This was purely a business move. I thought you knew that. I thought you knew that it would benefit us both!”
Lana shook David’s cruel words from her head.
“Right,” Lana said. “Thank you. Vickie, can you bring me my surgical tray?”
Vickie had been an orthopedic scrub nurse for years. She was her father’s scrub nurse and knew exactly what surgical screws and plates would be needed to fix a broken femur.
“You don’t sound happy about it,” Dr. Aeolia said and Lana could sense the censure in her voice. Or maybe it wasn’t censure, but jealousy.
She knew Dr. Aeolia lusted after Andrew, like most women did. Andrew was a playboy. A love ’em and leave ’em reputation that probably would hurt their story if they didn’t play their cards right.
“I am, but right now I’m focused on fixing this patient’s femur. Perhaps later we can discuss wedding arrangements, but not now.” Lana’s voice rose and as she glanced up into the gallery she could see Andrew grinning at her, giving her a subtle nod.
“Fine,” Dr. Aeolia said with annoyance. “Since my job is making sure the patient is stabilized and will survive, I guess I can let you continue on with picking up the pieces. You’re quite good at that, if I recall.”
It was a jab that was laced with sarcasm, which Lana didn’t care much for, but was used to. As the daughter of the Chief of Surgery she was used to people treating her like this. She knew very well that they all thought she was a spoiled princess. That she was Daddy’s girl and got preferential treatment because of it.
When that was far from the truth.
She was not a princess. Everything she’d earned she’d worked hard for.
“You’re right, Dr. Aeolia, your job here is done. Thank you; kindly leave my OR. I have it from here.”
Dr. Aeolia glared at her over the surgical mask and Lana shook her head in annoyance as she continued to work on stabilizing and preparing the femur.
She didn’t have many friends in this hospital and she tried to tell herself she didn’t care, but she did. She was alone.
It was why she was known as a bit of an ice queen.
And she was fine with letting them think that. It was easier on her heart.
Lana knew who she really was.
Do you?
And as she glanced back up at the gallery she saw that Andrew had left. She breathed an inward sigh of relief and continued on her repair of the femur. She was glad he was gone because he was a distraction and that was the last thing she needed in her life.
* * *
Just go home. You don’t need to wait for her.
Only Andrew was waiting for her in the main lobby. Just like a dutiful fiancé would. He had been so impressed with the way Lana had handled herself in the operating room under the scrutiny of Dr. Aeolia, who was a big gossip and who had been hitting on him since he’d first arrived, but he had no interest in her.
Now, he wanted to show the rest of them this was for real.
Except it’s not.
He rolled his stiff shoulder and then got up from where he’d been sitting in an uncomfortable lobby chair and began to pace as he waited for Lana. Her surgery on the femur had been done hours ago and it was the middle of the night, but there was a diner where a twenty-four-hour breakfast was served. He could at least treat her to some kind of meal and then maybe they could talk.
Get their stories straight so they could present a united front.
As he rolled his stiff shoulder he saw her on the breezeway, in her street clothes, walking down he steps to the main lobby. She looked tired, but that still didn’t detract from her grace and beauty. The Ice Queen of Oahu.
Which was an unfair name, because even though she tried to put up an appearance of being frosty he knew there was a warmth about her when she dealt with patients and her younger brother Jack. A caring side, even if she didn’t want to admit to it.
She looked up at him, her dark eyes widening in shock. “Dr....Andrew, what’re you doing here still? It’s three in the morning!”
“I went home and had a sleep, but thought I would come back and take you out for a bite to eat.”
“It’s three in the morning,” she repeated.
“I know, but the Kahuna Café on the north shore is open twenty-four hours and their specialty is breakfast.”
She wrinkled her nose. “That place looks like a dive.”
“It’s not a dive. Are you telling me that you’ve never been to the Kahuna Café?”
“No, it was never somewhere my parents took us.”
“Jack likes it,” Andrew teased.
Lana smirked. “Jack would eat his own hat if it was deep fried.”
Andrew chuckled. “True. Come on, what do you say? Come have some early breakfast with me and then I’ll take you home.”
“Fine.”
“Hey, it’s not a punishment, you know,” he teased.
“What?” she asked as she fell into step beside him.
“Going out to eat breakfast with me. I’m not a monster.”
A smile played on her lips. “I never said you were. Perhaps I’m the monster. I am considered a bit of a...”
“You don’t have to say it. I’ve heard it,” he teased. “What I’m saying is that appearances can be deceiving and you, of all people, should understand that.”
“Sorry,” she said.
“No problem, sweetie.”
Lana wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, don’t call me sweetie.”
“Pookie?”
“Nope.”
“Polkaroo?”
“What?” she asked, confused.
He chuckled at his subtle Canadian joke that he knew that she would never get. “Never mind. You don’t want an endearment nickname?”
“No, thank you. Just Lana is fine by me.”
“Okay.” Then he picked up her hand and she snatched it back as if he were on fire.
“What’re you doing?” she said under her breath.
“There are people watching,” he whispered.
Lana took his hand grudgingly. He’d never really held a woman’s
