Only His Heart

Chapter 1 Matt Walton was having a pretty decent second day. Sure his feet hurt. Whose wouldn’t when they hadn’t been allowed much rest in the last forty-eight hours? Finally, he had a few moments to take a lunch. He glanced around the basement cafeteria. Only a handful of people were there, not surprising as it was close to one in the morning. He didn’t recognize any of them, but it was only his second twelve-hour shift. Matt walked over to the food area and decided on a small salad and a slice of peach pie along with a cup of coffee. As he approached the register, he couldn’t help but notice a pretty young thing sitting by himself at a table in the corner drinking something out of a Styrofoam cup, his eyes downcast. The young man was dressed in scrubs and Matt figured he was probably an orderly or a lab tech. Even as he was paying at the register he couldn’t keep from staring at the pretty young man. He was just Matt’s type. Matt, who had come out as a teen, didn’t bother to hide his s****l orientation from anyone. He was out and proud and had participated in a number of gay pride events. And this kid was seriously hot. Damn, he hadn’t been hit with such a wave of lust across a room like this in…a long f*****g time. Everything about him was gorgeous. His dark sandy blond hair, the porcelain skin, and those big pouty lips. Matt wondered what color eyes he had. He would guess blue. No reason not to find out. He took his tray and walked to the corner table. He was really hoping this beautiful man was gay. Probably not, knowing Matt’s luck, but he could dream. “Hey, kid, is this seat taken?” he asked as he stopped at the table. The pretty young thing, who had blue eyes Matt noticed when he looked up, gave him the coldest look he’d ever seen. He stared daggers is how it was referred to, and lesser men would no doubt have been felled by it. “That would be Dr. Lassiter to you…nurse.” Matt’s jaw dropped. Whoa, this was Dr. Lassiter? Since the moment he began his day yesterday the other members of the nursing staff had warned him about Calvin Lassiter. Biggest prick you’ll ever meet, as cold and arrogant as they come, and even guy is an ice queen. This reminded Matt that when the nurse who said that about the doctor found out Matt was gay, she’d apologized all over herself, saying she hadn’t meant anything bad. Dr. Lassiter was gay, though, which is how he got the nickname. “Sorry, doctor. Can I sit anyway?” Dr. Lassiter didn’t respond, he just raised his cup to his stunning lips and took a sip. Shrugging, Matt sat across from him and stuck his hand out. “Matt Walton.” “I know who you are.” He didn’t take Matt’s hand. “You almost ran me over today in the parking lot with your motorcycle.” “That was you?” “You really ought to drive more carefully in a hospital parking lot. We don’t need any more patients.” “You walked in front of me and I was barely able to swerve to avoid,” Matt angrily retorted. “Maybe you should watch where you are walking.” The doctor sighed. “Even if I did, there will be lots of people in the parking lot doing the very same thing. Families visiting loved ones. I’m sure as a nurse you don’t want to be responsible for running over some child coming to visit a sick mother, do you?” His jaw tightening, Matt nodded. “Okay, point taken. I’ll slow down.” Dr. Lassiter’s full lips curved up in a slight smile that was too damn adorable for such a jerk. He hated being a sucker for a pretty face. “I have to say, Walton, I’m kind of surprised.” “At?” He shrugged. “I would think someone who is a nurse, one working in an emergency room, no less, wouldn’t be so careless as to ride a motorcycle.” Okay, now the good doc was sounding like his mother. “I’m a safe driver,” Matt replied in a tone to match Lassiter’s. One blond brow rose. “Even so, car drivers may not be so safe. I’ve seen too many motorcycle accident victims here not to be concerned.” Matt tapped his fingers loudly on the table, realized he was doing it, and hid his hand in his lap. “So, doctor, you don’t see car accidents, too? Just motorcycles?” “Of course I see both.” “Hmm, so do you tell all the staff you’re surprised they drive cars?” “No.” To Matt’s delight, Calvin Lassiter turned a light shade of pink. Unfortunately, it made him even more appealing, damn it. “Okay, then, I appreciate your concern and I’ll be sure to be more careful driving through the hospital parking lot.” He stabbed his fork into the salad. Then something occurred to him. He looked up, staring. “You look kind of familiar. Have we met?” “No, you probably recognize me from when you nearly killed me.” He ignored that and stuffed a bite in his mouth. “No, it’s something…Lassiter. I’ve heard that name before.” He tilted his head to the side, studying the sexy doc. “Wait, I know.” Lassiter scowled when others in the room looked their way. “Keep