Chapter 9: Is someone jealous?

Jenny

"It is with the greatest pleasure, not to mention immense gratitude to the entire staff who has worked so hard to make this a reality, that I officially declare the St. Agnes Memorial Hospital Dedicated Oncology Wing . . . open!"

The president of the hospital's board of directors uses the ridiculously oversized scissors to cut the ceremonial ribbon stretched across the corridor that connects the rest of the hospital with our wing. All of us-the nurses, the techs, the aides and the rest of the staff-are standing on the inside watching the show. As soon as he slices the ribbon, the official guests come streaming through to join us.

It feels weird that there's a little party set up here. After all, this is a hospital, a place where people come when they're sick. But today is special. It's a time to celebrate before we get down to the serious business of saving lives.

Everyone who's anyone in Harper Springs is here. The mayor and her husband are standing by the punch bowl, chatting with Maybelle Cosgraves, who has worn a brand-new dress and heels today. Several of Deacon Girard's former colleagues and mentors are here, too. I know this is important to Dr. Girard, and it's cool to see how happy he is that we're finally open.

"Who made the cookies?" A woman at my elbow leans over the small dessert table, picks up another tiny pink macaron and pops it into her mouth. "They're yummy."

I smile. "We have an adorable bakery here in town, and the woman who runs it is super talented. She made all of our desserts today-and she gifted them to us as a congratulations gift for Dr. Girard."

"Oh, my God." The cookie appreciator rolls her eyes. "Don't tell me she's another one of Deacon's conquests. The man is a legend, you know. He flashes those green eyes at you, and you're a goner."

She's not wrong, and I laugh in appreciation. "I take it you know him pretty well?"

"You might say that. We went to med school together."

When I raise one eyebrow, she shakes her head. "No, it wasn't like that at all. Not between Deke and me. We were always just friends and study buddies." She hesitates. "I'm not saying I wouldn't have been open to, ah, more, but before I got around to working up enough brave to make my move, he was already dating Laurel."

I tilt my head. "Laurel?"

"Sure. You know, she was his fiancée." When I just stare at her in surprise, my new friend frowns. "You must not be from around here, huh?"

"Nope. I just moved to town about a month ago." I stick out my hand. "Jenny Ward. I'm a nurse practitioner, and I came down here from Virginia to work in the new wing."

"Oh, that explains it." She takes my hand and shakes it firmly. "I'm Marie Jeter. I work at Orlando Regional."

"Nice to meet you." I pause long enough so that I don't sound too curious. "So Dr. Girard had a fiancée?"

Marie grins. "He did. I probably shouldn't say anything else-I'm not a gossip, I swear. But you'll hear it from someone around town eventually, I guess." She shrugs. "They dated through med school and into their residency, but Laurel-"

"Marie, I thought I'd find you over here at the cookies. Are you stuffing some into your handbag for later?"

My eyes fly to Dr. Girard's face, afraid he's overheard us talking about him, but he doesn't seem upset.

"Deke." Marie stands on her tiptoes and brushes her lips over her old friend's cheek. "You know me too well. I've gotten a little classier, though. I'm eating a bunch of cookies now and hoping I can sweet-talk someone into boxing up more for me to take home."

"I'm pretty sure we can arrange that." He drapes arm over her shoulder. "So . . . what do you think of my pet project?"

"You done good, Deke." She scans the immediate area. "I can't wait to see how you change lives here. I might even sneak down from Orlando now and then to spy on y'all and steal ideas."

"Happy to share everything." Deacon winks at me. "Except our people, that is. I've worked hard to put together the perfect team. You can't take them away from me."

"Not going to make any promises!" Marie shoots me a look. "Who knows, maybe Jenny here will get tired of living in the sticks and want to join me in the City Beautiful."

"I'll fight you for her," Deacon mock-threatens. "Or better yet, maybe I'll lure you down here once I'm ready to hire another full-time doc."

"I won't say impossible, but I will say it's unlikely." Marie perks up. "Oh! I didn't know Steve Fitch was here, too. I haven't seen him since we graduated. I'm going to say hello." She glances at me. "Jenny, if this one ever pushes you too far, look me up. We're always happy for new blood at my hospital."

Deacon chuckles at Marie flits away. "Don't listen to her. The place where she works isn't anything like what we're doing at St. Agnes."

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to go anywhere." I look around at our sparkling new facility. "I like it here."

"I'm very glad to hear that, Jenny." Deacon rests one hand on my shoulder. "You've been a big help already, and I know you're going to be an integral part of our team. Working together-that's the real key. If our patients see that we're a unified front, a group of people who respect each other and work for their well-being-that's going to be a big part of their recovery." He lifts one shoulder, and his face goes a little bit red. It's almost the cutest thing I've ever seen, and I'm charmed. "At least, that's how I see things. I guess whether I'm right or wrong remains to be seen."

I can't help leaning into him just a little bit, my eyes steady on his face. There's something about Deacon Girard that just brings out the flirt in me, even though I'd probably be terrified if I thought he was really interested in my attention.

"I happen to think that you're going to do amazing work here," I murmur. "Being part of something like this-it's a dream come true."

