“Oh, we are, are we?” I laugh, and tell him, “I’ll have a Chopin vodka martini, very dry with a twist.”
He’s too slammed to do anything but disappear.
Gwen leans closer so she doesn’t have to shout, “I found out my patient doesn’t have the blood disease they suspected. She is at this very moment on the mend and growing stronger every second. Her baby is no longer in danger, and neither is she. So you know what, Liz? I am celebrating.”
“I got so distracted by that Metro accident, I forgot to ask about her blood work! Congratulations!”
Beaming with relief, Gwen admits, “It was hairy there for a second. They did tests before I arrived, when they were trying to find out what the hell was happening. So I asked them to take them back to the lab and look for…” Zipping her hand through the air, she mutters, “I don’t want to talk about work all night! I’ll just summarize that it turns out she had allergies nobody knew about. It was a chemistry issue, not a disease issue.”
An uprising at the bar yanks our attention to a group of second and third-year residents hanging out together. They just spotted walking into Digby’s, Caden Cocker and a male ginger I’ve never seen before.
My lips part.
Suddenly I’m smoothing my hair.
My gaze drops to the table as I gather my thoughts.
Under her breath, Gwendolyn whistles, “Now there’s an M.D. who can fill out a sport coat. Looks like every woman here agrees with me.”
My head flies up to scan the competition.
Competition?!
Listen to yourself!
Doing my best to appear detached, I flatly reply, “I’m sure he never spends a night alone. Certainly acts like it. Peacocking around like that. So unattractive.”
Gwen looks at me, lifts her eyebrow, and smiles. “Indeed.”
“I don’t find him sexy.”
“Bullshit.”
We turn back to watch.
A girl I don’t recognize is touching Caden’s chest as she talks to him, her pretty head tilted up. Because she’s shorter than he is, his head is dipped a little.
Tiny, invisible needles are poking my skin as I stare. Is he interested in her?
About five inches closer and they’d be kissing. It’s very loud in here. He has to lean in to hear what she’s saying, but does he have to lean that close?!
Gwen mutters, “She’s not ugly.”
I turn away and mutter back, “She’s adorable,” while repositioning my purse and biting my lips.
“He just spotted you.”
I lock eyes with him, and quickly return to facing Gwen, my expression blank as I ask, “What is he doing now?”
She begins ninja spy duties. Pretending to search for our drinks, Gwen combs her hair with her fingers and slides a cool glance over the room. As if she’s simply engaged in a normal conversation, she informs me, “He’s talking to our server. That girl is trying to get his attention back. He’s being polite, but hmm…I don’t think he likes her. I have a feeling he didn’t order a martini and a lemon drop.”
My heel is randomly bouncing as if it’s just a normal day. “That’s why he was talking to our server? He’s bringing our drinks?”
“Apparently.”
“The status of our government is really out of hand. I’m wondering who exactly is running things. All the discord is harmful, don’t you think? It feels as though it's all a display of who has power over whom rather than helping the people–“
Caden interrupts my fake political discussion with a proud, “My cousin Elijah is going to do something about that one day.”
I act surprised, turning with eyes wide. “Dr. Cocker!”
He set our drinks down, highly entertained that I am pretending I had no idea he was here. “I hope you don’t mind I brought these to you. Doug was in over his head. I offered to help.”
Gwen asks, “How did you know these particular drinks were meant for this particular table?”
He pauses, realizing he couldn’t possibly have known. “Alright, you caught me. I saw you ladies sitting here without something in your hands, further observed that Doug was in fact over his head—that part was true—and I asked if I could help.” He meets my eyes, lips curved with a flirtatious half-smile. “I’m guessing the martini is for you.”
“And why would that be your assumption?”
“Because it’s dry. And you are dry.”
Accepting the frosty glass from him I lift it to my smirk. “Never tell a woman she’s dry, Dr. Cocker.”
CHAPTER 12
ELIZABETH
Snorting, Gwendolyn covers her mouth.
A grin flashes across Caden. “My mistake. Because I doubt that you are.”
My jaw drops.
He tries to backtrack, not realizing that I’m just surprised he was that quick. “Sorry, Dr. Myers. I forgot who I was talking to.”
“So you’re saying you normally talk to women like that. God help them all.” I take a sip and turn away from him.
Gwendolyn smirks, “So tell me, what is your specialty? And try your best not to make it a sexual innuendo this time.”
Chuckling, Caden leans on our table like he’s happy he didn’t get dismissed. “My specialty I’m still deciding on. I was just discussing this with Dr. Myers yesterday. I’m leaning toward heart surgery. Brain is too much for me. Too many things I could screw up.”
I lock eyes with him, tilt my head, and realize he’s kidding. I would’ve been surprised if Caden thought himself not up to any task.
“Why do you feel the heart is your best avenue?” Gwendolyn persists, adding an amused, “I have a feeling you’re not the romantic type.”
“You underestimate me,” he smirks. “But I don’t consider surgery romantic. It’s a game. You enter like an athlete, having trained for that moment, but there is always a risk that it won’t go as planned. That’s what’s so appealing about it.”
She lifts the sugar-coated rim close to her lips. “Sounds like dating.”
He chuckles, joking, “Oh totally, they’re exactly the same,” while glancing over his shoulder as the ginger approaches
