Being a nurse here wasn't glamorous, but it was rewarding, especially since it meant working alongside your best friend, Claire.

The two of you had been inseparable since nursing school, sharing everything from late-night coffee runs to the chaos of patching up the city's endless stream of accident victims.

Lately, though, there was an extra layer of intrigue in your days.

It started subtly: a blind lawyer named Matthew showing up in the ER with minor scrapes and bruises, always at odd hours.

You knew him vaguely through Claire because she'd mentioned him as a "trouble magnet" with a knack for getting into fights he shouldn't win.

But over the past few weeks, his visits had become..predictable.

Almost contrived.

Tonight was no different.

You were charting notes at the nurses' station when Claire sidled up, her dark eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Guess who's back?" Claire whispered, nodding toward the triage area.

You glanced over and there he was: Matt, looking disarmingly handsome in his rumpled suit, cane tapping lightly against the floor as he waited.

A fresh cut above his eyebrow, nothing serious, but enough to warrant a quick stitch-up.

Your heart did that annoying little flip it had started doing whenever he appeared.

"He claim he walked into a door again but I think he's got ulterior motives" Claire explained amd gave you a knowing nudge before heading off to her rounds.

You approached him with your clipboard in hand, trying to keep your voice professional and asked what happened to him this time.

He tilted his head toward your voice, that charming, lopsided smile spreading across his face

Even with the red-tinted glasses hiding his eyes, you could feel the intensity of his attention, like he was sensing every detail about you, from the steady beat of your pulse to the faint scent of your lavender hand sanitizer.

"What can I say? The service here is impeccable. Especially from a certain nurse who's friends with Claire" Matt explained softly and dreamily.

"This barely needs a bandage. What really happened?" Matt added chuckled, his voice low and velvety.

"Would you believe me if I said I was defending a client's honor in a heated debate? Things got... physical" Matt whispered, trying to show you a truth.

He leaned in slightly, his breath warm against your ear.

"And if I was? Would that scare you off, or make you want to know more?" Matt whispered, his breath brushed against your skin.

The question hung in the air, charged with something unspoken.

You paused, your fingers lingering on his skin a second too long.

He wasn't just visiting for Claire anymore; that much was clear.

He'd started asking about your shifts, lingering after treatments to chat about everything from your favorite books to the stresses of hospital life.

Last week, he'd "accidentally" bumped into a supply cart just to get patched up by you specifically.

The week before, a "sprained ankle" from "jogging in the rain" that mysteriously healed by the time he left.