That last part was too much for her to handle. She’d given up on herself and didn’t feel anyone should believe her capable of being anything other than a blank face in a crowd. She didn’t want to stand out—didn’t want to face emotions.
Blending into the background just wasn’t possible with Maverick around. The man drew attention to himself and anyone who happened to be within ten feet of him.
“Morning, sugar,” he said when the silence between them had stretched on for far too long.
The smooth, easy cadence of his voice made her throat tighten and her heart thunder even more than it already had been. She sucked in a breath of air, which was a mistake because then his scent infused her, making the desire to approach him that much stronger.
Of all the hospitals he could have come to, why did he have to appear in her tiny one? Well, that was easy—to torture her.
“You requested me,” she finally said, her eyes narrowing as she locked her emotions down tightly.
“Of course. I wanted the best,” he said with a wince that immediately had her going into full-on nursing mode.
She moved forward and tried her best not to look at his magnificent chest. Why in the world was he shirtless? There wasn’t a need, especially since he already had a cast on.
“It looks like you’ve already been taken care of,” she pointed out.
“I needed a second opinion,” he told her. “It really hurts.”
At his last words, she looked at him with suspicion. She’d seen Maverick and his brothers brawl for fun, getting scrapes and bruises, and she’d never so much as seen him flinch. Was he snowballing her? She felt guilty at the thought. A bruise was a lot different than a broken bone.
“Um, it’s pretty obvious you have a broken arm. I don’t see that a second opinion matters at this point,” she told him.
Then he grinned at her, that perfect, lopsided Maverick grin that made her knees shake. The man was too damn lethal to be around.
“Well, to tell you the truth, Coop had an appointment to get to and he dumped me off here. I need a ride home,” he said with a pout. An actual pout!
“I’m working,” she told him. “You should call up someone.”
He slumped down with another wince, and she began to wonder if he really was in pain. If he was, then she was being terrible.
“The nurse who was just in here said you were just about to get off shift,” he pointed out.
Damn. He was right. Her shift ended in about ten minutes. It would be better if he didn’t know that.
“I hate to put you out, though. I guess I could call a cab,” he said as he fumbled around with his good arm.
He moved quickly then, hopping down from the exam table, which put him directly in front of her with only about two inches separating them. Her breathing stopped, and she felt herself go a little dizzy. The effect he had on her was beyond confusing.
She tried to take a retreating step back, but his good hand shot out and steadied her. Panic filled Lindsey. She went immediately into fight or flight mode.
“It’s okay, sugar,” he said soothingly as his fingers loosened on her arm and he began to gently rub her bare skin.
Without trying to be too obvious about it, Lindsey stepped back, and was grateful when Maverick let her go. His touch wasn’t nearly as terrifying to her as other people’s were, but that thought scared her even more. She didn’t want to feel comforted by Maverick. That would only lead to very bad things.
“So . . .” he said, drawing the word out. “Should I call that cab?”
His voice was so deflated Lindsey found herself saying something she would surely regret.
“I’ll give you a ride home,” she told him.
The instant smile that lit up his face told her in no uncertain terms that she’d been played. But what could she do about it? It wasn’t as if she could take it back.
“Thanks, sug. I could be violated since the hospital has drugged me,” he told her as he moved over to the chair and picked up his shirt—not bothering to put it back on, just holding it with the good hand.
“I highly doubt that,” she muttered as she sent a glare his way. “Do you need help putting your shirt on?”
As much as she wanted that magnificent chest covered up, she didn’t want to be the one to help him put it on. There would be far too much contact in doing so, and she had a feeling Mav would really milk the situation.
“Nah. I’m a bit warm right now anyway,” he told her as he moved to the door and pulled it open. He was suddenly in a hurry to leave. “I’m sure you can clock out a few minutes early since you have a patient to deal with,” he added.
“Why don’t you go and wait in the lobby. I’ll meet you there,” she told him. In reality, she was thinking she could make a call to Stormy and see if her best friend would be willing to pick him up. She could claim an emergency at work to get out of it.
“I’d rather just stick with you,” he told her, not budging from his position in the doorway.
“You can’t be back in the ER,” she pointed out, wanting to get out of the room, which seemed to be getting smaller and smaller by the second, but not wanting to brush by him.
“I’m a patient,” he pointed out.
Blowing out a breath, she finally decided she needed out of the room. He still didn’t move when she reached him, and she had no choice but to squeeze by him. At the last second, he shifted, and her entire body slid along his for a few seconds as she stepped through the doorway.