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She sanitized his cut again and began to apply the stitches. It was painful, but he braced himself and tried to focus on other things.
“So, Dr. Gwen,” he said, trying to distract himself by talking to her. “Tell me about yourself. What brought you to Blueberry Bay?”
“Well,” she said, and he didn’t know if she was frowning in concentration or because she didn’t really want to answer the question. “I’m from New Hampshire. I had a practice there, which was very successful.”
“Huh.” He smiled at her as she talked, despite the fact that he was in pain. “Why did you leave it?”
She hesitated, and then said, “I felt it was time for a change.”
He cocked his head to one side curiously. She didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about that change—when he looked toward the future, all he felt was eagerness. Her attitude was clearly one of reluctance. “You seem like you’re not very excited about the change, though.”
For a moment, she paused and gave him a look. It was slightly reprimanding, but mostly surprised—she seemed taken aback that he would be so forward with her, since the two of them were still technically strangers.
“I had a life plan, and then it was altered,” she said. “I think that’s always a little frustrating.”
“I bet it had to do with a guy,” he guessed without thinking.
Her expression froze over for a moment, making it clear that his guess was correct. Inwardly he kicked himself for being insensitive, and for a moment, neither of them said anything. He couldn’t help wincing a little as she continued to stitch up his cut.
“I guess you’re probably thinking that you can tell why he left me,” she said dryly, finishing up the stitches briskly.
His jaw dropped. “What?” he protested.
She glanced at him, and he couldn’t read her expression—but she almost looked curious. “Well, what are you thinking?”
“Not that,” he said without hesitation. “I would never be a jerk like that. Besides,” he added hurriedly, not wanting her to misinterpret his words, “I think you’re very nice.”
“But I’m sure you have theories about why he left me,” she said, sanitizing his stitched-up cut. Her tone was playful, but he knew from the look in her eyes that she was hurt about what had happened to her, and she truly wanted to know what he was thinking.
“I do have a theory about that,” he said, looking her right in the eyes. “My theory is that he’s an absolute fool.”
Her lips parted and she blinked a couple of times. He saw her cheeks flush slightly, and she turned away, seeming to not know what to say. She moved a bit awkwardly as she bandaged his hand again and then washed her hands at the sink.
“Well, thank you,” she said finally.
“Of course,” he said, grinning at her. “If there’s one thing you can always trust me to be, it’s honest.”
“What else can I always trust you to be?” she asked, smiling slightly as she dried her hands. There was a teasing glint to her eyes, and he liked it. He liked it a great deal.
“Oh, well, charming and fun to be around,” he said, chuckling. “And generally optimistic.”
“Hmm.” Her smile became a little wider.
For a moment, the two of them didn’t say anything. He sensed that there wasn’t anything more she had to do for him—after all, his hand was all stitched up and bandaged—and he was surprised that she hadn’t told him yet that it was time to leave. He was getting the impression that she didn’t want their conversation to end quite yet. He grinned, liking the idea that maybe she didn’t want to stop talking to him. It was a good sign. It meant that she was warming up to him despite the cool attitude she’d had earlier.
For a moment, he considered asking her if he could stay a little while longer and keep talking to her. His lips parted, ready to ask the question, and then he stopped himself. He didn’t want to push his luck.
“Well, I guess I’m all set then, aren’t I?” he said, standing up and smiling at her.
“Yes, you are.” She smiled briskly back. “Have you had a tetanus shot recently?”
“Yeah, not too long ago.”
“Good. Then Heidi will give you a print-out on wound care at the front desk. Be sure to keep your cut clean and try to keep too much pressure off it. It should heal fairly quickly, as long as you don’t do anything to make it worse.”
“Don’t be stupid, got it,” he said, giving a playful nod.
She laughed a little, and he grinned at her.
