Page 84 of The Love Operation

I hesitate.

His eyes catch it, and a flicker of something—something too sure—slides into his features. “How serious can it be if you hesitated?”

I glare. I hesitated because—no. I don’t owe him an explanation. “I can’t decide whether you’re being bold or cocky.”

“I’d like to think of it more as . . . persistent?” His lips tilt into something close to a smirk. But there’s an edge to it. “I haven’t always pushed for what I wanted, but I’ve hit a point in my life where I’m not going to be shy about it.”

My stomach twists. “And what do you want?”

There’s a smolder in his eyes, the blue of a fire burning too hot. “I want to get to know you again.”

I shake my head, feeling detached from the floor, from myself. “I don’t think my boyfriend would want me to go on a date with anyone, let alone my ex.”

“You just said it wasn’t serious.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

He shrugs. “Isn’t that the same?”

“No, it’s not.” I shift slightly, breaking eye contact. “I’ll treat your dad, but that’s all this can be. That’s all it should be.”

He steps in front of me, and I don’t back down.

I press my hand to his chest. A mistake. I know it the second I touch him.

His heartbeat pounds beneath my palm—rapid, strong. Or maybe it’s mine. But it can’t be mine. There’s no way mine is this steady. I should pull away. I don’t.

Behind him, the door creaks open. He doesn’t move. Neither do I.

He keeps his eyes on me, his breathing more ragged.

Slowly, as reason reenters my brain, I pull my hand away. It burns from the contact. I curl my fingers into a fist. It’s like my palm has been branded with his heartbeat, and were I to look at it, I’d see his rhythm etched into my lifelines.

“My nurse will call your dad when we have a date for the MRI.” My voice is steady, but it doesn’t feel like mine. “And I’ll see him—and you, if you want—to go over the results.”

I walk away before he can say anything else. Before I lose my nerve. Before he sees what this is doing to me.

This is over. It has to be.

I don’t see Benedict or his dad again after that. There’s no reason to.

Sharif vanishes without saying goodbye, and I have no idea what she’s thinking or if she’ll give me good marks.

When Anna pops into my office on her way out, she’s beaming like she just solved climate change. “I got Mr. Calder’s MRI scheduled for first thing tomorrow! They had an opening due to a last-minute cancellation. Lucky, right? I tucked him into your afternoon slot so you can go over the results. ASAP, like you said.”

I blink. “That’s . . . great.”

Her brows pinch. “That’s what you wanted, right?”

I smile. Wide. Mechanical. “Perfect.”

Anna smiles back, oblivious to the fact that I might throw up.

He’ll be here. Again. Tomorrow. And I can’t avoid him because I’m the fucking surgeon.

Chapter 21

The Appointment (Well, the Other Appointment)