I heard the beeping sounds first.

Then came the distinctive smell. 

I know that smell. How do I know that smell?

But opening my eyes was a struggle. I kept willing my lids up, to no avail.

And fuck, I was thirsty.

Finally, my crusty eyes pried themselves open, and my vision came into focus.

And there she was. The woman I’d secretly been crushing on—Lainey’s sister, Jade. 

Was I dreaming?

I looked around and realized I was in a hospital room. Then I looked down and saw I was the patient.

Oh hell no.

She noticed me moving around and smiled.

“Hi. Welcome back.”

Where had I been?

I tried to ask just that, but my mouth felt like it was full of cotton.

Jade immediately stepped closer and offered me an ice chip on a spoon.

My pride wanted me to refuse being spoon fed like I was a damn baby, but my dry mouth and throat overruled it. So, I sucked the ice into my mouth. The moisture made me immediately feel better.

Then another thought occurred to me: Am I naked under this gown?

I tried to casually move my hand to my junk, something that was easier said than done with all the tubes connected to me.

Yeah, that’s what I thought. Naked. 

Which meant my butt was on full display for all of Haven Springs to see every time I got out of bed.

“Why am I here?”

“You were shot in the thigh while rescuing my sister, and it nicked your femoral artery. You’re waking up from surgery. You’ve got a waiting room full of people anxious to see you.”

Ugh. I remembered getting shot, but not much else after that. I could only imagine what I said and did while I was under anesthesia. 

One thing was certain; I didn’t want her to see me like this: helpless and weak.

“You can’t be my nurse,” I blurted out. 

She cocked her head and furrowed her brows.

“That’s not something you really get a choice on.”

“No,” I insisted. “You have to recuse yourself. It’s a conflict of interest. I was shot rescuing your sister.”

“Nurses don’t ‘recuse’ themselves. This isn’t a court of law, Brian. Those rules don’t apply in the medical field. And if they did, how would providing you with medical care after you saved my sister be a conflict of interest?”

I didn’t know, still…

“I don’t care.”

She put her hand on her hip.

“What is your problem?”

“You’re my problem. I don’t want you to be my nurse!”

“And I’m telling you; you don’t have a choice.”

“I just got shot in the line of duty. Chad isn’t going to tell me no.”

Chad was the CEO of the hospital.

“Brian O’Shaughnessy—you are the most infuriatingly, handsome patient I’ve ever had!”

Her eyes got big, and she quickly tried to correct herself. 

“Annoying! Infuriatingly annoying!”

I felt a grin form.

“You think I’m handsome?”

I can work with this.

“No. I told you, I think you’re annoying!”

“But you said handsome first.”

She turned on the ball of her foot and headed toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

Looking back, she eyed me up and down in my hospital bed. 

“To find you a new nurse.”

“But I don’t want one, now.”

“Too bad. I want a new patient.”

We hit the list, coming in at #69.... seems appropriate! Thank you so much for all your support!