The Army Doc's Christmas Angel. Annie O'Neil

the day before that. Or...yup. Patterns. He saw it, but she messed with his focus and he didn’t like his highly honed “this way trouble lies” vibes being messed with.

      “What is it? I’ve got the team waiting for the pre-surgery assessment.”

      “I...um...” Something flickered in those dark brown eyes of hers. Had he ever noticed they were flecked with gold?

      Yeah. Just like she’d probably noticed his eyes were flecked with amber when the sun hit them. Not. Can it, Romeo. Those days are over.

      “You coming in to listen or is the idea to break up the assessment mid-flow with more of your touchy-feely stuff?”

       Why are you being such an ass?

      Naomi’s dark irises flashed with disbelief at his narky question. Even the ward sister shot him a sharp look. Great. Just what he needed. More fodder for the nurses to continue the tar-and-feather job they no doubt had begun in the break room.

      And it was deserved.

      All of it.

      If Naomi turned on her heel and marched straight up to HR to report him, he wouldn’t blame her.

      He was at war with himself and no one was coming out the victor. His body wanted one thing, his head wanted another. His heart was being yanked from side to side and therein lay the crux of the matter.

      Good thing he didn’t do feelings. Or poetry, for that matter. Ode to a smashed-up, battered heart didn’t have much of a ring to it.

      To his surprise, and the charge nurse’s, Naomi shook her head and gave him a gentle smile. “No, no. Please. Go ahead. I’m here to listen.”

      He gave her a curt nod. “Fine.” Then he turned and walked into Adao’s room.

      * * *

      “Looks like someone’s gunning for a lump of coal in his stocking this Christmas.”

      Naomi willed herself to smile back at Amanda, the charge nurse, who was always ready with a quip. She could tell from Amanda’s expression it looked as forced as it felt. It appeared all she needed to do to rile Finn Morgan was exist!

      “Don’t let him get to you, Naomi.” Amanda gave her shoulders a quick squeeze as she handed her a mini gingerbread man. “We all bank on you and your sunny smile to keep us cheery, so don’t give him the satisfaction of taking it away.”

      Naomi blinked in surprise.

      “Don’t look so shocked. We’re all in awe of your energy.”

      “My energy?”

      “Of course. Who else around here runs up the stairs after running to work and running round with patients all day. Just watching you is exhausting! We all call you the Fizzy Physio.” Amanda laughed then leaned in close after giving a swift conspiratorial look around the reception area. “He’s all grizzly on the outside and perfectionist on the inside. We’ve all decided there’s a bit of gold in there somewhere but someone has yet to unearth it.”