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“Your name would be good,” he answered smoothly. “So I know who to ask for should I need anything.”

“All you need to do is press the call button on the side of your bed there, and any one of us will be able to help you.” She turned and pulled the cart behind her as she made for the door.

“I can’t keep calling you nurse, though, every time you come in here. And I’m guessing you’ll come back when it’s time to check my vitals or whatever it is you need to do.” He didn’t know why he was pushing, but finding out her name had suddenly become a challenge. And he didn’t back down from challenges.

She pulled open the door, pushed the cart into the hallway, and then gave him an indulgent glance over her shoulder. “Bridget.”

The door closed behind her, so she missed his triumphant smile. She oddly reminded him of someone, but he couldn’t pinpoint who that was. He puzzled over it until his door opened a few minutes later. His mother and sister, Zaida, stepped inside, their smiles letting him know how pleased they were to find him awake.

∞∞∞

Bridget rolled the laptop cart behind the nurses’ station, told Amy she was stepping away for five minutes, and retreated to her favorite spot in the hospital — the stairwell.

Holy Smokes!She’d been a nurse long enough to have seen her fair share of attractive patients. Most of the time, she’d been so focused on their healthcare or emergency needs, she thought little of their good looks. Today had not been the case.

Daniel Wilder or Zane or whatever his name was had thrown her for a loop, something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. She’d thought him handsome when he was sleeping, his expression peaceful, the dark shadow of stubble over his jawline, his thick lashes fanning against his cheeks. Then when he opened his piercing blue eyes and flashed his sexy smirk, she struggled to maintain her professionalism. He had complication written all over him, and she didn’t need or want it.

Well, maybe she did want him, but she definitely didn’t need him.

She pulled out her phone, firing a text off to her niece and nephew to take her mind off her inappropriate hormones. As she hit the send button, the door above her closed with a slam, and footsteps echoed through the stairwell as they jogged down the steps pausing at the landing where she was.

And there was Dr. Flirtatious, grinning at her like the Cheshire cat when Alice crossed his path in the Wonderland.

“Well, hello again. We have to stop meeting like this.”

Bridget suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. “And good day to you, Doctor. I hope you’re having a pleasant shift.”

“It’s definitely looking up. And you can call me Seth. Seth Masters.”

“Good to meet you, Dr. Masters. I have to get back. I promised I’d be gone a couple of minutes.”

Her hand was on the door handle when she felt his hand lightly tap her arm. “Wait. Aren’t you going to tell me who you are? I mean if we’re going to keep bumping into each other like this, it would be nice to know each other’s name, don’t you think?”

This was the second time a handsome man asked for her name, but with Zane, she felt a thrill when he asked. With Seth Masters, his attempt felt phony, but she flashed him an indulgent smile anyway.

“Of course. I’m Bridget. Since I’m new, I’ve met so many people that I hope you’ll understand if I don’t remember your name the next time I see you. It’s a lot to process sometimes.”

He returned her smile, dimples deepening in his cheeks, his eyes flashing with interest. On any other occasion, the effect would have been charming, maybe even a little dazzling. But after encountering the delicious Zane Wilder, Dr. Flirtatious lost a bit of his appeal.

The door suddenly opened, forcing Bridget to step back closer to Dr. Masters to avoid being hit. His hands came to rest on her upper arms to steady her, and she quickly shrugged them off when she realized Charlotte peered at them, judgment evident in her stare.

“Do you need me for something?” Bridget hastily asked.

“Hello, Dr. Masters. Sorry to interrupt, but I need Bridget to process Mr. Stutler’s discharge papers.”

“Nice to see you,” Dr. Masters returned, and Bridget wondered if his failure to call the charge nurse by her name was an oversight or deliberate because he’d forgotten what it was.

“I was on my way back, so I’ll take care of it right now.” Bridget stepped around her supervisor and exited the stairwell without a parting word to the doctor.

“Bridget. Just a minute.” Charlotte caught her at the nurses’ station, and she braced herself for what was coming.

“I didn’t realize you knew Dr. Masters.”

“I don’t. I’ve bumped into him in the stairwell once before tonight,” Bridget explained.

Charlotte nodded. “I just…well, if you…”

Bridget had never seen her supervisor struggle to say what was on her mind, so Bridget beat her to the punch. “I’m not here to bag a doctor. I’m here to do my job. That’s all.”