"Don't stop," I smiled as I walked toward her holding out the box. "Just switch with me."
"Cam, what are you doing here?" she asked as her eyes moved from my face to the gold box I held out.
"I wanted to bring these to you last night, but just my luck we didn't have any calls," I said as she set the basket down and took the box. I grabbed the basket and followed her to the nurse's station where she set the box down and opened it.
"Oh Cam!" she gasped as she saw the roses. "These are beautiful!"
"I'm glad you like them," I smiled. "I was wondering if you'd have time to grab some breakfast with me, or maybe dinner tonight is better?"
"I'd love to have dinner with you," she said as she ran her fingers over the soft petals and I felt myself responding knowing all too well how her fingers felt on my skin. "I'll pick you up at seven. Dress up, we're going somewhere fancy!"
"Cam! You don't have to do that to impress me, you know," she said. "I like you just fine."
"I know, but I want to take you somewhere special tonight," I said as she tucked the tissue back into the box and put the lid on. Then quickly changing the subject before I got too carried away, I asked, "Do you need a ride home this morning?"
"No, I'm good, thanks," she said as a small frown flickered across her lips. "I've got to stay a while longer and wait for Liz."
"Everything okay?" I asked as I marveled at how fresh she looked despite the fact that she'd been on duty all night. I rubbed my chin realizing he scruff had popped up and knew I'd have to shave before our date.
Just then, three young women all dressed in matching blue scrubs walked into the ER.
"Well, if it isn't Cam Connor!" the tall brunette said. "It's so good to see you, Cam."
Alex looked back and forth between me and the brunette with a surprised look. I shrugged as I tried to figure out how this woman knew me.
"It's Violet," she said lightly laughing. "Violet Metzler? You know my father, Richard."
"Oh, yes, of course," I said suddenly feeling a wave of dread wash over me. If Violet outed me as the owner of CSC before I'd told Alex about it, there would be a lot of explaining to do. "It's good to see you, Violet."
I held out my hand and the woman took it, but instead of shaking she pulled herself in close and whispered, "Oh come on, you can do better than that, certainly," as she hugged me.
I saw the dark look cross Alex's face as I was pulled into Violet's forced but polite hug. I looked back at Alex and shook my head trying to covey the fact that I had no idea who this woman was.
"Have we actually ever met?" I asked as Violet stepped back and looked up at me. She was a pretty girl, but there was something about her that felt slightly off.
"Oh you silly guy!" she laughed a little too loudly as she swatted my shoulder. "You know my daddy, Richard Metzler! You should know me, too!"
"Ah, I see," I said without commenting further. I knew that to address this issue here and now would bring up a lot of questions that I wasn't ready to answer. "Good to see you, then."
"You should come out with us sometime," Violet said. I knew she was after something other than a date with me because there was a hard look in her eyes as she issued the invitation.
"Yeah, well, my schedule's pretty booked these days," I said looking over Violet's shoulder and trying to catch Alex's eye again. Alex refused to look up from the chart she was reading, and I knew I was going to have to do some explaining later. As a polite afterthough, I added, "But thanks for the invite."
"I see," Violet said narrowing her eyes then remembering she had an audience, laughed lightly as she said, "Well, if you change your mind, we'll be over at Ricky's Diner for breakfast later."
"Uh huh, thanks," I said as I moved around the three girls and headed toward Alex. I stood behind her and quietly said, "I can explain all that. I don't know her, but I have done business with her father. It's nothing."
"Hey, no big deal," Alex said with a forced smile. "You gotta do what you gotta do."
"Alex, don't be like that," I said as she turned back to her file and ignored me. "I'm still picking you up at seven, so dress up, okay?"
"Uh huh, sure, I'll be ready," she said as she picked up the file and moved behind the desk pointedly ignoring me.
"Fine, if you're going to be that way, then it's going to be a quiet night for us both, but I'm still picking you up at seven!" I said a little more loudly than I'd intended causing the staff behind the desk to look up.
"I'll be ready," Alex said before she walked away from the desk.
I marched out of the ER and back to the truck where Tesla lay curled up sleeping in the front seat. I started the truck and then slammed my fists on the steering wheel as I muttered, "Women!"