Don’t Mind If “I Do” by Everly Ashton
Twenty
Nick
On Monday morning, I’m surprised to find Mazzy already awake when I head down to the kitchen just after five o’clock in the morning. I figured socialites sleep in. But I push my less-than-nice thoughts away because this is my life for the next six months and I can’t be miserable every second of it.
“Morning.” I inject as much enthusiasm into my voice as I can at this ungodly hour.
She cries out and her hand flies to her chest.
“Sorry, did I startle you?” I head over to the coffee machine I have programmed. It blessedly already has my coffee ready, and I pour myself a cup. “Want one?”
She shakes her head and holds up her glass of water. “I’m going for a run. Just getting a drink first.”
Jesus, it must be early because I didn’t notice at first that her entire body is covered in lycra. But now that I have, it’s difficult to keep my dick from tenting my scrubs.
“That why you’re up so early?” I sip the steaming liquid in my mug. It’s like heaven on my tongue.
“I like to get my exercise in first thing in the morning. Usually I use the gym in my building—”
“Sorry, sweetheart. No gym here.” I can’t keep the irritation from my voice, and I mentally chastise myself.
She narrows her eyes at me. “If you’d let me finish… I was going to say, ‘But I’m looking forward to being outside and going for a run in the fresh air.’”
“Oh. Sorry,” I grumble.
She sets her glass on the island. “I realize you think you know me and that you’ve got me all figured out, but I assure you, you don’t. I don’t sit at home counting my money while servants rush around to do my bidding.”
My grip tightens on the mug. “I never said you were.”
“No, but you didn’t have to. You think I’m some spoiled little rich girl who can’t do anything for herself and who has no goals or aspirations for her life.”
I can’t help the chuckle that escapes. “And exactly what are your goals and aspirations, Maz?”
Her face blanches and she blinks in rapid succession.
“That’s what I thought.” I pour what’s left of my coffee down the drain and leave the mug in the sink. “I’m on a twenty-four-hour shift, so I won’t be back until tomorrow morning. I wrote down the code for the door here.” I motion toward the notepad on the counter. “If you need me, text me, but depending on what’s going on at the hospital, it might take me a bit to get back to you.”
“Okay, I’ll see you whenever then.”
I nod and leave my new wife behind. Should I have kissed her on the cheek before I left? Nah. This whole marriage is fake unless we have witnesses.
* * *
As soon asI step foot into the emergency department at the hospital, it’s clear the rumor of my nuptials is circulating. Everyone gives me a wide berth while simultaneously whispering and looking at me out of the corner of their eyes.
I assumed this would happen at some point, but I thought it might not be until my shift next week. Clearly someone saw the announcement in the paper though. Which is fine. That’s what I wanted, right? For everyone to find out and see me as a respectable man, not a womanizing douche who takes advantage of his coworkers?
But of course the first one to confront me is Lucy. She corners me before I walk away from my locker in the staff room.
“You got married?” She stands with her arms crossed over her heaving chest, eyes narrowed. Her tone is accusatory as though I’ve betrayed her.
Time to earn that Oscar nomination. “I did.” I smile.
“To that woman who was here last week?” Her hands move to her waist as if I’m a small child about to be scolded.
“Her name is Mazzy.”
“I know her name. I saw it in the paper. She’s a Pembrooke. Is that why you married her? For her money?”
My teeth clench so hard, I’m surprised they’re not dust. Her comment just proves how little she knows me. An excess of money is the last thing on my wish list. All I’ve ever seen it do is cause people to make bad choices.
“The last thing I want from my wife is her money.”
Something in my voice must tell Lucy how serious I am because she visibly falters. “Well… why didn’t you ever mention her then if she’s so special to you?”
Jesus, she’s giving me the third degree as if the two of us were an item.
“Not that I need to explain myself to you, but Mazzy and I share a long history and once we reconnected, we didn’t want to waste any time. We both know what we want. What’s the point of waiting?”
The door of the staff room swings open and the charge nurse walks in. She’s been working at the hospital for more than thirty years and we’ve always gotten along well.
“Dr. Ryan, I hear congratulations are in order.” She smiles and steps over to give me a hug. “Someone made an honest man of you. I can hardly believe it.”
Her tone is playful, so I smile back. “Thanks, Norma. Yeah, I’m a lucky guy, that’s for sure.”
Lucy huffs and stomps out of the room while Norma chuckles. “Don’t worry about her. She’s just not used to any man who doesn’t respond to her double D’s. She’ll get over it.”
We share a laugh and head out to start what ends up being a very long shift.
* * *
Tuesday morning,I’m coming off twenty-four hours of hell when I get a summons to head up to Dr. Schwartz’s office. I’m surprised he’s here this early, but I expected to be called up there at some point.
The admin floor is quiet when I arrive, and I head right into his office.
