Chapter 27

Kinsley General Hospital had been her top choice when she entered the medical field, but Riverside was a superior facility in many ways. It was more advanced and better funded, and, of course, Dr. Lima ran its surgical department.

At the start of her shift, Lara had scrubbed in for a surgery with Dr. Lima, which had been wonderful. The rest of her day, though? Not so much. Regular duties in the patient ward had occupied her time, and now she was on her final round of the day.

“Geoffrey Morran,” she mumbled to herself as she looked over his chart. As always, she greeted her patient with a smile despite her long day.

The man was sitting up in his bed, alert and far more chipper than she would have anticipated anyone in his position to be. “Hello! How are you today, lovely nurse?”

She nearly jumped at his boisterous voice. “I’m well.” She released an uncertain chuckle. “Seems you had a fall. Is there anything you can tell me about that? Are you comfortable?” She looked over his various IV drips.

He was quite buff from the waist up, but even beneath all the blankets, she could tell his legs were thin and frail. It was common for paraplegics, yet the size of him otherwise was surprising.

“I’m wonderful! It was hardly a fall at all. I’ve dealt with much worse,” he told her with a thousand-watt grin.

“He was unconscious.”

Lara whirled around at the sound of the familiar deep voice, only to find herself face-to-face with Zavien.

“So dramatic! My friend here is so keen on besting me, he’s resorted to theatrics. I told you I could hold a handstand longer than you.”

Lara paused at the imagery that comment conjured in her mind, but Zavien tore her attention away.

Standing in the doorway of the private room, he said to her, “I thought you worked at KGH.”

“I do. Or I did. It’s a long story.” Lara moved about the room, offering an extra blanket to Geoffrey when she saw his slight shivering.

Geoffrey thanked her with another beaming smile.

Even with the chest pains that came with being near Zavien, Lara found it difficult to be upset when someone so boundlessly happy radiated joy. “I need to check a couple of things, all right?” she asked. “I’m just going to scoot you up on the bed.”

She waited for his nod of approval before looping his arm over her shoulders and wrapping hers around his back and under his arm.

“Do you need help?” Zavien asked, moving to the other side of the bed.

“Nope.” Her voice strained as she straightened from her crouch, gently lifting Geoffrey until he was seated higher.

“Impressive strength!” Geoffrey enthused. “Zavien, is she not impressive?”

“She is,” Zavien agreed.

Lara cleared her throat before going about her assessment of Geoffrey’s condition.

“How do you know each other?” Geoffrey asked, to neither of them in particular.

Sadness welled up in her from Zavien’s lack of response, so she spoke. “We’re neighbors.” She adjusted the blankets and took one more look around before saying, “I’m heading out for the day, but the next nurse will be around shortly.”

“May the rest of your evening be as lovely as you!” Geoffrey called out as she headed for the door.

“What he said,” Zavien offered as she passed him, and she mentally kicked herself when a blush rose to her cheeks.

***

“Ah, Nurse Lara!” Geoffrey greeted loudly as she entered his room the following day.

“Just Lara, Mr. Morran, please,” she said with a laugh. “How are you feeling today?”

“Better, now that you’re here. May I ask you a favor?”

“Of course.”

“Would you kindly lie to Zavien about visiting hours?”

Lara paused in checking his drip to see that he was very serious in his request. “You don’t want him to visit you?”

“Just the opposite. But he always takes time out of his life to see me. I once made it a competition to see which of us could ignore the other longer, but he forfeited so quickly. Very unlike him,” he said with a long-suffering sigh.

“You two have been friends for a long time?” Lara felt she both knew Zavien and knew nothing about him all at once. This was her chance to be nosy.

Geoffrey laughed so loudly that Lara nearly jumped out of her skin. “Zavien and I have known each other from a tender age, but I don’t know that ~friends~ was always the right word.”

“Sounds like Zavien.”

“You know him well, then!” Excitement colored his features. “We were competitors. Zavien is very good at many things.”

That, Lara knew.

A tingle ran through her, down her neck, and straight to between her legs as she recalled what Zavien had done very well with his hands.

“So,” she said, coming back to the conversation, “why do you want me to get rid of him?”

“He worries too much. I’m fit as a fiddle.” Another luminous smile.

“Well, I won’t lie to him.”

“Ah! You are kind ~and~ honest. Admirable.” He gave her an understanding nod.

“Trying to get rid of me already?” Zavien’s voice came from behind her.

“Yes,” Geoffrey said.

Lara glanced back to see him standing in the doorway. “Don’t you work?”

Zavien’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t you?” he asked pointedly.

For a moment, she felt like they had slipped back into their regular routine, but when he nodded toward her medical cart, his narrowed eyes made her think he was telling her to leave.

So she did.

On her way, she heard Geoffrey say, “My friend, I think you misunderstand the purpose of flirting. The objective is to get the woman to stay, not flee.”

***

Her popping in on Geoffrey—and consequently, Zavien—had helped ease the tension between her and Zavien. With Geoffrey’s blooming optimism on their side, she and Zavien had soon found their way back to their old banter.

And just when their back-and-forths had begun to feel natural again—rather than sexually charged—Lara had finally looked at Zavien, at his immaculate brown boots, well-fitting navy denim jeans, and pristine white shirt that clung to his shoulders.

As always with Zavien, it was easy until it wasn’t.

“Aren’t you running late?” Geoffrey asked Zavien as she approached the room.

“Aren’t I always?” Zavien answered as she entered.

“One of these days, they aren’t just going to sit around and wait for you to show up.” Geoffrey sighed.

“Care to make a wager?” Zavien asked, his eyes creased with a smile.

Unabashed by her eavesdropping, Lara scoffed. “You’re so arrogant, you’re actually sabotaging your own dates now?”

Both men’s heads whipped toward her, and their looks of confusion caused her cheeks to flame.

~Did I say something wrong?~

“Dates?” Geoffrey said before bursting out in the loudest guffaw Lara had ever heard. “Zavien doesn’t date! Where would he find the time?”

“Hey, now. I date,” Zavien said, but shifted on his feet when Geoffrey challenged his comment with a stare. “I’ve had two.”

“Two?” Lara and Geoffrey said in unison, but whereas Lara frowned in uncertainty, Geoffrey appeared genuinely impressed.

“I’m surprised, Zavien,” Geoffrey continued. “Between running successful writing workshops four evenings a week and spending the rest of your time with me…?” He nodded, letting the question hang for a beat. “Very impressive.”

~Evening writing workshops? Spending his days here?~

Lara’s head spun with doubt, unraveling everything she thought she knew, until she realized how wrong she had been. By assuming the worst about Zavien—all because of an H instead of a D—she had sabotaged herself.

How stupid was she?