Page 24 of The Grumpy Doc's Surprise Delivery

“There are plenty of other people obeying its call,” I point out. “We don’t have to as well.”

She gives me a pleading, wide-eyed look, one that’s the closest you can get to begging without saying anything. “But we’ll have fun.”

“I’m concerned about you over-exerting your ankle,” I say, floundering for an excuse. “You should still be trying to take it easy.” She opens her mouth to argue, but before she can say anything, I add, “And anyway, I’m not in swimwear. I can’t swim like this.”

When she doesn’t argue back at me, it’s more surprising than if she had. “Fine.” She sighs. “But we are going swimming later in the week. We have to.”

Avoiding the swimming part of her sentence, I say, “So there will be a later?”

“Maybe.” Though her tone is elusive and the pout on her lips suggests unhappiness, there’s still that glint in her eye that proves she’s not actually upset. In fact, pouting like that just makes her lips look soft and plush and delicious.

Stop it, I tell myself. That is not the point of this week. I’m just spending time with her to stave off the boredom and loneliness. I can get over being attracted to her. “Maybe tomorrow,” I say. “Depending on how you’re feeling.”

“I’ll make sure I’m feeling fine, then.”

Glancing one last time at the ocean, Emma reclines onto the lounger, her arms over her head as she settles in. I look away so she doesn’t catch my eyes drifting to her breasts, which aremagnificently on display. But I have a lot of respect for her, and I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.

I turn to my own bag and grab my book, one about neurosurgery. It’s really interesting and covers a lot of cases that I wouldn’t have known how to solve. Not that I am a neurosurgeon, so I would never be in that position. But I like to learn.

And if I’m spending the rest of the day lying down, I should at least fill my head with something useful.

I sit back up on my lounge chair and let out a chuckle when I see Emma has grabbed her own book — an autobiography of a trailblazing female surgeon.

“Great minds think alike,” I say.

“I get bored if I just sit,” she explains. “I brought enough to read for weeks.”

All I do is smile at that.

I don’t get a whole lot of reading done, though. I’m distracted and keep glancing over at Emma, looking at what she’s doing, trying to memorize the way she looks, here and now.

To keep this moment in my heart for as long as it lasts.

Once, I look over at her and our eyes meet. Instinctively, I turn my eyes away, but then I look back at her and she’s still looking at me. Has she been doing the same thing I have? Is she furtively trying to capture this picture in her mind too?

Just for now, this moment, I’m going to believe that’s true. I’m going to choose to believe that she wants this just as much as I do, even if I know that cannot be.

CHAPTER 14

EMMA

Despite the fact that we’ve done nothing but lie on the beach, when I finally get back to my room, I’m utterly exhausted. Something about relaxing always makes me more tired than if I’m doing stuff all day.

I know Phoebe would tell me that my body is catching up with the rest it needs, but to me, it feels like a waste of resources.

With a sigh, I drop down on the bed and dial the number for my best friend. Fortunately, the time zones aren’t messing us up too much, so she picks up after the second ring.

“Emma!” Her voice comes out of the phone so loudly that the speaker crackles. “How’s it going? Tell meeverything.”

“Oh, the course was dull. You know how these things are.”

“I sure do.” Phoebe chuckles. She, too, has to go on this kind of work getaway all the time. “Did you get anything out of it at all?”

I shrug, then realize she can’t see me. “Hold up, let me turn the video on,” I say, fumbling with my phone.

She presses the button on her end too, and then her face loads onto my phone, pixel by pixel. Her smile is exactly the way I expect it to be, if a little blurrier than usual.

“Emma,” she says, squinting. “Is that a suntan I see?”

---