In Your Wildest Dreams (Wildcat Hockey, #4)(16)

“I’m intrigued,” he says, aiming that arrogant and flirty grin at me as I walk backward a few steps. I can feel my smile widen in response to his. I’m glad he’s on board. I think this will be good for Ash and Liza.

As I always do, I knock on Liza’s door as I enter.

“What’d you forget?” she asks, staring ahead at her TV show. She’s still sitting on the bed, legs crossed. The book of Sudoku rests in her lap.

When I don’t immediately answer, she glances over and goes very still.

I take another step and look back at Ash hovering in the doorway. “Liza, this is Ash. Is it okay if he hangs out in here with me for a few minutes?”

She still doesn’t speak. I’m worried I might have broken her brain.

Ash walks farther into the room. His good looks mixed with his friendly and flirty demeanor make my good sense want to take a permanent vacation. At the game last month, I thought it was all for show, but now I’m starting to think it’s just him.

“Hey,” he says. “What are you watching?”

Snapping out of it, Liza rushes to pause the show. “It’s this anime series a friend recommended. Wow. It’s really you.”

The way she looks at him, equal parts awe and shock, has me covering my mouth to hide a smile.

“Nice to meet you, Liza.” He nods toward her Sudoku. “I love those. I play a lot on road trips. That and Royal Match.”

“Bridget brought it for me because she knows how bored I get in this place.”

He looks over his shoulder at me with an expression I can’t quite decipher.

Bringing him here was my idea, but now that we’re all crammed into this room together, I feel even more aware of him. His VIP room is twice as big, and at least upstairs, I had a getaway.

“That’s cool. How do you two know each other?” he asks her.

“She was my nurse the first time I was here. Diabetic,” Liza says. “Bridget’s the best. Bummer that she’s on another floor now. But good for you, I guess.”

I was anything but the best on my first day. I was scared and unsure, but I tried not to let Liza see any of that.

“Yes, great news for me.” Ash smirks at me and I’m certain my face is turning red.

I clear my throat. “Ash was bored with us upstairs, and you’re the most entertaining patient in the hospital so I thought you should meet.”

“What she means is I’m a giant pain in the ass and making her life difficult. She’s pawning me off on you,” Ash says.

“Do you want to do one?” Liza offers him her book.

He takes it with a grateful smile.

“Sit,” I command, pointing toward the chair in the room.

He does and I grab an extra pillow to put behind his shoulder. Liza has fully come out of her earlier shock. For the next five minutes, we all watch the end of the current episode and Ash works on a Sudoku puzzle. I have no idea what is happening, partly because I find myself continually watching Ash instead of the screen. Best-case scenario I thought Liza would chat his ear off long enough for him to get his mind off everything, but he looks like he’s enjoying being here.

When it’s over, Liza fills him in on the earlier plot points of the show and then starts peppering him with questions about his injury.

“That sucks,” she says when he’s told her about the hit during the game and that he’ll likely be out for a few weeks. “I broke my arm in seventh grade and missed twelve weeks of tennis.”

“Tennis, huh?”

“Yep, just like Bridget.”

Ash’s gaze lifts. “You play tennis?”

“I did. Not anymore.”

“She was, like, really, really good,” Liza says.

“How would you know?” I ask her. We talked about it a couple of times, but I know I never claimed to be good. I was decent as a kid, but I didn’t put as much effort into it as I got older and hit a plateau.

“I saw some old videos on YouTube. She won a couple of local tournaments.”

“Is that right?” Ash asks her, but his eyes are locked on me. “How did I not know this?”

“Maybe because we met four hours ago.”

“That’s not entirely accurate.”

I glare at him. If he tells Liza the whole story like he did the nurses upstairs, I’ll duct tape his mouth closed. As if he can see my thoughts, Ash’s upper body shakes with quiet laughter. He turns his attention back to Liza. “I might need to see some of these videos.”

“I’m out of screen time until tomorrow,” she says with a frown.

Thank goodness.

“Good thing I have mine.” Ash’s voice is saccharin sweet as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone.

“Knock, knock,” Mindy says as she stands in the doorway of Liza’s room. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to check your blood sugar.”

“Now?” Liza asks with a whine.

“We should get back anyway,” I tell her. “Ash needs to sleep, and my lunch break is almost over.”

“All right.” The disappointment in her voice always tugs at my heart.

“I’ll stop by tomorrow,” I promise.

“Nice to meet you,” Ash says to her. “Thanks for keeping me company.”