart.” She looked down at her rumpled, pink scrub top with the emojis all over it. “I had to change.”

Very slowly, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “Poor Jane,” he said, rocking her in his arms. “Seeing us again after all that was the last straw, right? Are you done?”

She sniffed. “Not yet. Two more hours. I just need to go home and sleep.” She pushed herself away from the comfort of his arms, but he didn’t let her go completely. He kept his hands on her waist and she let him, because it felt good to be touched by him. He was a rock, and she felt pretty damn unsteady. “Sorry for the mental breakdown. I didn’t sleep very well last night and I think I just hit the wall for a second there.”

“Have you had dinner?” King asked, frowning again.

“I did,” she lied. His concern touched something deep inside her that she didn’t want to acknowledge. It had been a long time since someone had cared enough to worry about her. “I had a sandwich. I’m good. Thanks.” She wiped a hand under each eye. “Fatigue gets you sometimes around here. So, Mika should be good to go in a few minutes. We’re just finishing the paperwork.”

“King?”

Jane looked over and saw Sam standing at the corner, not entering the hallway, as if he were giving them privacy. King quickly stepped back and she immediately missed the warmth of his hands.

“Everyone is ready to go,” Sam said.

“Oh, good,” Jane said with false brightness. “I’ll just get a wheelchair and meet you in the room.”

“I’m going to go get the car,” Sam said stiffly. “Mika asked if I could drive him home. Him and Lelei.”

Jane was confused about who Sam was with. Mika seemed to think Carmina was his girlfriend, and clearly Talia thought she was his girlfriend, but now he seemed to be paired up with Lelei as if he was Mika’s dad. Jane totally got the attraction for all three women; Sam was hot and sweet and vulnerable, the male trifecta to any breathing female. And both Talia and Lelei were gorgeous. She didn’t know about Carmina, who must be De La Cruz, from the dream. But Sam had been dreaming about her, right? That said a lot about his feelings.

Jealousy burned in her gut. Why was she jealous? She had no right to be. They had a one-night stand, not a relationship, for God’s sake. Sam turned to go and she panicked.

“Sam,” she blurted. He turned back to her, waiting. She didn’t know what to say next. “I…it was nice seeing you again.” Oh my God, could you be more lame?

“Yeah,” he said. “Great to see you, too.” She could hear the hurt under the stiff words. She didn’t know what else to say. She felt awkward and miserable. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. It was supposed to end back at that hotel room, with kisses and a fond goodbye. Sam walked off and she let him go without another word.

King still stood by her side. He took her hand in his and turned it palm up. Then he pulled her pen from where it had been clipped to her top and began to write on her arm. “This is my number.” When he was done he handed her the pen. “Put it on your phone before you wash it away, and call me tomorrow, yeah?”

“Sure,” Jane said with another false smile. “Tomorrow.” She turned away before he could detect that she was lying. “I’ll get that wheelchair and say goodbye to our patient.”

Sam sat stiffly in the driver’s seat of Lelei’s SUV. King had bought her a nice Escalade when she and Mika had moved to Birmingham last year. King’s dad was dead, and Mika’s dad was in the military, so King felt better having all “his women” near him, as he put it. Talia hated it when he called them that, which was why he did it, of course. It made his mom laugh.

“Are you okay, pele?” Lelei asked Mika for the thousandth time since they left the hospital.

“I’m okay,” Mika said in a small voice. Sam glanced at him in the rearview mirror. He was pale, with big circles under his eyes.

“It’s been a rough day, little buddy,” Sam said. For both of us, he thought. “Everything will feel better when we get you home and into your own bed.”

“I don’t need to go to bed,” Mika snapped. “I’m not a little kid. It’s still early.”

“After I got hurt in Afghanistan, when I was in the hospital I slept a lot,” Sam told Mika, surprising himself with his willingness to talk about it at all. “The doctors and nurses told me that sleep helps your body heal. If you want to heal faster, you sleep more.”

“Really?” Mika said suspiciously.

“Didn’t that nice nurse tell you so?” Lelei asked. “She said you should get lots of rest.”

“I guess so,” Mika grumbled. Lelei smiled at Sam, but made sure Mika wouldn’t see it.

That nice nurse. She was nice, all right. Jane. Man, seeing her had done a number on him. He’d gotten a little hard just seeing her and remembering what they’d done. Which was embarrassing and all kinds of wrong in the hospital, when she was working and Mika was hurt. Sam felt sick and dirty. But in his defense, she was freaking hot.

King had thought so, too. Sam drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he thought about how he’d found them in that empty hallway, King’s hands on Jane’s hips, standing so close together. Sam could tell he’d interrupted something going on between them. Maybe King was with her right now. Sam shook his head. Now he was getting delusional. King was in his SUV following them with Mrs. Ulupoka and Talia. But that didn’t mean he and Jane hadn’t made arrangements to see each other again.

Sam blew out a frustrated breath. He was being an asshole. Of course King liked her. He was the one that had made the advances, not Sam. She’d gone with them back to the hotel, and had drinks with them, because of King. It was probably King she’d been attracted to. Maybe she liked fucking Sam in front of King. Sam had liked it, that was for sure. He felt himself blush and kept his eyes on the road. He didn’t want to have to explain why he was blushing to Lelei.

“Sam, are you going to stay at our house?” Mika asked hopefully. “I’ll go to bed if you stay.” Sam had a room at King’s house. He had his own apartment, too, but he slept at King’s a lot. And sometimes, when King needed to get away from his family, he stayed at Sam’s.

“Sure,” Sam said. He could keep an eye on King that way. He winced at the thought. What the hell was wrong with him? He and Jane had been nothing more than a one-night stand. He had no claim on her. And King was his best friend. He should be happy King was hooking up with a nice woman like her. Watching her work had been a turn-on. She was so professional and efficient. Sam liked self-confident women, and Jane was definitely one of those. King had always liked them, too.

Sam gripped the steering wheel harder. He would be cool if King said he wanted to call Jane and see her again. He would wish them well. So what if she was the best fuck he’d ever had? So what if she was exactly the kind of woman Sam could see himself with? There were other women like her. Sure, Sam hadn’t been attracted to any of them yet. He hadn’t found any he wanted to rip the clothes off of and fuck standing right inside the doorway like he had Jane. But there must be another one out there. King could have her.

As if Sam had any say in it. He quietly snorted under his breath. It was her decision. He wasn’t going to compete with King for her. He’d lose, for starters. King was built like a fucking Mack truck, and he was one of the nicest guys Sam had ever met. He was genuine, with a great family, and he was one of the best defensemen in the NFL. Sam, on the other hand, was fucked-up in the head and an embarrassment on the field. Yeah, not much competition there.

Thankfully, they arrived home before Sam could depress himself any more.