The Doctor's Undoing (Doctors in Training 3)

Maybe she wouldn’t ask Ron to dinner for a while, after all. Just until this silly phase was behind them.

Chapter Four

Ron wished he understood exactly what had changed between himself and Haley as broiling August sizzled into the first week of September. Their internal medicine rotation had ended, and the shelf exam was behind them. Haley, Ron and Hardik had met a couple more times to study for that final exam before moving on to their next rotation, pediatrics. They’d fallen easily into their customary study routines, and he was sure the reviews had helped him do well on the test.

Haley had been her usual self during those sessions. Smiling, encouraging, focused. Pushing both him and Hardik to do their best, just as she would do, herself. She laughed at their jokes, swapped stories about anonymous patients and not-so-anonymous classmates and coworkers. When he teased her, she punched his arm just as she always did, eliciting his habitual exaggerated grimace and protest.

Yet, something was different.

He couldn’t help wondering if she was seeing someone again. She’d acted just this distracted when she’d first starting seeing Kris earlier that year, keeping her relationship with him quiet until Anne had accidentally mentioned it at a study session where she’d been overheard.

He’d disliked Kris from the beginning. Couldn’t put his finger on the reason, exactly; the guy seemed pleasant enough. Just…bland. Way too docile and colorless for Haley. Besides which, it had been a terrible time to get involved with anyone. Second year was a nightmare of classes, tests and preparation for Step 1; it was a crazy time to start a new romance. He’d worried about her being distracted, falling behind, doing something she would regret.

He should have known better, of course. Haley would let nothing interfere with her set path. She’d entertained herself with Kris for a time, then cheerfully moved on, neither the worse for wear.

&nbs

p; Ron had dated during that year, himself. Occasionally. Very casually.

No one had even tempted him to enter a relationship.

Was Haley seeing someone new now that third year had brought a little more spare time? Was she seeing Kris again?

Not that he could blame Kris if he was trying to get her back. Spotting Haley across the hospital parking lot as he walked toward his car, he pushed his hands into the pockets of his gray dress pants. She did look good in the leaf green top and taupe skirt, and the shoes she wore made her legs look a mile long and nicely curvy. But then, Haley always looked good. Fresh, pretty, appealing.

He tried not to think of her that way. Like he’d told her, he would never want to risk messing up their friendship. It meant too much to him. But he wasn’t blind, and he wasn’t a eunuch. He was keenly aware that his friend was seriously hot.

“Hey, Haley!” he called out on impulse, speeding his steps.

She looked over her shoulder with a smile, pausing at the driver’s door of her car. “Hi, Ron.”

“Got plans for this evening?”

“No, why?”

“How about a baseball game?”

She blinked. “A baseball game?”

Resisting the impulse to tease her about the echo, he nodded casually. “Dr. Beck gave me two box-seat tickets for the Travs game tonight. It might be fun to get away from work for a few hours. What do you say?”

“You want me to go with you to the Travelers’ game?”

Laughing, he waved a hand in front of her eyes. “Hello? Anyone home? Why do you keep repeating me?”

Shaking her head a little, Haley gave him a self-conscious smile. “Sorry. I guess my brain’s a little fried from a very busy day.”

“Then you could definitely use a night off. What do you say? Popcorn? Peanuts? Cotton candy?”

She hesitated just long enough to make him wonder if she was trying to come up with an excuse to decline. He held his breath, hoping she’d say yes. It was no big deal, after all. Just two friends spending an evening together. Two very good friends.

And then she lifted her chin and shrugged. “Sure. Why not? I haven’t been to a baseball game in years.”

Satisfaction flooded through him. “Great. It’ll be fun. Maybe you’ll even catch a foul ball.”

“I’d be more likely to get hit in the head by one.”

He grinned. “I’ll pick you up in an hour. Don’t bother eating first.”