Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“I’m Dana.”
“I know,” he said. On anyone else it would have been creepy. But on this guy… on Drake… it felt more like a promise.
“How… did you know that?”
He smiled, looking utterly confident and cheeky.
“I asked around. I could not get you out of my mind, Sunshine.”
I blushed. Not just a little. I think my whole body blushed.
“I…” I trailed off, not sure what I had been about to say. I shut my mouth instead.
“Can I take you out tomorrow, Dana?”
“I…” I stared at him, bewildered by the rapid turn of events. Just like that, this big, gorgeous guy was asking me out. Thankfully Paige was there. This time she elbowed me. Hard. “I work tomorrow. A double. I am working a lot this week,” I added.
“So, you’ll be tired,” he said to himself, doing some sort of mental calculation. “What if I bring some food during your break?”
“I am never exactly sure when that will be…” I hedged, astounded by his offer. “It could be at 4 am for all I know.”
“I can come whenever. I barely sleep.”
“Really?”
“It’s a military thing. I take micro naps but I rarely actually conk out.”
I blinked at him. He held out his hand. I stared at it blankly. Did he want to shake?
“Phone?”
I pulled out my phone and handed it to him without a thought. Normally I would have hesitated. But there was something about him… I trusted him… not to mention he was insanely handsome and standing in front of me… Well, I didn’t give it a second thought.
He put his number in and sent himself a text from my phone.
“You will let me know when you take your meal break.”
“Okay,” I said, amazed that he was instructing me, not asking me.
“Promise me,” he said. Again, not a question. But I answered him anyway.
“I promise,” I said softly, feeling like a teenage girl. I felt so awkward. When had I gotten so shy? To say I was not good at flirting was an understatement.
He smiled and reached out, brushing my hair away from my face.
“See you tomorrow, Sunshine.”
And then he stepped back. I stared at him until Paige tugged me away, barely noticing her whispered monologue of ‘holy shit’s and ‘you lucky girl’s’.
“Hmmmm?” I asked, glancing back over my shoulder. He was still staring at me. My stomach did a back flip at the heated look in his eyes. Those eyes that were way too pretty. Eyelashes like that should be illegal on a man, I thought to myself as we hustled back into the main lobby. Especially one that looks like him.
“The other girls are going to be so jealous.”
“Can you not tell them? Please?”
“Sure. No problem, Sunshine.”
“Really? You won’t?”
Paige held up her fingers. They were crossed.
“No. Sorry. This is too juicy. And we don’t need anyone else sniffing around him. Trust me, you want the other girls to know,” she smiled like a kid on Christmas morning. “This is the best thing to happen to our floor in years!”
I sighed and shrugged. I knew the whole hospital would know Drake was there to see me by the end of the shift. At least she was honest. I valued honesty above everything. I’d learned that the hard way, after nearly falling for a man who was not who he seemed.
But that was a long time ago. And I hadn’t fallen. I had just… come close. No one knew how close. Not even him.
Especially not him.
I’d been innocent to start with but the handsome grad student had been a seductive liar. Thankfully I had seen the light before the point of no return. And had given up on men completely after that particular near miss.
So, I had my guard up. But I couldn’t help but be charmed by the gruff biker who had caught everyone’s attention. Including mine, despite my past experiences. Everyone was different. Drake was not… him. I should at least give him a chance.
Part of me wanted desperately to believe in love. In happy every afters. In forever. I kept that part of me buried deep down inside me, under the serious nurse, the devoted niece, the faithful friend and easy going coworker.
But the little girl who believed in fairytales was still in there. Somewhere. And she was whispering to me to have faith. To give the world another chance to prove me wrong. To turn the cynic back into an optimist.
I spent the rest of my shift being teased mercilessly about Drake. I didn’t mind though. I felt like I was walking on air.
Do not expect too much, Dana, the worried voice inside me said for the hundredth time.
But it felt like something monumental had happened. Like maybe, just maybe, I had met someone important. Maybe I had met ‘the one’.
Covered in bruises, motor oil, and tattoos, sure.
Not exactly the prince charming little girls dreamed about. No Drake was much, much better than some sanitized, prancing prince in white shoes. Sexier. More masculine. More real.