Oddly, meeting her daughter and finding out she was a single mom solidified things for him. It didn’t turn him off at all, which was a pretty definitive sign his feelings for her were far more serious than he’d realized. Not that he could focus on that right now or say anything to her about it, but he knew.
“Okay, pretty ladies,” he said, breezing back into the room where they were waiting, pushing the wheelchair in front of him. His shift had technically ended fifteen minutes ago, but he wasn’t going anywhere. “The doctor has signed off, so you two are good to go. As long as you promise no more monkey impressions.”
Ana giggled at the stern look he gave her before sitting up straight with a mock solemn expression.
“I promise,” she said, holding up the arm that didn’t have a cast on it. Thankfully, it had been a simple fracture. She’d need to be x-rayed again in about a week to make sure the bones had stayed in a good position, but surgery shouldn’t be needed. Her shoulder had been jarred, but there was no injury to her neck, back, or head. As things went, it was as good a diagnosis as one could hope for.
“Thank you for all your help.” Domi had been quiet, and now she looked drained.
“Of course. Are you two going to be okay getting home?”
“Yeah, I texted Rae, and she’s almost here.”
“Good.”
“Thank you for all your help.”
“Of course.”
They stood there, looking at each other for a moment. Her face was pale and worried, but her dark eyes were filled with gratitude. Relief. Mitch had done what came naturally to him with Domi—took charge without a second thought. Now, with her looking at him the way she was, it took every ounce of his self-control not to reach down and tug on her curl, the way he did at Stronghold or lean down to kiss her lips and tell her everything was going to be okay.
“Thank you, Murse Mitch.” The little voice piping up, with the silly name he’d told her to use, brought him back to reality. Domi blinked as if she’d been affected as well. Mitch turned away before he could do something stupid in front of her daughter. He doubted Domi would forgive him.
“Okay, Queen Ana, let’s get you moving,” he said, shaking off the spell Domi had him under.
“It’s Queen Elsa,” she told him primly, resting her arm in her lap.
“Ah, of course, my mistake,” Mitch said cheerfully. “Queen Elsa is on the move!” He made a bugling sound that set Ana off in a fit of giggles, and even Domi couldn’t suppress her smile.
Chapter Eight
Domi
“That was Mitch. Mitch. Your… our Mitch.” Rae quickly changed the pronoun, shaking her head as she pulled away from the hospital’s roundabout. Ana was strapped into the backseat behind Rae, and Domi couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder every couple of seconds to make sure she was okay. Mostly she looked tired but didn’t seem to notice what Rae had said.
Considering Domi had never so much as mentioned Mitch’s name around Ana, she wouldn’t have been surprised if her daughter was curious, but she was either too exhausted or overwhelmed to take notice. Hopefully, she hadn’t noticed the little moment between Mitch and Domi right before they left.
Domi wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or worried about Ana’s distraction. She didn’t want Ana thinking too much about Mitch—or Murse Mitch, as he’d told her to call him, which had made her giggle—but she didn’t like to think that Ana was in too much pain or anything, either.
“Did we know he worked at the hospital?” Rae asked, giving her head a little shake of disbelief. Domi knew just how she felt.
Seeing Mitch in the emergency room had thrown her for a loop. On the other hand, she’d found his presence incredibly reassuring. He’d taken charge immediately, letting her focus on Ana and trusting him to tell her what to do. Not her normal position anywhere except in either Stronghold or Marquis, but she’d been grateful for it. For him.
Argh. Which did not help her feelings towards him. Watching him charm Ana… yeah. And he hadn’t treated Domi any differently after finding out she was a single mom.
“No, no, we did not,” she answered Rae, keeping her emotions out of her voice. “He’s a nurse there.”
“He called himself a murse,” Ana chimed in from the back seat, proving she actually was listening. She giggled. “For ‘man nurse.’”
“It’s okay to call him that, but only him,” Domi reminded her. “Others might not find it funny.” That Mitch not only embraced but encouraged the term was probably the least surprising thing about today.
“He would,” Rae said, echoing Domi’s thoughts.
“He stayed with us almost the whole time,” Ana said. “And helped Mommy.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” Rae asked, sending Domi a look as if she wasn’t sure she approved. Considering how tangled Domi’s feelings were over the man, she didn’t blame her bestie for being dubious.
“He was very helpful,” Domi said. She sighed, leaning her head back against the headrest. “It was nice having someone there I could trust to explain everything to me.” Even though she couldn’t see Rae’s expression, she could feel the other woman soften.
“Yeah, I can see that.” Rae glanced. “Weird to see him there, though.”
“Very.”
They drove in silence the rest of the way home, neither she nor Rae able to really gossip about Mitch while Ana was in the car. Not to mention, Domi was completely spent, as though she’d been put through the wringer. She heard Ana yawn. Today might be a nap day, which was not Ana’s usual anymore.
When they pulled onto their street, Marcus was there waiting for them, standing next to his car in front of their house. Domi blinked. It was almost weird to see him without Julia. She
