The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 74

Right. That was Ferris Sterling, Capital General's undisputed surgical god.

It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that we were husband and wife.

After getting metaphorically slammed into a wall, I trudged back to Anesthesiology. The head nurse waved it off completely unbothered. "If Dr. Sterling was that easy to pin down for dinner, he wouldn't be The Scalpel. Don't worry about it. It's getting late anyway. But hey, I heard you're an amazing cook. Why don't you just whip up a few of your signature dishes and bring them into the department tomorrow?"

Amber, standing nearby, eagerly chimed in. "Yeah! Most restaurants just use pre-packaged junk anyway. It's not healthy."

I hesitated, thinking it felt incredibly awkward to bring homemade food to the office instead of taking everyone out to a nice restaurant. But the head nurse patted my arm. "Oh, come on, we're all family here. We don't need all that fancy, formal nonsense."

She was so straightforward that I couldn't bring myself to be difficult. "Alright, dinner's on me tomorrow."

The head nurse was wrong about one thing, though. I was never naturally good at cooking. I had only spent years painstakingly perfecting my culinary skills for Ferris.

I prepared a full-course meal with sides, capped off with the BBQ Ribs Leon had specifically requested.

Because I used to pack lunches for Ferris all the time, I had a whole set of high-end takeout containers ready to go.

I brought the feast into the department right as shifts were ending. Everyone gathered around the table, their mouths practically watering as they praised the gorgeous spread of food.

The head nurse threw her arms out to block them. "Hold on, hold on! Leon isn't here yet. Swallow your drool and wait!"

Her dramatic performance actually made me laugh.

Five minutes later, the office door swung open. I expected Leon to walk in alone, but to my surprise, Zoey was trailing right behind him.

She greeted everyone with flawless politeness. "Leon mentioned Selena was personally cooking tonight, so I decided to crash the party. I hope you guys don't mind."

"If it isn't little Zoey from Neurosurgery," the head nurse said breezily, always the diplomat. "We're practically next-door neighbors. Make yourself at home."

Zoey, who had been happily munching away, spun around. Seeing Ferris, she instantly jumped up and practically skipped over to him, her eyes curving into delighted crescents. "I sent Ferris a picture of the food Selena made! See? I knew his stomach wouldn't be able to resist either."

Her overly affectionate tone, combined with the smug little look in her eyes, stunned everyone in the room into silence.

The only person who could act this relaxed and unbothered around the famously cold, emotionless Dr. Sterling was Zoey Zeller.

The head nurse quickly recovered. "Oh, well, Dr. Sterling hasn't eaten yet. Let's get him a plate!"

Zoey led Ferris to the table, pointing excitedly at the dishes. "Can you believe it, Ferris? Selena made all of this from scratch. Oh, and you have to try these BBQ Ribs. She made them specifically for Leon, and they are out of this world."

She gave me a bright thumbs-up, completely oblivious to the way Ferris's expression had rigidly locked into place.

What she didn't know was that every single dish of this Classic Continental Cuisine had been meticulously tailored to Ferris's exact palate. And she certainly didn't know that those very same BBQ Ribs used to be his absolute favorite.