Page 91 of Never Till Now

I don’t want to be rude, but I can’t bring myself to even type a proper thank you because he may further the conversation. I turn my phone to Airplane Mode and open the silk bag from Rachel.

I am on my fifth work shift this week and exhaustion is starting to get the best of me. The double espresso, which I hate, did nothing except leave a bitter, acidic taste on my tongue and no number of mints can filter out the flavor. An ambulance pulls up as the drivers give us their telltale eyes that it’s not an emergency. Given the age of the elderly woman, she may have called from a scare. Our floor doctor nods toward me, and I head over to my new case. The drivers give me a rundown and hand over the chart. She gets wheeled to a quiet part of the hallway before we chat.

The elderly woman winks at the responders before they leave, waving her assorted-stone, ring-covered fingers at them. This woman is bold, and I fight back my smile to remain professional. Eccentric, to say the least, with her flowy silk clothing you’d see someone wear to tell your fortune.

“What brings you here today, Ember?” I look over her chart.

“Those very attractive ambulance drivers. I don’t know how you ladies get anything done as they pop in and out of the hospital.” She shakes her head and lets out a wicked cough. “I would be all over them like honey on a hot biscuit.”

People like her brighten my shift. “You can have them all, men are nothing but disappointment.”

“You’ve clearly been with the wrong men.” Her eyes widen as the wrinkles in her forehead grow deeper. “Some men out there know a woman’s body better than she knows her own.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean—” I roll my lips in and feel how true her statement was.

Instantly, there’s a gnawing ache in my gut, missing the way Adam’s hands feathered over every inch of my skin. The way he knew where to touch to get me melting, succumbing to his spell until he up and left me without a proper fight. Ember’s cough rattles through the hall, snapping me back.

“By the look on your face, you just went somewhere. You’ve experienced a good man.”

I clear my throat, hoping it opens enough for me to talk.

“Your cough is concerning.” My personal details are not a work topic.

She waves her hand and rolls her eyes. “You’re too pretty to not be wearing a diamond. I’m sure you could have your choice of men.”

A chord strikes with me any time people associate looks with a relationship. Looks are nothing but an outer shell masking what’s inside. Attraction plays a part, but it’s never enough to spend your life with fading beauty.

“Commitment isn’t my thing,” I murmur with a shrug and scan her chart some more.

“Oh, don’t bother with that. I’m terminal anyway.” Her hands retrieve the chart out of mine, and she places it next to her. “I probably just need some new steroids to get me through the last month of my life.” Bold and nonchalant for someone on their deathbed.

“Ember, you had the ambulance bring you in. I should give you a quick checkup.”

“The ambulance was to attempt one last bit of fun in the sheets or vehicle before I check out of this world.” She coughs again, and I get my stethoscope ready. “They turned me down though.”

“Unfortunately for you, it’s against their protocol.” I attempt to lighten this situation.

“Unfortunate for them.” She winks and leans in closer. “I’ve never been one to settle down, my dear. Always a free spirit exploring everything that made me feel good. I would write my own Kama Sutra if I could figure out a damn computer.” I nod, knowing most patients who are brought in wanting conversation and attention are difficult to send back home.

“Seems like the best choice. A constant reel of exciting memories and no strings.” I pull the buds out of my ears and put my stethoscope around my neck, knowing she will be out of here sooner once she gets things off her chest.

“What’s your family like? Are you all close?” I see spots of blood on the tissue she just coughed into.

“It’s just me. But that gives me more time to help others at work.”

“Ah, you and I are alike on more levels past the commitment issues and stunning good looks.”

I stifle my eye roll. “Is there anything I can help you with? What steroids are you on?” I pick the folder back up.

“I was wondering what I can help you with. I’m a goner in no time, but my tea leaf reading today told me to come here.” I knew she was into some type of spiritual thing. “My hope was to let the men in uniform have their way with me, like the old days, yet I’m drawn to you.”

“It sounds like you’ve had a lot of deathbed memories.” The words pile out before I can stop them.

I feel my face cringe with the regret of my terminology.

“Now that’s a good name.” Her laugh is airy with a wheeze. “I do indeed have more wild memories than most. I swore I had never needed to settle with one man.”

“Exactly. Why put yourself through the possibility of losing them?” Her knowing eyes squint with her wise smile, and I feel like a bunny, hopping toward a sly fox luring me in.