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“Ms. Archer?”

Clearing her throat and blushing profusely, Lydia scrambled from the seat. Keeping her head down, she followed the very shapely bottom of Nurse Hottie.

“Take a seat. I’m Nurse Bell. We’re going to draw some blood today. Is that correct?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“Excellent. Can you roll your sleeve up?” Following Nurse Bell’s request, Lydia let her eyes wander again. It had been a while since someone had grabbed her attention like this. “How are you with needles?”

“No problems.”

“Lovely. Okay, ready?” Lydia nodded. Nurse Bell efficiently extracted three vials of blood. “All done. We’ll get these sent off today. You should receive results within a few days. A copy of the results will be sent to Dr. Maynard.”

“Great, thanks.” Lydia rolled her sleeve down and fumbled to pick up her bag. She was a bumbling idiot around this woman.

For all her nerves, the appointment lasted less than 10 minutes. Deciding a hot cup of coffee was in order, Lydia left the surgery and headed into the local town. On the corner of the high street stood a quaint little cafe. It was quite unbelievable; she was only a bus ride away from the centre of London. The town seemed lost in time, which Lydia appreciated.

The inside of the coffeehouse was warm and cosy. Soft sofas and armchairs took up most of the room. The counter area was small and crammed with optional extras. Lydia eyed the salted caramel slice until finally winning the internal war against her hunger monster. “A black coffee, please.”

“Anything else?” Did the barista know how badly she wanted that caramel slice?

“No thanks, that’s everything.”

“Take a seat, love, and I’ll bring it over.”

Settling on an overstuffed armchair in the corner of the room, Lydia scanned the sitting area. There were several other customers, all of whom seemed relaxed. They must be regulars. Lydia could imagine coming here every morning for a coffee. Watching the world go by without a care in the world.

“Here y’are. One coffee.”

“Lovely, thank you.” Watching the barista leave, Lydia scanned the cafe again and then let her gaze drift outside. The little high street was busy. People scuttling by, trying to get on with their day. Lydia’s mind wandered to the blood test. Would it reveal anything? Would the results stop her from having the exploratory surgery?

Two coffees later, and Lydia was getting ready to head home. “Ms. Archer?” Lydia snapped her head up, only to find two golden eyes staring back. Nurse Hottie stood next to Lydia’s table with a smile on her face.

“Nurse hot…Bell, hello.”

“Are you leaving?” She obviously wants the table.

“Oh, yes, here, take the table.” A warm sensation crept up Lydia’s arm. Looking down, she saw Nurse Bell’s hand on her forearm.

“Would you like to join me?” Um, was that ethical? Nurse Hottie was, after all, Lydia’s nurse. Or was she? It’s not like they’d be running into each other soon. Lydia didn’t plan to have blood extracted regularly. No, it was fine.

If Lydia had any more coffee, she’d be vibrating off the chair. “Sure, I’ll—”

“Do you like hot chocolate?”

“Love it.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Oh my God! I’m going to have hot chocolate with Nurse Hottie. Shit don’t call her that to her face, you numpty.

So much for Lydia’s vow to focus solely on herself. Well, what choice did she have? Nurse Bell was simply lovely. Plus, the nurse hadn’t indicated this was anything more than a friendly meetup. It would be quite nice to make a new friend.

“This is the best hot chocolate in the UK.” Nurse Bell sat opposite Lydia, sipping on her own gargantuan mug of chocolatey goodness.

“That’s quite the statement, Nurse Bell,” Lydia laughed.

“Zoe. Nurse Bell sounds weird when I’m not at work.”