Whatever. ‘Want some coffee?’ I grab a mug from the counter and set it in the machine.
She points to the cup in her hand, which looks as if she brought it from home. ‘I’ve got herbal tea with me, thanks.’
Herbal tea? That suits her. Smiling, I switch on the coffee machine and take the oat milk out of the fridge.
All at once she’s beside me. ‘How are you today? Do you have a headache, are you dizzy, is your vision blurry?’ she asks with a caring expression and takes a sip of her tea.
I pour a dash of oat milk into Mia’s coffee. ‘All good.’
‘How was the night? Were you able to sleep?’ She looks at me searchingly. That probing gaze makes her elfin pretty face look tense, and I immediately feel the urge to change that.
‘I might have, if I hadn’t kept thinking about you.’ Curious about her reaction, I reach for the sweetener dispenser.
Is that relief shimmering in her eyes? ‘You thought about what I said?’
Said? Instead of answering, I mumble something vague and set the next cup in the coffee machine.
‘I’m very glad to hear that.’ A relieved smile spreads across her face.
Even though I have no idea why my non-answer is making her so cheerful, the corners of my mouth curl up all on their own.
‘Yeah, me too,’ I say, and I mean that smile, this moment.
The coffee machine beeps, Nyla steps back and turns the tea mug in her hands. On her wrist I spot a silver bracelet with tiny little charms.
‘I take that off at the start of my shift, don’t worry,’ she says when she notices that my gaze is lingering on the piece of jewelry.
There’s a suitcase and next to it, that could be a stethoscope. Or is it? Her hand sinks down, my gaze follows. Yes, a stethoscope, together with a seashell. And to the left of that … is the name tag on her uniform, which suddenly pushes itself into my field of vision.
It saysDr. Moore.
Chapter Seven
NYLA
Why is he staring at my boobs? ‘Hey.’ I snap my fingers. ‘Up here.’
‘So you’re Dr. Moore.’ Absentmindedly he lifts his lids, the green of his eyes flickering.
He shouldn’t look at me like that, so… I don’t know, so… unfathomably. Automatically, I clutch my mug tighter. ‘Is that a problem?’
The corners of his mouth twitch. ‘You don’t know yet.’
Unease rises up inside me. The worries about everything that might await me today are still with me, unchanged. Despite all my efforts, the thought of this rescue project kept me from sleeping.
‘Yes, that must be it, you can’t possibly know …’ Jaden murmurs to himself.
Inhale.
I can do this.
Hold.
I can do this.
Exhale.
‘What don’t I know?’ I sound stricter than I intended.