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“Whatcha doin’?” I ask Olivia with a brow popped.
“Talking to Elle.” She innocently blinks up at me.
“Mm-hmm.” I give her a smirk. “Let’s find you something to do in your office.”
“Okay!” Olivia says, then waves at Elle before running past me.
“Sorry about that.”
Elizabeth glances at me, and I see a different fire behind her eyes. “Oh, don’t be. She’s fun. Just wish I was as spunky at seven thirty in the morning.”
“Right. Me too,” I offer and force myself to walk away. Olivia’s already set out a coloring book and dumped three hundred crayons on my desk.
“Can I be a doctor today too? Like you and Elle?”
“You can be whatever you wanna be, sweetie. Doctor. President. CEO. Your choice.”
“Oh, yes! President Olivia!” she exclaims.
She gets to work on her Disney coloring page that’s a castle. Thirty minutes later, the clinic opens, and people enter with their animals. When I’m with a patient, Elle entertains Olivia. She’s obviously great with kids by how much Olivia has already attached herself to her. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t understand why. Elizabeth is a people person and can make anyone feel important, especially little girls who don’t get enough attention at home from their mother.
After my third patient leaves, a delivery person enters with a huge bouquet of red and white flowers.
“Those are beautiful,” I tell Beverly after she signs for them.
“I know. Elle’s one lucky lady.” She grabs them and walks toward Elle, who’s in my office. The shock is evident in Elizabeth’s voice when Beverly tells her they’re for her.
“So who’s Stephen?” Beverly asks just as Trina walks over.
Elizabeth nervously laughs but thankfully doesn’t give a response.
“Oh I see, you’re the kiss and don’t tell type,” Trina teases. I enter the break room and overhear Olivia ask more questions.
“Is Stephen your boyfriend?” Olivia blurts out.
“No. No. He’s just a friend.” Elizabeth sounds adamant, and damn, I hope that’s true.
“For now,” Beverly taunts. Once the conversation has ended, I make my way back to Olivia, but not before Beverely passes me. I feel heat rush to my face because I know Stephen’s not the man for her. While he’s a great doctor, he’s also a manwhore. Elizabeth deserves someone who hasn’t been with half of Texas. He’d use her, then leave her brokenhearted because commitment has never been his thing.
Olivia still has Elizabeth under interrogation. “Can you stay in here with me for a while?”
“If your dad is okay with it.” Elle turns and looks at me with a grin.
“Mommy leaves me alone all the time, and I’m a good girl. I don’t want to be by myself.”
There’s a long pause as I try to comprehend what she just said.
“Home alone?” Elizabeth finally asks, and I’m grateful she doesn’t let the info slide.
Olivia’s never admitted anything like this before. Anger brushes over me, and I’m two seconds from calling my lawyer.
“She only leaves for a little while. I don’t get into trouble,” Olivia explains.
“You should tell your daddy about this,” Elizabeth offers, her voice still light and cheery.
“Mommy said Daddy can’t know. But she didn’t say you couldn’t.”
Elle laughs softly. “Okay. It’s our secret.”
Soon Elle gets up to see the next patient, and I enter my office.
Her emerald eyes meet mine. “We should talk later.”
“It’s okay.” I nod and point at my ear when Olivia isn’t looking. Elizabeth understands and gives me a sad smile before going to the first exam room.
As Elle handles the next few appointments, Olivia talks my head off about getting a pony.
“And who’d feed him every day?” I ask.
She points at me. “You, Daddy!”
“Me? But you’d need to feed him if he’s your pony,” I say with encouragement.
“I would when I’m here, but you have to do it when I go back to Mommy’s. I asked her for a puppy, and she said no.” Olivia sticks out her bottom lip, and guilt floods me. If the tables were turned, and I had Olivia as much as Vivian does, she’d have all the animals she wanted.
I tell Olivia I need to grab a file from the front, and she follows me.
“Do you have any Thanksgiving plans?” Beverly asks Elle, who’s leaning against the front desk.
“Oh yeah. I’ll have a big turkey lunch with my parents and brother, then afterward, we’ll go to the B&B for a dessert buffet. My cousin Maize and her employees make a ton of pies, bars, and cookies. Since she’s pregnant now, I’ve kinda volunteered to help her bake.”
“I love pie! Can I come?” Olivia asks.
“Olivia,” I interject, finding the file I needed. “We have plans with Grammy and Poppy,” I remind her.
Her smile falls and her bottom lip quivers, which means she’ll start crying at any moment. Since she was up early and didn’t sleep well last night, I knew she’d eventually get cranky.
