Devon’s smile widened. “Gigi loved those nights.”
“Sure was sorry to lose her.” LaToya’s voice was laced with sympathy.
“Thank you.”
I stiffened, wondering if LaToya would mention Jason as well, but she didn’t. Instead, she grabbed a clipboard with about an inch of admitting paperwork and handed it to Devon. “Fill this out and we’ll get you back there.”
An hour later, Dr. Osmond was pulling up the X-ray and pointing to it. “I’m afraid it’s broken,” he said grimly. “And we’ll go ahead and do surgery today.”
Devon’s eyes popped. “What? No. No, I can’t—”
“The longer we delay, the worse it’s going to be,” Dr. Osmond said, steamrolling over Devon’s protests. “Unfortunately, we’ll have to wire your jaw shut, so you’ll be on a liquid diet.”
“Stop!” Devon said loudly, holding her hands up and glaring at Dr. Osmond. “Stop. You’re not even looking at me while you talk.”
I took in Devon’s flushed face and bit back a grin. I knew Dr. Osmond’s pompous ass from rolling patients into the ER, but I never got to watch anyone call him out on it. Honestly, was it any wonder I thought the woman was incredible?
“So slow down, explain everything to me, and look me in the eye while you’re doing it,” she said.
Dr. Osmond stared at her for a beat, blinked, then used his pen to point to the X-ray. “See right here? That’s your jaw. Except this dark shadow, near the back where it opens and closes? That shouldn’t be there. You’ve definitely broken it.”
Devon hissed out a quiet curse, then nodded. “Keep going.”
Dr. Osmond adjusted his glasses. “The only way for a break of any kind to heal is to put it back in place and not let it move. For a jaw, that means we have to wire it shut, usually for six to eight weeks.”
She exhaled loudly, collecting herself. “And you’ll do that today?”
Dr. Osmond nodded. “Normally we’d schedule this for a few days from now, but I had some unexpected time free up, and the sooner we get it done, the better. It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“Um, you’re wiring my jaw shut. It’s exactly as bad as it sounds,” Devon shot back.
Dr. Osmond nodded. “Well, yes. But the process by which we do it isn’t as involved as you might think.”
As he was speaking, a nurse came in and nodded to all of us. “I’m Jessica. I’ll explain everything and start getting you ready.”
“I’ve got to see some more patients,” Dr. Osmond said. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
He left, and before the nurse could continue, Devon’s eyes flitted to me. “You don’t have to stay here; I’ll text Rick and Ceci.”
I shook my head. “I got you into this. I’ll see you through it.”
She laughed softly. “Fair enough. But I really do need to let them know what’s going on.” She tapped at her phone and looked back at the nurse when she was done. “How does this even work?”
Jessica smiled. “Well, first of all, you’ll be asleep for all of it.”
“Thank god.”
“Let’s get an IV started, and I’ll make sure to give all the aftercare information to your boyfriend here,” she continued.
“Oh, she’s not…” The back of my neck heated and I rubbed it, self-conscious. “I mean, I’m just…” Shit. I didn’t know what I was. A nuisance by this point, more than likely.
“Sorry,” she said. “I assumed…”
“It’s okay.” Devon grinned at me, and I couldn’t help the stupidly happy smile that crossed my face in response.
I passed the hours in the waiting area. The room was empty of people, and in my line of work, I took that as a blessing. I stretched and ignored the growls coming from my stomach.
“There he is!” Chief waltzed into the room and smiled broadly. “Had some paperwork to do and thought I might find you here.”
I groaned. If Chief Suarez knew where to find me, it was only a matter of time before my brothers were blowing up my phone. “Hey, Chief.”
“Broken jaw, huh?” He stood with his feet apart and tucked his thumbs into his uniform belt.
“How did you know?”
He shrugged. “A man has his ways.”
I raised an eyebrow. I’d bet my house that Ceci Rayne called him the second she found out Devon was here. “You mean a man has his gossip network. You’re the nosiest person I have ever met. You make the old timers that sit in front of the Daily Dose look like amateurs. You know that, right?”
He pointed a finger at me. “Mark my words. It’s only a matter of time before you two are an item.”
I threw my hands up. “An ‘item’? Is that what you and Ceci are calling it?”
His eyes shone. “I admit nothing.”
My phone pinged and I pulled it out. And there it was.
Price
