The waiting room doors to the hospital slid open, the cool, medicinal scented air from inside hitting me when I walked in.

Out of the ten patient rooms, only one door was closed. The ER was eerily slow that day, which gave me little to do but think. Daddy had mentioned that morning that we needed to look into burial arrangements, so when the time came, it wasn’t so much on us. I snapped and accused him of giving up. So, I sat there for half my shift trying to ignore the guilt, trying to convince myself there was no need to make arrangements. My mind was on a crash course with disaster when Dr. Roberts handed me the paperwork he’d just signed off on. “How’s your mother?” he asked.

“Good.” I tore the pink copy off, slipping it into the patient file. “She’s good.”

“You know, they have a clinical trial up at University Hospital I’ve heard promising things about. You should see about enrolling her in one.”

I forced a weak smile. “I’ve messaged the project coordinator.” Maybe he was right? We’re looking into clinical trials. Studies… we’re that desperate that we’re going down the path of the unknown.

He placed his hand on my shoulder. “You’ll get through this. You’re strong.” And then he disappeared into one of the patient rooms.

Meg slipped up behind me. “Dr. Roberts’ touchy-feely much?” she laughed.

“He’s fine.”

“So, spill.” Meg propped her hip against the counter. “What happened last night?” She eyed me up and down with a slight smirk on her pink lips, and I welcomed the distraction.

“Nothing.”

“Uh-huh.” She rounded the counter and flopped down in one of the rolling chairs, pushing it across the floor like a seven-year-old. “I’m your best friend. Don’t lie to me.” She rolled back past.

“I’m not. Nothing happened.”

She caught herself on an IV pole and spun the chair around. “Not even a kiss?”

“No, not even a kiss.”

“Ohhh…” she shook a finger at me. “He’s good. Very good. Gotta hand it to him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The no kiss thing is a mark of the ultimate player. He’s already figured you out.”

“Uh-huh.” I leaned over the keyboard, pulled Ms. Smith’s name up on the screen, and hit print.

“He knows he has to take it slow. Throw some pretty lines at you… make you feel special.”

I grabbed the labels from the printer.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me!”

“You’re ridiculous,” I said on my way to grab test tubes from the supply closet. But what if she’s not? What if he is just as bad and as good as she says? Oh my God, what does it even matter? It mattered because I wanted to matter to him.

When I stepped out of the supply closet, her glitter-peach nails were furiously tapping away at her phone. Her cheeks pink. Groaning, she tossed the phone onto the counter. “Why am I so hung up on a dick?”

“When have you not been hung up on a dick?” I peeled one of the labels off and wrapped it around the tube.

“No, I don’t mean physically hung up on a penis, I mean hung up on Trevor.”

I arched a brow and grabbed a lancet from the cabinet. “So, you admit it?”

“Yeah, yeah. There’s just something about a guy you can’t have. I swear.”

Or a guy you’re told you shouldn’t have… “Yeah,” I sighed, shoving open the door to Ms. Smith’s room. “I guess there is.”

It was nearly midnight by the time I stepped into the silent house. The soft, blue glow of the TV crept from underneath Bo’s door, casting strange shadows on the wall as I tiptoed up to the second floor.

After I brushed my teeth and washed my face, I went to my room and stripped out of my scrubs before tossing my retainer in. Yawning, I slipped into a worn Nirvana t-shirt and sleep shorts and climbed under the covers, closing my eyes the second my head hit the pillow.

Tap. I was in that weird, mostly-asleep-kind-of-awake state. Tap. Tap. My eyes popped open. Tap. Tap. Tap. I sat straight up in bed, clutching the covers to my chest as I listened to the rapping at my window. The wind wasn’t blowing, so I knew it wasn’t a branch. Maybe a beetle? I slowly crawled out of bed, keeping my back to the wall as I snuck toward the window. I was a good three feet away from the glass when I reached for the curtain and yanked it back. It was one of those moments where I wanted to scream but couldn’t, because there was a person in the tree. I staggered back, my pulse going ninety to nothing before I realized the person sitting in the tree was Noah. Of course it was. The adrenaline flooding my system immediately shut off, and the jittery aftermath that tends to follow a sudden scare washed over me. Exhaling, I grabbed onto the windowsill, dropped my chin to my chest, and tried to collect myself before I looked back out the window. There was just enough moonlight that I could see Noah grinning like an idiot. Like a really sexy idiot. The latch clicked when I unlocked the window. The springs groaned when I pushed the worn wooden frame up.

“What are you doing?” I whispered.

“Using your tree.”

“I see that… you know, phone’s work.”

The way he shrugged one shoulder was almost arrogant. “Not the effect I was going for. Besides, this is a good tree,” he patted the branch he was straddling, “shame it’s never been used.”

A little flutter stirred in my chest and I fought a smile. As ridiculous as it was, I couldn’t deny it was a little swoon-worthy.

