Read Stubborn Heart for Free Online

to take the sting out of his rejection. “I might even be drooling,” he added with a wink.
    Trevor smiled, disappointment still showing on his face. “I understand. How about a rain check, then?” Trevor continued, looking hopeful.
    “Let’s talk about it after I become human again,” Mark offered as he stood and closed the patient record. “Listen, I need to go and check on my patients. I’ll talk to you later.”

Chapter 5

    I T HAD been a long workweek for Mark, even though it was compressed into three days. The first sixteen-hour day had been followed by two twelve-hour days. On the third day, he had been reassigned to work in the emergency department to cover a staffing shortage. Such moves didn’t happen often, but Mark found that he liked the variety when the opportunity presented itself. He had spent Thursday and Friday relaxing and catching up on housework. Now it was Saturday morning and he was back at work and well into his usual routine. He was tidying up a patient’s room when he heard someone enter the room. Looking up, he saw Trevor stop just inside the doorway, smiling.
    “So, did you recover from your coma yet?” Trevor asked cheerfully, winking.
    “Barely enough to function.” Mark laughed as he looked over at Trevor. “Hang on just a minute and I’ll be done.” Mark walked out of the patient room toward the conference room. “What are you doing here on a Saturday? I thought only the little people worked on weekends.”
    Trevor laughed as he walked beside Mark. “I like coming in on weekends; it’s a totally different world. Well then, what are you doing here if only the ‘little people’ work on weekends?”
    “Oh, I’m definitely one of the little people,” Mark quipped. “I have no power here.”
    “Yet you always seem to get things done.”
    “I’m glad someone notices! Tell that to my manager,” Mark responded with amusement as he sat in one of the chairs. “What are you up to this morning?”
    Trevor sat at the table, directly across from Mark. “I wanted to see if you were free for dinner.”
    “Oh. I was hoping you would have forgotten about that by now.” Mark stopped smiling and looked away, uncomfortable.
    “Why would I forget about it?” Trevor asked. His voice was laden with confusion and disappointment.
    “I just don’t think it’s a very good idea. I mean, we work together.” Mark looked down at his hands rather than directly at Trevor.
    “That’s not entirely true,” Trevor protested. “You work in this unit, but I’m all over the hospital.” He leaned slightly forward, resting his arms on the table. “Besides, why is that a problem?”
    “I don’t know,” Mark hedged. “We do work together. A lot. And it just doesn’t seem like a very good idea. I don’t want things to be awkward at work.”
    “Come on, it’s just dinner,” Trevor said lightly. “You seem to enjoy our conversations. It will be like any other time I’ve sat and talked with you, except we won’t be in the hospital wearing these ugly scrub uniforms.”
    Mark was quiet for a moment, and then he smiled. “Speak for yourself. My scrubs happen to look very nice on me,” he said, puffing out his chest playfully. “So, is this, like, a date?”
    “Hell, no!” Trevor frowned and shook his head, sitting back in the chair. “When I ask you out for a date, I don’t plan to work this hard to convince you to come along.”
    “Point taken,” Mark said with a smile, half apologetically. “Dinner does sound good. I need to go home and change clothes. Is eight thirty all right for you?”
    “That would be perfect. I’ll pick you up then. Give me your address.”
    Mark wrote down his address and telephone number on a piece of paper and gave it to Trevor. “It’s a condo, so give the front-desk person my name and unit number, and he’ll buzz you up.”
    “You’re not going to regret this,” Trevor assured him. His entire face lit up as he smiled. “I just have to