CHAPTER THREE
– Brianna
My face stayed red the entire way back to the reception desk. I didn’t even grab what I needed—a box of tissues for one of our regular patients—and I felt far too embarrassed to retrace my steps.
The other nurses knew. I was sure of it.
I slumped into my desk chair, a sheepish grin stealing my lips that should have been stolen by Marshall instead. Why hadn’t I kissed him? Why hadn’t I hugged him tight to me?
Was it the space? The lack of privacy?
Or was it the fact that my parents would never allow me to see a man with such a poor background?
“Thinking of Marshall again, I see,” Geraldine teased.
I shot her a sharp look of warning. “His name is Dr. Bishop.”
“But he gave you permission to address him informally.”
“Yeah, that was for me—not for you.”
She arched a perfectly trim eyebrow. “Possessive already, I see.”
“Don’t test me, Geraldine. I didn’t even grab the tissues.”
“Tissues? For what?”
A sneeze erupted from the other side of the waiting room. I sighed. “Donovan has a cold again. His mother is making a mess of the bathroom. Could you get some tissues from the utility closet?”
I blushed again, though I could have easily passed it off as being stressed if my BFF decided to drill me about it. To my relief, she didn’t. She took off toward the utility closet, disappearing down the hallway and beyond the pin-guarded door.
I deflated with a sigh. God, that was close.
Heat echoed between my thighs, a shiver running down my spine as I recalled just how close I had been to Marshall Bishop. Of all the years we worked together, we never ran into each other like that. It was odd—and also exciting—to have found ourselves in such proximity.
It was almost as if the universe was trying to say something.
Temptation, I insisted mentally. That’s all it was.
I logged into my computer and ignored Geraldine’s insistent stare when she returned. She wanted an explanation. She could probably smell the lingering combination of scents in the closet. But I wasn’t about to spill a damn detail about what had happened in there.
Which was nothing. Absolutely nothing happened. Nothing at all.
“Smelled like two teenagers were having a pillow fight in there.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re so weird.”
“It’s hard being a dragon. I can smell just about everything.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “So...”
“So?”
She hummed. “So, when are you going to tell our darling Dr. Bishop that you’ve had the hots for him over the past few years?”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
I shook my head as I responded to a few online inquiries about services at the clinic. “Because he’s not on the approved list.”
“Are your parents still seriously trying to set you up?”
“It’s tradition.”
She made a disgusted face. “Bri, you hate tradition.”
“I sure do.”
“Okay, so why the hell are you still doing it?”
I paused, my fingers resting over the keys I needed to press. Despite my best effort to continue, I couldn’t bring myself to apply pressure. Geraldine had a point.
Again.
“It’s tradition,” I whispered, not quite convinced that I was speaking for myself anymore. Who was I kidding? I wasn’t. “They expect it. How can I turn down their efforts?”
“Easily—You say no.”
I shook my head. “Geraldine, you know I can’t do that. Daddy would be so disappointed, and he would probably disown me. I can’t leave my cousins like that.”
Her features softened. “Those boys love you so much.”
“Their parents have been dead barely a year. They’re starting to smile again.”
“Ugh, I hate it when you use them as an excuse.”
I rolled my eyes. “They’re not an excuse. They’re family. There’s a difference.”
“I just think you’re shorting yourself on happiness here, you know?”
I wasn’t about to tell her she was right, because I didn’t know if she was right. But it sure felt like she was right. And I hated that.
I shrugged. “I just need to hang in there for another two weeks and then everything will be different.”
“You won’t be with your sweet doctor.”