“You know, it’s common courtesy when a man climbs a tree and taps on your window that you climb out and meet him.”

“Is that so?”

He shimmied toward the end of the heavy limb and held out his hand. “Come on.”

I glanced at the azaleas a floor down, visualizing my plummet to sudden death. “Um…” Crap. My retainer. I spun around and snatched it from my mouth, placing it on the nightstand before I turned back around.

“Oh, come on. You’re not gonna fall.”

“And this coming from the boy who fell out of a window and ended up in a body cast?”

“Touché.” He laughed. “I thought you said you liked to live on the edge?” He winked and wriggled the fingers of his outstretched hand.

Even though I was an adult and it wasn’t exactly sneaking out—It was something I had never done. I had always been the good girl. The one who stayed in and studied. The one that didn’t kiss on the first date. The preacher’s daughter…and then I was the girl whose mother was dying. The girl who suddenly realized how short life really was, who realized she may have taken everything too seriously, and I had this guy, this carefree, beautiful guy asking me to climb out of my window. No matter someone’s age, I want to believe anyone would find a certain thrill in that. Before I could give it a second thought, I swung my legs over the ledge while the summer breeze blew the sweet scent of lilacs from Momma’s garden through my hair.

Noah grabbed my hand. “Now, just use one foot to step onto the branch.”

I planted one foot on the limb before a surge of panic swelled in my chest. My palm slicked with sweat. Excitement tingled through me.

“It’s fine,” he said, his gaze locking with mine. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

And I believed that. As foolish as it may have been, I believed he wouldn’t ever let anything bad happen to me.

He pulled me onto the limb and I fell against him, laughing. “This is…” I took a breath in an attempt to calm my racing pulse as I stared at the ground below. “It’s exactly what I need.”

He swept a finger over my cheek. “And finally,” he whispered. “I made the sad girl smile.”

He was so good at making my cheeks flush.

I scooted along the branch until my back was against the rough trunk, and he followed me.

The wind rustled the leaves. “You know, I tried to warn you, right?” His finger brushed my bottom lip, and I fought for a breath because that touch was so soft, so reverent. “I’m no good for you, Hannah Blake.”

“But what if I’m good for you?”

His teeth raked over his bottom lip on a groan before he grabbed both sides of my face, slowly rubbing his thumbs over my jaw. “Since I saw you in that church,” he said, inching his face toward mine. “All I’ve wanted to do was kiss you.”

Weak. I was literally weak. Staring into his eyes with his lips inches from mine and I felt so… “Noah,” I breathed, possibly pleaded. I couldn’t be that stupid girl that gave in too easily.

“You make me crazy. Shit.” I could barely hear him. “I’ve been crazy attracted to you since…” His lip rolled over mine, and God, it was so soft and warm and… too perfect. “Just let me kiss you.” His mouth brushed mine as he spoke, teasing as he slowly pressed me against the tree. “Please,” he begged me. Noah Greyson begged me, and I caved.

I grabbed the back of his head, threading my fingers through his thick hair when I pressed my mouth to his. They say some kisses leave you breathless, that one… it left me in awe. I had thought about kissing him a hundred times since I’d first met him, and I believed it would be a brutal execution that would leave me at his mercy, but the way he actually kissed was worse. His mouth moved tenderly against mine, his tongue slowly dipped into my mouth. He cupped my face like I was something he wanted to cherish. It left my head swimming, my heart begging not to be broken.

When I pulled away, he still had his eyes closed and he was rubbing his lips together like he was trying to savor that kiss. “Damn…” He looked at me. “They were right, you are too good for me.” He grabbed onto the branch and lowered himself down with an impressive show of arm strength. Once his feet were on the ground, he reached up. “Come on, country girl.”

I rubbed my palms together, grabbed the branch and dropped down, swinging for a second before I let go and landed perfectly on my feet. I shot a gloating smirk at him before dusting my hands off.

“Impressive.”

“I did gymnastics.”

“Uh-huh.” I watched that come-hither smirk on his face. Each step he took toward me was confident, cocky. Heck, the way his jeans rode so low on his hips was an act of arrogance. With the way all the girls in town looked at him, fawned after him, I knew I was in for it.

The closer he came, all I heard was Meg warning that he was another Max Summers. I panicked, placing my hands up just in time for them to land flat against his hard chest. “I…” My mouth was suddenly dry, and I swished my tongue around to try and wet it. “I…uh…it’s late.”

He drew back, studying me.

“And I have to be at work early in the morning and I just…”

“Uh-huh.” He grabbed my arms, holding me in place while he pressed his warm mouth against mine again, but this time only for a moment. “Goodnight, Hannah,” he breathed against my lips before letting go of me and heading down the drive.

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “Goodnight.”

Be still my stupid heart. Be still.