Playing Doctor: A Central West End Story (9 page)

She picked up the flowers and walked down the hall straight into a human wall. Looking up, she saw the only one of the first year interns who looked at her breasts before he moved up to her face. Matt Taylor, total Class A class jerk.

“Hey, where are you going so fast with those flowers?” Matt held her arms, steadying her from the impact.

“I’m delivering them to a patient. Let me go.” Annie tried to walk around him.

“She’s feisty! Don’t you think, Saunders?” Matt turned and looked at Troy who was walking toward the two carrying his usual stack of charts.

“Leave her alone, Matt. She’s just doing her job.” Troy’s voice was firm.

“Oh, that’s right, you two know each other.” Matt looked at the flowers. “Lover’s spat?”

“I didn’t send her the flowers.”

“No?” Matt craned his neck to see if there was a delivery tag on the vase. “I don’t see any label saying they’re for a patient.”

“Matt,” Troy began, but Annie cut him off.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but they are for me. From my ex-fiancé who doesn’t know when he’s too late.” Annie stood staring at Matt. “Anything else, Doctor?”

Matt held his hands up in mock surrender. “Don’t go all Full Action Nurse Barbie on me, sweetie. I was just asking.”

“What did you just call me? Nurse Barbie?” Annie stared at Troy. “My name is Annie Baxter. You can call me Nurse Baxter or Miss Baxter. But never, ever, call me Barbie again.” 

“Whatever,” Matt headed to the elevator. “I’m heading up to the executive cafeteria to eat lunch with my dad. Don’t page me unless someone’s dying.”

Troy walked up to her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I can’t believe you told him about the Barbie joke.” Annie glared at the man standing in front of her. Men. All they did was make her life miserable.

“Hey, I didn’t tell Matt anything. We’re not friends. Believe me.” Troy cocked his head. “But I thought we were. You were engaged?”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Doctor Saunders.” Annie spun on her heel, the water from the vase spilling out on the floor. She should stop and clean it up, but she couldn’t, not in front of him.

Annie headed to Miss Brown’s room. The sooner these flowers were out of her sight, the better. As she stepped past Troy, she saw Nurse Abbott standing a few feet back. The woman glared at her.

Great, now I am back to being Nurse Barbie.

“Look, I don’t know what you saw but…”

“Save it, Baxter. You had me fooled with all that career talk. Now I can see you’re playing the interns against each other. What? Trying to hedge your bets? And the flowers, really, if you’re going to send yourself flowers, try not to make it so obvious.” Nurse Abbott turned and walked away from her, not even letting Annie respond.

Tears filled her eyes. The one thing she had was the job. She’d put everything she had into this career and no one, not Abbott, not Troy, not Craig, not even her Mom was going to mess this up for her. She wiped away the tears and headed to deliver her flowers where they would make someone happy.

“Mom, I love you but you have to know that Craig and I are over. We aren’t going to have a do-over on this relationship.” Annie had called her mom as soon as she had walked in the door to the apartment. She needed to clear the decks so she could repair things with Abbott tomorrow. Having more flowers delivered at work would just prolong the agony. She’d be in Abbott’s doghouse until the woman figured out a way to fire her. Annie wasn’t giving her that opportunity.

“Honey, I swear, I haven’t talked to Craig in months. I don’t know how he found out you were coming home this weekend or where you worked unless…” The phone line went dead for a second.

“Unless what, Mom?” Annie pushed. It wasn’t nice but she was fighting for her career here, her life.

“I might have mentioned it to his mother when we ran into each other at Shop A Lot.”

“Mom!” Well, the secret was out. Now Annie knew how Craig had gained his information.

“She asked how you were doing,” her mom responded. “And you know she always has that poor little Annie tone to her voice. I just wanted to let her know that you were doing great without her weasel of a son. I guess I bragged you up a little too much.”

And Craig wanted a piece of the happy, successful Annie. It was so like him. He had told her in the email he’d sent after not showing up for the wedding that he was looking for someone who wanted more out of her life. He didn’t want a wife who rested on his laurels. Now Annie guessed she was good enough for the mighty Craig who ran his father’s chain of tire stores.

“Mom, it’s not your fault. It’s typical Craig. Sorry I blew up at you. It’s been a bad day.”

“I hope I didn’t mess up anything with one of your work pals. Are you dating?”

Annie heard the unsaid ‘yet’ to her mother’s question. “No, I’m not. Hey, I’ve got to go. And I won’t be coming down this weekend. Maybe I’ll come next weekend. I don’t think I can handle the Craig show right now.”

“You know I love you, right?”

“I love you too. I’ll call you Sunday.” Annie hung up the phone. Well, one puzzle down. Let Craig show up at her mom’s on Saturday looking for her. She didn’t really care. Maybe she’d call and tell him to leave her alone next week. Today all she wanted to do was run.

She headed to the bedroom to change into her running clothes. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful spring day in the seventies and she’d taken off from work early. It was time to run and clear her head.

* * *

“And then what did you say?” Sara sat cross-legged on his leather couch, her writing forgotten as Troy relayed the events of the day.

“Nothing. I went to lunch. When I came back, she’d taken a patient to x-ray and I didn’t see her again.” Troy sipped his beer. He had to admit it. What Annie thought mattered to him. He was smitten.

“You like this girl.” Sara grinned at him. “My brother has a little romance going on.”

“I wouldn’t call it a romance. Besides falling in love was not in my five-year plan. I wanted to be settled first. To have something to offer a woman.”

