Page 27 of Auctioned to Dr. Daddy

Once the coffee is brewing, I move to stand behind her. One hand settles on the back of the couch. We’re not touching, but we could be if I took a half-shuffled step forward.

I can feel the heat of her body so achingly close to mine.

The urge to kiss the back of her neck is hard to resist.

Demi says, “Look at that.”

I blink, looking at the TV for the first time. I had been so busy staring at her, I hadn’t realized that the weather was on, or that the report looked dour.

Lillian Daze, the reporter, is gesturing at the map behind her. “As you can see, this is looking like it’s going to be the largest front that the city of Seattle has had to deal with since The Columbus Day Storm, in the early sixties. We have this storm front here, looking like it’s going to sweep in on the seventh.”

The map behind her shows the first storm front moving over the city, projecting heavy winds and high rainfall.

Lillian continues, “And then we have this one, coming up from the south the very next day. When the two storms combine…”

The map changes again, mirroring her words. It turns into a slew of red and deep purple, showing that the city is going to be absolutely thrashed by the upcoming weather disaster.

“We’ll be facing a serious weather catastrophe,” Lillian finishes.

“Wow,” says Demi. “That looks like it’s going to be really bad.”

I brace a hand between her shoulder blades, rubbing there for a moment before taking a step backward. “Did you get those tires of yours changed?”

“We still have a few days before this, right?” Demi frowns, just a little. “I’ll make sure to do it tomorrow before I come in for the night shift. That storm looks like it’s going to be hell when it hits.”

I nod in agreement.

The coffee pot gives a single beep, signaling that it’s done.

I turn to make us each a mug, trying not to dwell too much on the fact that one side of the hospital is already in fairly poor shape.

The director doesn’t want to deal with the legal intricacies of having one of his doctors pay for repairs, despite having offered to help twice, and I’m fairly certain that one of the other doctors, Jackson, has done the same.

We’ll be lucky if it doesn’t cause serious damage to the building… And even luckier if the storm doesn’t have all doctors scrambling to get on deck.

But I don’t think that the good luck is going to last that long. There aren’t enough rabbit feet jangling about on key chains to do it.

Chapter Twelve

Demi

Attheendofthe day, I meet up with Nathan in the lobby of the hospital, just like he asked.

There’s another doctor standing and talking with him, so I hang back a few feet. Nathan’s friend is instantly recognizable from the journals and magazines that I’ve read.

Kurt Lockwood, in the flesh.

His wedding ring glints on his hand when he waves it through the air. “I’m being serious. Lori would love to have you over, especially now that we’re not sprinting off to the bar every night,” Kurt says.

“I make too many bad decisions when I’m drinking,” says Nathan with a laugh. “But fine, tell her that I’ll come by for dinner sometime. Probably not this week, though. I get the feeling we won’t be able to even turn around twice once it starts raining.”

Kurt says something under his breath that I can’t hear, and Nathan turns to look at me. Busted!

I give him a smile and head over after he waves to me. “Sorry, I didn’t want to come and interrupt.”

“You’re fine,” says Nathan, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Kurt, this is Demi Winters. She just transferred here from St. Peters. She’s shadowing me.”

“Oh, so you’re the one that all the nurses are talking about.” Kurt laughs. “I’d apologize for that, but I’m not too sorry about it. I’d rather you be the current talking point than me.”

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