Book Boyfriends Wanted 7: His Curvy Nurse

I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d set foot in a bar. I typically preferred my drinks on my patio overlooking the water with silence around me. Not drunk people shouting and a bartender to tip.

But I was trying.

Ian led me to the bar and sat down. He nodded to the stool next to him when I hesitated.

“Guys, this is Doctor Allison. He treated Ms. Georgia, if you haven’t met him.” Ian could have swallowed a canary with that wide grin. Smart ass.

“You can call me Nico,” I told the others. “Ian thinks he’s being funny.”

“He always thinks that. It’s rarely true,” Ramsey Holland said.

“But that is true,” Hudson Grant added with a nod to Ramsey. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Just a beer is great.”

Hudson eyed me for a long moment and asked, “Are you sure? You don’t seem like a beer man.”

I raised my brows at him. Wasn’t he the bartender? Wasn’t his job to pour drinks for customers? How did he make money if he was arguing with them all the time?

“Hudson considers himself an amateur psychologist. And he thinks he knows what people drink, without them telling him,” Ian explained for the silent man across the bar.

I looked at Hudson. I didn’t really know him. I’d seen him around town, same with Ramsey and the others. Living in a town as small as MacKellar Cove made it easy to find out who people were, but I wasn’t friends with them. I wasn’t friends with Ian either, but I’d had a few conversations with him. The others? Never. So, why did Hudson think he knew what I’d drink?

“Okay, what do you think my drink is?” I asked, meeting Hudson’s assessing gaze. I tried not to smirk.

Hudson leaned back and scanned me. He took in my expensive suit, how straight I sat on the barstool, and the confident look I aimed his way. I waited. I wasn’t going to give him any clues. I also was fairly certain he wouldn’t ever be able to come up with my preferred drink.

“You drink beer, Scotch, or maybe a rum and Coke because you think it’s what people expect from you, but in reality, you’d rather have something sweeter. Blended. Peach margarita.” Hudson leaned back and waited for me to say something.

I wasn’t sure I could. How the hell did he know that?

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Um…how the hell did you come up with that?”

Hudson shrugged. “It’s a gift. Do you want one or are you going to choke down a beer because it’s what the rest of them are drinking?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Well, since you’ve already told everyone, I guess I might as well have one.”

Hudson nodded. “Anyone else?”

“I’ll try it,” Colin Jones said. “Elise likes peaches.”

“Make mine strawberry,” Ramsey said.

“Yeah, mine, too,” Ian agreed.

“I’ll stick with the beer,” James Rucker said.

“Peaches,” Gavin Holbrook said.

“What the hell. I’ll try strawberry,” Rowan Masterson said.

“Sure you don’t want one?” Hudson asked James.

“Nope. Sweet stuff gives me a headache.”

I looked at the group of them and laughed. I expected harassment, not agreement.

“What’s going on?” Sebastian Parks asked as he took a seat next to Ramsey. “Can I get a beer?”

“Do you know Nico?” Ramsey asked with a nod in my direction. “We’re all drinking margaritas tonight. Peach or strawberry.”

Sebastian shook his head. “Beer for me. It’s cheap. I don’t need to get a taste for something expensive.”

“My treat,” I told him. I met Hudson’s gaze. “All of it tonight.”

Hudson nodded. The other guys laughed and thanked me. Not Ian, though.

“You don’t have to do that,” Ian said low enough that the others couldn’t hear.

I shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“It might not be, but that’s not why I invited you out with us.”

I held his gaze. We weren’t friends, but I was also a fairly good judge of character. He wasn’t looking to screw me over. “I know.”

“I hope so.”

I nodded and turned back to Hudson while he made the drinks.

“Nico’s looking at making some upgrades to his boat. It’s beautiful already, if I do say so myself, but it’s been a few years. Any suggestions?” Ian asked the others.

“A bar,” Gavin said.

“You can’t get back and forth to an island without a drink?” James asked him. “It’s a good thing you live on the shore.”

“You live on an island?” Gavin asked me.

I nodded, but the other guys answered for me.

“Doc Rock.”

“No shit?” Gavin said.

I chuckled and nodded. “Although I don’t call it that. Ian told me that name today.”

“That’s awesome. What do you do in the winter?” Gavin asked.

“I have a condo I stay in. Sometimes I can still get back and forth, but once it starts to get cold, I don’t bother trying. The ride over is painful.”

“Tell me about it,” Sebastian said. “I dread trips out to the lighthouse in the winter, but I have no choice.”

I was an ass. I was complaining about having to drive a boat to my private island in the winter, and the men I was talking to were ordinary men with jobs they needed to survive.

“Don’t feel bad,” Ian said quietly. “We all have different struggles.”

I nodded, not sure how I was supposed to feel like less of an ass after I complained about the advantages of my life. Maybe going to a bar wasn’t such a great idea.

