Page 39 of Dr. Baby Daddy

He nods as I snatch a piece of pepperoni from the tray. “Yeah. I have to meet the new residents, and then Victor volunteered me to show them around. Which means that I get to spend most of the day looking for the doctors who manage to get themselves lost.”

“Sounds like an exciting day. You’re going to have a great time.” I lean forward on the table, the breeze ruffling my hair. “You think you’re going to come over after work?”

He shakes his head and my heart sinks to my feet. “I doubt it. I’m going to be there for most of the day, and by the time I get home, you’re going to be at The Gilded Raven. I’ll probably be asleep long before you get off work.”

“Make sure you save all your stories about the new residents for when you’re over next, then.” I pluck a piece of cheese from the tray. “I’m going to want to hear all about it.”

He launches into a story about the previous round of residents while I sit there and wonder what’s going on between the two of us.

We spend most of our nights together, and Oliver smiles more than he ever did when we first met. We spend time with our friends, and he comes to most of my shows. He says that he’s willing to meet my family, but we still haven’t talked about what’s really happening between the two of us.

I can’t ask him, though. I’ve just barely broken through to him. The last thing I want to do is send him running in the opposite direction again.

CHAPTER 17

OLIVER

Izzy hums to herself as she walks out of the theater and into the sunlight. I push myself off the bench I’ve been leaning on and close the distance between us, pulling her into a tight hug.

She laughs and tosses her arms around my shoulders. I spin her around in a circle before setting her back down and kissing her.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve spent the last three days without seeing her. Our schedules haven’t lined up at all.

Though we’ve been texting when we can, it still isn’t the same as being there with her. I didn’t think that I would ever miss waking up next to someone until I met her.

“I didn’t know you were going to come by.” Izzy leads the way down the street toward one of the little Italian places she loves. “I was just going to grab some dinner and head home to watch a movie.”

“Well, I hope you don’t mind having some company.” I take her practice bag and sling it over my shoulder. “I got off work early today since Victor wanted to pick up some hours.”

Izzy smiles and bumps her hip into mine as we wait for the traffic to slow before crossing the road. “How is work going? Those new residents running you off your feet yet?”

I groan and shake my head. “You wouldn’t believe what some of them are doing. I’m starting to think this is all just a wild game of pretend. One of the guys didn’t even know how to find a vein. Not sure how he managed to get through medical school without that, but he did.”

Izzy’s laughter makes the hard day a little easier. She pulls open the door to the restaurant, the scent of basil and tomato sauce hitting me immediately. My stomach growls as she makes her way to a table in the back and picks up a menu.

I drop down in the seat across from her and set her bag between my feet. “I’m so tired of them already, and I’ve only spent a couple days with them.”

“You’re going to do great with them, even if they are driving you insane right now.”

A waiter drops off a couple of glasses of water and takes our order before disappearing. I lean closer to Izzy, tracing one of the red squares on the checkerboard tablecloth. She sips her water and leans back in her chair a little.

“How are the rehearsals going?”

Izzy shrugs one shoulder. “They’re going. The director is a pain in the ass, but we’ve only got a couple months until opening night. It’s coming up fast.”

“Aren’t all directors a pain in the ass in one way or another?”

She cracks a smile. “Yeah. Some of them are. He’s a good guy, but he thinks that everything is going to be perfect, and there is literally no way for everything to be perfect.”

As much as I love my job, there’s something about listening to Izzy talk about hers that makes me wish I had pursued music. It’s what I really wanted to do for a long time, and then the stage fright got to me, and I gave up on it.

Her passion is the next best thing. I love the way her face lights up when she talks about performing. Getting to sit in the crowd at The Gilded Raven and watch the way she comes to life is all I want to do with my Friday nights.

I sit back as our plates of food come out. “I’m sure that everything is going to be the best it can be, especially with you playing.”

She sticks her tongue out at me. “You’re just saying that to try and get in my pants.”

I snort. “Iz, I’m always trying to get in your pants, and most of the time, I’m pretty successful at it.”

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