Page 67 of Secret Baby for Dr. Grump

The trying-not-to-bump-into-Luke and trying-not-to-be-seen-together-with-Luke don’t last long as Luke comes back while I’m in the file room. I can hear him chatting with someone, so when he calls for me, my shoulders stiffen, and I get nervous all over again.

Thankfully, it’s just James, who has been pretty nice and friendly since I met him. He continues discussing work with Luke and asks how I’m doing with my workload, never once mentioning our tans or asking how we spent our weekends. My shoulders relax when he finally leaves the office.

Luke’s gaze, however, stays on me.

“What’s wrong, Liv?”

Leave it to him to figure out how uncomfortable I am and call me out on it. He’s good at that—good at comforting me, too, or finding ways to distract me. But since he’s part of the reason this time, I hesitate.

“Nothing.”

The look he gives me tells me he’s not buying it. He stands up.

I take a step back.

“Liv?”

I love that Luke knows me better now. But I also hate it. It means that I can’t hide things from him that easily anymore, but I at least have to try.

“We’re both tanned.”

At my answer, he blinks. “What?”

I take a deep breath. “People see us together since we work closely together, and we both got tanned at the same time. On the same days off and the same weekend. People will speculate and it’s dangerous.”

Silence. He tilts his head.

“Did someone ask you about it, Liv? Why we’re both tanned on the same weekend?”

Mark. But I don’t say it out loud, not wanting to add fuel to the fire. I know he’s still not over his loathing for the guy, and I don’t want another confrontation between the two men that will hurt Luke’s reputation further.

I shake my head. “No.”

Either Luke isn’t convinced by my lie or he still thinks I’m worried. He sighs.

“Liv, I saw George and Tanya earlier.”

I frown, scanning the names in my head until they click. “What about Dr. Riley and Dr. Reed?”

“They’re both also tanned. On the same days off. And they were together with me in the operating room earlier, but no one suspects them of having an affair just because of it.”

That…makes sense. I recall my interaction with Wanda earlier and how she didn’t make speculations. Maybe she hasn’t seen Luke yet.

But James also didn’t say anything.

What if it’s just Mark trying to get into my head? Probing because he wants to add meaning to Luke defending me before?

I’m getting a headache just thinking about it, so I take another deep breath. “I’m just saying it would be better to be on the safe side. To be careful with our interactions.”

There’s more silence as he takes in my words. I wait for the protest, but a wistful expression comes instead.

“Does that mean I can’t touch you anymore?”

Dark eyes are steady on mine. I don’t realize he’s already comforting me with that look alone until my entire body relaxes and I grow reluctant. Not touch Luke anymore?

That’s absurd. Impossible.

“Well…I meant not in public. Or here, when we’re at risk of being walked in on.”

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