“I’m perfectly calm.”
“You crumpled your patient file.”
Damn it.
“I’m going to check on my first appointment,” I said, standing abruptly.
“Sure thing.” Fitz’s voice followed me as I headed for the door. “But for what it’s worth? She asked about you.”
I stopped.
I shouldn’t have stopped. Stopping was a mistake. Stopping showed interest, and showing interest was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid.
But I stopped anyway.
“What did she ask?” The words came out before I could stop them.
“Just if you were around. If you’d be back soon.” Fitz’s tone was maddeningly casual. “She seemed... I don’t know. Nervous? Like she was expecting you and got me instead.”
She’d been expecting me.
She’d been nervous.
She’d asked about me.
“She was probably just concerned about being late,” I said, forcing my voice back to neutral. “Cate’s punctual. It’s one of her few consistent qualities.”
“Right. Punctual.” Fitz was definitely laughing at me now. “Well, I’ll let you get to your appointments. But, Gabriel?”
I didn’t turn around.
“If you’re not interested, you should probably tell your face that. Because when I mentioned coffee, you looked like you wanted to commit murder.”
He left before I could respond.
Which was good, because I didn’t have a response that wouldn’t prove his point.
I stood in the hallway, crumpled file in hand, and tried to remember why hiring Cate had seemed like a good idea.
She was good with Megan. She was reliable—mostly. She made my daughter laugh and eat vegetables and actually look forward to seeing her every day.
Those were all excellent reasons to keep her employed.
They were not reasons to care whether Fitz asked her out.
They were not reasons to feel like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed when he’d described her as “adorable.”
They were definitely not reasons to spend my entire morning replaying the moment she’d stood in my hallway, looking at me with those wide eyes, her voice slightly breathless as she’d said “Good morning” like it was a question instead of a greeting.
I had patients to see. A practice to run. A daughter who needed stability and routine and a father who had his shit together.
I did not have time to be jealous of my colleague flirting with my nanny.
Even if the thought of Cate having coffee with Fitz made me want to break something.
Preferably Fitz’s face.
Mrs. Patterson was waiting in exam room two. The Kowalski twins were probably already bouncing off the walls in exam room three. My eleven o’clock consultation would arrive expecting professionalism and expertise.
