Chapter 28

Olivia

There was a soft knock at my exam room door before it opened. I looked over to see Dr. Monroe, the team doctor for the Seattle Stars stepping through the door with a patient. The patient in question was Mack Dawson, one of the American players on the team, a true-blue Seattle boy and handsome as all get out. Mack had a body to die for, shaggy blondish-brown hair and twinkling hazel eyes with a roguish smile. I looked at him with hope in my heart, hoping against all reason he’d elicit even a flicker of the attraction I felt toward Liam. Nothing, I felt nothing. I looked at Mack with a clinical eye, purely objective with not the slightest bit interest. I’d developed this disconcerting habit of thinking I was going to look up and find Liam. Today was worse than usual because I’d known Dr. Monroe was coming along with Mack and couldn’t help but wonder if Liam would take the opportunity to stop by.

No Liam. Only Dr. Monroe and Mack. I swallowed my disappointment and smiled politely at Mack. “Hello Mack, I understand your elbow had a nasty collision with the ground.”

Mack threw that roguish grin my way and even added a wink. Clearly, the man was an incorrigible flirt. I couldn’t help but remember the first time Liam had been in this room with me, just as flirtatious and naughty. Just thinking about the kiss he laid on me before he left sent a jolt of heat through me. I hadn’t heard from Liam in over a week. He’d even given up on texting me. I’d thought I wanted the very thing he was doing, yet I hated it. I missed him so much it ached, and I was getting restless and needy with desire. I’d never been restless and needy in my life. I’d woken several times deep in the night with the sheets damp and my panties wet from dreams about Liam.

Focus, Olivia. Focus. Liam did what you asked. Move on.

I adjusted my glasses and glanced between Mack and Dr. Monroe. “I had a few minutes to review the scan you sent over, but let me look again,” I said, picking up my computer tablet and clicking to the screen. “It looks like an ulnar shaft fracture. I see they’ve already iced you and stabilized it temporarily.” I set my tablet down and nodded toward Mack’s arm.

Mack nodded. “It was like a bad dance. I got tangled up with a defender. He fell, I fell and my elbow got twisted.”

“How much pain are you in?” I asked, fighting to keep from grinning. Mack might not do a thing for me in terms of attraction, but he was impossible not to like. He had an amusing, jovial way of talking and seemed entirely unbothered by the situation.

Mack shrugged again. “Not too much. I mean, it hurts, but I wanted to keep playing. Coach dragged me off.”

I looked to Dr. Monroe. The injury was minor by any standard and certainly didn’t require my expertise. I started to say as such, but Mack cut in.

“I know it’s not much, but I want you to take care of it. After seeing how Liam’s doing, I don’t want to bother with anyone but the best,” Mack said firmly.

The mere mention of Liam’s name sent my pulse skittering wildly and flutters twirling in my belly. I swallowed and batted Liam out of my mind. I slid my gaze to Dr. Monroe who was standing slightly behind where Mack was leaning against the exam table. Dr. Monroe shrugged and threw me a slight grin.

It wasn’t that I didn’t take minor cases like this, but it was rare. I knew, however, the clinic would want me to take any case requested by the Seattle Stars. I looked back to Mack and nodded. “I’d be happy to cast your elbow, although you must know your injury won’t require surgery and your rehab will be brief.”

Mack grinned again. “Sounds good to me, Doc.”

The conversation quickly turned to planning with Mack departing the exam room for an x-ray in order for me to set the bone this afternoon.

After Mack left the room, Dr. Monroe sent me spinning inside again by mentioning Liam. “Liam is due to play again next week. He started practice this week and hasn’t missed a beat. We can’t thank you enough for such a good outcome,” Dr. Monroe said.

I adjusted my glasses and managed a nod, scrambling to keep my wits about me. “I’m glad to hear it.” Questions tumbled through my mind, all of them entirely inappropriate to ask Dr. Monroe. I was relieved when my pager beeped. I checked the number and returned the call quickly.

I managed to skirt the topic of Liam through the remainder of the appointment, quickly casting Mack’s forearm and sending him off to schedule with the rehab team. I hated the fact that anything that had a passing connection to Liam sent my mind racing along the loop dedicated solely to him in my brain. I walked home in the falling darkness, the evening absent of rain, which almost annoyed me because a rainy, gray day would’ve suited my mood better.

What would usually be a routine of comfort—making hot chocolate with a generous dash of Irish cream liqueur, settling down on the couch with a blanket draped over my legs, and the TV rumbling in the background while I finished up charting—felt lonely. I washed my single mug and plate from stale leftover pizza and set them in the dish rack before bursting into tears at the sight. Single everything. Single mug, single plate, single me. Liam had done just as I asked, and it hurt so badly I could hardly breathe at moments.