up.
Yet.
“HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY?”
Chloe checked Melanie Roberts’s IV drip. About six months pregnant, with pink cheeks and a glowing complexion, she seemed the picture of health. Looks could be deceiving, though, because hidden deep within her there’d been a serious problem that had needed to be fixed.
Just like Chloe.
With Melanie’s unborn baby afflicted with spina bifida, Cade had been forced to operate on her a few days ago and all had gone well, according to reports. She’d need to stay in the hospital for a few more days to make sure she didn’t go into premature labor, and then she’d have to continue on meds to keep her uterus from reacting to the trauma of surgery. Bed rest for the next couple of months. But so far so good. Although they wouldn’t know for sure until after she delivered, the baby’s prognosis for a normal life was excellent.
Melanie glanced at the IV. “Are you sure the pain medication isn’t going to hurt the baby?”
Putting her hand on the woman’s shoulder, she gave her a smile. “I’m sure your doctor is being extremely careful. Have you seen him today?”
“Dr. Coleman came in to check on me. And my regular obstetrician is supposed to come by this afternoon.”
Chloe busied herself with fluffing pillows and tucking blankets to hide the warmth in her cheeks as Cade’s name was mentioned. She’d thought Brad would burst a blood vessel when he’d seen her at the desk yesterday with the surgeon. It had been then that she’d realized that instead of charming Cade with her attempts at flirting she’d been making a fool of herself. Again. When Brad had got her to confess, his brows had drawn together. She’d thought he was going to say something more, but then Ginny had come back to the nurses’ station and conversation had fizzled before dying completely.
He’d met her after work, but instead of riding home on his motorcycle he’d put her in a cab and said he’d see her at the apartment. He hadn’t. Because as soon as she’d arrived, she’d gone straight to the guest room. Brad hadn’t knocked on the door, although she’d known he’d arrived as well. A half-hour later, though, she’d heard the front door open and close. He’d gone out and stayed out until the wee hours of the morning.
Had he been with the nurse who’d called her the other day? It was none of her business if he had. Still, a tiny bloom of hurt had come to life.
She forced her attention back to her patient. “Did you ask Dr. Coleman about your medication?”
“He said it was fine, that the baby shouldn’t be affected. It’s just that...” she twisted the blankets “...it’s just been such a shock. I took the prenatal vitamins just like I was told to. Weren’t they supposed to prevent this?”
“Sometimes these things happen, no matter what you do.”
Like her impending divorce? If she’d tried harder, done more of what she knew Travis liked in bed, could she have prevented him from getting it elsewhere?
That had been the problem. She had tried. But being coerced to perform had meant she had never been given the chance to try new things of her own free will. To give to him spontaneously from a heart full of love. Instead, his overtures had been more like a boss issuing orders: No, not there...here. Harder. Keep going. There had been no cuddling, no slow build-up of passion. It had been all or nothing with Travis. And even when she’d given it her all, she’d gotten little or nothing in return.
She shook herself out of the memories as she finished up with the patient and went back into the hallway. She was free of that now. Free of treating sex like a duty that she dreaded. Which was why she’d been shocked at the tingling she’d felt sitting behind Brad on the bike. You’d think she’d never respond to another man again. Especially not this soon.
Maybe it was just her hormones urging her to procreate. But she’d never felt the need to have kids with Travis. And he’d never pressed that issue either. Another thing to be glad of.
But she did want children eventually, which meant, unless she wanted to embark on that particular journey alone, she’d have to wade into the dating pool again, the sooner the better.
Only this time she wasn’t committing until she was sure she wasn’t going to wind right back up where she’d been for the last six years. She wanted someone she shared common ground with. Maybe even someone in the medical field.
Brad’s image came to mind, and she pushed it back down. No. He wasn’t a better choice than Travis had been. He skipped from woman to woman without a care in the world. Only where Travis had merely broken her pride, if she was honest with herself, Brad could break something much deeper.
No, she needed someone steady and even-tempered. Someone who wasn’t cocky or arrogant. Someone who didn’t spin out on his motorcycle and nearly kill himself.
Someone... She wrinkled her nose when the word “boring” twirled around in her skull, dancing out of reach every time she tried to grab it and kick it to the curb.
Cade wasn’t boring. But he also wasn’t someone she could see herself being seriously interested in. It had been fun to try to kid around with him, at least until Brad had made her feel like an idiot.
Why did he even care?
The elevator doors swished open and the man himself exited. Her legs tensed, ready to pivot and hurry away in the other direction. Then their eyes met and it was too late. He made his way over to her.
“How’s your day going?”
“Pretty well. I just finished checking on Melanie Roberts. She asked whether the pain meds could affect the baby.”
“Did you ask Dr. Coleman about it?”
Strange, the way he always referred to the surgeon by his last name. Almost as if he didn’t like the man. “I haven’t seen him today. But if I do, I will.” She bit her lip. “Would you mind talking to her in the meantime? I think it would put her mind at ease.”
“Sure.” He glanced at the nurses’ desk and then back at her.
“Did you stay in last night?”
She decided to play dumb, as if she hadn’t noticed he’d stayed out half the night. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Did you eat dinner?”
Jerking her eyes away from his, she lifted her chin. “I did. I went out.”
She had technically gone round the corner to grab a burger, but she knew her words could be easily misconstrued. Knew she’d phrased them that way on purpose. But something about the way he’d left her alone had stung, and she was desperate for him not to find out how much. He hadn’t been home, so there’s no way he’d know she’d eaten by herself. Just like she had in the later stages of her marriage.
“Oh?” His fingers scrubbed the side of his jaw. “Have a good time?”
“I did.” She decided to do a little probing
