Page 52

She placed a finger on her plump chin. “Hmm…At home, I have a tall, dark, and handsome stranger waiting for me. But he’s on my DVR, so I guess he can wait.” She smiled. “What’s up?”

Together, we took seats at the table.

“I guess I’m just worried about Dr. Nualli. Do you know where she is? She hasn’t left us, has she?”

A wrinkle appeared in Molly’s brow. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Maybe she’s just taking some time off, you know? It can’t be anything serious, otherwise, I’m sure we would have heard something. She’s a busy woman. She deserves some time off. Hopefully she’s on an island somewhere with a big fruity drink in her hand and some handsome company.”

I laughed, though the word ‘handsome’ immediately sprung thoughts of Dr. Sholly into my mind. I suppose it showed on my face too, considering the way Molly narrowed her eyes at me. I tried to rearrange my expression into something more neutral, but it was pointless. Sometimes I was sure Molly was psychic.

Although Molly and I had started working at nearly the same time, she was at least fifteen years older than me. She often felt like a cross between a big sister and a surrogate mother. She had a few children of her own, so her maternal instincts were strong. I presumed that had to be why she was so good at reading nonverbal cues.

I cleared my throat and tried to keep my voice as nonchalant as possible. “So, do you have any idea if we’ll be stuck working with Dr. Sholly until Nualli gets back? Or was this just for today?”

“Stuck working with him?” she said with a smirk. “I’m not sure the other young nurses around here would describe it that way. They all seem pretty pleased to have him around.” She laughed.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Yeah, well…” my voice trailed off, momentarily not knowing what else to say.

“I do believe he will be filling in for Dr. Nualli for however long she’s on break, or wherever she is. Why do you ask?”

I shrugged my shoulders again. “No reason, really.”

“Oh honey, you are such a terrible liar! That’s why you’ve got to meet my kids. They’ll give you some pointers.”

All I could do was shake my head and laugh.

“Handsome, isn’t he?” Molly said, wiggling her eyebrows.

“He’s all right,” I said. But the words even felt dishonest to my own tongue. The accurate words to describe Dr. Sholly’s looks were ‘perfection personified.’ ‘Drop dead gorgeous’ worked as well. My heart had practically stopped when I first laid eyes on him.

“Just all right, eh?” Molly said. “Maybe you need your eyes checked. Honey, Lord knows if I was just ten years younger at least!” She sighed.

“Okay. So he may be decent eye-candy, but his personality leaves a lot to be desired.”

Molly nodded. “Yeah well, you can’t always have it all.”

“How much do you know about him? Have you ever worked with him before? How come this is my first time seeing him?”

“He typically works the night shift. Every once in a while, I work the night shift, so I’ve encountered him a few times.”

“Is he always so careless and uptight?”

Molly shook her head. “Not all at. I think you just got the wrong impression of him, really. He’s a nice and decent man, from as far as I can tell. Give him another chance. I think the daylight hours just have him a little discombobulated.”

I huffed. “What do you mean, ‘give him a chance’? I’m not looking to date him or anything. I was just asking a question, that’s all.”

“Uh huh.” Molly paused for a moment. “So, just how are things going in your dating life, missy?”

I fought hard not to roll my eyes. “I don’t have time. I’m—”

“Dedicated to your work,” she finished my statement for me.

“Well, I am. It’s true.”

“And you know what that’s going to get you? A whole bunch of loneliness.”

“I’m not lonely. I have Lucy.”

“I love Lucy, but she’s not as handsome as Evan.”