Deal Takers (Dealing with Love 2)

“Easy for you to say,” the patient mutters. “You’re not the one getting a needle in your johnson.”

I bite my tongue to conceal my laughter. “I’ll get right on those labs, Dr. Walker.” Jesus, I have to get out of this room before I lose it.

“Great,” he replies. “If those confirm a low-flow diagnosis, Mr. Harris should be ready for discharge shortly after receiving meds.”

I ready the blood draw supplies while Adam gives the patient a brief lecture on avoiding other people’s prescriptions and answers a few of his questions. “I’ll see you for that meeting later, Rainey,” he says with a wink before leaving the room to consult with his colleague.

I turn my face to hide my blush. Adam is the resident silver fox in this hospital. Have you ever seen that model Antonio Borges? Yeah, he’s that pretty.

“Was that guy really flirting with you in the middle of my dick crisis?”

“That was not flirting,” I lie.

“Oh, see you at the meeting, Rainey. Wink! Wink!” he mocks.

I roll my eyes. “He’s practically old enough to be my father.”

“Ha! Like that would stop him. Have you seen you?”

Okay, confession time. As of last weekend, Dr. Sexy Pants is actually my fiancé. Why are we acting like we barely know each other, you ask? Well, because his ex-wife happens to be the Head Nurse of Labor & Delivery. At this hospital. If you haven’t figured it out yet, that makes her my boss. According to Adam, their divorce was really nasty because she didn’t want it to happen. He insists that she’d do everything she could get away with to punish me for being with him. She’s a bit older than he is, and rumor has it she’s retiring early, so the secrecy is only temporary. My co-workers know that I’m engaged to a man named Adam...they just don’t know which Adam. I love working at this hospital so I’m running with it for now. I get to be with this amazing guy and have a drama-free workplace. It’s a win-win in my book.

I ignore Mr. Harris’s question, grab another sheet from the cabinet, and pass it to him. “Here, you might want this so you don’t get a chill while you wait.”

He lays the cotton over his lap. “Thanks.”

I roll the tray closer to his bed and uncap the needle once I find a viable vein. “This will pinch just a little.”

“Son of a bitch!” he shouts.

He jerks his arm with enough force to pull away from me as the blood begins flowing down the tube. “Mr. Harris, I need you to remain still, so I can get your blood sample.”

He looks down at his forearm. “Oh shit, I wasn’t supposed to see that.”

“See what?” I inquire as I switch vacutainer tubes.

“The b-blood. I don’t do so well with blood.”

“Hold tight, Mr. Harris. I’m almost done.”

His big body begins to sway. “Oh man, I don’t feel so good.”

I look up and watch the color drain from his face. I quickly cap the vial, remove the needle from his arm, and tape a cotton ball over the puncture site. Thankfully, I get a lot of practice with blood draws in L&D so I’m really fast. I lift the guard rails right as his head hits the pillow and his eyes roll back.

I grab a washcloth from the cabinet and run it under cool water before placing it on his forehead. He jolts awake and tries sitting up the moment his eyes open.

I press my palm against his chest, trying to ignore how chiseled his pecs are, and encourage him to lay back. “Easy there, big guy. You just fainted while I was drawing your blood. Give it a few minutes before you try jumping out of bed.”

“I don’t faint,” he scoffs. “I must have been taking a quick nap.”

“Really?” I challenge. “I didn’t see any notes about narcolepsy in your chart. Should I look into that?”

Mr. Harris glares at me and mutters, “Fucking needles.”

I suppress a smile as I transfer the patient labels to each tube before placing them back in my phlebotomy kit. “I’m going to send these in and ask for a rush on the results. You just lie back and rest for a while. Whatever you do, do not get out of bed without someone to assist.” I pull the call button closer to his hand. “If you need anything, press this button.”

Chapter Three

BRODY