Page 13 of A Very Grumpy Doctor

I hear him moving around in my bedroom and hurry to get dressed.When I come back out, he’s gathering his things.I lean against the doorframe, watching him.It doesn’t take him long to notice, and he saunters my way, stopping in front of me.

I look up at him, and he smiles.He lifts his hand, and for a second, I think he’s going to cup my cheek.Instead, his palm presses against my forehead, and he takes my temperature.

Wait, am I disappointed?Do I want him to touch me?Kiss me?

“Oh my gosh,” I groan, pulling away from him with a grimace that has him laughing.

“I’ll check on you later, okay?”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.I want to do a lot of things for you, Alexi.A lot of things with you and to you, and?—”

Okay, so he’s feeling it too, this… whatever this is.Noted.

“I get the idea,” I say, my face heating.

I like Hugh’s attention.It’s surprising for sure since he looks like he does, and I’m just me, plus the whole him being a doctor thing.That should be a big strike against him, but oddly, it’s not.I like being around him.I like him taking care of me and arguing with me when necessary.

I like all of it.I just don’t know what to do about that.

I’ve never dated, never wanted to.I don’t know how to do any of this, and it seems that my instinct is to push him away.So, that’s not great.

“I left the soup in the fridge for you.Make sure you eat something for lunch that isn’t pure sugar.”

“I’ll try,” I say solemnly.

I walk him to the front door, which seems to have been fixed while I was sleeping.I open my mouth to thank him, then wince when I see my neighbors out for a walk.Their eyes bug when they see Hugh leaving my place.I wave weakly at them.

“Doing house calls, Dr.Mercer?”Susan, one of the older ladies who lives two doors down, asks sweetly.

“Only for special patients like Alexi,” Hugh replies, completely unfazed.

I gasp and duck back inside, slamming the front door.

My phone buzzes a second later.I pull it out and read the text from Hugh.

Hugh:Miss you already, baby.See you after work.

My stomach doessomersaults at his words, and I swallow hard.I guess asking him to sleep with me crossed the doctor/patient line last night.

Alexi:I’m not your baby.We’re not a couple.

Hugh: Yes, you are.And we will be.I’ll be taking you out for our first official date as soon as you’re feeling better.

Alexi: I’m going to be sick forever.

Hugh: That’s fine with me.I love making house calls when it’s you.

“Gah!”I toss my phone onto the couch.

I jump when it immediately rings, thinking he’s calling me now, but when I look, it’s Daisy’s name on the screen.

“Hey,” I answer.

“Hey!How are you feeling today?You sound better.”

“Yeah, I feel a lot better.”