Page 8 of A Cuddly Christmas
Her fair skin flushes bright crimson as she tucks her chin and looks away. Fuck. Me. What did I say that for? Why would I just blurt out that she looks pretty today? I mean, of course she does, but it’s clear she doesn’t want me to compliment her. Hell, she’s probably only talking to me because of Paprika and now I’m making it weird. I can’t take it back because then it would sound like I was lying. Dear god, what do I have to do to get a black hole to open up and suck me into another dimension? One where I’m not a complete idiot?
“Okay, so yeah, that should be everything,” I mumble as I place all the items on the counter and hand the carrier to Tilly. “I’ll go now.”
I almost trip as I back out of the store and wave at the same time, but I can’t bring myself to look in Tilly’s eyes. Not when I know I’ve just humiliated the both of us. The worst part is that I do end up making eye contact with Gramps, who seems to be enjoying the shit out of my embarrassment.
“Have a good day,” he calls after me, and I practically run out of there.
I’m so lost in my own head that a horn blares at me as I cross the road. I ran into traffic without looking, but thankfully someone else was paying attention. My heart is beating out of my chest when I finally make it into my clinic.
“What a dumbass,” I whisper as I lean back against the door and close my eyes.
“Excuse me?”
My body stills at the sound of someone else, and when I open my eyes, I see one of my patients sitting in the waiting room.
“Sorry, I meant me. I’m the dumbass,” I tell Mrs. Royce.
“You certainly are,” she huffs as she holds her Pomeranian Ginger closer to her chest. It’s funny, but the saying about owners choosing pets that look like them is usually true.
“I’ll be with you in a second,” I tell her as I hurry to my office to change into my lab coat.
Wyatt is off school this week, so he’s already in the back and prepping the rooms. “Hey, Dr. R, I heard you have a thing for Miss Tilly.”
“What?” I say, almost falling over again as I come back around the corner. “Who said that? Did she say that? Did she look mad when she said it?”
Wyatt laughs and then looks at me like I’ve got two heads. “Nah, my girlfriend said you might,” he tells me then grins. “When I saw you running back from the hardware store, I thought maybe you asked her out.”
“No, I told her she looked pretty today.”
“Oooh.” He makes a face like I’ve done something terrible. “Tilly looks like the kind of woman that would kick a man in the balls for giving her a compliment.”
“I know,” I sigh. “She’s incredible.”
Chapter Five
TILLY
I stare at myself in the mirror, wondering if Paxton meant what he said or if he was only being polite because I’m helping him with the kitten. I pull my hair down from the messy bun I have it piled into on top of my head and give it a fluff the same way Molly did.
“You think this is cute?” I ask Paprika. She meows from the sink. It’s where I put her to keep her confined while I grabbed a bed for her. I bend down closer to her, and she tries to play with my curls. It makes me laugh, and I scoop her up in my arms before we head downstairs.
“Oooh, look at you,” Gramps says. “Is there a reason you pulled your hair down?”
“I read that wearing it up all the time can cause hair loss.”
“Interesting. I’ve never worn mine up and look at me.” Gramps rubs the top of his bald head, and I snort. “Your lips are shiny too.”
“It just so happens that my lip glass tastes delicious.” I thought it looked nice and clearly drew attention to my mouth. Not that anyone needs to be looking there. I know I never look at Paxton and think he has nice full lips. Because that would be a really strange thought to have, and I’ve definitely never ever looked. Not even once.
“And—”
“Oh my god, are you the FBI now?” I set Paprika on the counter where I put her bed. I had her on the floor behind the counter, but she's nosy, like me. Now she's up here so she can watch everyone and judge them too if she wants.
"You know that boy is sweet on you."
"Who?"
"Playing dumb doesn't suit you."
