Page 37 of Dr. Grump's Surprise Baby

She picked up an armload of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. Dominic heard the shower running.

If this had been any other morning, with any other woman, he would have knocked on the door and asked to join her.

He wanted that with Emily even more than he would have with someone else.

But he took a deep breath and turned away instead, knowing that he had to let this go. He had given into temptation, but now it was time to rejoin the real world.

By the time he was dressed and ready for day two of the conference, Emily was stepping out of the bathroom. The only concession in her appearance to the fact that this wasn’t just another day was the fact that she wasn’t wearing any makeup — she’d had a bit on yesterday, although he was used to seeing her without it at the hospital. The pantsuit she was wearing fit her well. Dominic felt as if he could unfocus his eyes and see her as nothing more than his intern.

That was a good sign. Maybe they would be able to move on from this without too much trouble.

“Why don’t you head down?” he suggested. “I don’t think we ought to go together.”

“Probably a good idea,” she agreed.

He thought she might say something else, but apparently she’d decided there was nothing more to say. She disappeared through the door and pulled it closed behind her without looking back, and Dominic found himself on his own in his hotel room, feeling strangely empty inside.

CHAPTER 15

EMILY

“Dr. Berger is staring at you,” Sara hissed.

Emily was hard-pressed not to look over her shoulder and see what was going on. “He’s probably just making sure I don’t mix up these blood samples,” she said, reaching for the label that was coming off the printer.

“Oh, please. When was the last time you mixed up blood samples? He’s watching you for another reason. What’s going on?”

Emily shrugged. “I have no idea,” she said. “You can’t expect me to explain Dr. Berger.”

The truth was that she was a little annoyed with him. They had agreed that what had happened between the two of them needed to be kept in confidence, and now he was staring at her publicly, where other people could notice? It was so ill-advised. And the interns were gossipy, too. They were likely to come up with rumors about what was happening between their boss and their fellow intern, and if Dr. Berger was going to keep acting this way, he was going to make it her responsibility to quell those rumors.

But on the other hand… she did like it that he was staring at her. She stood a little taller, imagining his eyes on her, wondering what he was thinking. Was he picturing her as she had been in their shared hotel room?

It was strange to feel sensual while she labeled blood samples, but it did make the work day more interesting.

“Well, all I know is that he’s looking at you funny,” Sara said. “It’s like… I don’t know. It’s like he’s seeing you for the first time or something.”

It was almost impossible not to turn and look, but Emily managed it. “I don’t know what his problem is,” she said, forcing a shrug. “I’m sure I’ll get to hear all about it later, though. You know how he is.”

“Oh, yeah, I know how he is,” Sara said, apparently successfully distracted at last. “Did I tell you what he did this morning while I was trying to record a patient’s vitals? He was all over me. It was like I’d never held a stethoscope before! I swear, he’s been worse than ever lately.”

Emily hummed agreement and let Sara take over the conversation, relieved that — for now, at least — she had managed to avoid talking about this any further.

But she knew now that it was going to have to be addressed, one way or another.

She got her chance the following morning. As usual, she had arrived at the hospital early. As usual, Dr. Berger was alreadythere. She found him pouring his morning coffee in the break room with his back to her.

For a moment, she just stood and admired him. Now that they had been intimate, she found herself noticing things about him that she never had before. His pants fit him well enough that she could see the line of his thigh muscles. That sight triggered all sorts of pleasant memories, and every one of those memories was more enjoyable than the conversation she was about to initiate.

Maybe I don’t have to say anything to him.

He turned around and caught sight of her. “Morning,” he said, his voice stiff.

“Hey.” She didn’t feel like herself, talking to him like that. It felt like she was talking to a stranger. She closed her eyes briefly, knowing that it was a mistake to allow things to move in that direction. It was better to try to maintain a calm relationship with each other.

She opened her eyes. “I need to speak to you,” she said.

“About what?”

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