“Morning, Nick. How was the ER this shift?” he asks when he looks up from his computer, setting his glasses on the desk.
I sigh. “It was one of the long ones. I can’t wait to get home and crash.”
“I won’t keep you then. I just wanted to say that I saw the announcement of your marriage in the paper. I didn’t mean for you to go and find a wife to try to clean up your image.”
I smile at him and chuckle. “Don’t worry, I didn’t think you did. My wife and I share a long history, and we ran into each other unexpectedly and decided we didn’t want to waste any time getting where we wanted to be with each other. Life is too short.”
Using the word wife still feels so weird. And Jesus, I’m sick of having to repeat this same story over and over. I must’ve had to do it five times through my shift with different nurses and doctors. The more I tell people, the more I’m starting to believe the false story.
“Oh well then, congratulations.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“This will certainly help with the board.”
“I hope so, though that wasn’t my goal.” Liar, liar. Pants on fire.
“Well, congratulations again. Let me know if there’s anything else you can think of to really sway them that you’re not a liability.”
Seriously? A wedding wasn’t enough? Do I have to get her pregnant too?“For sure. I have something else in mind, but I’ll let you know when it comes to fruition.”
He nods and slips his glasses back on his face. “Perfect. Okay, go home and get some sleep. I can tell you’re exhausted.”
“Thanks.” I stand from the chair. “Have a good one.”
He gives me a small wave without looking away from his screen.
He’s right—I am exhausted—but I need to make a quick pit stop before I leave the hospital. Something occurred to me when I was at Keane’s surprise party and talking to his sister, but I want to run it by Ollie first since his fiancée has known Keane and his sister, Marlowe, forever and I’m relatively new to being Keane’s friend.
I’m surprised I don’t find Rowan at her desk when I walk into Ollie’s reception area, but then, again it’s early. Ollie might not even be in. But when I walk up to his office door, I find him behind his desk, typing at his computer. I knock on the door and he looks up.
“Hey, man. Surprised to see you here today,” he says.
I step inside his office and take a seat on the other side of his desk. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He shrugs. “Figured you’d maybe whisk your lady love away for a quick honeymoon.”
I roll my eyes. “You know it’s not like that.”
He leans back in his seat and pulls his dark-rimmed glasses off his face. “I thought I did, but then I saw how freaked out you were when you thought something was wrong with her before the ceremony.”
“I’m a doctor. It’s in my DNA to be concerned when I think someone could possibly need medical attention.”
He nods slowly. “Maybe. But that felt different.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you’re too up in your feelings to know.”
He chuckles. “Maybe. How’s married life anyway?”
“It’s fine. We avoid each other as much as possible at this point.”
“That’ll make for a long six months.”
I shrug. “I can handle it.”
“Sure, you can.” His voice is taunting.
I swear to God, if he weren’t my best friend, I’d jump over this desk and clock him. “Anyway I didn’t come here to talk about my marriage. I wanted to run something by you.”
He tilts his head. “Okay…”
“You know how Marlowe works at ON MASS?”
He nods. “Sure.”
“What do you think the chances are of her doing a story on the homeless shelter and how we’re each down there once a month to see people and lend a hand?”
He looks at me from under his eyebrows. “And by we, do you really mean you?”
“Of course I mean me. You don’t need any good press. You’re looked at like a saint around here.”
He shakes his head.
“It would be good press for the shelter too.”
“I guess.” He rubs the side of his face as though this is stressing him out. “I’m done with lying though. Let me at least tell Marlowe why you need the good press. I already hate that I’m keeping the reason you married Mazzy from Jemma. I can’t handle the stress anymore. She’s asking me questions I have no answers for. I can’t keep this up.”
The slight whine in his voice says he’s at his limits.
“Fine, fine.” I wave him off. “Tell her if you need to. I don’t care.”
“All right. I’ll mention it to Jemma and see if she can talk to Marlowe about the article. Fiona too, since she works at the shelter.”
Jemma, Marlowe, and Fiona are a trio. I think in girl speak, that means they have to know everything the other ones know.
“Sure, whatever.”
He huffs out a sigh. “All right. I’ll talk to Jemma about it tonight.”
I stand from the chair. “Thanks, man. You’re the best.”
“Rough shift?” he asks before I turn toward the door.
“Why does everyone keep asking me that? Do I look like a complete bag of shit?”
Ollie shakes his head. “You look like it was a long twenty-four hours.”
“It’s been a long week, put it that way.”
He nods knowingly. “Got it. Okay, I’ll let you know what the girls say.”
“Awesome. I’m outta here. I need to crash.”
Exhaustion makes my limbs feel water-logged as I make my way to my vehicle. I don’t know whether it’s the shitty night weighing on me or maybe it’s that I’m going home to a new wife I don’t really want, but regardless, all I want is a bed and silence.