Finn smiled. He was so going to get the girl.
CHAPTER FIVE
There were days Brooke loved her job and days she wondered what in the world anyone had been thinking to give her a medical license. This day happened to be a day she was a bit worried about the medical profession in general.
It seemed she couldn’t think. And no, it had nothing to do with a sexy military guy who’d kept her awake for two nights in a row. That was just foolish. It was a Monday, and she obviously was just recovering from her wild weekend of Netflix and an overdose of popcorn and Coke Zero.
“How many patients do I have left?” she asked her favorite assistant, Rose.
“Just one, and he’s pacing,” Rose told her.
“Okay, send him in. I need this day to end,” Brooke said.
“I don’t mind him hanging out in the lobby with me,” Rose told her with a wide grin.
Rose was seventy-three but didn’t look a day over fifty, and the woman could run laps around high school kids. Brooke hoped she had half the life Rose did when she was her age.
“Then we’d never get to go home,” Brooke told her.
“You can leave him with me. I’ll diagnose him, but I’m sure it’ll take a full-body exam,” Rose told her with a wink before turning and walking out of the exam room.
Brooke was smiling when Finn Anderson walked in her door. The smile fell away as she felt heat rush to places she didn’t want it rushing.
“Hello, beautiful. How has your day been?” Finn asked as he moved with confidence to her exam table and hoisted himself up, towering above her.
“What are you here for?” she asked, though the swollen eye and cut lip were pretty good indications. It seemed odd, though, as he didn’t seem the type of guy to rush to the doctor for a few fighting injuries. Her eyes narrowed as she kept her distance.
“I might have a concussion,” he told her. “Better safe than sorry, I always say.”
“What happened?” she asked, though she could probably figure it out.
He grinned, seeming completely unaffected by his injuries.
“There was this sweet old lady walking out to her car at the grocery store, when out of nowhere ten guys swarmed her and demanded her purse. I couldn’t let that happen. I rushed to her side immediately. A couple of them got in a few hits, but I ultimately won,” he said, his chest puffing out a little.
“Ten guys, huh?” she said, trying desperately not to laugh.
“Maybe more. I was too busy fending them off to really count.” The total innocence in his eyes made his story that much funnier. She would not laugh. No way. No how. She turned away and composed herself before facing him again.
“Want to tell me the real story?” she asked.
“What? I’m hurt you don’t believe me,” he gasped.
“You might have a career in acting if the martial arts stuff isn’t working for you,” she said, crossing her arms against her chest.
“I wouldn’t act with such a beautiful woman,” he told her. “I’m hurt, Doc. I really need your assistance.”
“You look fine to me. Put some ice on it, take some Advil, and try not to get in any more brawls for the next few days,” she told him as she moved over to her desk and sat.
“Didn’t you take an oath to do no harm?” he asked.
She spun around on her stool and glared at him. His beautiful blue gaze was boring straight into her eyes, just like it had at the studio.
“I’m not the one who punched you, but I can see how it could’ve happened. You seem the type of guy to get punched a lot,” she told him.
“I’m a fun-loving guy. Ask anyone. I was just trying to protect the elderly,” he said. “Now you better check me out, ’cause if I do have something wrong—and if I go home and die—you’ll have to live with that the rest of your life.”
She sat there for a few more moments before letting out a frustrated breath and rising. She didn’t want to touch him, afraid of what would happen if she did. But he was right. She was the only practitioner in town, and it was her duty to see every patient who wanted her help, whether she wanted to or not.
“Did you pass out?” she asked, still standing three feet away.
“No, didn’t pass out, but I saw stars,” he told her.
“If you have a concussion, it can last for hours, days, or weeks. Some extreme cases last months. You’d have to stay with family.” Maybe if she scared him enough, he’d give up this ruse.
“Can’t stay with family right now. Maybe you should host me overnight,” he said with a wink.
“That’s never going to happen,” she told him.
“Never say never,” he easily replied.
“Have you had a headache or felt pressure in your head?” She was hesitating on actually touching him. It was foolish. She was a professional. Touching him was no big deal. She touched people all the time. She needed to pull it together.
“Yeah, slight headache and a bit of a fuzzy feeling.”
“Are you telling me the truth?” she pushed.
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Doc,” he said, batting his big beautiful blue eyes.
She had no choice but to move closer. She grabbed her light and leaned in as she shined it in one eye and then the other. Their mouths were only a few inches apart, something she was very much aware of.
His breath smelled like mint and honey, of all things. Without her wanting it to, her tongue slipped out and wetted her suddenly dry lips. She was practically trembling as she stood this close to the man who’d haunted her dreams for two nights in a row. It was insane.
“Do you have any gaps in your memory since the fight?” she asked, hating the slight edge of huskiness in her voice.
“No memory loss, but a bit of dizziness.”
“What about ringing in your ears?” she asked.
“When I was hit in the eye, I heard some ringing,” he told her. His own voice had dropped a couple of levels, and each word he spoke sent a rush of hot air across her face that had her wanting to lay him down on the exam table to take advantage of him.
“When did this fight happen?” she asked.
“It wasn’t a fight. It was a rescue,” he told her. “And it happened this morning.”
“Yeah, the bruising looks fresh. If anything, you have nothing more than a mild concussion. Why don’t you go hang out with some friends—maybe have someone stay the night with you and check on you a few times? I don’t see anything alarming.”
“Come on, Doc. I just told you I don’t have anyone. Show some mercy on me,” he said.
She took a step back from him, taking a deep breath that was still full of his scent, and tried to get her rapidly beating heart back under control.
“This is highly unprofessional. I don’t appreciate you trying to give me a guilt trip into going out with you,” she told him in her sternest doctor voice. She’d had patients like him before, but none she’d ever felt the need to take the offer they were giving.
“But you don’t want something to happen to me, do you?” he pushed.
“I’m not worried,” she told him. “Go home and ice your face. Here’s my number if more serious symptoms occur.”