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a
en without a knock, sla
ck on the wall had just
und of the manila folder shutting echoed in the quiet o
y, her movements economical and sh
underneath. She folded the coat, a practiced ritual, and pl
er, loosening the tight knot of tension that always gathered at the base of her neck during a shift. She pic
al resident, stumbled in, his chest heaving. His f
ated interruptions, especially when she had already tidied up and w
trying to block the doorway.
lock on the wall. "My shift e
. VIP floor. We have an admit, and she's
ris said, her tone flat.
"It's Kelsey Mcknight. The actress. She just flew in from Europe. Her agent threw Dr. Ev
y Mck
from the photographs-the ones where Kelsey Mcknight hung on Adler Pope's arm at galas and premieres
had to keep her expression neutral, to not let the sudden tightness in her
burying it beneath a mask o
sician," Iris said, her voice carefull
cracking. "And... the call came from the dean's office. You
eath hitched for a fraction of a second, a reaction so small it was invisible to the frantic man in f
clock on the wall ticked, each secon
her decision. It was the ingrained, unshakeable
her voice clippe
iously. You're a lifesaver." He immediately turned
the starched white coat. It felt
mething floral and expensive. Caleb filled the silence with gossip about Kelsey Mcknight's possible ailment, his voi
usual clumsy haste, pushed the heavy door open without knocking. A
locked box in the back of her mind. She smoothed the front of her coat,
at the Four Seasons. Plush carpets, designer furniture,
e hospital gown was propped up agai
pale face, the slight tremor in her hands. "Ms. Mcknight," she began,
sters-Kelsey Mcknight. Up close, Iris could see the delicate bone structure, the wide eyes, th
g. She refused t
d toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.
re was impeccably tailored, stretching across a broad back and tapering to a lea
silho
burned to ash, s
rt, which had been beating at a steady, calm rhythm, suddenl
er stare, the m
ty. His eyes, deep-set and the color of a storm-tossed sea, found hers and he
er
husb
t seen since the day they signed the documents in a sterile lawyer's of
invisible hand that had been resting on her heart cle
e patient, at Caleb, at anything else. But his
ce broke the suf
rability. She looked from Iris to the man by the window. "This doctor...
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