Joel made an explosion sound. “And he goes right for the gut shot.”
She sat down hard. Clenched her teeth together, looking as if she wanted to yell at Ben for taking that route. “That’s not cool.”
He didn’t budge. Didn’t give her a way out of lessening the possible tragic outcome. If anything, he was tempted to start listing all sorts of horrible things that could go wrong. “But it’s true.”
She saved them all from hearing more. “Impressive argument...and also a winning one.”
“I had a few hours last night to work on it.” Long hours of not sleeping and a few worrying she’d shimmy out the window to avoid him this morning.
“That’s enough information on your nighttime activities.” Keeping his caffeine addiction up and running, Connor reached for the coffeepot again. “Joel will take the crash pad on the third floor of my place. Ben and Jocelyn will be on the second floor with me. All in separate bedrooms, of course.”
Jocelyn rubbed her temples with her thumbs. “A lot of decisions are being made for me and no one is bothering to ask me.”
And Ben could tell she was not pleased about that. It was another thing he’d learned. She was independent and any suggestion of needing to be coddled didn’t go over well.
He liked that about her. The spirit. The way he first saw the dedicated nurse and welcoming smile, then the backbone underneath, won him over.
“It’s for your own protection,” Connor said.
Ben winced over the monotone delivery.
Jocelyn went a step further. “Do you know anything about women?”
“My wife would probably say no.”
Jocelyn’s gaze went to Connor’s ring finger and the slim band he wore. “You have a wife?”
“She’s out of town.”
Not a good subject. Ben had forgotten to warn her on this one. Jana had been MIA for months now. Connor talked about a sick aunt and then about some work she needed to do out of town. Neither excuse sounded all that compelling.
They all liked Jana. She was warm and smart. She did some work with them and supported them all by opening her home and never complaining. But those last few weeks before she left had been rough. She’d turned quiet, as if her spirit was broken.
Now Connor kept up the pretense but they’d all come to the conclusion Connor and Jana had separated. Maybe Connor hadn’t come to grips with it, but it seemed real. And the lack of communication from her couldn’t be a good sign.
As if sensing the tension in the room, Jocelyn switched topics. “Oh, just so you know, I pretty much hate the protect-the-girlies argument.”
Connor nodded. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
With the fight over, she slumped back in her chair. “Okay, I’ll agree to most, but I go to work tomorrow to straighten out shifts and get coverage and do a last check on my patients.”
Ben wasn’t agreeing to that one. “No.”
She didn’t concede. “This is not a negotiation.”
She was tight-lipped, her eyes flashing with fire. More than likely he’d spend every hour battling her on this one. It was a bad idea and he’d drive her insane, but if that was what it took to get her to turn in the paperwork, fine. “Then I go with you.”
The color rushed out of her face. “You know that can’t happen.”
Now, that was insulting. “Take it or leave it.”
“Where exactly do you plan to stand during surgery?” Pax asked.
Ben had forgotten they were all there, listening. Breathing so quietly they blended into the background. No one dropped a mug. None of the chairs squeaked. Complete silence was quite the feat for this noisy group.
He’d bang their heads together later. Right now he needed to make a point, even if he said it through gritted teeth and the words stung. “You’re reassessing our dating life, fine. Well, not fine but not a topic for this meeting.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Ben—”
“But no matter what, you get a bodyguard. You don’t move without me being right there.” And he would figure out how to spin that into more dates and, eventually, into an invitation to her bed.
She blinked what looked like fifty times. “That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s what we do. I’m good at my job and I’m the only option you get.” He said it like an order and hoped she wouldn’t come firing back at him.
After all, it was not as if he’d tie her to the chair. She could leave. He just needed her to think she shouldn’t. Because, really, she shouldn’t. Not with the danger lurking out there.
“It’s settled.” Connor reached for a muffin. “See how easy that was?”