Winning my Best Friend's Girl - Piper Rayne Page 0,13
fifty people.” I sip my water.
Greasy laughs, stirring what I think is chili with a layer of grease on top. Hence his name.
“Nah, spots are limited. It’s not a free-for-all. Although I’m not sure I see the downfall if it was,” Tank says.
I shake my head at the big guy. He should be the one called Romeo.
“Come on, Romeo, let’s do it.” Lou looks at me.
I’m not sure. I mean, what if he brings Stella up there? I said I was cool, and I’m hopeful that seeing them together will hopefully turn off that section of my brain that still sees her in my future, but any sort of swimsuit on her as she dips into the hot tub will make that almost impossible. Not to mention, listening to sex noises coming from their room? Hell no.
“Yeah, I got a lot of shit to do this year,” I say, standing. “I’ll be checking the truck to make sure we’re good when we get a call.”
I leave them in the kitchen because Lou will try everything in his power to persuade me. He’s persistent, but if I give in, my winter will suck. Instead of pausing to feel how much I care about this turn of events, I restock the rig.
“We’re about two minutes out,” Lou says over the radio to the hospital.
I’m in back of the ambulance with a woman who fell. I’m hoping she didn’t break her hip, as I fear she may have.
“It doesn’t even hurt. I think I can go. Just drop me off,” she says, smiling sweetly as though she’s about to give me a butterscotch.
“Ma’am, you really should get it checked out. I’ve given you a small dose of pain medicine, so that’s probably making you feel better than you should.” I wink and pull out my clipboard, propping it on my knee to start my report. The last place I want to be is the hospital.
“All right, fine. But just because you’re cute.”
I glance up and give her a smile, shake my head and look back at my keyboard.
“I have a great-niece you might like.”
I glance at her and chuckle. Lou laughs harder up front. It’s not an unfamiliar occurrence for one of us to get hit on or have someone know someone who would be perfect for us.
“She’s a teacher and so kind and sweet. Easy on the eyes, like you,” she says.
“Oh, I’m seeing someone,” I lie, which is also a common occurrence. It’s a polite way to brush people off.
She exaggerates looking at my left hand. “I don’t see a ring.”
“Not yet, but…” I can’t lie that well. I’m not going to tell the woman I’m engaged or some shit like that. “We haven’t gotten there yet.”
“Then I say you should give my great-niece a chance.”
I laugh and shake my head.
“We’re here,” Lou says.
The older lady pats my hand. “Think about it.”
We roll her out of the ambulance. Samantha is the nurse who meets us at the sliding doors. I relay all the information to her and she nods, helping us roll her into a room. Lou and I are picking up the patient and putting her on the hospital bed when Stella walks in, sanitizing her hands and running them along one another before looking up.
She introduces herself to the patient. Our eyes catch as the woman tells her what happened, but Stella doesn’t miss a beat, taking the patient’s hand and telling the woman they’ll get it all squared away. She’s as sweet and caring of a doctor as I always knew she’d be.
Clearing my throat, I take the stretcher and wheel it out of the room. Samantha comes out a minute later, and I’m all too aware that Lou hasn’t followed.
“Hey, I was thinking maybe we could have a drink at Tipsy’s tomorrow?” Samantha bites her lip.
I have to decide right now whether I’m going to pursue this. Just as I’m about to refuse and say I have plans, Lou and Stella walk out of the room, Stella laughing at something Lou said. Her smile fades as our eyes catch when they walk by.
“Sure,” I say. “I’ll be there at seven.”
Samantha’s face lights up and she bounces on the heels of her shoes, walking toward the nurses’ station. “Great. I’ll see you then,” she says loudly, as though she’s trying to make everyone around aware we have a date.
Stella is at the computer, not paying much attention to Lou, who’s now involved in a conversation with Allie.