LITTLE BIT STRONGER | A COUNTRY ROMANCE

Chapter Eighteen

Josh drove to the hospital cafe and they went down the line with their trays. At the register, the cashier greeted them by name. They chose a corner table and tried to keep the conversation light to manage the very real sexual tension.

Finally, Kate couldn't take it anymore. "This is weird. I hate that it's weird." She glanced down and up again. "You're still hard and I feel like I'm vibrating."

"Good lord, woman..."

"Let's give dating - real dating - a month. If I can't get my shit together in a month, chances are that you're wasting your time. At that point, you can decide if a quickie is enough. If I had to decide right now, I'd risk it."

Josh leaned closer and stared into her eyes for a long moment. "Two things."

"Yes?"

"You already have your shit together. Whether or not I fit in it is irrelevant to your overall shit togetherness."

Despite her nerves, she giggled. "And...the second thing?"

"There's no such thing as a quickie. Not really. Nothing you really want should ever be rushed. I want you bad, Kate."

A soft sound she pretended was not a moan escaped her.

"We date. Nice and easy. See where things take us. No rush. No way in hell could you ever be a waste of my time." Reaching out, he took her hand and pulled her forward. "I'm about to drop a kiss on you with a dozen witnesses who know you personally. You good with that, Kate?"

"Yeah. I'm good with that," she managed.

Josh kissed her sweetly, without the heat from earlier, and she was grateful. It was warm, gentle, and considerate of who she was and where they were.

She loved him a little more for that.

Leaning back, he winked. "You need to eat and I don't want you to be late. Especially since we're already in the building where you work. How embarrassing."

Tugging her lower lip between her teeth, she whispered, "I'm pretty sure at least one person caught us on their phone." Stabbing a piece of cut cantaloupe, she added, "I hope they got my good side."

* * *

After breakfast and a goodbye kiss, Kate clocked in and went to work. It was a strange day in the hospital. They only had one surgery scheduled but the emergency room was overflowing with patients.

She headed downstairs to help out.

The hours always flew by in the ER since every case was different and so many were the same. Cuts, breaks, weird accidents, and car crashes kept her hustling from one scared or hurting person to another.

Around three, she decided to go for coffee. As she handed her charts to the triage nurse, Brian called her name.

She turned, took in the way he held his forearm, and frowned. "What did you do?"

"Uh..."

"Hmm. You punched a wall again. Didn't you?" Shaking her head, she started to leave the ER.

"Wait! Kate, can you take a look?"

"You know this isn't my department, Brian. They'll take excellent care of you."

He shifted his weight between his feet. "I know you fill in on slow surgical days. Please? Come on, Kate. Please?"

"Did you check in?" He nodded and she released a frustrated sigh. "Already go through triage?"