“I’m sorry, I missed your name.” The young doctor sticks out his hand, which I quickly accept.
“Lennon.”
He smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Lennon. My name is Dr. Ward, and I took care of your fiancé when he came in. In fact,” he says, looking at Noah, “I was just telling him what will need to be done once he gets home.”
“Yes.” I turn toward the doctor, giving him my full attention like any dutiful fiancée would. “Please, fill me in.”
“You don’t have to fill her in,” Noah says, trying to nudge me off the bed. “She’s not—”
“Shush.” Pressing a finger against his mouth, I frown. So does Noah. “He absolutely will fill me in. Who else is going to take care of you?”
He swats my hand away. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Dr. Ward interjects.
“Fine.” Noah rolls his eyes. “I’ll have my mother come help me.”
“She’s on vacation,” Mikey offers, holding his hands up in surrender when Noah shoots him a nasty glare.
“Noah, this is good. You’ll need some assistance for a few days, someone to help you get around the house so you can stay off your ankle,” Dr. Ward says.
“I’m good, doc, really.”
He nudges me again, but I just wrap his hand in mine and kiss his knuckles adoringly. Noah furrows his brow and presses his lips together. His gaze on me is so powerful, I swear the man can hold a conversation with just his eyes.
What the fuck are you up to?
I squint at him, letting him know I’ve got the wheel right now. Play along or I’ll run you off the road again.
Noah blows out a long, frustrated breath, and I know I’ve won him over.
“Anyway.” The doctor clears his throat. “Noah sprained his ankle during the accident. Nothing is broken, but he did a number on it. He also has a laceration on his leg that we cleaned up. It didn’t need stitches, but I’d like for him to keep an eye on it, because we don’t want it to get infected. I’ll have Penny prin
t out the instructions and give them to you.”
I nod, and when Dr. Ward isn’t looking, Penny rolls her eyes.
“I would like it if you could stay off your foot for a couple of days,” he says to Noah. “Your ankle needs rest and ice.”
“Rest and Ice. Got it.” I turn to Noah. “I’ll just plan on staying with you for the next couple of days.”
“He’s your fiancée,” Penny exclaims. “Don’t you live with him?”
“No.” I might not be southern, but I do my best to tack on some southern belle charm. I press a hand to my chest, feigning disbelief. “Daddy would not approve of that. No shackin’ up until we’re married. Right, sweetie?”
“Shackin’ up?” Noah says.
“Whatever.” Penny walks out, followed by the doctor, and Mikey claps his hands together.
“Well, folks, I’ve gotta get going.” He walks toward me and squeezes my shoulder. “Lennon, I’ll swing by Noah’s tonight and make sure you two don’t need anything.”
“Wait. What?” Noah pulls his hand from mine and scowls up at Mikey. “She’s not really coming home with me.”
“Yes, she is.” Mikey looks to me for confirmation, and I nod. “How else would you get home? You don’t have your bike, and your parents are out of town.”
“You,” Noah says. “You can take me home.”
“Sorry, man. Can’t. Gotta finish my shift. Plus, there’s no way in hell I’m taking care of your ass.”