“Did you forget what it means that he loves her? They are meant to be together; not him and me. Best of all? You would’ve had to deal with Ryan either way, but because he loves Claire, it isn’t because you’re watching him annoy the crap out of me—it’s because he’s annoying Claire.” I allowed a proud, wide smile to stretch across my face, even though Claire looked as if she wanted to shove her fist into the wall. Through my face.

Jared’s face relaxed, and he chuckled. “All true,” he said, leaning down to kiss me. “It could be worse. Much worse.” He looked to Claire. “Sorry. Good luck.”

She glared at both of us as we departed down the hall.

“Er…hey, Nina?” Claire called.

I turned, noticing again how tiny she was. Her skintight blue leggings and oversized, off-the-shoulder T-shirt made her seem even smaller. Her ankle-high boots scooted across the hospital floor as she approached.

“Yes?”

She laced her fingers on top of her head, clearly exasperated. “You really think I’m just being stubborn? You think that’s why he’s my Taleh? Because we’re meant for each other?”

“Yes,” I said. “You care about him, don’t you?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. She let one hand fall to her side; the other to her mouth. “I guess so.”.

I looked to Jared and gestured with my eyes to Claire. Jared frowned, but when I persistently jerked my head in Claire’s direction, he spoke up. “It’s okay, Claire. I can’t say I like the guy, but I don’t see another purpose for it to happen the way it did. Do you? Because if you do, I’d love to hear—mmph,” he puffed, jerking when I elbowed him in the ribs. I didn’t hurt him, of course, but I still enjoyed his reaction.

“No,” Claire whispered. “I don’t see another purpose.” She walked slowly to Ryan’s door, deep in thought. She turned the knob, and then shook her head. “Doesn’t mean I should muddy the waters.”

We followed her in, noticing her pulling her chair farther away from Ryan’s bed. She ate her burger quietly, and Ryan watched her for a moment, and then looked down when he realized he wouldn’t get the reaction he’d hoped for.

I felt bad for him. I knew all too well how awful it felt to love someone who insisted on keeping a distance. “So you’re feeling better? When do you report back for duty?”

“They gave me a week off. Too bad I wasn’t on duty when this happened. Could have saved me a chunk of change.”

“Don’t worry about the bill, Ryan,” I said. “It’s taken care of.”