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The scrubs fit decently well. After stowing my clothes in my purse, I head out to the front desk where Belle is organizing patient files for the appointments of the day.

“Watch out,” she tells me in an undertone. “Someone is in a mood today.”

I give her a questioning look.

“The doc,” she clarifies and drops her voice to a whisper. “He’s humming Wilson Phillips.”

My nose scrunches. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“Whenever he gets upset or stressed, he starts humming Wilson Phillips songs. I had no idea what they were until I Googled it. He caught me doing a search and he nearly bit my head off for it. It just means we have to be on our A game.”

Belle’s stage whisper carries through the empty office and I wince. “Which song is it today?” I’ve got to know.

“‘Impulsive’.” Belle rolls her eyes. “It’s going to be agreatday.”

The sarcasm isn’t lost on me. It goes along with the feeling of being watched. Perhaps that was my internal warning to brace for the worst.

I’m trying to remember the lyrics to that song—something about acting on the moment, spontaneous—when the doctor blows into the room like a hurricane.

A dark cloud trails him. “I need the Hawkins file.”

I’m not sure who he’s scowling at or if the room in general pisses him off with its brightness.

“Her appointment isn’t until noon,” Belle reminds him.

Tase clearly doesn’t care and stands rooted in place until Belle scurries to give him the file he’s asked for. He is pointedlynot looking at me, with his hands buried in the pockets of his jacket.

“Morning,” I attempt.

Mistake. Huge mistake.

He grows taller, bristles, his eyes shifting to dark chocolate rather than whiskey. He grunts out a word that I guess can be construed asmorningbut sounds like a curse.

A smarter person would take it as a sign to fuck right off and find somewhere else to be.

I’m not too smart this morning. I work a smile onto my face and get closer, like I’m one of those people who thinks a wild animal will be friendly because I’m special.

“How are you doing? Sleep well?” I ask.

He glances at me sideways. “Is surgery room 2 prepared? Let’s get to work.”

Dodging my questions. Okay then, so professional and cold are the themes of the day.

“Yes, sir.” I give him a small salute but he never looks up from the file.

I never expected things to be weird with Tase but I guess I’m not using my head. He’s okay through the rest of the morning but distant, how he acted when we first met each other but with an added layer of barely maintained civility.

This has to do with Soren. I know it in my bones but I’m not sure how those pieces fit together.

I’m not stupid enough to ignore their connection, though.

Things changed last night between me and my stepbrother, but things have also changed with Tase. I barely saw Aiden this morning before I took off for town, only a glimpse of him rushing to the bathroom on my way out the door.

Is my hookup with Soren enough to?—

Scratch that. I know it is.

Tase disappears into his office right before we break for lunch and I scurry after him, closing the door behind me before he has a chance to take off in the otherdirection.