The Man Ban - Nicola Marsh Page 0,55

to this doctor of yours.”

“He’s not mine,” Harper said, while a small part of her wished he was.

40

Being chief of ER had its perks, but picking up the slack when Manny’s best doc called in sick wasn’t one of them. He’d worked back-to-back shifts the last two days, snatching sleep in the break room when he could. He hadn’t known whether to be relieved or annoyed he couldn’t contact Harper in that time. As for Izzy, he’d taken her at her word when she said the blood test results wouldn’t be in until today.

The moment he set foot in his apartment, he shrugged off his jacket, dumped his satchel, and reached for his cell. He’d checked it occasionally during his rare breaks, hoping for a call or a text from Harper, but she’d remained frustratingly silent. Then again, what did he expect? They hadn’t made any promises to each other. They’d kept things casual. An “I’ll see you when I see you” type of arrangement. It didn’t stop him hoping she might’ve missed him enough to fire off a simple text.

He toed off his shoes and headed for the modular couch that took pride of place in his apartment. He’d fallen asleep on it more times than he could count. Long hours at the hospital didn’t make for binge-watching the latest thriller series. He hit Izzy’s number and waited. She usually picked up on the third ring; it took nine. The concern he’d kept at bay ratcheted up. Did she have bad news and didn’t want to tell him?

“Hello, Manish. How’s work?”

“Crazy busy, but that’s not why I’m calling. Did you get your test results yet?”

“No, there’s some delay at the lab, so it should be tomorrow or the next day.”

“They couldn’t give you a definitive time frame?”

In fairness, labs were overworked and all the demands in the world couldn’t hurry up results—he’d tried many times.

“Manish, I’m of the philosophy that no news is good news, so why don’t you take a chill pill?”

He barked out a laugh. “Where on earth did you hear that?”

“Felicia said it on my favorite soap opera last night.”

“Watching those things will addle your brain.”

“At eighty-six, soap operas addling my brain is the least of my worries, considering advanced-age dementia will do that regardless.”

“Stop being so wise.”

“And stop being a worrywart. What will be will be.”

Manny knew his gran, and behind her flippancy was a hint of inevitability, like she knew something was wrong and was expecting the worst. It made his gut twist.

“You’ll call me as soon as you hear anything?”

“Yes, yes.” She made a disparaging snorting sound that had him grinning. “So you’ve been busy at work?”

“Manically so.”

“No time to call that Harper then?”

Worse luck. “For someone who doesn’t approve of her, you sure do like to harp on.”

Izzy groaned. “Your puns are as woeful as they’ve always been.”

“Love you too, Iz. I’m on duty again tomorrow, but call me anytime, okay?”

She grunted her agreement and hung up, leaving him helpless. He hated feeling like this. It had been the same after his mom’s heart attack, when he couldn’t do a damn thing to save her. That old feeling of inadequacy was back, making him want to drive over to Izzy’s right now and demand she tell him what the hell was going on.

But he had to trust her. She said she didn’t know anything, and he had to believe her. Besides, another day or two wasn’t that long.

Resting his head on the back of the couch, he ran his fingers through his hair. Who was he kidding? Waiting to hear her test results would drive him insane.

Unless he had a suitable distraction . . .

He needed sleep, desperately, and the last thing he wanted was to treat Harper like a booty call. But losing himself in her beautiful body would take his mind off his worries . . .

Before he could second-guess his decision, he picked up his cell again and called Harper. She answered on the second ring.

“Hello, handsome.”

His heart leaped irrationally at the sound of her voice. “I hope you’ve got caller ID on your phone and you know it’s me.”

“Isn’t this Jock?”

He growled. “Don’t you dare compare me to that asshole.”

Harper laughed and it hit him in the chest. He loved how the sound of her laugh made him feel lighter instantly. He’d made the right decision in calling her.

“So how’s my favorite doctor?”

“Exhausted after back-to-back shifts the last forty-eight hours.”

“Is that your way of apologizing for not calling