Page 85 of Paging Dr. VanRyan

She threw back her head in laughter. “Not to you anyway. I can be a bitch, which you will figure out as you get to know me.”

That made me smile. I leaned forward. “He looks drawn. Is he okay?”

Daisy frowned. “He says he is. But he seems tired. His appetite is off. I wanted him to see someone, but he says he’s fine. Just recovering from all the travel and work he did the past few months.”

“Hmm. I thought it looked like more than that to me.”

“Then go see him and tell him to talk to one of the many doctors this building contains.”

“I’m not sure he’ll listen to me.”

She laughed. “Oh, he will. He’ll do anything you tell him to do. Trust me on that.” She stood. “Put him out of his misery. Talk to him. Give him a chance.” She leaned forward, her voice lower. Warmer. “He is one of the best. And he adores you. He misses you. He misses being part of your life.” She straightened. “And do it soon. Or I’ll show you what kind of badass bitch I really am.”

And she walked away.

CHAPTER 21

MADDY

Isaw Matthew across the lobby the next day. He was leaning against the wall, one foot up, his head back, eyes shut, and a cup of coffee in his hand. His stance alone screamed exhaustion. Without a thought, I crossed the lobby, stopping in front of him.

“Are you okay?”

His head snapped up, and he pushed off the wall with a small grimace of pain. “Maddy,” he breathed. “You look beautiful.”

I laughed, waving him off. “I look like I’ve been dealing with patients the past few hours. Stop deflecting. Are you okay?”

He shrugged, and I noticed the mask hanging around his neck. “Are you ill?” I demanded.

“No. Tired and I think maybe I pulled a muscle.” He rubbed his left side absently. “Looking forward to my shift being done.” He glanced at his watch. “Only a couple hours to go. Why are you here so early?”

“I’m covering for someone. You’re pale. Clammy. You need to be checked out.”

He studied me for a moment, his gaze saying everything. He was hurting. Mentally, physically, every way possible. “Do you care about that?”

“Of course I do.”

“Why?”

“Matthew—”

“Tell me why, and I’ll go get checked out.”

“Because you matter.”

“To you?” he asked quietly, his gaze intent.

I sucked in a deep breath. “Yes.”

“I’ll go right now.”

“Good.”

“I’ll call and tell you what they said?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He strode away, cutting across the lobby, stopping only to dump his coffee cup in the garbage. He was almost to the ER hallway when it happened. An empty gurney, being pushed too quickly, came around the corner, crashing into Matthew, sending him backward. His arms went up as he fell, slamming into the corner of the wall and sliding down to the floor.