Page 29 of The Doctor's Simple Life

“What do you mean?”

He hesitates. “Well, like… where are wegoing? We’re on a walk, but where to?”

I fix him with a stare. “Haven’t you ever been on a nature walk?”

“Nope,” he says with utter certainty, and I believe him. I guess for him, a vacation is lying on an exotic beach, and a workout is a session in the gym. I don’t suppose he has a lot of time for appreciating nature.

“Well, there’s the Silver Lake at the end of this trail. If it makes you feel better, we can say we’re going there.”

“Not really.”

I want to sayIf I’d known you were going to be this miserable, I wouldn’t have brought you, but that’s not true at all. I brought him out here because I knew exactly how much he would hate it. It’s just annoying that him hating it has to come with this running commentary.

He flinches hard, jumping back with a yelp. “Ouch!”

“What is it?” I gasp, jumping too, ready to spring into action if there’s a snake or spider lurking by his ankles.

But I can’t see anything. “Damn bugs,” he mutters. “I hate bugs.”

“You’ll be fine,” I huff. All that fuss for a mosquito!

“But my skin.” He frowns. “I hate getting marks on my skin.”

I glance down at his arms and legs, and to my irritation, his skin is really nice. He has a glowing tan, well-toned muscles, and unblemished hands. His clothes are immaculate too, no doubt designer. He’s wearing green shorts and a pale T-shirt, and they suit him perfectly.

Curse him for always looking so perfect.

“Come here,” I say, rummaging through my bag until my fingers brush against the spray bottle I brought for this exact purpose.

For a change, he doesn’t question me and obeys, coming towards me with a dubious look. I don’t say anything, so he doesn’t have a chance to run before I spray him generously with the bug spray. He flinches like a baby but says nothing.

I’m surprised. I was expecting at least some verbal complaint, but I’m less surprised when I don’t get a thank you.

Whatever. At least I’m in my favorite place on earth. Even if Reece was the most miserable and awful he had ever been, he still wouldn’t be able to ruin this place for me.

And then he does manage to surprise me. It’s maybe five miles max to the lake, and I had been expecting a constant stream of groaning about not being there already and it being such a long way, but instead we get to about halfway, and he says, “This is pretty nice, isn’t it?”

I almost fall over in surprise, turning to look at him. But he’s not looking at me. Instead, his blue eyes are transfixed by the forest, absorbing the calm of being here amongst the trees. There’s this look I’ve never seen before on his face, one that I can only describe as bliss.

“Yeah,” I say, though he isn’t really listening to me. “It is.”

CHAPTER 15

REECE

By the time we reach the lake, my feet are burning. I’m not an unfit guy by any means, but my usual form of exercise is playing tennis and going to the gym, not going for little walks and being smug about it.

Not that this was a little walk. Sienna claims that it was only five miles, but it felt like about fifteen. We’ve probably been out here for hours, and what’s worse is she’s expecting us to have to walk all the way back as well, on top of all the mosquito bites and sweat and the agony in my feet and calves.

The worst bit is, it’s actually been kind of nice. I’m pretending that I’ve hated it, and mostly I have, but for a few seconds here and there, I’ve managed to lose myself in the trees and understand why Sienna has brought me out here.

And when we reach the lake, I understand it even more. The lake is huge, and the water seems to shimmer like liquid silver, the reflections of the trees distorting and swaying within. It must be nice to walk around here — to hear the gentle splashing of the water, the occasional waterbird taking flight or coming in to land.

But right now, my feet hurt, so I keep any confessions to myself and flop on the ground.

Sienna stares down at me. “Come on. Get up.”

“I’m tired,” I say. “I’m stopping here.”

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