Mano raised his grandmother’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “Thank you, Tutu,” he said before getting up and making his way out of the house. He slipped the ring into his coat pocket and called the hotel to send a car for him. He was a short drive and a long plane flight away from Paige, and he wasn’t going to waste another second.
Twelve
Paige stood with her hands planted firmly on her hips. “Absolutely not,” she said to her stubborn patient, Rick. “If you want a pudding cup, you need to walk with me down the corridor to get it.”
“Are you a nurse or a sadist?” Rick snapped bitterly.
“A little bit of both. You’ve been fitted with that new prosthetic for a week now, and the doctor says you’re to walk on it at every opportunity. The more you use it, the less it will hurt. You can even use the walker or the crutches,” she offered.
“I’m not taking orders from a woman in scrubs with kittens on them.”
Paige looked down at her purple scrubs and the cartoon cats wearing tutus on it. She had to wear scrubs every day, so she tried to keep it lively with fun designs. “They’re not just kittens, they’re ballerina kittens. They’re tough cats, and they’re not interested in your excuses, either. If you want the pudding, you’re coming with me.”
Rick glared at her from his hospital bed. She knew it hurt to use his prosthetic, but he had to get past that or he’d never regain an active lifestyle again. She hated being like this, but sometimes with soldiers you had to antagonize them like a drill sergeant to get results.
“It’s twenty feet, Rick. Just past the nurses’ station. You can totally do it.”
Rick finally flung his sheets back and sat up, placing both feet on the ground. “Give me the damn walker,” he said, and she scooted it over to him. He pushed himself up, and with a wince they started down the hallway together.
“You’re doing great,” she said in a bright voice as they neared the snack station. “Chocolate or vanilla?” she asked.
“For this, it better be chocolate. With a Percocet chaser.”
Paige smiled. “You got it.” She got the pudding and spoon and started walking with Rick back to his room.
“Have you seen him?” she heard one of the nurses ask Brandy.
“No. Who?”
“He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in real life. It’s a shame he’s blind and can’t see how handsome he is.”
Paige usually tried to ignore most of the other nurses she worked with. Today, however, their words caught her attention. She tried to focus on Rick, getting him the last few steps back to his room.
“How do you know he’s blind?” Brandy asked.
“The sunglasses and the service dog. They don’t let just anyone into a hospital with a dog, you know.”
Paige’s heart stuttered in her chest and she froze in place.
It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be. Paige refused to let herself believe that it was Mano. That was ridiculous. He didn’t want to leave the resort; the idea of him flying to San Diego was out of the question. Besides...why would he come chasing after her? He was the one who had used his employee as a bouncer to keep her away from him.
“Is something wrong?” Rick asked.
Paige’s eyes widened as she realized she’d stalled her patient on his walk. “I’m sorry. Just a few more steps.” She tried to focus on helping him into bed and getting him settled. That was more important. The minute she rushed out of the room she’d be disappointed, anyway. It was a veteran’s hospital; there were bound to be blind men with service dogs here who weren’t the one she was desperate to see.
She tugged the sheets up and swung the bedside table over Rick’s lap. She placed two pudding cups and a spoon on it for him.
“Two?”
“You earned it. I’ll be back with that Percocet in a few.”
Rick immediately dove into a pudding cup, freeing Paige to return to the nurses’ station. She made a note in his file and tried to ignore her gossiping coworkers.
“It’s a big hospital. I doubt he’s coming up here,” Brandy said. “Where was he?”
“In the gift shop. I ran down for a candy bar on my break a minute ago. He was getting flowers.”
No. Paige shook her head and logged the dose of pain medication she was about to take to her patient.