“Are you crazy? You have a lot to offer a woman. Annie is lucky to have your attention. You’re a great guy. You care about others. You know how to do laundry. And someday, if you don’t knock this Matt guy on his butt like you want to, you may be the doctor that cures cancer.” 

“I’m a long way from being a catch.” Troy held out his hand and counted on his fingers. “Look at my flaws. I’m obsessive. I’ve got a job that demands most of my time, including hours I
should be sleeping. And I have a sister who’s not only overly involved in my life, she’s living in my apartment.”

A pillow flew from Sara’s side of the couch. “I’m not living here. And Annie likes talking to me. It’s you she hides from when you’re home. Besides, I’m close to finishing the book proposal. Although I’m sure I’ll be camping out here for the next year until my advance gets paid out. I get a lot of work done here.”

“And you’re welcome anytime.” Troy looked out the window to the sunshine. “I’m getting out for a run. Are you going to be around for dinner?”

“Do you want me to stay?”

“That would be nice. You can help me figure out a way to fix this with Annie.” Troy stood up and kissed his sister on the top of the head. “You’re pretty easy to talk to sis.”

“Of course I am. I’m a romance expert. Just ask my editor.” She opened her laptop, returning to her story.

When Troy hit the running paths, all tension seeped out of his body. He’d fixed the Matt problem or at least Valerie had. He knew where his career was going. Now he needed to fix this thing with Annie. She filled a hole in him he hadn’t known was there. Even now, running alone, he felt her absence. No one had reached this part of him ever. He was curious to see where the two of them would go. Maybe it was just a spring crush thing, but maybe, just maybe she was the one.

Troy pushed away the thought and focused on his run. One, two, three. One, two, three. The pace calmed him as he imagined a first date. Then a first kiss. And more. When he’d gotten to watching her walk down the aisle, he knew he was too deep into this daydream. He was even seeing her run towards him although she wasn’t in a wedding dress. She wore a white sweat suit.

The image stopped in front of him, still jogging in place. “Hey, I’m sorry about barking at you. That jerk has called me Nurse Barbie for weeks.”

Troy stopped. Taking a breath, he realized she was real. Not just his vivid imagination. “Matt can be, well, Matt. And we aren’t friends.” 

“I knew that. I overheard the discussion with Dr. Dixon this morning. I was having a bad day and turned into a bitch. Then I took it out on you.” Annie stopped her feet and put a hand on his arm. “Anyway, I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. I haven’t been totally honest with you either.”

“What do you mean?” Annie looked up into his face.

“Annie Baxter, I thought I just wanted a running buddy. I don’t. I don’t want to be friends with benefits. I want to start over, if it’s all right. And you don’t have other commitments,” Troy paused remembering the flowers she’d been carrying that day. Maybe they had been for her. He pushed through. Never give up, never surrender. “I’d like to ask you out on a date. I mean, I’d like us to see if there’s more for the two of us.”

“You want to date me?” Annie’s question hung in the air.

“Believe me, the other night was amazing. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try that experiment again in the very near future. But I want more than casual sex. I want to see what we have here. If anything.”

“While we live together? What if it doesn’t work? We’ll have to see each other for months until the second apartment comes available.”

Troy squirmed. This is why he never asked out anyone. He hated this moment when she’d smile, put her hand on his arm, and tell him how she appreciated his friendship but she just didn’t see him that way. Maybe he should joke it off.

“Troy?”

Damn it, he was jumping in. “Yes, I’d like to date you. I’d like to take you to dinner tonight. So?”

Annie seemed to pause. “I’d like that. And no, I’m not involved with anyone.”

Then he remembered. “Can we invite one more?”

“On our date? You want to take someone else?” Annie slid on the bench near the path. “You are really bad at this dating thing.”

“Sara. I asked Sara to stay for supper. We can do the date another time. Or I can tell her not to come.” Troy sat down next to her.

“You would cancel dinner with your sister?” Annie shook her head. “Man, that’s cold.”

“And this is why I don’t date. Now, I’ve offended you twice.” Troy groaned. “Fine. We’re having dinner with my sister. Who seems to have taken over my apartment, I mean our apartment.” Troy moved closer. “If you hate it, I’ll take you somewhere special on our second date. Just the two of us.”

Breathless, Annie answered. “Boy, you are optimistic.”

“Positive thinking opens the door for opportunity to come through.” Troy quoted. “Ancient Chinese fortune cookie.” 

“Ugh. No Chinese. I hate to have the fortune cookie say I told you so.” She put a hand on his chest stopping his movement toward her. “Wait! Nurse Abbott is going to have a cow. She doesn’t believe in fraternization.”

“I’ll handle her. I’m friends with someone who has very important connections at the hospital.” Valerie would smooth the waters for Annie with sourpuss Abbott. Troy was sure of it. Troy put his hand on her chin and lifted her face to his. His lips covered hers.

Annie fell into the kiss. Sweet, yet demanding at the same time, a jolt ran through him as her tongue slipped into his mouth, teasing, making him pull her closer.

When the kiss ended, he smiled. “See? We have chemistry.”

“I’d say that’s an understatement,” Annie leaned into him. “Ready to run home?”

“With you? Anytime.” As he started running, with Annie by his side, Troy noticed the daffodils blooming. A sure sign of spring. Awakening. A new beginning. Just like his relationship with Annie. A beginning.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2013 by Lynn Cahoon

This book was originally published under the title, Temporary Roommates.

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Published by

Lynn Cahoon

Visit Lynn Cahoon on the Internet:

www.lynncahoon.com

ebook format

Issued 2015

This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher.