Complicated Relationships (The Southern Devotion Series Book 3) by Amy McClung Page A

are?” 
    “Tristan. I helped a damsel in distress, and this is what happened.”
    She hissed slightly, “The knight and shining armor gig isn’t all it’s cracked up to be is it? I’m sure she was grateful.” 
    Tristan grinned, “I hope so. I’d do it again if I had to.” 
    Her tone grew very serious as she said, “Thank you, Tristan. From the bottom of my heart.”
    The nurse stepped into the waiting room at that moment and called my name, “Tristan Jacobs?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    Lanie stayed in the waiting room while I took a long hallway to a white room. I propped myself up on the plush table with a lovely paper sheet draped across it. The nurse asked me a barrage of questions that seemed to not pertain to anything as far as my hand, but I knew it was routine to get a medical history first. “Let’s take a look at that hand.” She unwrapped the bar towel I used to staunch the blood. “This will sting a bit,” she said before using alcohol soaked gauze to clean the blood away. I hissed in pain and ground my teeth trying to maintain my manhood when I’d like to curl up into a ball and cry with a teddy bear like a small child. I may be a wuss on the inside, but no one will ever see me show it. “How did you do this?” she asked, covering the wound with a clean piece of gauze.
    “Chased a mugger, got the purse back but not before he tried to stab me.” 
    “Well, you’re lucky that it looks pretty superficial. I’m not even sure stitches are necessary. Hang tight, the doctor will be in momentarily and will let you know for sure.” The final diagnosis said that the wound was superficial. He used glue to seal it instead of stitches, and then bandaged it with gauze, gave me a tetanus shot, and sent me on my way. Lanie sat in the waiting room reading a magazine peacefully waiting for my return.
    For a brief second, I stood and took in her appearance. She’s easily one of the most beautiful women I’ve seen in a long time. She had a cute habit of twirling her hair around her finger as she read. Her nose crinkled in disgust as she must have read something weird; it made me chuckle which got her attention.
    She closed the magazine and said, “Hey, is everything alright?”
    “Yep, superficial cut, no stitches needed. Some hero I am.”
    She reached for my hand, brought it to her mouth and kissed it gently. “You’re still my hero. What about now for a date? Any last minute cancelation reasons?” she asked with a wink.
    “Nope. I texted my boss; they’ve covered me for the night. Where can we get dinner this late?” Things were looking up for sure now. We chose one of the popular late night eating spots in Nashville, Waffle House. There’s one every few miles and they’re open 24/7; it’s the drunk twenty-something survival restaurant. My text alert went off as soon as we sat down. Lanie looked apprehensive that I was about to bail again.
    “It’s my sister, Macy. My roommate apparently went to see her and let her know about my hand but that I’m fine. I’m staying, don’t worry.”
    Her shoulders deflated as the worry eased off. Once the conversation got going, we lost all track of time. We weren’t aware that we talked the night away until she gasped and said, “The sun’s coming up.”
    Running up to the counter, I handed the woman more than enough money and told her to keep the change. I grabbed Lanie’s hand and led her outside. “Where are we going?” she asked as I pulled her across the street. There was a small hilltop that we ran up. We sat on the grass and watched the sunrise paint the sky in front of us.
    Being smooth, I stretched before dropping an arm around her shoulders. “Nice move,” she quipped. The later it got, the sadder I became for the night to come to an end. Walking back to her car, I knew I needed to make my move. She paused with the door open, then turned around. “Do I need to take you to your car at the club?”
    “No,” was all I said before I