Page 29 of Auctioned to Dr. Daddy

Either way, I’m glad that we ended up coming here.

“You know, Tabitha’s spending the night at a friend’s tonight. Have you met Mark yet?”

I shake my head. The day was so busy and filled with so many new people, even if I did meet him, I don’t remember it.

“He’s got a girl her age. They… Well, Tabby needs the friends, even if she doesn’t realize it,” says Nathan, with an almost wistful tone. I can tell that he just wants what’s best for his little girl. It’s important to have friends at that age; I was always at someone else’s house when I was younger.

Though sure, a lot of that had to do with being raised by a single mother who worked the same long hours that Nathan’s working now.

“The point is,” says Nathan, catching himself before he can go off on a tangent about his daughter. “I was thinking that you might want to get something to eat when we leave.”

“Okay,” I say, but then I decide that if we’re going to do this—pretend that we didn’t say things needed to stay hands-off now that we’re both working at Mercy General—then I’m going to enjoy it to the fullest.

I lean forward slightly, giving him the best flirtatious smile that I’ve got. “But we could skip going out, and just do dinner at my house?”

Those smoky eyes pull me straight in. Nathan stands up, offering me his hand and helping me to my feet. “That sounds like a much better idea than mine.”

“I have those occasionally,” I joke, trying not to go too red-faced when I realize how close we’re standing.

The cashier is staring at us from behind the counter. I tangle our fingers more tightly together and lean my shoulder against his arm. “Maybe I’ll have a few more bright ones on the way to my house.”

“I’m sure that you will,” says Nathan. “I get the feeling that you’ve always got a light bulb popping off in there.”

He pays the tab and the next thing I know, we’re out the door, arm in arm.

Chapter Thirteen

Nathan

Thethoughtofhavingdinner at Demi’s place has me sold, and I’m more than glad that we didn’t take separate cars. I know that we’re supposed to be trying to keep this hands-off, but in my heart, I know that’s a lost cause.

I pull open the driver’s side door and slide into it, snatching my phone. I left it here when we went into the coffee shop—a bad habit of mine.

Several missed calls; shit, I hope none of them are from the hospital. The last thing I want right now is to be called in and strongarmed into a second shift.

Not only am I exhausted, but the thought of having to miss out on another night with Demi— I just hate it.

“Work?” she asks and closes the door.

Her brows knit together in slight concern. I know that she’s thinking the same thing. It’s one of the worst parts about being a doctor. You always have to let the hospital come first.

But as I slide through the notifications with my thumb, I realize that none of them are actually from the hospital. They’re all from Emma. The phone calls are bad enough, but the texts… I can’t bring myself to do more than glance at the first one.

The moment that she calls me an asshole for ignoring her messages, I’m done.

At some point, I will have to actually deal with this. But right now, it’s a lot easier to just put it off.

“No,” I tell her. “We’re fine.”

Is it the coward’s move to just shove the phone back into the cup holder? Maybe. But for once in my life, I’m just fine being the coward. I’ve got an absolutely beautiful woman in the car with me, and what feels like the start of a good thing forming. I’d like to hold onto that good thing for a change.

Pulling out onto the main road, Demi asks, “Do you remember how to get to my place?”

“It’s just off seventh, right? Down the highway,” I recount.

My hand strokes over the length of her arm. Demi catches me by the wrist, pulling it over so that she can press her knuckles against it. The kiss is a gentle touch, but it instantly sends heat racing through my veins. I don’t think that a simple touch has ever turned on me quite as much and as thoroughly as this one.

It’s a good thing I do already know my way to the farm because that’s all I can think about. The way it felt to have her lips on me.

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