Page 6 of A Very Grumpy Doctor

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

Daisy pulls out of the parking lot and drives toward my place.I’m dreading picking up the medicine tomorrow because I can’t really afford it.I’ve been scrambling to make ends meet for a while.Things have been rough at work for the last few months.My hours keep getting cut, and I’ll probably be out of a job soon.I don’t have the money to splurge on doctor’s visits or medicine right now, not with my mortgage payment due soon.I don’t want Daisy to know, though.She worries about me enough as it is.

“Do you want me to come in?”Daisy asks as we park outside my place.

“No, that’s okay.I’m going to eat my soup, take a shower and some medicine, then head to bed.”

“Sounds like a plan.Feel better, okay?And let me know if you need me to grab that medicine tomorrow.I can do it on my lunch break.”

“I will.Thanks.”

She blows me a kiss, waving as she backs out of my driveway and heads home.I let myself inside, taking a deep breath as I walk into the kitchen.Ignoring the stack of bills on the counter, I grab a bowl and pour my soup into it.

The spicy heat makes my nose run, so I blow it into a paper towel, adding a mental note to buy more Kleenex.

I pop two pills, praying that they fix everything, even though they haven’t in the last week.

My entire body feels heavy as I go to my room, strip, and turn on the shower.I crank the heat, hoping the steam will help to loosen up the congestion.

It doesn’t.

My nose is leaking like a faucet as I pull on my pajamas.With a curse, I stomp to the front door, shove my feet into my shoes, and head out into the darkening night.

The Market is only a few blocks away, so I head there, blowing my nose into some wadded-up toilet paper as I go.I sniffle as I head inside, grabbing a cart and beelining for the Kleenex aisle.

I’m debating how many to get when someone stops next to me.

“You’re supposed to be at home.Resting.”

Turning my head, my gaze collides with Dr.Mercer’s green eyes.

Ugh, why does he have to look so hot when I look like a hot mess?

“I will be.I just need to grab a few things first,” I say casually, tossing a large pack of Kleenex into my cart and quickly walking away.

He catches up to me easily, his long legs matching my strides.

I try to ignore him.Focus on his negative attributes.Like how annoyingly handsome he is.He looks so grumpy with his dark eyebrows pulled low over his eyes.He’s probably a jerk.

Except… during the exam this afternoon, he was respectful and calm.He was almost… gentle.He never once mentioned my weight, and he acted like he actually cared about me.Heck, even now he seems to be worried about me.

Dr.Mercer continues to follow me up and down the aisles, nodding as I toss some vitamin C into my cart, and frowning at the giant bag of peanut butter M&M’s I add next.

“Are you judging my eating habits?”I snap at him.

“No, just thinking that something with more nutritional value might help you feel better quicker.Maybe some orange juice?”

“I’m good.”

He doesn’t get annoyed like I thought he would.He simply smiles and nods, waving me forward.

I need to get out of here before he realizes I’m starting to have a crush on him!

I beeline for the checkout and, of course, he follows, getting into line behind me and helping me load all my things onto the belt.I step to the end, putting some distance between us as I bag up my things.When I move to pay, I realize he’s beaten me to it.

“You didn’t have to do that.I can pay for my own groceries,” I growl at him.