Deacon is watching my face intently, too. We're standing so close together now that we're nearly touching. "It's not me who's going to do the amazing work-it's us." His voice is husky, and I wonder if this is what he sounds like in the middle of sex. I imagine what it would be like to hear him groan my name with passion . . .

As if something has snapped him out of a trance, he clears his throat and steps back just a little. "Anyway . . . I have to admit that I'm more than ready to get started. All of this fuss and official shit is fine, I guess, but it's time to get to work." His eyes light up as he looks at the doorway. "Speaking of patients and getting to work-the woman who just walked in is going to be one of our first success stories here."

I follow the line of his gaze, and my mouth drops a little. The guy who is standing at the edge of the crowd is absolutely huge, and I'm willing to lay money on him being a football player. I've seen my brother Kyle's teammates, and this man is built like some of them. He has his arm around a gorgeous petite blonde woman, who I assume is Deacon's patient.

"That's Angela Spencer and her husband, Noah," Deacon explains. "I'm going to say hello to them, show them around a little." He pauses, frowning. "Is Nico here? I'd thought he would want to be part of this. It's a big day for you, too."

"He had a phone interview this morning with a restaurant, but he was hoping to stop by afterwards." Actually, that's not entirely true. While he did have a phone interview scheduled, he had no plans to come to the hospital. I told Nico about the opening ceremony a few weeks ago, but I didn't remind him about it today. I have no desire to pressure him into yet another occasion where he has to pretend to be my boyfriend, to act like he's in love with me.

Things have been slightly tense between us since the ball last weekend. I take the lion's share of the blame for that; when we were together by the pool afterwards and Nico pulled me toward him, held me close and stroked my hair, I had been sure he'd been about to kiss me. He had whispered my name, and my eyes had begun to close in anticipation of the kiss . . . and then he'd eased me back and said that it was late and we'd better get some sleep.

Sleep is not something I enjoyed that night or any of the nights since. Frustration and pent-up sexual energy kept me revved up until nearly dawn. Even though I know that isn't Nico's fault-not really-I can't help being the tiniest bit pissed off at him even now.

Deacon shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "That's too bad. I'd looked forward to talking with him again. It was great to meet him at the ball the other night."

I shrug my shoulders and drop my eyes to the floor. "He's so busy." I know it sounds lame, like I'm making stupid excuses for a boyfriend who doesn't care enough to show up for me. It must seem that way to Deacon, too, because he tightens the hand that still rests on my shoulder.

"Jenny, is everything . . . are you okay?" His thumb rubs over the exposed skin at the base of my neck.

"Oh, sure, I'm just-"

"Babe."

Suddenly, Nico is there, sliding his arms around me from behind and pulling me back against him. "I'm sorry I was late. That interview took longer than I thought it would. I feel terrible that I missed the ribbon-cutting."

His hands are warm and caressing on my middle, even through my dress, and when he dips his head to press a kiss onto my cheek, I feel like everything in my world clicks into place. Deacon Girard is a charismatic, sexy man, but there's no one else on earth who spins my wheels and lights my fire like Nico.

I snuggle back against him, covering his hands with mine. "Don't worry, sweetie. You didn't miss anything that exciting. Just the president of the board doing her thing, and people saying some very lovely words about Deacon." I turn my head to smile up at Nico. "I'm glad you're here now, though."

"I'm glad, too." Deacon inclines his head. "I was just about to go say hello to a patient, so I'll leave you two alone." Smiling at us briefly, he threads his way through the crowd.

"What was that all about?" Nico's tone changes from relaxed to suspicious.

"What do you mean?" I'm utterly bewildered.

"The doctor there. He had his hands on you, and his face was practically pressed up against yours."

I roll my eyes. "Nico, don't be ridiculous. Dr. Girard wasn't doing anything wrong. We were just talking about patients and the hospitals."

"He looks at you like you're tonight's dessert." Nico turns me to face him and skims the backs of his fingers over my cheek. "And when I walked in, you looked like you wanted to be eaten up with a spoon."

"You're crazy." I feel my face heating. "And even if you were right, why does it matter to you? Are you afraid I'm going to cheat on our fake relationship?"

His eyes glitter. "Would you?"

I stare up at him, my mind in turmoil and my heart racing. "Of course not," I whisper. "I would never do that to you. Not even when what's between us is only make believe."

Nico exhales a long breath. His shoulders relax. "I'm sorry, Jen. I didn't mean to-" He swallows, his throat working, and his gaze flits away from me. "I just walked in, looking for you, and I saw him touching you, and it just seemed like . . ." He shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I don't have any right to give you crap about talking to another guy. I guess maybe I forgot for a minute that we aren't-that this isn't real."

I bite my lip. "Nico-"

"Don't worry about it." He forces a smile. "It looks like things are winding up here. I'm sure you'll have to get to work. I'll see you at home, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, he slips past me and heads down the corridor toward the exit. As I watch him go, I wish that I could go back and change how I'd answered him. I wish I could tell Nico that he doesn't have any reason to be jealous . . . because he's the only man I've ever wanted.