“Nico’s on Karissa’s app,” Ian said, dragging my mind away from my charmed life.

“It’s no big deal,” I told them as Hudson set my drink in front of me. I nodded my thanks to him.

“Good luck,” Ramsey said. “I was almost divorced and met my wife on the app. Best thing to ever happen to us.”

“Trinity and I met there.”

“We all did. Met them in real life, but the app gave us that push we needed to change things. Who are you paired with?” Colin asked.

“Her name is NoRegrets. She’s easy to talk to,” I told him.

Colin shook his head. “I wasn’t ever paired with her. Can’t offer insight.” He looked around and the others shook their heads. “Any idea who she is?”

I shook my head and wondered about her. Her phone sex operator confession made me curious, but I didn’t know anyone who’d ever done that. These guys might, but I didn’t really want to share that part of her with them. It felt too personal. Like something secret between us.

“Eventually, you’ll meet her. If it keeps working out. A bunch of the women meet their dates here. It’s safe for them,” Ian said with a nod toward the corner of the bar.

I turned to see what he was nodding at and found Laura at a table with two other women. Her head was tipped back in laughter, her blonde curls wild around her face. Her brown eyes sparkled with amusement at what the other woman said. She lifted her glass and drank, her gaze never leaving the woman she was talking to.

I didn’t see her relaxed very often. She was buttoned up and stiff at work. She didn’t laugh, not like that, and she kept her hair tied up. It made me want to walk over and run my fingers through it. To look into her eyes. To—

“Earth to Nico. Want something to eat?” Hudson said.

I turned back to the bar abruptly and cleared my throat. I ignored the smiles and looks around me and focused on Hudson. “Yeah, a burger?”

“We have those. What do you want on it?” Hudson asked.

“Bacon, cheddar, and ketchup.”

“Fries, tots, or onion rings?”

“Fries. Thanks.”

Hudson nodded, his smile saying he understood it was for more than just taking my order.

I sipped my margarita and tried to pretend nothing had happened even though I knew the men around me were exchanging private glances and would likely talk about me once I was gone.

As I drank, the weight of the evening pressed on me. I shouldn’t have come out with them. I should have just called Ian instead of going to his shop. That would have still meant having a conversation, but I wouldn’t have gotten dragged into a bar where I was exposed.

I suffered through mockery my entire childhood. I never fit in anywhere. I learned to be my own person, to stop trying to fit and to stand out if I needed to. I kept to myself because others never got me. They never wanted to. I thought Ian was different, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe he just invited me because I was there, and I was an easy target.

I shifted in my seat and made a move for my wallet.

“Don’t,” Ian cautioned. “Please stay.”

I looked at him, angry he’d chosen me to be his entertainment for the night and frustrated that he knew I was getting ready to leave. “Why?”

“Because we’re not laughing at you for the reasons you think. We all recognize the look in your eyes. We’ve been there.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I tugged my sleeves down and straightened.

Ian breathed a laugh. “I said the same thing about my wife. I pretended I wasn’t in love with her for years. I knew I wasn’t good enough for her, so I convinced myself and everyone around me that I didn’t love her. It was easier than taking a chance and ending up alone because I was right and she didn’t want to be with me.”

“But you’re married.”

“Yeah, now. It wasn’t easy to get there. I saw the same look you just had in my mirror for a long time. Why don’t you just ask her out?”

I snorted. “No. She works for me. And she thinks I’m an asshole.”

“So prove to her you aren’t.”

“It isn’t that easy.”

“Why not?” Colin asked.

I turned and realized all of them were listening.

“None of this is easy. Relationships suck. But waking up in the morning to the woman you love is better than anything else on earth,” Gavin said.

“Am I here for your amusement?” The words jumped out before I could stop them.

They all shook their heads.

“I didn’t know you were coming until you were here,” James said. “But we wouldn’t do that. We all adored Ms. Georgia, and she loved you. Even if you weren’t a well-respected doctor who works to save lives, we wouldn’t sit here and make fun of you just because of Ms. Georgia.”

“That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to harass you a little, though,” Ian said. “It’s what friends do.”

I looked at the men and saw the same open expression on all their faces. I’d learned to read people over time. I had to in my profession. I needed to know if my patients were telling me the truth about their pain or their habits. I knew the signs of someone lying. I wasn’t seeing any of them in the faces of the men around me.

“If it makes you feel better, Masterson can buy dinner and drinks tonight to prove we aren’t taking advantage of you,” James said.

“Hey! What the hell?” Rowan shouted.

James shrugged. “You’re the new guy.”

“I’ve been here longer than Gavin,” Rowan argued.

“Doesn’t matter. I outrank you,” James said.

“All right, gentlemen. Let’s stop the pissing contest,” Hudson said.

