Page 15 of Ravaged From Fate
“Come on, Elsa. You handle patients all the time.”
That makes me laugh.
“I don’t usually help someone who got himself beaten up trying to protect me.”
“Yeah, isn’t it so romantic?”
“Shut up.”
“Did he tell you how selfless you are, Elsa? Did he touch you? Did he whisper sweet nothings into your ear?”
“I am meant to be berating you for your lack of help,” I say down the phone. “Not indulging in your silly fantasies.”
“But you’re not answering my question,” my friend continues. “Should I be expecting wedding bells to ring out any minute?”
That really makes me laugh.
“Nothing happened, Piper.”
“Aw.” The disappointment in her voice practically leaks through my phone. “I was so invested in you two.”
“I was a bit more preoccupied with making sure the unconscious man was okay instead of coming up with some Pride and Prejudice ending with him in my mind.”
“I wasn’t born yesterday,” Piper replies. “I saw what was happening in the bar. You were checking him up and checking him out, weren’t you?”
“Piper…”
“He did go down fighting for you. That’s hot.”
“Piper…”
“Did he at least ask you out on a date for patching up his sorry ass?”
“Definitely not.”
“Well, you should date, Elsa. If not this strange brooding man, then at least some man. Someone. You can’t stay single forever. Some guy out there needs a compassionate and empathetic woman like you. At least think of me and my regular need for gossip.”
“I am too swamped by being this town’s nurse to even consider a date,” I reply. “I don’t have time for a man. I can’t drop my workload. I can’t do that to Dad. He needs me.”
“You are also a woman with your own needs,” Piper replies. “You need a bit of romance to spice things up.”
“I’m going into work,” I say as I stand at the door leading into the medical clinic’s reception. “We’ll do a proper catch up soon, one that doesn’t involve a bar fight or any romance at the end of it, okay?”
“That’s a promise, Elsa. You owe me a night out.”
“And next time if a strange giant man collapses, you need to help me carry him next door.”
“I’m leaving him all up to you. It’ll be the first male contact you’ve had in months.”
“Piper…”
She hangs up, and I take in a deep breath before I head into the clinic. Like every day, there’s one thought on my mind as I’m about to start work.
What does the world hold for me today?
8
CASPIAN
