“Dr. Hill isn’t nice, sweetie, but he’s good at what he does. I mean, I feel so much better already.”
“I know you do, Grandmom. I just don’t want him to be such an asshole to you.”
I catch the nurse smile a little bit. She’s an older woman, maybe in her early forties, with curly dark hair and tan skin. I’ve seen her around before, talking to Aiden actually. She’s always been nice though.
I change the subject, since I know I’m not getting anywhere, and I don’t want to upset Grandmom. We chat idly for awhile before it gets late and I have to get going.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” I tell her as I leave her room.
I head down the hall, eyes on the floor. I’m preoccupied thinking about my grandmother’s health and about this strange relationship I seem to be forming with an older, gorgeous, asshole doctor.
I don’t notice when I nearly walk right into the nurse from earlier. “Excuse me,” she says, stumbling back.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
She woman hesitates. She’s holding a chart, but she smiles.
“You’re Dot’s granddaughter, right?”
“Right,” I say, smiling.
“I’m Jackie.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“I heard you talking about Dr. Hill earlier.”
I frown, feeling awkward. “Uh, sorry about that. I bet you hear it a lot in hospitals. We’re just stressed, is all.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she says, laughing. “Hill really is an asshole.”
I grin at her. “Right? I mean, he does seem like he knows what he’s doing, though.”
“He does,” she says, leaning up against the wall. “He just, he doesn’t think like the rest of us do. All the nice stuff we take for granted annoys the hell out of him for some crazy reason.”
“Does he always have to be such a dick about it, though?”
She laughs again. “Honestly, Hill’s the best doctor in this place. Your grandmother’s really lucky he took her on.”
“Really?” I ask, mildly surprised. I figured he was good, but the best? This is a big, famous hospital in a major city. There have to be a ton of talented doctors here.
“Really,” she says. “He takes on maybe five, six patients at a time, and only the really interesting ones. Mostly he does clinic duty to keep the director off his ass.”
I grin at that. “I can’t imagine him in a clinic.”
“I know. He’s awful. People complain all the time, but he gets the job done, so he’s mostly left alone.”
“Well, he is doing a good job with my Grandmom.”
“He means well,” Jackie assures me. “He just doesn’t know how to show it.”
“Has he always been this way?”
“Oh, yeah,” she says, laughing again. She has a good laugh, deep down and sincere. I find myself smiling along and really liking her. “We started around the same time, and even back then he had a reputation.”
“Young Dr. Hill. I can’t even imagine.”
“Drove all the young girl residents crazy,” she says, grinning. “Most of the nurses, too.”
I blush, wondering for a second if she knows what I’ve been doing with him. “I can see that,” I hedge.
“He’s good-looking, talented, but such an asshole. It’s why he’s still single. Never managed to settle down.”
“Never?”
“Never,” she confirms. “Had a few girlfriends, but they never seemed to last.”
“Huh. That’s a shame.”
“Right? That man is gorgeous, but I don’t know. Personally, nobody is good-looking enough to make up for being so arrogant.”
I laugh and shrug a little. “Well, I don’t have to worry about that. He’s twice my age.”
“You never know,” Jackie says, laughing her infectious laugh. “Anyway, I have to go. I’ll keep an eye on your grandmother, okay? Maybe I’ll even tell Hill to take it easy on her.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”
“No problem. Have a good night.” She smiles and heads off, walking purposefully down the hall.
I watch her go for a second, trying to picture the young Dr. Hill. He’s gorgeous now, since he’s aged like a freaking movie star, but I bet he was still pretty incredible looking back then, too.
I turn away from her and start back toward the elevators, but I don’t get far.
“I see you met my friend.”
I stop in my tracks. Aiden is leaning up against a door a few feet away, arms crossed, stethoscope dangling around his neck.
“Oh, shit. You scared me.”
“Sorry.” He takes a step toward me. “I saw you talking to Jackie and didn’t want to interrupt.”
“You know her?”
He glances down the hall. “I think she’s my only friend in this whole damn place,” he says.
I frown. “Really? It’s a big hospital. How many people have you pissed off?”
“All of them.” He grins at me.
“Can’t say I’m surprised.”
“I’m just honest.”
“You’re just arrogant.”
“Arrogant, honest, conceited, asshole. I’ve heard it all, little gem.”
“Gem?” I ask.
“Gem, like a ruby.”
“Clever.”
“Are you busy?” He leans toward me, gorgeous deep pools staring into my eyes.
“Not really,” I say, suddenly mesmerized. I’m tired and my feet hurt and I’m hungry, but suddenly all that disappears.