your voice down.” “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I remember now. I should have thought about it yesterday when the other nurses were talking about you.” That got him another icy glare. “And what were they saying?” He felt himself heat in a blush this time. He cleared his throat. “How great a doctor you were. A-anyway, I guess I didn’t connect it then, but now that I see you, it makes sense.” “I’m glad to hear it. What?” “You have a brother named Barnaby, don’t you?” Dr. Lassiter grimaced. “Former lover?” “What? No.” “You looked sort of like his type. His old type, I should say.” Matt wondered what type he looked like, but decided to let that pass, at least for the moment. “My stepbrother is Nathan Llewellyn.” Matt’s stepbrother, Nathan, had brought his new boyfriend, Barnaby, along for a family gathering about a month ago. He’d been surprised because he thought Nathan went for stuffy lawyers just like himself, not pretty boys in makeup. He had to admit Barnaby was very attractive, but Matt thought his brother, Calvin, was even more beautiful. “Right. I do seem to recall Nathan mentioning a stepbrother who is a nurse. I don’t think he ever mentioned your name.” Matt nodded. “Yeah, we aren’t very close. We see each other maybe twice a year at family things. His father married my mother several years ago and we share some half-siblings.” “Hmm.” Silence descended over the table and Matt felt the need to break it. “So, you and your brother are both gay?” Lassiter stiffened and pushed aside his Styrofoam cup and stood. “I don’t discuss my private life with the nursing staff. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back.” Matt turned and watched the doctor walk away. Apparently his fellow nurses had been right. Calvin Lassiter was not the friendly sort. He finished his lunch, cleaned up, and prepared to return to work. As soon as he got back to the emergency room, Matt got busy all over again and almost forgot about Dr. Lassiter, even though he saw him several times working on patients with other nurses. He didn’t get a moment to breathe again until his shift was nearly over, close to seven in the morning. He leaned against a wall, closing his eyes briefly. “Rough night, huh?” Matt opened his eyes to see another nurse, Valerie, smiling in sympathy at him. “Yeah, I’m exhausted. And starving, too.” “You didn’t get a lunch?” “Several hours ago I had a salad down in the cafeteria. Food was all right, the company not so much.” “Don’t tell me the female nurses are already bugging you?” Matt laughed. “Nah, nothing so frightening. I made the mistake of introducing myself to Dr. Lassiter.” “Oh.” She nodded. “Guy’s just as bad as everyone said.” Valerie’s expression was one of vague uneasiness. “Uh, sorry, is he a friend?” She sighed. “Not exactly. Look, I’m not saying he’s warm and fuzzy or anything, but he had a really bad night. He lost a patient. Motorcycle accident victim brought here in full cardiac arrest. He couldn’t save him.” Matt’s gut twisted. He felt like the biggest jerk all of a sudden. “I didn’t know.” Valerie patted his arm. “You’re almost off. Lucky you. See you tonight?” Matt was due back in for his next twelve hour shift at seven that night. “Yeah, thanks.” When his shift ended, he headed outside. The morning was overcast and he seemed to recall they had predicted rain later that night. He was about to head out to where he’d parked his motorcycle when he spotted Dr. Lassiter coming outside. The sexy doc had changed from his scrubs into tailored beige pants and a maroon button-down shirt. Even more beautiful if that were possible. “Hey, doc, you going home, too?” Lassiter jumped. Matt grinned. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” “You didn’t scare me, just startled me.” “I wanted to apologize.” The doctor frowned. “For?” “I didn’t know about the…you know, the patient. I’ve had patients die on me, too. Once a little boy who I’d been caring for in the critical care unit passed when I went off shift. It was horrible.” Dr. Lassiter nodded, but didn’t respond. He looked away and then up at the sky. Matt watched him for a second, just gazing at the pure male beauty. Then, he cleared his throat. “I was gonna grab some breakfast. Want to join me?” He lowered his gaze and those blue eyes focused on him. “Aren’t you tired?” “Sure. I intend to go to bed at some point, but right now, my stomach needs to be taken care of. There’s a diner just around the corner.” Matt had noticed it yesterday. “Meet me there?” “I—” “You need to eat, don’t you?” Lassiter nodded. “All right. I’ll see you there.” “Okay, good.” Matt waved and headed toward his motorcycle, looking back once to see the doctor heading toward physician parking. He wondered if the good doc would actually join him or if he just agreed with the intention to blow Matt off. He hoped it was the former.