Paige remembered those deep green eyes from the first time she saw him. Staring into them, she is memorized by the gold flecks that seem to dance around within his iris. Feeling the strength in the arm wrapped around her waist, she blinks.
“Take a breath Paige,” Mike commands softly. “Pull some air in. There you go. Now exhale.”
“What’s wrong with me?” Paige questions, her mind murky as pond water.
“Some might say it’s post-traumatic stress disorder. How did you sleep while you were off?”
“Not well. Shadowy nightmares about being tackled from behind or the side.”
“Do you think maybe its too soon for you to be back?”
“No. I cannot take working from home anymore. I want the normalcy again,” Paige insists, the volume of her voice rising.
“Okay. Okay,” Mike quietly soothes, rubbing Paige’s back. He sees the dark circles under her eyes along with some weight loss. “Take another breath in, hold it, and now exhale.”
Paige does as she is told. Her mind is becoming clearer. His hands are strong, warm, and gentle on her back.
“What’s your name?” Paige asks, looking sideways at him.
“It’s Mike.”
“Mike, thank you for what you did the day I got robbed. You disappeared before I could thank you. You work at the hospital, don’t you?”
“You are welcome and yes, I do. I am an ER doctor.”
Paige moves her head slightly up and down. That makes sense to her considering his care at the time of the hit and now. Not to mention the soft and gentle touch he possesses with those long tapered, warm fingers.
“Do you want Neesy to come out and walk you in the rest of the way?” Mike questions. He’s secretly hoping she says no and asks him to walk her to her office building.
“Would you mind walking with me to my building? Neesy is probably working already.”
“I’d be honored,” Mike smiles, feeling like fireworks burst inside his chest. He loves her perfume with its light, spicy scent and when she moves her head, he smells fresh roses that could have been cut from a garden this morning.
Reaching the ramp to her building, he watches her walk up and disappear inside after a brief wave. Disappointed in some ways that her building is so close to the place she parks and that the walk was so short.
