“Is this her?” said the pretty woman with her hand on Paul’s shoulder.
She wasn’t the type Madison would’ve thought Paul would choose. She looked like a librarian with her pastel cardigan and white blouse. But she had a warm smile, like that guy on public television who invited kids to take a look in a book and go on a reading rainbow.
Paul wasn’t looking at the woman or her smile. He was gazing at Madison with a goofy look on his face that reminded Madison of—well, Goofy, the cartoon dog when he saw Clarabelle, the cow. The same goofy look from the first time they’d met when he’d threatened to crawl to the intake desk. The same goofy look when he’d asked her to marry him.
Just like he’d asked this woman to marry him.
“Don’t let me interrupt your second proposal of the day,” said Madison.
There was a chuckle that came from the corner of the room. Madison looked over to see one of the psychologists on staff. She’d only met Dr. Patel once, but she’d liked him instantly. He winked at her as he turned and walked out of the room.
So it looked like Paul had had the psych consult. Maybe this was his condition. He chronically asked women to marry him.
“This is her,” Paul was saying to the other woman. He leaned in close to her, stage-whispering in her ear. “This is my future wife, Dr. Madison Gray.”
How could Paul be referring to Madison as his future wife in front of the woman he was currently proposing to?
“She’s pretty,” said his other future wife.
“No, she’s not. She’s breathtaking. She swept me right off my feet. Literally, made my legs go out from under me when I looked into her eyes.”
Warning signs were flaring up all around Madison. Not the black and yellow danger signs. These were the blaring red lights of a proximity alert. The problem was that the intruder was already in the house.
Here again, Paul had slipped past her defenses before she’d even known she was under attack. Madison didn’t feel the need to slip on any armor. In fact, she wanted out of her white coat and heels. She wanted to curl up beside Paul and let all her worries melt away in his strong hold.
“If she can get you back on your feet, then Luke will approve,” said the other woman.
“She’s right, Maddie.” Paul sighed. “We can’t get married without Luke’s approval.”
“Who’s Luke?” asked Madison.
“My mom,” said Paul.
“My husband,” said the woman, giving Paul a slap on the shoulder. She slapped Paul with her left hand, where a diamond sparkled on her fourth finger.
“Ouch, Elaine. I’m a wounded man in his sickbed.”
“Hi, Dr. Gray. I’m Elaine. I work at the town library. Have you gotten your library card yet?”
“I… no,” said Madison, looking between the two. “I haven’t even found a place to live yet. I’m still in a hotel.”
So Elaine wasn’t going to marry Paul. Not that Madison cared. She wasn’t going to marry Paul, either.
“This works perfect,” said Paul. “I just got a new place. You can move in with me. After we’re married, of course.”
“Right,” said Madison, her head spinning from the onslaught that was Major Paul Hanson. His offensives were coming from every direction and making her dizzy. “Elaine, can I talk to my fiancé—I mean my patient—alone?”
Paul’s goofy grin spread impossibly wider. But after Elaine left, he took one look at Madison’s grim expression, and he sobered.
“You have my MRI results,” said Paul.
Madison nodded.
“You don’t like what you found.”
“You’re going to need surgery,” Madison said.
Paul hefted himself out of the wheelchair and onto the bed as Madison went over his test results and her diagnosis. “Spinal fusion,” he repeated the type of surgery she’d said he’d need.
Madison came to stand beside him. She wanted to reach out to touch him, partly to reassure him but somewhat to reassure herself as well. “I’m good at what I do, Paul. I’m the best.”
“I believe you,” he said.
He said it simply. Not a flinch. Not a hesitation.
He said it with a certainty she didn’t know was possible. When he said it, she knew it was the truth. She was going to heal this man. He would stand again. But his belief in her ability wasn’t a yes to the surgery.
“Is that a yes?” she asked.
Paul grinned. Not the wide, goofy grin. This one was more subdued, a little tired. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll play you for it.”
He reached off to the side of the bed and into a packing box. Out of the box, he pulled a child’s game.
“This is your health. Your life. It’s not some game.”
“What? You think you’ll lose?”
Madison blew a gust of air out of her nose. How did this man tweak her confidence and her competitiveness at the same time?
“What I want, Dr. Gray, is a few moments with you while I’m whole and conscious before you have me on my back.”
“It’s back surgery. You’d be laying on your front.”
His grin spread wider, nearing goofy size. “Are you so eager to cut me open?”
“I make beautiful scars, you know.” Madison pulled up a chair to the edge of his bead. “I’m going to kick your butt in this game.”
“I believe that too,” said Paul. “But here’s the thing; if you win this game, you get your surgery. If you get your surgery, you’ll heal me. If I’m healed, I get a date. So there’s no way I can lose.”