“Then someone dumped on you.”
“You think? What was your first clue?”
“Because you’re wary. Of men. You don’t get that way without some help. And I’m paying the price for what some other guy did.”
He knew he’d hit close to the mark when she looked away. Watching her profile, he could see her jaw clench.
“I’m not wary of men,” she finally said. “I just have a problem with the ones who don’t play by the rules.”
“And you think I fall into that category?”
“The first time we met you threatened to pick me up bodily and lock me in the broom closet. If I recall correctly, your exact words were that visiting hours were for everyone but you.”
“I was kidding about the broom closet.”
“I know. But not about breaking the rules.”
“Cut me some slack, Nurse Ratchett. My baby sister had just had a baby. First one in the family. I wanted to spend some time with her.”
“And you think you’re the only new uncle who feels that way? Picture what would happen if everyone acted the way you did.”
“The obstetrics wing would be full of lots of happy uncles.”
“Probably. Followed quickly by anarchy and chaos.” She shook her head. “Not on my watch. Mothers and babies at risk? Completely unacceptable. It’s my job to keep order.”
Joe couldn’t help admiring the fact that she took her job seriously. Protecting new mothers and babies. Patients in her care were lucky. He had a feeling anyone she cared about would be lucky. But there was a protective shield around her, emotionally speaking, and he wondered why she worked so hard at keeping it in place.
“The fact that I’m volunteering at the hospital does nothing to alter your opinion of me?”
“It would if I didn’t get the feeling that on the heels of your good deed was a rule waiting to be broken. Or a skirt waiting to be chased, so to speak.”
“Why would you think that?”
“By the time I’d met you twice, you were coming on to three different women.” She held up her hand and started counting on her fingers. “There was the blonde I saw you with when you visited your sister in the hospital, Trish Hudson, and Abby, the woman you practically stood up because you got sidetracked scoping out the volunteer program.”
“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘benefit of the doubt’?” he asked wryly.
“Yes. But I can’t help feeling that you don’t know the meaning of the word longevity or sincerity. And your heart is a revolving door. I’m sorry, but based on what I’ve seen it’s hard for me to believe your motivation is anything but self-serving.”
Joe considered himself a pretty easygoing guy. From the moment he’d walked into her office, he’d taken it in the shorts from Nurse Ratchett without fighting back. No more Mr. Nice Guy. It was time to set the record straight.
He rolled his sandwich wrapping into a ball and tossed it into a nearby trash can. Then he turned to Liz.
“All right,” he said seriously. “You win. I’ll tell you my ulterior motive.”
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