Chapter 279
It was Jamie’s turn to sigh. It was as if he knew he wasn’t going to want to answer me, no matter what my “one more thing” was. “What?”
“Why don’t you have a girlfriend now? Or a wife or something? I mean—you’re a great guy. And don’t tell me you’re too busy either. If Aaron has time for a woman in his life no one on earth can claim to be too busy.”
He studied me for a long moment, and I imagined he was trying to come up with another excuse. Eventually, he exhaled and said, “I don’t know, Cass. I guess I’m just not ready yet. I know that sounds—to use your word from earlier—stupid. But when you love someone the way that I loved Ellie, you don’t just get back on the horse. I’ve dated a few girls, but nothing ever stuck.”
I could appreciate that. I nodded. “Well, I hope you meet someone soon. Maybe in the next decade or two.” I winked at him, and he smiled. “You deserve to be happy again.”
“Thank you. But I am happy. I can be happy and not be in a relationship. Unlike some people.” He glanced at the wall that would’ve eventually led to Christian’s office, which I thought was peculiar, but then it sort of made sense. My sister had mentioned Christian dating a lot of different girls. “Anyway, I don’t get out much, and in most cases I’d say dating a teammate is a bad idea.”
I knew he was making an exception for Brandon and me, and probably my sister and Aaron, too, most days. I could think of some examples of how that had gone badly—Eliza and Aaron, and Laura and Aaron, for example, and I nodded. “Yeah, but if Shane and Meagan weren’t around to make googly eyes at each other….” I began, not exactly sure how to finish that sentence.
“I am so glad Aaron finally split them up on hunts,” he said, shaking his head, and I laughed. “Hey, if you ever see me acting like that, you let me know, okay? I’m not planning on dating any of our teammates, but if it ever happens, slap some sense into me.”
“You got it,” I replied laughing. I couldn’t imagine Jamie letting a girl get in the way of a hunt.
“I’m gonna need you to put on one of our lovely gowns,” he said, standing and walking across the room to a closet. He checked the sizes on a few of them before handing me one that looked like it would fit. Thankfully, it was the kind that wrapped all the way around so I wouldn’t have to worry about my behind hanging out. “If you want to change in that bathroom, we’ll head down the hall to the operating room.”
“Okay,” I said, hoping my hand wasn’t shaking as I took my bag and the gown into the restroom in his office. I was glad the light also turned on a fan so I wouldn’t have to imagine him listening to me as I decided to go ahead and empty my bladder before I managed to get the gown on. The garment really wasn’t that bad, but I wouldn’t sit around and watch TV in it either. I took the gray sweater and jeans and everything else I’d been wearing and shoved them into my duffle bag along with my shoes. I left my socks on, though. I needed something to make me feel like myself.
When I walked back out, Jamie was waiting by the door wearing a lab coat over his shirt and tie now. He always looks slightly different when he has that on, like he’s suddenly even more important. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” I dropped my bag in the chair I’d been sitting in, assuming I’d come back here to change, and followed him a few doors down to the operating room.
I’d been in here before. This is where I’d sat and waited for Brandon to go through the Transformation process. But it seemed different now that I was the one who’d be having a procedure. I was about to ask Jamie how long it might take when Christian barged in, and I had to bite my tongue from yelling at him to get out.
“Is it go time?” he asked, rubbing his hands together like Smeagol from Lord of the Rings.
“Not for you,” Jamie said, but Christian’s enthusiasm didn’t wane. “I’ll let you know when I’m done.”
“I’ll just wait in the hallway,” the tech guy insisted.
Jamie shook his head and walked toward Christian until he had backed out of the room. Then, Jamie locked the door, which I thought was a good idea, though I imagined Christian could find a way to get in if he wanted to. There was a window in the door, and I could see him standing out there practically salivating over the thought of having my tissue samples.
“I’m glad you know how to handle him,” I said, shaking my head. “He just irritates the crap out of everyone else.”
“I know. But most people have a tendency to try to keep me happy,” he replied. “For obvious reasons.”
“Right.” I wouldn’t want Jamie mad at me either. He led me over to the operating table, and I took a deep breath and crawled up, but I didn’t lay down yet.
“This should be pretty quick once you’re out,” he said, looking me in the eye instead of getting things ready the way most people would. “Ten minutes, tops, I think.”
“Great.”
“It’ll just be a small incision, I’ll take out what we need and store the samples in here.” He gestured toward a plastic container with several different little compartments. “The anesthesia I’ll use won’t last long, and you’ll wake up on your own.”
“And you’ll heal everything before I wake up?”
“Yep. You won’t feel a thing.”
I trusted him completely, so I nodded at him, and when he gestured for me to lay back, I felt okay about it.
“Now, do you want me to let anyone know you’re here?” he asked, readying whatever he was about to do to make me go to sleep.
“Yeah,” I said, not sure if I should list off everyone I was thinking of or let him decide.
“Okay,” was all he said, and I was glad he’d be making that decision for me. I wondered exactly who I might see when I opened my eyes again. At least, I felt confident when I went to sleep that the best Healer in the world had everything under control.
