Surrender My Love by Lisa Eugene Read Free Book Online

for himself. He told her about his concerns and watched her forehead again pleat with a concern.
    “ I hope you figure it out. This could be devastating if it affects more patients.” She tilted her head and stared at him thoughtfully. “Would a toxin or infection cause an increase in liver enzymes?”
    “They could. A s in the case of viral hepatitis A, you see an increase in the liver enzymes. Why?”
    “I remember Mr. Barkley had a transien t increase in his liver enzymes.”
    Brad nodded thoughtfully, now remembering that one of Mr. Barkley’s blood test s had revealed the spike. He hadn’t thought much of it because two days later, the blood work returned to normal, and clinically Mr. Barkley looked fine. He’d reasoned it as a lab error.
    He stared at Chloe, impressed that she’d remembered. He thought about what Mr. Barkley’s granddaughter had said.
    “ Mary spoke highly of you. She really liked you.”
    “I liked her too.” She hesitated, then said softly, “I’m sorry about Mr. Barkley. You seemed very upset.”
    “I’ve known him and his family since I started my career. We were…close.” He echoed her words from last night and she nodded understanding.
    He watched Chloe across the desk. She seemed a little more relaxed, if you could call it that. Her twitching and fidgeting had stopped, but her body remained tense and perched on the edge of the seat. He’d been impressed with her nurse’s notes. She knew her stuff. From what he’d gathered, she was a very competent nurse. Nurse Wall had argued strenuously that she lacked respect for authority. He’d witnessed her defiance and vaguely wondered what it would be like to tame her stubborn streak, to command her bursts of boldness in other ways.
    “Are you done? May I go?”
    His gaze zoomed in on her luminous eyes, holding the moment for a few heartbeats. She looked away suddenly and he planted the scowl back on his face. He noticed the only time she ever looked at him directly was when she addressed him in anger. He’d have thought that now she knew he wasn’t lodging a complaint, she’d be less choleric. He glanced at his watch.
    “Your shift doesn’t start for fifteen more minutes.”
    She hesitated , then said, “I…I haven’t eaten. I was going to grab a quick bite before work.”
    He stared for a protracted moment, suddenly reluctant to let her leave. “Do you like turkey?”
    She adopted a blank look, confused. “What?”
    “Turkey. Do you eat turkey?”
    He smiled when she frowned and nodded, then reached into his desk and withdrew the sandwich Bea had gotten him.
    She caught her lip between her teeth and the effect sent a jolt right to his groin, surprising him. She was not his type at all. Confusion was plain on her face as she stared at the sandwich before looking up.
    “No, thanks. Really, I…I couldn’t .”
    He leaned his elbows on his desk and balanced his chin on his knuckles. “ Well, I have a few more questions. Please, indulge me.”
    A smile til ted his lips as she shot him a wary glance. He opened the foil and passed her half of the sandwich, then took the other half for himself, suddenly feeling hungry.
    “My secretary is always trying to feed me. She thinks it will improve my disposition. ” He took a bite and pointed to his drawer. “There’s a small restaurant in there.”
    He saw a hint of her first real smile and suddenly wanted to see it in full bloom. It didn’t seem to be something she did very often. He nodded at her untouched sandwich and she pulled her chair closer to the desk, leaned over and took a bite, leaving a distracting smear of mayonnaise on the edge of her bottom lip. Before he could stop himself, he leaned over and passed his thumb over the plump flesh, cleaning away the smudge. Pulling away, he realized his finger had lingered longer than necessary.
    “Mayo…” he explained, and had the sudden urge to suck on his thumb. Instead, he watched her dark lashes fan down and a soft