I spent forty-five minutes staring at my closet, second-guessing everything. Dating a coworker is risky. Dating Silas Vance is professional suicide. Yet, here I am, walking into an upscale, dimly lit Italian restaurant wearing a deep green slip dress that has spent two years collecting dust.

Silas is already at a corner booth. The moment he sees me, he stands. Without the blue scrubs, he looks entirely different, and infinitely more dangerous. He is wearing a crisp, dark button-down shirt that stretches over his shoulders, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms. The cocky, high-energy doctor who commands the trauma bay is gone. In his place is a quiet, intensely focused man whose gaze sweeps over me like a physical touch.

"You look beautiful, Maya," he says, his voice devoid of his usual playful banter.

"You clean up well yourself," I manage to say, slipping into the booth.

Dinner is a complete revelation. I expect him to talk about work, to brag about a complicated procedure, or to deploy the charm that makes half the nursing staff swoon. Instead, he asks about my family. He listens intently as I talk about my reasons for becoming a nurse, his dark eyes never leaving my face. The simmering attraction that we both ignored during intense code blues is now front and center, completely uncontainable.

"Why me, Silas?" I finally ask, the wine giving me courage. "You could have anyone in the hospital. You usually do."

He sets his glass down, the corner of his mouth turning up in a small, self-deprecating smile. "I date because it is easy. It is a distraction from the heavy things we deal with. But you are not a distraction, Maya. You are the only person who sees me when I am covered in blood and failing, and you never flinch. I do not want easy anymore. I want you."

He reaches across the table, his fingers tracing the line of my wrist. My pulse hammers against his touch. He feels it, his smile widening slightly.

"I spend all day keeping hearts beating," he whispers, leaning closer. "Is it so wrong that I want to see if I can make yours skip?"

Silas outside the ER is a whole different vibe! 🥵 Do you think Maya will let her walls down for good? 👇 Hit ❤️ to cheer for our favorite nurse, and share with a friend!