“You were right,” I reply and quickly give her a rundown of the meeting. “So, I’m in my office, getting caught up on what is most likely a paperwork pile the size of Mount Everest.”

“I’m so happy for you, Jace,” she says, a smile in her voice. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Hey, why don’t you come by the hospital at around six and we’ll have dinner in the cafeteria?”

“I love their food,” she says. “It’s a date. Have a good day.”

It’s not a good day, it’s a fucking fantastic day. Despite the number of emails to read and amount of paperwork to get through, the morning and afternoon fly by. Nurses and other physicians drop in to welcome me back.

I’m finally back where I need to be.

At six o’clock sharp, there’s a knock on my door.

“Come in,” I call, not looking up from my computer.

“You look hot sitting at that desk, Dr. Crawford.”

I grin as Joy saunters across my office, still dressed in her own scrubs. Rather than sitting across from me, she walks around the desk and sits in my lap.

“I came straight here.”

“I’m glad.” I bury my face in the crook of her neck and take a deep breath. “I need the break, and it’s so good to see you.”

“They already have you slaving away,” she says softly, running her fingers through my hair. I can feel the muscles in my neck and shoulders begin to relax.

“I don’t mind,” I reply honestly.

“Are you hungry?”

“Famished,” I admit as she steps off my lap and leads me out of the office. I lock the door behind me and escort her to the elevators.

At this time of day, the cafeteria shouldn’t be too busy because most of the daytime staff has gone home, and the evening staff has just arrived. Breakfast and lunch are chaotic.

“I want the taco salad,” Joy says as we approach the line. “They have the best taco salads.”

“That sounds good,” I agree with a nod and have the same thing. We load our trays with the salads, drinks, and a dessert to share, and find a table in the back corner to eat and talk.

“So delicious,” Joy says around a big bite. “I’ll come have dinner with you more often.”

“I hope so. How was your day?”

“Not bad, actually. It was a lighter day. No surgeries, so that was good. Dad’s at my place with the puppies.”

“They’re not going to stay in the laundry room for long.”

“I know,” she says with a shrug. “They’ll be ready for new homes in a couple of weeks. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone.”

“It’ll be easier for you when they find homes.” I reach out and give her hand a squeeze.

“Angela will be happier, too,” she says with a laugh. “The pups are at the age where they just annoy her more than anything.”

“Dr. Crawford?” Peter Kratz, one of my colleagues, interrupts our dinner to chat about a lung transplant he’s performing tomorrow on a cystic fibrosis patient. After twenty minutes, I agree to scrub in for as long as I can and assist. This is a special, fragile case that he’s more than qualified to do, but he’d like to have all hands on deck. “Thank you, see you tomorrow. Good to have you back.”

“Have a good night,” I reply with a nod and look over to find Joy frowning. “What’s wrong?”

“This is going to sound stupidly selfish.”

“Shoot.”

She sighs. “I’m so happy for you, and proud that you’re back to work doing what you love.”

“But?”

“But it also sucks because I’ll never see you.” The last few words are whispered. “And I’m going to miss you.”

“That’s not true,” I insist, taking her hand in mine again. “Joy, you’re my priority, always. I know we didn’t see each other in the past, but we had a different dynamic then.”

“I don’t see how it can be different now,” she says. “You’ll still be both the chief and a surgeon, and both of those are full-time jobs.”

“I’m going to make it work,” I insist. “I can make all of it work. You’ll see.”

She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes, and I’m more determined than ever to prove to her that she will not take a back seat to my career.

Two weeks and one day.

That’s how long it’s been since I last saw her face.

Touched her skin.

I’m failing.

I rush to my office and check my phone. It’s after midnight, and I missed three texts and a call from Joy.

“Shit,” I mutter. God, I’m tired. Bone-tired, and I miss her something fierce.

So rather than call her back, I make a snap decision to go to her house. I’ve been staying at my place because it’s closer to the hospital, and I’ve been working twenty-hour days. Some nights, I don’t even bother to go home, using the couch in my office as a place to nap before starting work again early the next morning.

It’s a pace that just a few years ago I would have thrived on.

Now, I’m just plain exhausted.

I pull into Joy’s driveway and let myself into the house. It’s dark and quiet since Joy would have gone to bed a couple of hours ago.

It sounds like she’s been working a lot, too. At least, that’s what I’ve gathered from her texts.

I climb the stairs and scratch Angela behind the ears when she meets me at the door of Joy’s bedroom.

“Good girl,” I whisper in her ear. “Are you watching over her for me?”

Angela just licks my cheek then returns to her bed at the foot of Joy’s.

That’s new.

I shuck out of my clothes and slide between the covers, scooting up to Joy and pulling her into my arms.

“Jace?” she whispers.

“If it’s someone else, we need to have a conversation,” I reply with a smile and kiss her firmly, pressing her against me. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

“It is what it is,” she says with a sigh, and I hate the disappointment in her voice. I don’t want to let her down. I just need to get settled at work, and then I can shift my focus to Joy.

It shouldn’t take long to get caught up.

A tiny voice whispers “liar” in the back of my head, but I ignore it and tuck her under me, sinking into her for the first time in weeks.

She’s everything good in my world.

She’s home.

Dear Jace, this is your long-lost fiancée, Joy. I haven’t had a conversation with you in weeks. Call me.

I smile at the text from Joy and sigh. It’s been a week since I slipped into her bed and made love to her. I just couldn’t stay away another moment.

Time is flying. Every minute of my day is full of surgery, questions, issues to resolve, and battles to settle. Sometimes, I feel like a babysitter.

But it’s important, and I love it.

Just not as much as I love Joy.

“You look deep in thought.”

I glance up to find Maria Sanchez standing in my doorway. She’s in her white coat and dark slacks, a stethoscope around her neck, her lips painted that signature deep red she favors.

She’s a beautiful woman, and once upon a time, we had a lot of fun together.

Those days are over.

“I’m busy,” I reply, but can’t send her away because I’m her boss now. “What can I do for you?”

Her eyes roam up and down my body, setting me on edge. Looks like that weren’t appropriate before I was her boss, but I was single, and she’s beautiful.

They’re beyond out of line now.

“Well, aside from the obvious, I need to discuss my surgery schedule next week.”

“Come in,” I reply with a sigh, tucking my phone away and making a mental note to call Joy as soon as Maria leaves my office.

“I need to ask someone to cover for me next Thursday and Friday,” she begins. “I have travel plans.”

“Then you should have had the days covered weeks ago,” I reply with a frown. “I don’t know who will pick it up for you on this short notice.”