Page 27 of Accidentally Yours
“Ditto, you sexy little tootsie-whoopsie.” She did not know where that one came from, but it made Ethan laugh, and she liked the low rumble from his chest.
Still standing near the door, Derek made a noise that was either a scoff or a suppressed gag. “Well. Good for you guys, I guess.”
Mission accomplished.
“Thank you.” Paige turned back to him, beaming. “I’m so happy. So, so, so, so, so happy.”
“Uh-huh.” Derek scribbled something onto Ethan’s chart. “You’re discharged. Keep the bandage clean, change it daily, and take the painkillers as needed.” He handed Ethan a paper, then added casually, “See you at your dad’s birthday dinner, Paige.”
Paige’s brain short-circuited. “What?”
Derek didn’t look up from his notes. “I did a surgery with your dad last week. He invited me. Said your grandma was making her bibimbap with homemade kimchi. You know that’s my favorite.”
Her mouth opened. Then shut. Then opened again.
Derek’s eyes flicked to her, then to Ethan. “Are you joining as well? I can’t believe your dad didn’t mention you were dating someone when I saw him.”
Something inside Paige snapped. “He’ll be there.”
The words left her mouth before she could stop them.Oh, no. Oh no, no, no. Abort. Abort mission.Ethan was looking at her like she’d just volunteered him for aHunger Gamesreenactment. Which, honestly, felt accurate.
Derek’s brows lifted. “Really?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Paige said, panic thrumming in her veins. “I wouldn’t dream of going without my sexy tootsie-whoopsie.” This time the nickname came out deadpan, like a threat.
Derek stared at them for a long, loaded second. Then he shrugged. “Well. Should be interesting.” With that, he turned and strolled out the door.
Silence hung thick in the room.
Ethan let out a low, amused breath. “Well, that was fun.”
“Fun?” Paige groaned, dropping his grip and burying her face in her hands. “We’re like the worst fake-daters ever.”
He laughed. “I don’t know. I thought that was pretty good. Can you please call me your sexy tootsie-whoopsie from here on out?”
She laughed into her hands, then grimaced. She peeked through her fingers and Ethan was leaning against the counter, arms crossed, looking confident, even though she’d just signed him up for a beating.
“Guess I better start practicing my chopstick skills, huh?” he asked.
Paige groaned, rubbing her temples. “Oh, you’re going to needsomuch more than that.”
“How bad can it be?” He smirked. “Parents love me.”
Paige let out a humorless laugh. “You haven’t met my parents. Do you know how to debate medical ethics over dinner? Because my dadlivesfor that crap.”
“Well, no.”
“My mom once berated a guy I dated for an hour because he missed a cholesterol screening.”
Ethan’s smirk faltered for a fraction of a second. “Okay. That’s . . . thorough.”
“Also, when Derek and I were dating, my mom made a PowerPoint presentation on why he was the ideal husband.”
Ethan blinked. “A PowerPoint?”
“Custom graphics. Animations. A closing statement.”
Ethan exhaled slowly. Then—because, of course he did—he grinned and stretched like an athlete about to run a marathon he hadn’t trained for. “I might be the underdog, but I know how to make a scene. And if we’re faking this, pookie bear, we might as well give them a love story worth talking about.”
