Street Dreams Read Online Free PDF

infant wrinkled her nose and pouted, but after some gentle
     rocking, she decided that her best option was to stay asleep.
    Silence as the man worked, gathering the blood into a pipette and smearing it onto the slides. When he was done, he placed
     a bandage on the infant’s heel, then gently tickled the sole of her tiny foot with a gloved hand. She retracted her leg in
     her sleep, then let it fall loose.
    He chuckled. “Good reflexes.”
    I smiled. “Well, she didn’t wake up.” I finally screwed up the nerve to make eye contact. “You must indeed have a light touch.”
    “I should have been a surgeon.”
    “Why didn’t you?”
    I winced as soon as the words came out. His topaz eyes went from the infant to me. There was motion behind the mask. I could
     tell he was smiling.
    He said, “I speak in metaphors.”
    “Oh …” I felt my face go hot. “That was nosy as well as tactless. Sorry.” I should have kept my mouth shut. Should have known
     better by now.
    He laughed as I got hotter and hotter. “Are you disappointed in me?”
    “Disapp— I …”
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I kept my voice even. “Just making random conversation.”
    His eyes crinkled upward at the corners. “I must take these slides to the lab. You have to put her back now.”
    I looked at the package in my arms and sighed, again stroking her cheek with my gloved hand. I could have held her forever.
     “Good night, pumpkin.” So soft. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
    Reluctantly, I stood up and placed her back in her bassinet. He picked up his tray and walked me to the nurses’ station next
     to the baby nursery so I could remove my protective shell. Off came the face mask, then the cap. I unpinned my hair, shaking
     it out with a little more drama than necessary. Then I began to peel off my paper suit. First the shoe coverings, then I rolled
     down the pants, pulling them off, leg by leg, feeling rather clumsy because I was standing instead of sitting. It also felt
     a little peculiar, this pseudo-disrobing in front of a stranger. As I attempted to lift the shirt over my head, I realized
     it was tied in back. I reached around to undo the strings but was having trouble with the knots.
    I glanced at my chaperon and caught heat from his staring eyes. The intensity caught me off guard and I felt myself go warm.
     Immediately, he looked away, his complexion darkening a shade. He had undone the top ties of his mask, exposing the rest of
     his face— an aquiline nose, a generous mouth, and a strong jawline ending in a square chin.
    His gaze fell over the top of my head. “Need help?”
    “If you could.”
    He fumbled under my long tresses, his fingertips brushing my back as he undid the knotted strings. I felt an electrical surge.
     I think I might have shuddered, but he didn’t comment if I did.
    “Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    I slipped off the shirt, snapped off the gloves from my hands, and picked up the discarded suit. He pressed the pedal of a
     trash can and I threw the disposable clothes away.
    “Much obliged,” I said.
    His eyes engaged me for a moment. “I will walk you to the elevator.”
    Again I knew I was blushing. “No need.”
    He broke into a slow smile, exposing big white teeth. “But I must escort you. If I don’t, Marnie will disapprove.”
    “Something tells me you can handle Marnie.”
    “You think so?”
    “I have a sixth sense about these things.”
    “How does that work?”
    “It’s an intangible.”
    “Like a woman’s intuition?”
    “More like a cop’s intuition.”
    “Being as you are a woman and a cop, does the intuition level double?”
    “On good days, it probably quadruples.” By golly, we were flirting. Silence … but we maintained eye contact for much longer
     than was socially acceptable. I finally broke it. “It’s late. I should be going.”
    To get to the door, I had to reach around him. I waited a moment, but he made no effort to move.
    “May I ask your