Page 13

Chapter Twelve

Nathan

One Week Later

I step into the largest function room on the top floor of the Fount, and in spite of my foul mood, I find my face splitting into a reluctant smile when I see the decor and the makeshift stage set up.

The remissions unit, given half a chance, would throw a party every other weekend, their excuse being that it’s for the patients, but really, it’s because Jackson Ames is a real party animal. Jackson has outdone himself this time, bringing in the famous Ninth Life band.

The reasons why the board allows these “rem” parties keeps piling up every year. They’re brief, don’t interfere with work hours, are alcohol-free, and are an absolute hit with patients.

Most importantly, they’re self-sustaining. Not to mention, hospitals all over California are starting to emulate us.

Jackson and his unit somehow find a way to raise money for these gigs, without fail, every single time.

I came here because I knew Tess would be here. It’s been a week since I dropped her off at her apartment. I haven’t spoken to her in all that time, and I’m going crazy.

I take a cursory look around, trying to stem the disappointment when I don’t see her anywhere.

“Dr. King! So glad you could make it!” Jackson hands me an iced tea with a lemon slice impaled on the rim of the glass. He’s flanked by Gary Moore, one of the palliative specialist nurses.

“ People are starting to think that we do these parties for the sake of them.” Jackson’s emphasis isn’t lost on us.

Gary hides his snort in his drink, but Jackson only glares at him before continuing his speech. “So, when someone like the Chief MD shows up, it gives us the validation we need so those people don’t keep looking down their noses at us.”

Jackson and Gary are married, but I don’t attempt to understand how they navigate their relationship since they always seem to argue nonstop.

“I didn’t realize you guys needed validation,” Gary scoffs.

“Well, of course not, but some people really need to get off their high horses and quit making us feel bad for surviving.”

Gary shoots him a narrow-eyed glare, but judging by the playful glint in his eyes, there’s no malice behind his expression. “We’re fucking dying, asshole. Y’all need to be kicked up your fucking smug asses.”

“Yet, here you are with the hedonists,” Jackson points out.

“I’m only here for the music, Jack,” Gary grumbles. “It is Ninth Life, after all.”

“Yeah, makes sense. It must be so convenient to be able to lay down and pick up that cloak of judgment at will. In fact, I think I need one for myself, too.”

Gary takes a step closer to his partner and murmurs, “Prick. What you need is a good—”

“Guys,” I interrupt before it turns into one of those arguments they often have to take to another room to “finish.”

“Anyway, Jackson,” I ask, “which bank did you rob to get Ninth Life to come?”

“Well, believe it or not, the Charlies, ahem, I mean, the Guardian Angels, arranged for them to play tonight. I mean, talk about a solid charity.”

My jaw drops open in surprise. “Seriously?”

“I know, right? Personally, I don’t think there’s anything she can’t do.” He gestures toward the back of the room, and I whip my head around to see none other than Tess as she steps into the large hall, her arms full of what looks like disposable plates.

My eyes eagerly follow her to the buffet stand, where she drops the plates, then she makes her way toward the front to join her team in applauding as Ninth Life finishes a song.

I feel two pairs of eyes on me, so I quickly tear my gaze away from Tess and casually scan the crowd before returning my attention back to the band on the stage.

“You know, someone needs to do something about getting that woman to stay here permanently.” Jackson nudges me, wagging his eyebrows meaningfully.

Then, as if to remove all doubt as to who he means, he jerks his head toward the far side of the room where Tessa and the Guardian Angels team are now chatting away with staff and patients.

As though she feels my gaze on her, she looks over here. I feel a jolt of triumph when her gaze snags on me, and she does a double take, effectively losing track of what she was saying. Then, she seems to shake herself out of a daze before continuing speaking.

Jackson clucks his tongue and gives me that annoying nudge again. “Surely, I can’t be expected to do everything around here. Besides, I’m already spoken for. This one is on you, Dr. King.”

My smile drops when I get his meaning. “Jackson Ames…”

“Just my two cents, boss. Anyway, enjoy the party and the music, which is likely to burst our eardrums by the end of the night, but will be totally worth the ENT consults from Pacific Coast.”

With those parting words, he walks off with Gary watching him go, and I heave a deep breath as I turn back to the sight in front of me. There’s no longer any point in hiding the fact that I only have eyes for Tess tonight.

“I’m afraid this time, I have to agree with him, Doctor. She’s not the type of woman you let go of, if you know what I mean,” Gary’s solemn announcement adds a tone of finality to the conversation, cementing what his partner playfully suggested.

Why, all of a sudden, everyone feels the need to give me relationship advice is beyond me.

I suppose it’s futile to try hiding anything from these guys since they’ve been working with me for the past decade, and I’ve discovered that nothing ever gets past these two.

It’s an after-work party, and apart from the guests of honor—the patients themselves— the staff are dressed in work clothes, and a few are in scrubs straight from the OR, presumably wanting to grab a bite to eat and see the Ninth Life perform before heading home.

Tess is wearing a simple black Guardian Angels T-shirt and jeans, but it’s suddenly the most provocative attire I’ve ever seen.

And apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so because one of the Ninth Life band members, a devilishly handsome guy, leaves the stage in between sets to start to chat her up.

He’s standing a tad too close and sporting an idiotic smile. The worst part is that she’s smiling back at him.

My legs are already moving me toward them before I even fully process what I’m doing, or the fact that Tess is still boiling mad at me and didn’t say more than ten words to me on the drive back from Valencia.

Nor since then, and it’s been a week.

I could have squashed this whole drama. I could have gone to her, groveled, and told her everything I know about Mary, but I wasn’t quite prepared to let go of the guilt, the pain, and, yes, the blazing rage.

