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hospital confinement had driven him stir crazy. The doctor was supposed to be making a decision on releasing him but his apparent no-show was giving him reason to believe he would not be sleeping in his own bed.
    Frustrated, he hit the tray table with the palm of his bandaged hand knocking over a can of ginger ale. “Dammit!” He cursed grabbing a towel to stop the liquid from spreading.
    “Are we having a bad day?”
    “You wouldn’t believe how fucking bad!” He barked before looking to see whom he was talking too. He raised his head to see Gabrielle standing at the side of his bed.
    “Excuse my language. I’m just—“
    “Don’t apologize to me. I would be frustrated too if I were confined to bed.”
    “Five days of this crap is enough,” he grumbled, wiping wet soda from his robe.
    “Then to make it worse, you take advantage of me and then dump Millie on me again—
    I thought we were friends?”
    “I know I will hate myself for asking, but how did I take advantage of you?”
    “Millie never warms her stethoscope before touching me.”
    “Millie and I use different techniques and it doesn’t mean I only do that for you.”

    Her sultry eyes had him swirling. “I beg to differ; I know you like me. So where have you been? You get me all hot and bothered the other day and drop me.”
    “You’re part of Millie’s caseload and I’ve been too busy with my own patients to take on hers.”
    “How do I go about getting you permanently?”
    “You can’t. Millie is over me and practically runs the department.”
    Taking the fork from his tray he pounded lightly on the table. “I demand that be changed; who do I call?”
    “You are so silly and I’m flattered,” she said sitting at the foot of the bed to keep a safe distance between them. “I only stopped by to see if you were still here since I was on the floor. You look a lot better than the last time I saw you.”
    “You think so?” Jonathan opened his robe. “Do you wanna listen to my chest and make sure everything’s in working order?”
    Gabrielle noticed the redness in his eyes was lessening, giving the hazel color of his irises prominence. She took her stethoscope from around her neck and placed the ends in her ears. Holding it in the air, she joked. “I hear the heavy gurgling from here.
    My advice would be you stay a few more days.”
    Jonathan rolled the tray table aside moving his legs to the side of the bed to sit upright. With nothing separating them, he lowered his baritone voice saying, “Is that your diagnoses or your wish, Ms. King?”
    Mesmerized by his closeness, Gabrielle’s mouth went dry. She could not
    pinpoint what was causing the strong attraction to this stranger. She’d been in the company of handsome White, Asian, Latino and even some Arab men and never been affected by them. Besides, she’d never been asked out by a White man nor had any openly flirted with her. The occasional sideways glance would be all she would get when she would walk by a few, but nothing verbal like Jonathan DeMinico was doing.
    Jonathan nudged her with his shoulder. “Well?”
    She blinked clearing her head. “I should be going. I have to drop off samples to the lab and get to some other stuff on my list.” She checked her watch. “Wow, time sure flies when you’re goofing off.”
    He grabbed hold of her wrist. “Not this time. You keep making excuses to leave just as we’re getting to know each other.”
    “Jonathan, this is unethical. You’re a patient in a hospital where I’m employed; I have to keep our relationship professional.”
    “You only treated me once, so technically, I’m not your patient.”
    She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter if I treated you or not. I can’t get involved with a patient.”
    A loud knock on the door interrupted them. The physician tending to his care entered the room.
    “Mr. DeMinico,” the doctor said loudly.
    Jonathan released Gabrielle’s wrist and watched her ease off the bed to