ELIZABETH

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I ask.

Caden glances up from paperwork with a blank expression. “Sorry?”

“It’s been a whole twelve days without incident. You’ve left when you’re supposed to, you’ve been on time, and I haven’t heard any complaints about Janet from you, either.”

He sets the pen down, leaning back on the swivel chair, looking absolutely panty-dropping handsome as his almond eyes narrow with amusement. “Myers, you’ve never heard me complain about Janet. Because I don’t do it in front of you.”

“I’m aware of a lot of things you think that I am not.”

He smirks, “Noted.”

I have to force myself to move on with my day. “Carry on.”

At first I was fine—no, relieved—with us avoiding each other until we had to interact, only discussing mandatory hospital shit ever since our blow out.

Then the distance gnawed at me.

So I decided to confront him.

No problem with that.

Just a little ice-breaker so we can put our…whatever that was…behind us.

As I head away to do my rounds, Caden calls out. “Dr. Myers!”

We move quickly together through the bustling corridor of chaos. “What is it?”

“I’ve done what I needed to do, and I was just about to head home, since my time is up. But there is a surgery starting that I would really like to watch. I won’t be participating, and I won’t be on the clock actually working. I just want to sit in the observation booth. Or is that overstepping my bounds?”

I’m ashamed to say I miss his rebelliousness, and it shows up in my frown. “The heart transplant that Stevens is performing?” Caden nods. “Why are you on such good behavior?”

That sexy smirk twitches back into place as our feet keep perfect time. Avoiding a jogging gurney-pusher, Caden accidentally bumps his hip into mine. Our eyes lock a second and heat makes a fist in my belly.

“I’ve been dying to sit in and watch him, Myers. I missed the last one he performed. This is where the big dog lies his head, if you know what I mean.”

Snatching a folder from outside one of the rooms, I scan what the nurses have been up to while I’ve been elsewhere. As I read, I’m still able to answer Caden’s question. “If you promise to leave directly after the surgery, I don’t have a problem with it. But I do not want to see you on this floor, or find you hiding out on some other floor. Impress me by doing what you’ve been doing—Living within the rules.”

Caden glares at me, dying to whip out some rebellious retort. I may have said all of that to instigate one, though in no way will I admit that to him.

“Can you do that? Can you behave?”

Hot air huffs from his nostrils as we stare at each other. Unfortunately he disappoints me by shoving his hands in the deep pockets of his white coat, frustrated strides marching him to the elevators.

I sigh after he vanishes inside.

Under my breath I mutter, “Shit,” and slam the folder back in its home.

* * *

Four hours later I turn a corner and gasp, rushing into the arms of Dr. Gwendolyn Partridge, an OB/GYN from Chicago and a fantastic friend. “Gwen! How great to see you! Look at how long your hair is!”

“Liz, you look prettier than the last time I saw you. How do you do that?”

Laughing, I step back. “Strict diet of caffeine and detachment. When you whittle out the frown lines everything kinda stays in place.”

She grins and shakes her head, the pencil skirt she always wears peeking out from beneath her white coat, low heels matching in navy blue. “I’ve tried that. Doesn’t work for me like it does for you. God, it’s good to see you. You want to go out for a drink while I’m here?”

“Are you kidding? That’s a yes.”

She holds up her hand for a high five. Our palms make a loud crack, and we’re both pretty proud of the reaction from the other doctors and nurses around us. Nobody sees this side of me but her.

“Where are you headed now, Gwen?”

She bumps her chin toward the floor above us. “I was called in for a rare blood disorder that a woman in her third trimester seems to have. Waiting for test results and I thought I’d head up to watch this transplant Stevens is doing, since I’m in town and he’s got such a reputation. You want to come?”

“No thanks.” Shoving my hands in my pockets, I feel a pen rattling against my fingertip. “All right sure.”

Gwendolyn throws an arm around my shoulder, walking with me at a quick pace. “Great, let’s hurry. I’m hoping those test results come back quickly. All I want to do is poke my head in, have a look, and then I’ll probably have to get out of there.”

“Works for me. I have a lot on my schedule. But I am curious.”

Curious if Caden is still there.

Gwen hits the call button with her elbow and wiggles her hips. “Are you seeing anyone, Elizabeth?”

Keeping my eyes on the numbers, I cock an eyebrow. “How is David? Are you guys still like rabbits in Springtime?”

“Yeah right.” As we walk in and turn to face the closing doors, she dryly adds, “Married ten years, remember?” She bumps the right number. “You know how many diseases come through this hospital?” Grabbing gel-sanitizer from her pocket, she dabs some on her finger and wipes off the button, too. Shrugging adorably, she mutters, “Better safe than sorry.”

“God, I’m happy to see you.”

The observation room has a glass window overlooking the team, used for educational purposes. Caden is sitting in the first row. He doesn’t look over as we enter the room. This affords me the opportunity to observe him without being noticed. He is on high alert, sitting on the edge of his seat.

There are two rows and I start to move to the back one but Gwendolyn opts for one seat separating her and him. As I take the spot on her left, farthest from him, she wags her eyebrows at me to indicate she thinks he’s handsome.

I refrain from responding, instead placing all of my attention on the surgery below. It’s four hours in so the patient is exposed.

Gwendolyn whispers to me, “Have you ever seen Stevens in action?”

This makes Caden look over, and we lock eyes.

Without emotion, I answer, “Yes, of course.”

