Reed (Cold Fury Hockey 10)

There should be no time for it, but my stomach flutters as if a thousand butterflies have taken up residence in there and my entire body flushes warm with adoration for Reed. God, this man. That he would do that for his day with the Cup. We hadn't even talked about it other than I knew each player got the Cup, but because he hadn't said anything about it, I'd assumed perhaps he had his day before we became an item.

"You're unbelievable," I say as I go to my tiptoes to kiss him. It's a fast kiss that doesn't touch his lips but grazes his chin. He doesn't even have time to touch me or move his face, so our mouths connect before I'm pulling back and heading down the hall.

I call out over my shoulder, "Got to go. Come see me later."

And then I put Reed out of my mind, because right now there are more important things. That doesn't mean, however, that I'm not excited to see him later once things calm down.

--

The Stanley Cup sits in the middle of the hub and everything seems to be getting back to normal. The Emergency Department was the last stop, but not everyone got a turn with it. Anyone who was potentially contagious was off the list, and there was no way they could bring it into the waiting room, so that meant a select few patients got to see it and have photos taken, as well as all of the emergency staff.

Marek is leaning over the low counter that runs halfway around the hub, flirting with one of the nurses. He's shameless, but I've learned over the weeks that's just Marek. He's got boyish good looks with dark curly hair and intense blue eyes that are completely mesmerizing. He's a player for sure, but he's not a douche bag. Of course he wouldn't be a douche bag, though, because he's good friends with Reed, and Reed isn't a douche bag either.

Reed is chatting with Kevin and they have a few pics snapped together by the Cup keeper, a really cool guy I got to chat with at Alex and Sutton's party before she went into labor. The winning team gets the Cup for a hundred days during the summer, and it's his job to care for it during its travels. He was able to quote funny stuff to me, like the fact that the Cup can hold seven bottles of champagne in it and that he's traveled to twenty-four different countries with it.

Kevin and Reed shake hands and Kevin disappears into an exam room. I've still got three hours until my shift is over, but all my current patients are waiting on tests or for discharge.

I saunter over to Reed and his grin back at me tells me he's well pleased with his day with the Cup.

"So, what did you think?" he asks as I reach him.

"I think you made a lot of damn people in this hospital happy, Mr. Olson," I say, and I don't give a crap who's watching or that I'm on duty. I put my hands to the side of his neck and pull him down for a quick kiss.

"That's all well and good," he says casually. "But did I make you happy?"

I give him a coy smile. "I'll admit, having you around during my workday was definitely awesome."

I expect him to laugh or smile or even give me a kiss in return, but instead his eyes turn sober. He leans toward me and asks in a low voice, "The patient that you were working on when I first got here? Did he make it?"

My smile to Reed is sad and tender as I give a small shake of my head. "He didn't."

"That fucking sucks," he mutters, then pulls me in for a hard hug. "I know that's tough on you."

I nod into his chest and let him console me for a moment. I try not to dwell on these things, and thankfully, my days are weighed heavily in favor of saving lives versus losing them, but they still leave a mark on me.

The wall I put in place while in the hospital start to crack a little and a wave of vulnerability hits me. Tears start to sting my eyes, something I never let happen. I push out of Reed's arms and raise the wall again. He studies my face for a second and I get an almost imperceptible nod from him that he understands what I'm doing.

That I can't afford to be anything other than cool, calm, and collected Dr. Ives while I'm in this hospital.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" he asks me casually, even taking a step back and tucking his hands into his pocket casually.

"Anything else you want to do with the Cup?"

"Nope," he says resoundingly. "It's just you and me tonight, since I've got to relinquish you to Aiden for the next few days to work on your project."

God, I want to throw my arms around him and hug the crap out of him. He said that without a trace of bitterness or disappointment. In fact, he said it in such an easygoing way that I know he's all right with this.

A heavy arm drapes around my shoulders and I turn to see Marek has come up to stand casually beside me. "Let's take your girl out and go paint the town red tonight."

