Page 40 of A Sight to Behold
Nick shook his head. He’d never hand delivered glasses before; he wasn’t in the habit of making house calls for such trivial matters. Especially not the kind in an orangery filled with exotic plants in the middle of London where he’d had a fantastic kiss. And then an even better one the next day outside of said estate, one where he didn’t belong.
He didn’t belong with the beautiful duke’s daughter and yet, nothing could stop him from thinking of Pippa since all of this had happened.
Except that there was one person that could get him to stop thinking about her and speaking to her instead. The sight of histreatment room almost knocked him out of his loosely strapped boots.
“L—Lady Pemberton,” Nick stuttered. Hadn’t Wendy said a patient… oh, Wendy couldn’t possibly know… but why did his little sister send him downstairs so urgently? Could she have deduced what he couldn’t even understand himself?
“Dr. Folsham, I bid you a good morning.” Pippa stood primly in a beautiful dress, her hands in a muff, and a thin pelisse hanging over her arm. Her reticule was the same color as her bonnet, and she looked refreshed, clean, and… Nick stepped a little closer… she smelled so good.
He gave himself a mental slap in the face and took a deep breath to steady himself. His body was still tense from the night. Hard and tense.
“Is something amiss, Lady Pemberton?” Nick glanced at the door and could have sworn he’d seen Wendy’s silhouette rush by. A floorboard creaked.
“Dr. Folsham,” Pippa started.
“Nick.”
She glanced toward the door. “Nick,” she said more quietly, with a smile building on her face. Her cheeks grew adorably rosy. Nick’s breeches were too tight to hide her effect on him, and he walked around to his chair to hide behind the wooden backrest.
“You said I should visit you if I have any concerns about my vision.”
“What is the matter with your vision?” Erection forgotten, Nick rushed to her, put his index finger under her chin, and nudged her face upward so that he could look into her eyes.
She met his gaze, and her pupils widened. A lot.
She was happy to see him.
And then she licked her lips, and her gaze fell to his mouth.
Nick swallowed. “What’s wrong, Pippa?”
“You said that I could—”
“Of course, you can. What’s with your eyes? They look very good to me.”
“They haven’t seen…ahem…Ihaven’t seen you, and so…” She dropped her gaze, but Nick still had his index finger on her chin. He cupped her cheek gingerly and smiled. Oh no, after such a night, he didn’t have the energy to suppress the glee bubbling within him. He didn’t even care if Wendy heard any of this. She’d find out sooner or later.
Pippa had clumsily asked to see him.
At seven in the morning on a Saturday.
That couldn’t have been a coincidence; she knew he had no patients.
“Are you hungry?”
She licked her lips and nodded, her eyes on his mouth.
A rustle outside.Wendy. His curious little sister was too nosy to spend the morning with Pippa here.
“I mean, have you had breakfast yet?” Nick asked, hinting toward the door.
Pippa immediately stepped back and brushed a nonexistent strand of hair behind her ear. “Not yet. Cousin Bea is visiting the Countess of Langley, and I snuck away.”
“Without a chaperone?” Nick turned and looked over his shoulder. Wendy was behind the door; he could see her shadow. “Shall I call my sister to join us?” He spoke loudly enough for Wendy to hear, not that she’d miss a word anyhow since she was busying herself with something just beyond the walls to Nick’s treatment room. He could hear her.
Pippa shook her head.
All right, she wanted to be alone with him. That suited him better. “Would you care to join me for a pastry, perhaps?” Nick asked, again loudly enough for the rustling outside his door to pause.
