Even Nate, with his ice-cool composure, couldn’t keep it together when Lena turned up the

heat.

Lena burst into laughter, her soft giggles breaking the tension. “You’re adorable,” she

teased.

Lena led Nate to the hospital room where Keira’s aunt was resting.

Once there, Nate flipped straight into doctor mode, scanning the records. After a beat, he looked up, his expression serious. “With everything going on-her heart, the cerebral infarction-I wouldn’t recommend another surgery. It’s too risky.”

As a fellow doctor, Lena knew no physician would crush a patient’s hope without reason. If Nate was this firm, it meant more procedures weren’t the right call.