Reed cocks an eyebrow at his friend, and damn, that's sexy. Even sexier when he tells Marek, "I suggest you get your arm off my girl before I break it."

Marek, of course, just laughs and pulls me into his side. "She wouldn't be your girl if I put the slightest bit of effort into her. I could take her away from you in a heartbeat."

A tiny flash of heat mixed with amusement flickers in Reed's eyes. But he doesn't challenge Marek with any return ribbing. Instead, he says, "You couldn't handle Josie. She'd turn you inside out and twist you all around. I know this for a fact, and it takes a real man to accept and appreciate that."

Wow. Just wow. I do that to Reed?

Before Marek can respond, someone's calling my name.

I pull out of Marek's grasp and lean to look past Reed to the hub. It's one of the nurses. "X rays are complete on exam room four."

"Be right there," I tell him. I reach a hand out and touch Reed's forearm. "Let's just stay in tonight, okay? Pizza and beer."

"And bed," he adds with a wink.

"Pizza and beer in the bed," I clarify with a grin as I walk toward the exam room.

"Sounds perfect."

Yes, it does.

Chapter 21

Reed

I tighten the stem that sits on top of the O-ring with my wrench before screwing the faucet handle back on. Reaching under the sink, I turn on the water and then give the faucet a go. After the cold water runs for a few moments, I turn it off and watch it carefully.

Not a single damn drip comes out, and I want to give myself a high five. Josie will be beside herself I fixed it for her, and I expect she'll reward me appropriately. Snickering to myself as I imagine all the ways she might be thankful, I squat down to replace all of the bottles and girlie stuff I'd pulled out from under her sink so I could turn off the water.

Just as I'm standing, the doorbell rights. I shut the cabinet drawer and make my way out of the guest bathroom, through the living room, and to the front door.

When I open it, I'm surprised to see Aiden standing there. I can tell by the look on his face that he's not surprised to find me in Josie's home.

"Hey," he says casually, and holds up a CD in a plastic case. "I'm just dropping more medical charts off for Josie to review. I'd texted her last night that I'd be in the area and she said that was fine."

"She's not here," I say as I reach out for the CD. "Got called into the hospital."

Aiden hands it over with an easy smile. "Cool. Tell her there's no rush on that."

I hold the case up and wave it. "No rush. Got it."

A part of me wonders if this is a ploy of his, to see Josie at an unplanned time. A way to spend time with her that makes it seem like business but it's really not because he just happened to be in this area. But there's also a part of me that thinks this guy is genuine, and he's just working on a project with Josie. He's not given me one single thing to make me think he's being dishonest in his intentions.

Bottom line, I guess I'll never know, and honestly, it doesn't matter. She's with me and not him. She's not looking to be with him, and by all accounts, he seems like an all right dude. You know, outside of breaking Josie's heart once, but that worked out well for me, didn't it?

Aiden throws a hand up in a wave and turns to the porch steps. I start to close the door, but then he turns suddenly. He tilts his h

ead as if appraising me and asks, "Hey...do you golf?"

"Huh?"

"I'm going to get a round of golf in. Want to come with me? I'm a member over at Brier Creek."

While I'm clearly surprised by the offer to hang out, I'm also a little amped. I love to golf, even though I'm pretty bad at it, and I've got nothing else planned today since Josie got called into the hospital unexpectedly.

"Yeah...sure," I respond as I set the CD on the foyer table. "Sounds like fun."

I lock Josie's house and follow Aiden down to the porch steps. "Let me pop over to my house and grab my stuff."

"I'll drive," he says as he rounds the front of a small economy car. "Then I'll just bring you back."

After I get my clubs and shoes loaded, and we're on the road for the short drive over the country club, Aiden starts up casual chatter.

"Too bad Josie got called in," he says as he maneuvers through lunchtime traffic. "She loves golfing."

"Really?" I ask in surprise, my chin pulling in just a tad as I look over at him. "Josie whose big hobby is cozying up to a hard jigsaw puzzle?"

Aiden lets out a bark of a laugh. "Yes, that girl loves her puzzles, but she's got an athletic side. She's not bad actually."