Chapter 28

Coming to the end of her third twelve-hour shift of the week was a relief. Lara was glad the day had been easy on her; with the turmoil in her mind about one particularly infuriating neighbor, she wasn’t sure she could handle more drama.

So, naturally, life saw fit to throw her just that.

Lara was heading toward the staff room to collect her things when the head nurse approached, informing her of an arrival in Emergency in dire condition. The nurse also said that Dr. Lima would be performing the operation and had requested Lara’s immediate assistance.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she made a beeline for the OR and began prepping it for surgery, watching Dr. Lima closely and providing assistance as best she could.

It was a long procedure—eight hours of touch-and-go, eight hours before Lara could finally breathe easy again.

After the surgical team congratulated each other and cleared the room, Dr. Lima pulled Lara aside. “Do you have your RNFA certifications?” she asked.

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Good.” That was all Dr. Lima said before she, too, headed out.

With the adrenaline of the surgery fading, as soon as Lara collected her things and reached the elevator, twenty hours on her feet slammed into her. Exhaustion made her knees feel like Jell-O, so when the doors opened, she staggered into the elevator.

“Whoa.”

Nope. That was not the elevator.

Gentle hands caught her by her shoulders, and she found herself staring at a nice chest. A warm chest. ~I could fall asleep right here~, she thought before blinking up in confusion. “Zavien?”

“Why are you still here?” She was pretty sure concern colored his voice, but his words gurgled in her ears, so she couldn’t be certain.

“Eight-hour surgery. Thanks for catching me.” She forced her lips to turn up in a smile. “Gotta go home and sleep for three days.” She tried her best to present it as a joke, but he didn’t appear to find it funny.

“You can’t drive home. You’re exhausted.”

“No, I can’t ~walk~ home because I’m exhausted.”

A hint of amusement appeared in his eyes as they creased slightly. “I’ll take you home.” His tone left no room for argument, and he pulled her into the elevator and pressed the button for the parking level.

“But Geoff—”

“He would insist.”

“But you just got—”

“I am insisting, Lara.”

“But—”

“I know your stubbornness is unmatched, but you’re not winning this one,” he said. His hands still rested on her shoulders, and as hard as his conviction was, his hold on her was soft and comforting. His warmth sank into her, luring her to sleep.

“Okay, but—”

“Lara,” he warned.

She found the energy to glare up at him. “But my car,” she said quickly so he couldn’t interrupt her again.

He snorted. “We’ll get it tomorrow.” The doors opened to the parking garage, and he guided her to his car. “Or three days from now, when you rise again.”

Her heart stuttered in her chest. “You’d do that for me?”

Zavien nodded at her, his gaze kind, and if she had to guess, she would say his ears were pink again.

They reached his car, and he pushed her toward the passenger-side door. Once they were seated, buckled in, and on their way, Lara turned to look at him, taking in his bare profile.

“You’re staring,” he pointed out.

She simply smiled and continued to drink him in. “You’re a wonderful friend, Zavien.” In the light of the sun, she could confirm that his ears had most definitely gone pink. “Ooo, can we stop for coffee?” She pointed at a café, her finger poking Zavien’s cheek along the way.

He gave her one very dry look before grabbing her hand and forcing it back down onto her lap. “No,” he said.

She pouted, but his hand still covered hers, and it made her so warm that she changed her mind about the hot drink. She fell asleep holding his hand.

***

“You remembered your key this time, right?” he teased once they reached the elevators under their building.

Lara tried to glare at him through her yawn, but it was an impossible feat. Her efforts did make Zavien laugh, though. “And what if I didn’t? Would you leave me down here? Again?”

“No,” he said with a look so soft that it made her brain melt and drip out of her ears. “I would send Pablo down to get you.”

“Ass.” Then, carefully, she asked, “Zavien, why didn’t you tell me you weren’t going on dates all those times?”

His ears and neck turning red, he glanced down at her.

“To make me jealous?” she asked. The elevator dinged, and she bumped his shoulder with hers to show she wasn’t angry.

He gave her one terse nod, but after a brief silence, he asked, “And you were avoiding me because you thought I went out with someone right after we were together?” He pushed their floor once the doors closed.

Now she was the one blushing. “In hindsight, it was kind of a stupid assumption to make.”

“I just figured you regretted it.” He shrugged.

“I didn’t—I don’t,” she corrected, watching in satisfaction as he smiled with his eyes. “Maybe we can start over.”

“You want to resume the prank wars? Because I have some interesting ideas—ow!”

Her hard pinch to his side cut him off. “I meant as friends, dickhead. Friendly neighbors.”

When they reached their floor, he chuckled quietly, sparing her one last glance before the doors slid open. With his hand on the small of her back, he walked her home, and for a moment—only, like, half a second—she wondered if she should invite him in.

But then he said, “I think I’d like that. Being friends.”

And that made her frown. “Really? You just want to be my friend?”

He laughed. “Isn’t that what you want?”

“Well, yeah, but it sounds offensive when you say it.” She furrowed her brow. “So, what? You don’t find me attractive anymore?”

“I do.” He wore a look of amusement. “I find you especially attractive when you’re yelling at me in the hallway, offended and jealous,” he teased.

“I’m not jealous.”

“Go to sleep, Lara.”

She was poised to argue, but then his mask was down, and he was pressing a kiss to her forehead, and all that fight left her. Satisfied, though a bit indignant, she relented. She wished him a good night, even though it was early afternoon, and the sun was still high.

Before she passed out, one last thought danced through her mind: ~I asked him to be friends, and he said yes, so why doesn’t that make me happy?~