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Despite Doctor Pierce’s bed—oh my goodness, if someone had told past Cricket that she’d spend the night in Doctor Owen Pierce’s bed, she would’ve never believed it—being exceedingly comfortable, Cricket woke feeling like she’d barely slept at all. Even though according to the clock on his nightstand, she’d been asleep for fourteen hours.
And according to her bladder, she needed to pee like crazy. She raced next door to the bathroom to take care of that and while she washing her hands, noticed a sticky note on the mirror.
First of all, Doctor Pierce’s handwriting didn’t do anything to challenge the stereotype that doctors had terrible handwriting. His was atrocious. Calling it chicken scratch would be an insult to chickens.
But when she managed to read it, it was very thoughtful. Which also tracked with what she’d learned about Doctor Pierce since yesterday.
Your pajamas are very cute but not warm enough to be wandering around the house in. Help yourself to the robe on the back of the door. I left some socks in the pocket for you.
It wasn’t signed, but then again, who else would leave a note? He hadn’t said anything about having roommates, and she sure as heck would’ve noticed a wedding ring. Plus, he didn’t seem like the kind of man to be unfaithful. Then again, people weren’t always what they seemed.
Shoving that unwelcome thought from her mind, Cricket patted the robe and found the socks—they were a fawn color and fuzzy except for the bottoms which looked like leather, and they felt brand new. She tugged them onto her feet which were a bit chilly being bare on the hard bathroom floor. She’d brought slippers but hadn’t taken the time to put them on yet, and now she wouldn’t. It was probably silly, but she relished these being fromhim.
She should maybe consider calling him “Owen” now that they’d slept in the same bed, but it seemed more imperative than ever to keep some distance between her heart and the sexy, kind doctor. Cricket couldn’t let herself fall for someone who’d shown no interest and who’d only been nice. Yeah, she definitely needed to guard her heart, it was bruised enough already. So “Doctor Pierce” it would continue to be.
Cricket wasn’t so determined to keep her distance that she didn’t wrap herself up in the soft navy blue bathrobe, though. Oh no, she was going to take full advantage of being surrounded by Doctor Pierce’s shower fresh smell and pretend like it was his body keeping her warm instead of his robe.
Warmer now, she was tempted to poke her head in the rooms upstairs that apparently weren’t guest bedrooms. But she wouldn’t snoop. Her family had raised her better than that. While she might not have inherited their stoic natures, she did try to live up to their morals. So down the stairs she went, curiosity rampant and unsatisfied.
When she got to the first floor, Doctor Pierce was running on a treadmill in what she assumed was the living room, and holy barnacles. She didn’t have a workout kink, or a sweat fetish, but damn if he didn’t look good in a grey tee and some black athletic shorts. His limbs were pumping, his chest was heaving with effort, and perspiration darkened his shirt in patches and made his hair stick to his forehead.
His expression went from grim determination to a big smile when he noticed her standing there, and he hopped off the treadmill.
“Morning, Cricket.”
Oh. She forgot she’d told him her name last night. She usually didn’t tell people because she’d found they took “Evelyn” a lot more seriously than “Cricket.” But hearing it from Doctor Pierce stirred up that gooey hot cocoa center from yesterday.
“Good morning.”
“How are you feeling?” he asked, using a hand towel hung on the treadmill to wipe away some of his sweat, and then taking a drink from a water bottle he’d stashed on the machine.
He wasn’t smiling anymore, but why would he be? She sure didn’t have much to smile about. Except for Doctor Pierce taking care of her, yesterday had been the worst day she’d had in a long time and she didn’t anticipate things getting better anytime soon, if ever. Her sinuses started to burn and her throat thickened thinking about it. What was she going to do?
“Fine. I’m fine,” she told him, trying to sound chipper, but ending up sounding more like a goose having its neck wrung. Damn feelings.
“I don’t think that's true.”
He was using that stern voice from last night, and it made her knees wobbly. In both good and bad ways. It didn’t help matters any when he closed the distance between them in a few long strides and looked down at her.
Did he know how he made her feel? Could he tell how hard her heart was beating and how desperately she wanted to lick her lips and call him “Daddy”?
“What did we discuss last night?”
Her brain smog was usually better in the morning, but it was still hanging around pretty good today, clouding her memory and obscuring her vocabulary. “Um…”
“We discussed that you don’t lie to me. If you don’t tell me the truth, I can’t take care of you properly. So tell me honestly, how are you feeling?”
It had been a very long time since she told anyone the whole truth about how she felt. A lot of times her feelings were too big for people. And her doctor didn’t believe her or thought losing weight was the solution to every problem so what was the point in being honest with him?
“I don’t think you want me to do that,” she muttered, looking down while she wrung her hands in front of her and tried to dig her fuzzy-socked foot into the floor.
A couple seconds later, she was looking into Doctor Pierce’s olive green eyes, because his hooked finger was tipping her chin up. “I’m a pretty tough guy, Cricket. And not too shabby in the brains department. So why don’t you let me decide what I do and do not want?”
“Okay,” she agreed reluctantly, but with a fresh bloom of hope in her heart. What if he really did want to know? And even better, what if he actuallylistened? She didn’t dare to dream that he would want all of her, but this was still wonderful.
* * *
Seeing Cricket in his robe, come down his stairs, made it feel like she was already his. It was hard not to get too attached to that idea but he was doing his best. There were a whole lot of things standing in between now and that being true.
