She didn’t want to give up the time with him. She could continue with the way they were going and hold her emotions in close.
At least she thought so.
When her computer went off, she saw the OR was opening up soon and it was time for her to get ready for her first surgery of the day.
She looked at the schedule and saw that she’d be in with Sam. She’d been in with him a few times this week. He hadn’t said anything to her once about dating Wyatt, and she was thankful for that.
He talked to her the same as he did to anyone else in the OR. Friendly but not with any knowledge of a deeper connection.
She was moving around the OR. The patient was under, Sam was talking to a resident that was assisting. The scrub nurse was a male she’d seen around before. There didn’t seem to be many men in nursing and she thought that was sad, as it was a great profession.
“Got any plans this weekend?”
“Excuse me?” she asked when she realized Mark was talking to her.
“I asked if you had any plans this weekend. Or Friday night? I thought maybe we could get a drink or something.”
She looked over and saw Sam staring at her. He’d heard the conversation, it was obvious. She could say she wasn’t interested, which was the truth. But should she say she was seeing someone? If she did, then all the rumors would be confirmed, right?
Did it matter at this point though?
She wasn’t sure and just wished she hadn’t been put in this position.
“I’ve got plans,” she said and hoped that would be answer enough.
She could see Sam’s eyes laughing; she didn’t need to see his mouth under his mask to know he was probably grinning at her.
“How about another night?” Mark asked. “Tonight maybe?”
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m seeing someone right now.”
“Oh,” Mark said. “I had no idea.”
At least he hadn’t heard the rumors then. No one else even looked at her so maybe she was making a big deal out of nothing.
Until the next day when she was cornered by someone else. “So you are dating Wyatt Fierce.”
“Why is everyone so obsessed with Wyatt and me?” she asked. “And what made you ask me that?” She didn’t even know this nurse personally. They’d talked a few times but nothing more.
“There have been rumors for weeks about it. But everyone says you won’t commit to it. I don’t blame you. It won’t last. It never does. But I heard from Melissa, who heard from Mark, that he asked you out and you said you were seeing someone.”
“And you put it together that it was Wyatt?”
“Who else could it be?” the nurse asked.
She looked at her nametag. “Amelia. I appreciate the interest in my love life, but it’s unwarranted. I’ve got patients to get ready for,” she said and walked away.
When she turned to leave she saw Wyatt coming out of another OR. She hadn’t realized he was even on this floor and she was pretty positive he’d just heard what she’d said.
* * *
Wyatt turned and went in the other direction. He had to go see another patient and get ready for that surgery and had no time to deal with Adriana. He had to be focused now and not worrying about whether Adriana was too embarrassed to let anyone know they were dating.
He understood she didn’t want to just tell people. He wasn’t one for going in and announcing who he’d been on a date with either.
But if someone asked him point blank he wasn’t going to lie or avoid it.
They weren’t doing anything wrong in his eyes, but they must be in hers.
By the end of the day he’d just gone home without sending her a message like he normally did. She could reach out to him for once since it always seemed he took the first step. Maybe it was time he took a few back.
He was online playing games and killing as many people as he could during his battle, jumping on the couch like a teen and wanting to yell at the TV. He probably did a few times when he knew he had to stop himself from throwing the controller against the TV.
That’d be childish and if there was one thing he tried to stop being, it was that.
There was a knock at his door and he figured his neighbors were going to complain. Or maybe the new one he’d seen in the gym found out where he lived and was going to come to his door after he’d told her he wasn’t interested. That he was seeing someone.
At least Sam told him Adriana had admitted that much to the guy that was hitting on her. That was part of the reason he was seeking her out when he overheard her talking to that other nurse. So he could talk to her about Mark asking her on a date. He didn’t even hear it from her but his cousin.
He opened the door, stunned to see Adriana standing there. “Can we talk?”
“I figured by now you were hiding from me,” he said, opening the door wider.
“I don’t hide,” she said. “I went home and worked out. I needed to think. You normally reach out to me each day and you didn’t and I started to suspect you might be mad.”
“That’s right,” he said. “I always reach out to you. Seems like the more I think about it the more that is our thing. Me taking the steps and you deciding if it’s what you want or not.”
“So you are mad?”
“What gave it away?”
She walked in and sat down on the couch and waited for him to join her. He went to the chair he rarely used and ignored the raising of her eyebrows.
“You saw what I said to that nurse. I’ve been getting questioned more and more lately. It’s driving me insane.
