Roping the Cowboy Billionaire - Emmy Eugene Page 0,7
doctor continued to lecture Tam about symptoms to watch for, but Blaine knew she wasn’t even listening. She was like a caged tiger, on the edge of breaking free. She’d agree to anything just to get out of there.
Finally, the doctor handed some papers to Blaine and said, “All right. I’ll send in Catrina with the discharge papers. You just have to sign those, Miss Lennox, and you’re free to go.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile, and Blaine saw that honey-coated version of his best friend. He waited until everyone had left, and then he shook his head at her.
“What?” she asked.
“You ripped that out on purpose,” he said.
“Of course I ripped it out on purpose,” she said.
“I’m not even sure it hurt.”
“It did,” she insisted, her blue eyes so bright.
Blaine chuckled and handed her the bag of clothes. “Do you need help changing?” he teased.
“Get out,” she said with a laugh. “And we’re driving through somewhere on the way back to my house. I’m starving. Plus, I’ve got to get these drugs out of my system.”
“I’ll check with the doctor,” Blaine said. “Maybe you’re supposed to drink clear fluids or something.”
“I don’t care what he says,” Tam said as Blaine left the cubicle.
“I know that,” he muttered. Tam was fiercely independent. Blaine actually really liked that about her. He liked that she wasn’t afraid of a challenge, and she wasn’t afraid to get hurt. He’d seen her ride in a barrel racing final with a fractured collarbone, refuse to ride in the ambulance, and only go to the hospital when her trainer threatened to pull her from the next rodeo.
As he thought about that, Blaine realized that she was far more ready to take their relationship out of the friend zone than he was. “She’s not afraid of a challenge,” he mused. Transitioning from best friends to lovers would definitely be a challenge.
“She’s not afraid to get hurt,” he added. At the same time, she’d told him she was afraid to lose him. Apparently, she did have boundaries, and she did experience fear.
He paced toward the nurse’s station, his mind on overload again. He hated feeling this stuffed with thoughts and not being able to grab onto a single one.
“Bottom line,” he told himself. It was an exercise to get him to focus. “The bottom line is…she asked you to pretend to be her boyfriend while Hayes is in town. It’s a yes or no question.”
He turned back to Tam’s cubicle just as she walked out of it. Their eyes met, and he hurried toward her. “Yes,” he said.
“Yes what?” she asked.
“You asked if I’d be your fake boyfriend when Hayes is in town. I’m saying yes.”
Tam smiled up at him. “I thought we already established that.”
“I’m starting from the bottom,” he said.
“Oh, bottom line,” she said. “You think too hard sometimes, Blaine.” She led him to the nurse’s station and asked for the discharge paperwork.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the woman there said. “It’s not ready yet.”
“Not ready?” Tam asked. “What does it take to get ready?”
“Well, we have to print some stuff, and it takes a few minutes for our system to update with the doctor’s orders,” the nurse started to explain. “So your form hasn’t been unlocked yet.”
Blaine slipped his fingers into Tam’s and squeezed. She looked at him and then back to the nurse. She drew in a deep breath. “How long?” she asked, her voice pitched up slightly.
“Should be soon,” the nurse said with a smile.
“Can we wait in the waiting room?” Blaine asked.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and she had a very good apologetic face. “You’ll have to wait in your assigned room.”
“I’m not—”
“Okay,” Blaine said over Tam. He tugged on her hand to get her to go with him.
“That room is tiny,” she hissed at him. “And it’s so dang hot in here.”
“It’s okay,” Blaine said. “Besides, then we can figure out the next step above me saying yes to be your fake boyfriend.”
“The wedding,” Tam said. “You promised you’d go to the wedding.”
“Can I go with you?” Blaine stepped into the small room and had to pull extra hard to get Tam to come with him.
“No,” she said. “It’s my friend Nita that needs a date. She’s the same age as you, and you guys will get along great. Remember, there’s lobster and steak…”
“Who are you going with?” he asked.
“No one,” Tam said. “I don’t care if I have a date for the wedding. It’s Nita who cares. She dated the groom, Blaine.