Page 32 of A Very Grumpy Doctor

As she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me, I realize that she’s right.

11

Alexi

Five Years Later…

I still hatethe crinkly paper.

Some things have changed.People have grown, fears have faded, lives have shifted in big, beautiful, unexpected ways.But the paper on an examination table?

Still awful.

I shift on top of it and wince as the sound echoes through the room.“I swear this stuff gets louder every year.”

Hugh looks up from where he’s standing beside me, one hand resting on my chart, the other braced on the edge of the counter.His dark green eyes move over me in that careful, assessing way I know well.

Doctor’s eyes.

I narrow mine at him.“Don’t.”

His eyebrows pull together.“Don’t what?”

“Look at me like that.”

“I’m just looking at my wife.”

“No, you’re looking at me like I’m a patient.”

His mouth twitches.“You are a patient.”

“I’m your wife first.”

“Yes, baby,” he says, setting the chart down and stepping between my knees.His hands settle on either side of my very round stomach.“And my patient, second.”

I give him a look.“Hugh.”

He leans down and kisses my forehead.“Fine.Wife first.Patient very distant second.”

“You took my blood pressure twice today,” I complain.

“It was slightly elevated the first time.”

“Because you took it right after telling me you wanted to check my ankles for swelling.”

His gaze drops immediately.

I grab his chin and force his face back up.“Do not even think about it.”

A low laugh rumbles out of him, and just like that, my irritation softens.

Annoying man.

Annoyingly handsome man.

Five years married to him, and he still has the power to make my stomach flip with one smile.

Well, either that or the baby is kicking again.