Page 83 of Perfect Distraction
“We’ve got two patients left this morning and none this afternoon,” came Dr. Patel’s voice from across the room. “I know you’ve got it in you.”
“Speak for yourself,” Dr. Stanford grumbled, and Lauren nodded. Their afternoon was booked solid.
As Lauren typed a note to document the chemo education she’d just finished, she heard Dr. Patel and Emma converse about Andrew, who was there for a routine visit.
She felt a jolt of anticipation run through her at the sound of his name. She hadn’t seen him for three days because she’d come down with a virus and didn’t want to expose him. He wasn’t happy about it and had let her know via text and through her front door when he brought soup and tea to her house. It had nearly killed her, as she’d slumped against the other side of the door, to not open it and fall into his arms. But his recent lab work had shown a low white blood cell count, and protecting him from whatever bug she had was more important than her desire to touch him.
Today she finally felt back to normal, and her fever was gone. She couldn’t wait to see him, and she tried to act normal as she eavesdropped.
“Kiara, be sure we have a PET scan scheduled for Bishop next week,” Dr. Patel said. “If things have gone as planned, he won’t need more chemo.”
“I’m on it,” Kiara replied, and picked up the phone.
Emma looked around. “Where’s my damn stethoscope?”
Lauren gave her the side-eye. “Around your neck.”
Emma’s hand flew to the curve of her shoulder, and she smiled sheepishly. “Oh. Thanks.”
Dr. Patel and Emma finished reviewing the patient charts and went into their respective exam rooms. Lauren listened while Kiara spoke to radiology and scheduled Andrew’s PET scan, and made a mental note that it would be next Thursday at seven-thirty in the morning.
He’d hate having to be there so early, but at least he wouldn’t have to go all morning without eating. She’d remind him of that when he complained.
Emma was back in the workroom after only ten minutes, reporting that Andrew was doing well. She put her hands on the back of Lauren’s chair, turning Lauren around to face her. Emma looked her right in the eye and said, “He said he had a medication question, and asked if any pharmacists were around. I told him I’d send you in.”
Emma had both hands on the armrests of Lauren’s chair, leaning toward her, her head angled to one side.
Lauren glanced at Kiara, who wasn’t paying them a lick of attention, and back to Emma, who continued to stare at her. Was Emma acting weird, or was she imagining things?
She scooted her chair to the left so she could stand. Dr. Stanford had just gone to see a follow-up patient, and Lauren had finished the note she was working on. “Sure, I’ll see what he needs.”
Emma muttered something under her breath that sounded almost like “I bet you will,” but when Lauren looked back at her, she’d moved on to Kiara. Lauren shrugged it off and entered the hallway.
Anticipation spread through her as she checked the board and went to the room he was in. She knocked on the door before entering, as she did every time she went to see a patient, and walked in.
Andrew was alone.
Lauren closed the door behind her and walked forward two steps, then stopped.
The expression on Andrew’s face was unlike anything she’d ever seen. His eyes trailed down her body and back up, slowly.
“What?”
Andrew shook his head as if to clear his vision. “You’re wearing scrubs.”
She fidgeted. “So?”
“I’ve never seen you in scrubs before.”
“I woke up late,” she said defensively, her eyebrows furrowing slightly when Andrew stood up. She loved how tall he was. “Someone kept me up late texting, and I didn’t have time to—”
“Let me stop you right there,” Andrew interrupted. “What I should have led with is how hot you look in scrubs.”
Lauren’s cheeks warmed. “Oh.” She backed up a step as he closed in on her. “Andrew, what are you doing?”
His hands came up to rest on her waist. He looked down at her. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “I’m so glad it was you. I took a chance. I’ve missed you. How do you feel?”
“Great,” she whispered. She needed to stop this. Move away from him, away from his hands and his scent and his intense eyes. But it was hard to breathe now that his thumbs were sliding up and down along her hips. “Andrew…” she whispered. Her heart rate sped up and her breath joined the race. “I can’t…we can’t. I’m at work. If someone saw us like this…” Speaking the words aloud restored some of her willpower, and she gently slid his hands away from her body. The loss of the warmth of his fingers almost made her want to cry.