For the remainder of the time she is here, my gaze remains fixated on the surgery. When her beeper vibrates, Gwen stands up, touches my shoulder and whispers, “I’ll text you when I head to the break room on the third floor. If you’re free, we can catch up.”

“Good luck with your patient.”

“Thank you.”

With a small smile that I’m hoping does not look as self-conscious as I feel, I return to the surgery, hyper aware that he was watching our exchange.

He and I are alone. We are staring at the procedure, and I’m grateful I’ve mastered the art of hiding my emotions. Sometimes even from myself, sure, only not today. It’s becoming quite plain to me that I have a huge crush on Caden.

His eyes are locked on the quick fingers of Dr. Stevens as he breaks the silence. “I’m thinking of going into heart surgery.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve been asking myself what motivates me to be here. It hasn’t been easy coming up with a solid answer. I like all of it. At one point I even considered pediatrics.” He sighs like the burden has been heavy. “But every time I watch another doctor’s surgery, it feels like I’m the one who is supposed to be holding the knife. I can see how his hands are moving, and I know he’s good. But a second ago he almost slipped, and I know that I wouldn’t have.”

“That’s rather arrogant, don’t you think? Stevens is one of the best in his specialty—that’s known. And you're going to critique him?”

Caden passionately turns on his seat to face me, two chairs between us, his hand gesturing as he speaks. “That’s what I’m supposed to be doing. Critiquing. Learning. Improving upon. That is the point of becoming a doctor. You don’t mimic, copy what somebody else is doing. You learn from it and offer even better. It’s called growth.”

I’m secretly thrilled to be having this conversation with him, purely for the fact that he is so enthusiastic about a subject that I believe in. The arguments I’m volleying back are purely as devil’s advocate. Turning on my seat toward him, I challenge, “He has years of experience over you.”

“So? Did you hear me saying I won’t need practice? I know in my gut that I have the ability to do what he does and better. And if that’s the truth, if I’m right, then I am doing people a disservice by not following that instinct.”

“It will be more years of study.”

“Don’t care.”

“You will have to be underneath someone during that.”

“No different from right now. I’m under you.” Caden pauses, the potential of double innuendo noted by us both.

Unnerved I shrug, “Well, time will tell if that gut instinct is true,” and return to the glass.

My inspection becomes more critical. I’m curious if I can detect weaknesses in his technique. Frankly, I hadn’t looked for any. Perhaps when I was a newer resident I had watched Stevens more closely. But lately, I guess I’ve assumed his perfection, considered it a given. When you’re ambitious like Caden is, with more to prove, you're inclined to observe minuscule examples of where you could improve upon a competitor’s performance, noticing things anyone else with a more secure position would miss. Is that the case here? Or is Caden just being his normal cocky self?

“You’re watching for them, aren’t you?” he asks, voice deep with excitement. “You’re trying to catch any mistakes.”

I remain fixated.

Caden comes over and sits next to me. “Did you see that?”

“Yes!”

“A fraction to the right and—”

“—Wow.”

“Stevens is tired or something’s off. I see why you tell me to go home now. It’s not worth the risk.”

I yank my gaze from the surgery and lock it onto Caden.

He’s so close to me now I can breathe in his familiar scent. Years of working beside him has me used to it, but lately it’s been a stimulant I do not want, yet seem to need.

He continues, “You know risking that is the last thing I’m after, right? I stay here only because I’m trying to show you, the hospital, Chief, that I’m the right person to keep. But if I went into cardiology, it’s two birds, because I’d no longer be in competition with Janet Gilroy. I could remain in Atlanta near my family.”

“That makes a lot of sense.”

We’re staring at each other, the veil of professional detachment gone from both of us.

He blinks, feeling it.

Standing up, I escape for the door.

“Where are you going, Myers?”

I pause before turning the door handle, fingers shaky on it so that I have to block it with my body, arm behind me so he won’t see how worked up he’s got me. “Last time I checked, I don’t report to you.”

He strolls over with that swagger. I glance down to watch him move like he owns the whole city. As I lock eyes with him again, he smirks, “Did you just check me out?”

“Of course I didn’t!”

He gets a little too close, and my body temperature rises.

“I think you did.”

Gripping the handle tighter, I give it two unseen strokes of my thumb. “I was just surprised you were coming after me. Who do you think you are?”

Caden’s smirk vanishes. “I wasn’t coming after you.” He pauses. “But if you want me to, I could.”

His gaze stays put for half-a-heartbeat before dropping to watch me bite the corner of my bottom lip. My feet are planted as if this is where they were created and they’ve never been anywhere else. Our chests are expanding more than their fair share. Am I really panting in the observation room with a doctor beneath my rank?

One whose future rests in my hands?

“You just made a very inappropriate comment, Dr. Cocker.”

“Myers, hate to tell you this, but it might not be sexual harassment if it’s coming from the ground up. You’ve got all the power and I’ve got none.” A full-blown, gorgeous-as-fuck grin spreads. “And I gotta ask, how is a man supposed to ask a girl out if he can’t even find out if she’s interested first? Are you interested?”

Twisting the handle, I breathe, “No!” back out, shut the door, and stand just outside it wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do now.

Can I change my answer?

Sharon rushes up. “Dr. Myers, did you hear about the Metro accident?”

Instinctively I want Caden on this. But I remember suddenly that he’s over his hours.

Frustrated, I tell Sharon, “Let’s go!”

We sprint for the stairs.