Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right



He spun her around, their laughter cutting through the chaos of the airport like a rom-com on full blast. The crowd? Totally eating it up. A few claps, some knowing smiles-yeah, they were that couple.

Lena clung to Nate, grinning like she'd just won the lottery.

Nothing else mattered. Not even Retta, who strutted out of arrivals with her patented death glare. Lena clocked her but brushed it off. Retta could sulk all she wanted; Lena was too wrapped up in her "main character moment.”

"Dr. Lane, your boyfriend's so handsome!" a voice called.

Turning, Lena spotted a woman juggling a baby. Oh, right-one of her patients. Flashing a smug smile, she leaned into Nate. "Of course he is. He's mine."

"Congrats! And I hope you two have an adorable baby soon-just like mine!" the woman added, grinning.

"Noted!" Lena shot back with a playful thumbs-up.

Unbothered by the interruption, they walked out hand in hand.

"You're still mad at me, huh?" Nate asked, his voice cautious. He wasn't clueless; he knew he'd screwed up.

But often, his work left him with no choice.

"Totally," Lena said with a nod. "But I've already forgiven you."

To everyone else, Lena was a lifesaving doctor with a superhero glow. But to Nate? She was just his girl, craving

com-com moments and sugary snacks.

He kissed her fingers. "My girlfriend is so forgiving."

"Don't get used to it," Lena warned.

Forgiving wasn't her thing-not outside the job, anyway. She didn't want to play the saint here. With Nate, she wanted to be selfish, spoiled even.

Nate knew exactly what she wanted, but life didn't always let him deliver. Still, he tried." Lena, I'm sorry.

"I don't want apologies. I want today. Take me out for something delicious, watch a movie with me, go cycling-everything I've been dreaming about while you've been gone."

For once, she let it all out-the little things that had been quietly breaking her heart. Like when she saw couples riding bikes together and wished Nate were there, too.

Guilt flickered across his face, but he didn't let it ruin the moment. Instead, he smiled and

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said, "Let's do all of it."

Later, Lena held out a piece of her roasted sweet potato, dripping with cheese. "This is everything. Try it!"

Nate took a bite and nodded. "Not bad."novelbin

"Next stop, movie night," Nate suggested, casually taking the lead.

A date without a movie? Total flop vibes. Weirdly, though, they'd never actually watched one together before.

"Can you even sit still for two hours?" Lena teased.

"I can today. I'm all yours," Nate said, silencing his phone and sliding it into his pocket. "You sure this won't blow up in your face later?" Lena asked, half-skeptical.

Nate pulled her closer, his arm snug around her waist. "No work till tomorrow. Today, I'm just your boyfriend."

And just like that, every bit of frustration she'd carried-the missed calls, lonely nights- faded away. It wasn't that Nate didn't care. It was just that, as a heart specialist, life-and-death emergencies didn't exactly wait for his personal plans.