Her waist was slender, almost unreal.
The snug black T-shirt made her pale skin look even more delicate, making it hard not to stare.
Jace’s gaze swept down — from the narrow waist to her hips, then her calves and ankles…
Nerissa didn’t notice the intense look he gave her at all.
She finished taking the measurements, jotted down the numbers in her notebook, and was just about to pack up her tools when her foot suddenly slipped.
Caught off guard, Nerissa gasped sharply as she pitched forward.
Just before she hit the floor, a strong arm reached out from behind and wrapped effortlessly around her waist.
His sharp features were just inches away now.
The white lab coat brushed close against her, and the air was filled with that faint, sterile smell of disinfectant.
“Th-thank you,” she said, cheeks flushed red as she scrambled upright, trying to steady herself.
But Jace didn’t let go.
His hand stayed on her waist, and half without thinking, he asked, “Not strapped for cash lately?”
Nerissa froze, then it quickly clicked what he meant.
A wave of embarrassment flushed up her neck and flooded her face.
She gave him a firm push, putting space between them, and said with a steady voice, “We’re done here.
I’m not short anymore, and I won’t be in the future either.
Dr.
Whitmore, thanks for helping me back then, but that was just a deal.
It ends here.”
Jace had expected her to say that.
His expression stayed as composed as ever, not a flicker of emotion crossing his cool features.
Just then, Nerissa’s phone rang.
She glanced at the screen — it was her mom.
She didn’t want to stay a second longer.
Clutching her toolbox, she picked up her phone and rushed out of the exam room.
Quiet settled over the room again.
Jace stared at his now-empty hand, took a deep breath, and forced down the strange desire rising in his chest.
She was just a naive girl…
only two nights, yet somehow she’d gotten under his skin.
Ridiculous.
*****
Out in the empty hallway, Nerissa sat on a stairwell with her phone pressed to her ear.
Her mom’s familiar voice poured out through the receiver.
“Your brother got a public-sector job lined up.
He’ll start in a couple of weeks, but there’s a sixty-thousand dollars referral fee.
Your dad said you’re a big-time designer now?
Figure something out and send the money over.”
Nerissa felt her head throb.
“Mom, I literally just started working.
I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Don’t give me that.
That school of yours only takes top students — heard graduates earn millions.
Don’t tell me you can’t scrape together sixty thousand?”
“I’m just an assistant designer right now, running on a fixed salary and still learning.
It’s not like I can make money that easily.
And didn’t my brother start working way earlier than me?
He should have some savings, shouldn’t he?” Nerissa rubbed her temples, trying to explain herself calmly.
Margaret Griffin was having none of it.
“I don’t care.
You scraped together money for your dad’s surgery, you can damn well come up with cash for your brother too.
You’re the college graduate this whole family paid for.
You think you can just ignore the boys in this house?”
Nerissa was quiet for a second.
Then Margaret’s voice climbed another octave.
“I’m telling you, either wire me the money, or come back and get married.
The girl next door got a dowry of 300,000!
And look at you — broke and useless.
Who do you think would want you?”
Each word made Nerissa’s chest tighten with anger.
She finally raised her voice.
“I’m not going back!”
She had fought her way through twelve long, exhausting years to get out of that suffocating place.
There was no way in hell she was going back just to get married and disappear again.
Back then, she put up with the yelling and the guilt trips for her father’s sake.
But now that his leg had healed, she was done being the family’s emotional punching bag.
“You ungrateful brat!
Think you’re tough now?
Got the guts to talk back to your own mother?
I dare you to come home — I’ll beat the crap out of you!”
Her mother’s voice on the phone was ferocious, practically spitting fire, like she’d come through the line and strangle her if she could.
Nerissa steeled herself and ended the call.
The world finally quieted down.
She leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath, taking a while to steady herself.
She should’ve been used to those harsh words by now, but every single time after a call like that, the knot in her chest refused to go away.
Her phone wouldn’t stop ringing, like it was chasing her down for her life.
Whoever was calling clearly wouldn’t give up until she picked up.
So Nerissa just shut the thing off.
She sat in the stairwell for a bit, collecting herself.
When she felt a little better, she grabbed the toolbox and headed out.
Bad timing though — right during dinner rush.
As soon as she stepped out, she bumped into Jace off-duty at the elevator.
He had both hands in his pockets, casually waiting with his friend Leo Hart.
Without his doctor’s coat, dressed in a grey casual outfit, he looked laid-back but still had that tall, clean-cut vibe.
Cold, distant, but somehow hard to ignore.
Naturally, he drew quite a few admiring looks from the group of young nurses nearby.