Rowan scowled at James who grinned back at him. Ramsey shook his head at their antics, not surprised. After a minute, I just chuckled and settled back into my seat.

“I wouldn’t have done that,” Ian stressed. “You just looked like a night out might be a nice change.”

I met his gaze and nodded. “Thanks. It’s just what the doctor ordered.”

Ian grinned. He didn’t have to know I meant that literally.

* * *

The rest of the evening passed without incident. I forced myself not to watch Laura all night and talked to the men. When we all left, they invited me back the following week to join them again.

“Masterson’s going to pay,” James said with a nod toward the other man.

“I’m not going to make it next week,” Rowan said without missing a beat.

“Hudson can put it on your tab. You can settle when you come in again,” James said.

Rowan flipped him off.

“Are you making lewd gestures at an officer of the law?” James asked, getting in Rowan’s face.

Rowan snorted a laugh. “Would you rather I use my words?”

James chuckled and stepped back. “See you tomorrow.” James walked away with a wave, the others dispersing with him. Except for Ian.

“Listen, I’m sorry you felt like we were laughing at you. It really wasn’t my intention. We’ve all been there. We want to help.”

I nodded. “Thanks, but there’s nothing to do.”

“I think you could be wrong, but I won’t get in the middle of your personal life. I know people have to be ready to make that leap.”

“What leap?”

“From wherever they start to something more. I will say one thing, though. If you like her as much as you look like you do, don’t sit back and let her find someone else. I did that with Blake and wasted years, for both of us. She almost married another man.”

“I’m not…I have a tendency to piss her off. She’s barely spoken to me in a week.”

“Have you apologized?”

“I tried.”

“She might be less angry after a week. If not, you need to make her see that whatever you did that made her so mad isn’t a big deal now. That you’re over it.”

“And what if I’m not?”

Ian raised a brow. “What happened?”

“She was flirting with a patient.”

Ian shrugged. “That’s how Laura talks to everyone. She flirts with me, but it means nothing. She knows I’m married.”

“I don’t like it,” I spat.

Ian’s lips curled up on the edges. He shook his head. “Sorry, but if you like her, you need to accept who she is. If she flirts when she talks, you’re going to need to get over that. I can’t imagine who Laura would be if she wasn’t friendly and chatty and flirty. She’d be a different person. Then she’s not Laura.”

“I…” I thought about the woman I knew. The smart, friendly, talkative woman I first hired. I loved that she was kind and compassionate, but I was drawn to her as a person for the same reasons. And Ian was right. I’d been so wrapped up in not wanting her to flirt with the patients that I lost sight of the fact that she’d changed at the office over the last few weeks. She wasn’t that same woman. And I made that happen.

“I need to go,” I blurted. “Thanks for inviting me tonight. I enjoyed it. Thank you.”

Ian nodded and let me walk away. His words rang in my head as I walked the short distance to my vehicle. I went to my condo since I needed to be back at the clinic in far too few hours. It was time to make some changes at work. And the first one was scheduled to start bright and early.

* * *

“I didn’t know this was even here,” Eddie said as he walked around.

I hadn’t seen him much in the almost two and a half years since we lost Ms. Georgia. Eddie was her world at the end. Eddie and her daughter. The two of them were at every appointment with her, every treatment, everything. They were there for her. We all tried to save her.

“It was part of why I bought the building. I wanted the option to expand eventually. I rented it out for a while, but I stopped that a few years ago when it got to be more than I could handle,” I told him.

“Well, it looks like a beautiful spot. Georgia would have loved it up here.”

“Morning,” another voice said from the elevator.

I turned and greeted Peter. Eddie recommended him as someone who could do a job like the one I had in mind. The size of him said he could probably do it without any equipment.

“Peter. Thanks for coming,” Eddie said, walking over to the other man. They exchanged a hug that said they were close. Eddie clapped Peter on the back and guided him toward me.

“This is Nico. He was Georgia’s doctor. And he’s going to help more people by expanding this beautiful place he has,” Eddie explained.

“Nice to meet you,” I told Peter. I extended my hand to shake his.

“You, too. Ms. Georgia and Eddie have always spoken highly of you. This is a great place.” Peter looked around, taking it all in.

“Thanks. It definitely needs a lot of work in order to make it functional, but I want it done right. It sounds like you’re the man for that job.”

Peter nodded. “I can do it. I just need to know your timeline and budget. Once I have that, we can start talking about plans. I’ll do a few different layout options for you. I’m assuming the staff downstairs is going to be a part of this. I always recommend bringing in at least one person who will work in the space. They might have suggestions you didn’t think about.”

“Dr. Allison?” Laura said from the direction of the elevator.

I didn’t even hear the elevator, but when I looked up, she was standing there with a confused look on her face.

“What’s going on?”

“I guess we have our volunteer,” Peter said.