Miles put his phone away and stood before Richard had even finished his closing remarks. Without a word, he slipped out through the back door of the conference room.
Rosalind, seated in the front row, turned immediately. Her anxious gaze followed Miles as he left, and irritation twisted in her chest.
Claire arrived at Miles’s office to find it empty. She waited outside with a paper shopping bag in hand. Inside was the shirt she had made herself.
A gentle voice with a noticeable edge of scrutiny came from behind her.
"Excuse me. Who are you waiting for? Do you need something?"
Claire turned. A female doctor in a white coat stood there.
Claire answered politely, "I’m waiting for Dr. Warren."
"Dr. Warren?" Rosalind drew out his name. "Are you a patient? He’s very busy. We had lunch together today. He said he hates people dropping by for personal reasons."
She put extra emphasis on "we had lunch together," making the claim behind it obvious.
"I’m not here as a patient, but—"
Rosalind cut Claire off.
"Then don’t stand around here like a groupie. You’re blocking the hall for actual patients and taking up hospital space."
Claire frowned slightly. The hostility was impossible to miss now.
’Is she interested in Miles?’
Claire respected the white coat enough to swallow her temper and try one more time.
"Dr. Warren and I are friends."
Rosalind looked her up and down with open contempt.
"I doubt Dr. Warren has time to be friends with someone whose intentions are this obvious. You should know when to back off."
"Dr. Linden, you’ve misunderstood." Miles approached and cut her off. "I asked Claire to meet me here. I’m off duty, so she’s not interfering with hospital business."
Miles had changed out of his white coat. He wore a dark gray shirt under a black overcoat, looking polished and expensive without even trying.
The fact that he defended Claire made Rosalind’s expression freeze.
She recovered quickly. "I’m sorry. So many women have come here looking for Dr. Warren before that I assumed this was the same thing."
Rosalind looked at Miles and softened her voice. "Miles, you should’ve told me you had a friend coming. I could’ve made sure she was comfortable."
She spoke as if she had some special claim on him.
Miles gave her a cool glance. "No need."
Then he looked at Claire. "Let’s go."
Claire followed him immediately, and they stepped into the elevator together.
Rosalind stared after them. The smile disappeared from her face, leaving only tightly controlled anger.
Inside the small elevator, the floor numbers ticked downward. Claire caught Miles’s clean scent, a faint mix of antiseptic and cedar. It smelled surprisingly good.
"Dr. Warren," she said softly, unable to hide the sly excitement in her voice. "So we’re friends now, right?"
Friends first. Something more later. One step at a time.
She had officially made it past step one.
The elevator doors opened, and Miles strode out.
His low voice drifted back to her.
"You’re my patient’s daughter."
Short, clear, and every bit as determined to draw a line as ever.
Claire gave a quiet huff but didn’t argue.
’Such a stubborn old soul. Says one thing, does another.’
Outside the hospital, Claire handed Miles the shopping bag.
"Dr. Warren, this is the shirt I made to replace yours. Try it on at home. If anything feels off, I’ll fix it."
She stepped a little closer and looked up at him, her eyes full of stubborn expectation.
"You will wear it, right?"
Miles didn’t answer. He took the bag, and his fingers accidentally brushed the back of her hand, warm against her skin.
Claire held up her phone. "I sent the other 100,000 dollars too. Check your account when you get a chance. And seriously, thank you for everything you’ve done. Can I buy you dinner? I know a small reservation-only place that’s really good."
She was standing too close again. Her scent reached him, and Miles quietly stepped back half a pace before nodding. "Okay."
Claire almost thought she had heard wrong. Her smile broke through immediately. "I’ll make a reservation right now."
"No rush. We’re going to the mall first." Miles motioned for her to get into the car.
He drove to an upscale shopping center in downtown Aethel.
Claire followed him inside and stopped with him in front of a high-end silver jewelry store.
She looked up, confused.
Miles spoke quietly. "I never got your pin back after the emergency. Pick something you like. I’ll pay for it."
Claire’s heart gave a small jump.
She hadn’t expected him to remember.
"Thank you, Dr. Warren." Claire didn’t refuse. A relationship needed a little give-and-take if she wanted it to keep moving forward.
They entered the store, and a sales associate greeted them immediately.
Claire looked around. The pieces might have been silver, but they cost more than plenty of gold jewelry.
’This whole give-and-take thing is getting expensive.’
The associate chose several decorative hairpins and helped Claire try them on.
"They all look beautiful on you. Is there one you like best?"
Every pin had a different design, and Claire honestly couldn’t decide.
Miles stood beside her, watching the silver pieces in her hair. His face gave nothing away, but his eyes looked darker than usual.
Her hair looked soft. Just like she was.
"Don’t choose." Miles took out a card. "We’ll take all of them."
The sales associate lit up. Customers like this did not walk in every day.
"Your husband treats you so well. You’re very lucky."
Claire’s face warmed with embarrassment.
"Dr. Warren, this is too much."
She swallowed the rest of the sentence.
’Way too expensive. That hurts.’
But Miles had already paid. Making a scene now would only make her look ungrateful.
"Thank you, Dr. Warren."
While they waited for the purchases to be wrapped, Claire’s gaze landed on a famous bridal jewelry boutique across the walkway.
She stopped.
Two familiar figures stood inside.
Jacob and Yvonne.
Yvonne leaned over the display cases with a smile, choosing rings while Jacob waited patiently beside her. Several sales associates hovered around them, offering compliments and congratulations on the upcoming wedding.
Claire hadn’t expected to run into them here.
She remembered Jacob saying that night behind the divider, "She’ll never know."
It was almost laughable. The moment he started wearing a wedding ring, she would know.
The truth was, Jacob probably didn’t care whether she found out. He only hid it because he was sure she would never leave him anyway.
The silver pieces were finally packaged. Claire had no interest in running into Jacob and starting trouble, so she immediately headed for the exit.
"Dr. Warren, I’m starving. Let’s go eat."
Miles gave a mild nod.
Claire entered the restaurant into the GPS, and they headed toward her reservation.
As Miles parked, he suddenly asked, "What’s your relationship with Yvonne and Jacob?"
Claire’s hand stopped on her seat belt.
So Miles had seen them too.