To be fair, I also didn’t think it would be important to my psychological well-being to remain on speaking terms with a woman I’m not sleeping with.

The last time I went out of town for a week, I missed her terribly, and I reasoned that it was due to the physical distance.

Now, it’s the mere thought of her being angry with me that is driving me up the wall.

I watch as she returns the goof’s smile, seeming to encourage his obvious flirting.

She controls her reaction better this time when she sees me approaching, which annoys me to no end.

I want her to be soft, open, and completely defenseless because that’s how she’s making me feel right now.

“—should catch up while you’re here, Tessa.” I catch the tail end of what the band guy just told her.

“That would be amazing,” she agrees when I finally reach them.

“Hello, Tess.” Perhaps it’s the fact that we’ve got company or because I haven’t been this close to her in a week, but I slip my arm around her waist and gently pull her into me as if it’s the most natural thing to do.

“Hey, Nathan.” Is it just my wishful thinking, or does she lean into me? We both look at the guy who is now observing us with interest.

“Chris, this is Nathan King, he’s the Chief MD and a friend. Nathan, Christopher Dean, lead guitarist for Ninth Life. Chris’s sister and I went to UCLA together,” Tess explains, waving her hand between us while making the introductions.

I release the breath that I didn’t realize I was holding until now.

He’s Tess’s friend’s brother. That should make her off-limits, right? He shouldn’t be interested in her.

Just like the man who’s almost twice her age and is the twin brother of her mother’s ex-lover shouldn’t be interested in her? My mind taunts.

“Very nice to meet you, Nathan.” With his polite but even expression, I can’t tell if he’s genuine or not.

I decide to play nice as well. “Much obliged. Thank you for coming here. Our patients will not forget this party for a long while, that’s for sure.”

“Oh, Tessa knows I have no willpower to refuse her anything she wants.” He winks at Tess.

My smile dies.

Or maybe not so off-limits, after all.

An awkward beat of silence hangs in the air between us as the atmosphere separating Chris and me goes arctic.

Then, with a smirk that I’d like to wipe off his face with my fist, Chris says to Tess in a low voice, “Told ya. See you later, Nathan!” He then disappears to mingle with the other guests.

I turn around to face Tess, a shocked expression on my face. “What the hell was that?” I demand.

She scoffs like she can’t believe what nerve I have to be asking anything of her. “What do you want, Nathan?” Pulling the rest of the way out of my hold, she looks me up and down in a calculating manner, like she’s trying to figure me out.

“Tess, come on. What do you mean, what do I want?”

She lifts her brows, then her mouth hardens. “I don't have the foggiest clue what you want from me, Nathan.”

“Let’s not do this here.” I put my hand on the small of her back and start to lead her out of the room, but she stops me.

“Exactly, not here. So, take your hands off me. I told you I don’t want us to look like we’re a thing.”

“You’re still angry, I know. We should go talk and hash everything out.”

She rears back in surprise. “Oh, now you want to talk. You had one whole hour on the drive back to LA to explain, and you refused to say anything to me then, but all of a sudden, now is the ideal time?”

She has me there. I try to come up with a good response, but all I manage to get out is, “I was… reeling back then. On the drive from the police station.”

“And you think that I wasn’t? Tell me something, did you come over here because you really wanted to talk, or because you saw me with Chris?” She crosses her arm across her chest and spreads her legs slightly apart, looking like she’s preparing for a fight.

All my life, I’ve never had a woman dissect my actions before or ask me questions that are suddenly harder to answer than human biochemistry. It aggravates, yet arouses me to no end.

“Does it matter?”

She raises a single eyebrow in response. Knowing just how stubborn she can be, I release a deep breath and prepare to tell her the truth.

“Fine, it was both. But you know the reason I came here at all is because of you. I missed you.” It feels good to admit it, as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

She looks at me like I’ve grown two heads. “It took you one week to realize that?”

Fuck. She’s making me work for this apology. “Tessa, don’t make it harder than it needs to be. I’m trying to sort things out between us. I was reeling, you were angry, and I thought you needed some space. But giving you time obviously isn’t helping.”

Rolling her eyes, she gives me a bland look. “Oh, really? Did it occur to you to ask me what I thought or what I wanted instead of making the decision for me?”

I take a calming breath. I’m about this close to dragging her into an empty room and fucking her until she screams, her wishes to remain unattached be damned. “Alright, Tess. What do you want?”

She looks at me like a teacher would a particularly dull student.

Scratch that. Spank her until she begs me to fuck her, then fuck her until she screams.

“What do I want? Nothing. You can do whatever you want, as long as you don’t expect me to be open and honest with you while you keep yourself tucked far away because you’re afraid to get hurt.”

Her words are like shards of light, hitting me in those cold, dark recesses I try not to think about, let alone acknowledge. Places I never let anyone into. My usual response in a situation like this one is to completely shut down and walk away.

To disconnect before I end up in a toxic spiral. Like Ciaran did.

But this is Tessa. I don’t think I could get away from her, even if I wanted to. She’s like a stubborn weed growing inside my otherwise cold, barren heart .

“This ends now,” I growl, ignoring the warning bells in my head. “We’re going somewhere to talk, right now.”

“Like hell we are. I’m having fun,” she snaps.

“Listen, Tess, you can either come with me, or we can make a scene. Your choice.”

She looks around and sees that we’re already drawing attention, given that I’m standing almost on top of her and our faces are shoved close to each other’s.

I see the moment she realizes that she really has no choice, and I take her elbow and quickly steer her from the crowded room.

I can feel the anger radiating off her in waves.