Page 18 of Coming Home

She dug her fingernails into her palms which were still hidden in her pockets.

Jack pointed to a large black roller bag near the check-in desk. “I’ve got new doctor gadgets to show you. Got time?”

“I do love doctor gadgets,” Dad chuckled and looked to Mom, who nodded. “The boss says I have time.” Placing a hand on Jack’s shoulder, he guided him toward the red door. “Let’s go to my office.”

“Wonderful.” Jack grabbed his bag, pivoting to Nat. “Natalie, great to see you again.”

DR. OWENS, NOT NATALIE!

With a tip of his head, Jack disappeared behind the red door with Dad.

“Did you take a lunch break, sweetie?” Mom looped her arm around Nat’s shoulder.

“I ate a yogurt while I was charting.”

“That’s not a proper lunch break. You know you get…what do you call it… hangry?” Mom made air quotes with her fingers. “You have a good thirty minutes before your next patient, why don’t you go grab something.”

Did Mom ever worry about Dad getting hangry? It was like being five again, with snack time and nap breaks. Any minute, Mom may pull out Wrinkles, the stuffed bulldog Nat had as akid, and tell her to take a nap. Was Nat Dr. Owens, or was she still that little girl with her Fisher-Price medical bag?

CHAPTER SEVEN

“You have found your style at last.”~Louisa May Alcott,Little Women

Nat stood, hands on hips, in front of the wardrobe. How was it possible to own so many clothes and still have nothing to wear on a date? Yes, Duncan had seen her naked. No doubt, he maintained an entire mental catalog of her questionable high school fashion. The thought did nothing to quell the nervous flutter in her stomach.

The dark-oak wardrobe shined with a rainbow of bright-colored clothes. Not a single little black dress to be had. At that moment, all she wanted was a sexy little black dress like Audrey Hepburn or a sophisticated red dress like she was… well, anyone but her.

“Ugh!” She fell onto the bed. Why didn’t she own a fucking little black dress? Who bought her clothes? Sailor Moon? “Double ugh!” she groaned.

Twisting on the bed, she grabbed her phone and texted Elle for backup. While Summer was her go-to for most things these days, the former high school fashionista lived in jeans, cut-offshorts, and T-shirts. Thank the goddess for her fashion-forward, soon-to-be sister who always had the perfect outfit for any occasion.

Ten minutes later, Elle stood in front of the wardrobe. Nat’s clothes and a few pieces that she’d brought were strewn across the bed. Elle was a good five inches taller. In noSisterhood of the Traveling Pantsalternative universe would the clothes that hugged her trim, athletic curves and accentuated her long legs look good on Nat. Thanks to Nat’s petite figure and short legs, she’d appear like a little girl playing dress up in her big sister’s clothes.

If things progressed with Duncan, there’d need to be some future shopping trips with Elle to level up her clothing. The vision of a makeover montage to some sugary pop song danced in her head.

“I don’t know why you think you have nothing to wear. This is darling.” Elle pulled out a silky knee-length peach dress.

“Darling is for little girls,” she grumbled like the little girl she was complaining about. “I don’t want to be darling. I want to be sexy and sophisticated.”

“Don’t we all.”

“You are. As vomit-inducing as this is to say, Clayton looks at you with a mixture of respect and pervy intentions. I want Duncan to look at me like that.”

Elle sat down beside her on the bed. “I snuck a peek while you were at the bar talking with Duncan, and he already looks at you with verypervyintentions. I think that’s why Noah went over there to play guard dog.”

Nat’s eye roll could likely be heard at the farmhouse where Clayton was making dinner. “I’m sure Clayton didn’t like it and ordered Noah to come over.”

“Noah went over there on his own accord. After Duncan waved, I was distracting Clayton with…” she trailed off with a devilish lift of her lips.

“No, no, no! I don’t want to know,” Nat groaned, standing up and grabbing the red dress that Elle brought. Her nose scrunched as she held the dress to her body in front of the gold-framed mirror.This won’t do.The soft cotton fabric of the dress would swim on her smaller hips and breasts.

Damn clothes punctuated the cruel reminder that in Perry, she was still seen as girlish rather than womanly. Little girls wore peach-colored dresses. Women wore sexy little black dresses. She was no Audrey Hepburn. No Elle Davidson. She was just Nat.

“I’ve never seen you get nervous like this before. Of course, this is my first experience with you dating someone.”

Nat placed the red dress on the bed. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date. For the last year, I’ve been so focused on finishing my residency and establishing myself in practice, I kind of forgot to dateorhave a life.”

“When was the last time you dated someone?”

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