Page 19 of Doctor’s Surprise Twins

I had no clue how long we lay there, but when he jostled me, I stirred like I had dozed off. After rubbing my eyes, I gazed up at him, propped on one elbow looking down at me with a grin. His deep brown pools lured me in. I almost wanted to snuggle up to him, but we hadn’t yet defined whatthiswas. So I restrained myself and just sat up, moving away from him.

“You keep fucking me like that and we’re going to have a problem.” I walked away from him, finding my articles of clothing one at a time and dressing.

Derek hefted himself off the hay and yanked his pants up, carefully tucking his package away beneath the denim and zipper. He could have stayed nude the rest of the evening and I’d have enjoyed that even more, but Ihadcome for dinner, not just sex.

“How would great sex and incredible orgasms be a bad thing?” He smirked at me as he shook out his shirt and handed me my bra.

I couldn’t begin to tell him why it would be bad, but I had a million reasons. He hadn’t discussed a relationship, so I wasn’t confident he even wanted one. I knew he liked sex with me, but he kept me at arm’s length in every other way. His “professional” act was not really an act. He had perfected the art of making me feel like I was in the permanent friendzone.

Yet, here I was developing feelings for him. Feelings which I had to censor and not act on when we were done having sex. Feelings I had to turn away from him just to mask as I put my bra and shirt back on.

“What’s for dinner?” Changing the subject was the only way to get out of that uncomfortable question. He wasn’t ready for my real answers, and I wasn’t about to lie to him. Lying was the one thing I’d never do. At least, not unless I was forced to.

“I have a lasagna in the oven and some garlic bread to bake before we eat.” He started toward the barn door as I slid my shoes on. I thought he’d at least kiss me, or maybe hold my hand, but then realized that he hadn’t even attempted it. My heart sank a little, but I followed after him, a slight jog-walk to my gait. The disappointment couldn’t ruin the rest of my evening, so I tried to push it away.

“That sounds delicious.” Catching up to him, I kept my distance. He hadn’t initiated any sort of physical contact with me that might indicate he wanted it, and I didn’t want him to think I was getting mixed signals.

“You sound delicious... and you were. And you will be—for dessert.”

I chuckled at his cheekiness, insinuating we’d have sex again after dinner. But I couldn’t help feeling a bit down. So I stayed just a step ahead of him so he couldn’t see my face. My heart was totally in love with this asshole and he didn’t seem to see it. I was so much more than just a quick fuck. I wanted him to know, but I didn’t know how to tell him. Part of me thought I should just blurt it out, let the chips fall where they may. Part of me felt like a subtler approach might work better. I just had to figure out what and when. How did I tell him I loved him without scaring him off?

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

Derek

Maggie’s officesat empty all day, her appointments rescheduled, but she hadn’t told me why she wasn’t in. Even when I shot her a text asking if everything was okay, she hadn’t responded. So I went about my day as normal, but in the back of my mind, I did worry a bit. As I settled behind my desk to finish a few transcriptions from earlier appointments, Barbra knocked on the open door and leaned on the door jamb. The patients were gone for the day, and it was just me, Barbra, and Gypsy.

“Hey...” She sounded glum, not the typical tone for her. My eyes popped up to take her in.

“What’s up?” I shuffled papers on my desk as I asked, clearing a space to work. I’d been so distracted and preoccupied with Maggie on my mind for weeks that my office had become a bit messy.

“Have you heard from Magnolia?” Barbra rested her head on the door jamb, sulking. She had brought in some delicious chocolate cake, and it had vanished quickly, not even a slice left for Maggie to try. I thought it was sweet how the woman refused to use Maggie’s nickname, preferring her given name to be more professional.

“No, I thought she called in?” Beginning to be more concerned than I had all day, I pushed the papers aside and reached for my phone. Still no text or missed call.

“She did. I mean, she left a voicemail saying she wouldn’t be in, but she didn’t say exactly why. I assumed maybe she was ill. Your being the boss, I thought maybe you’d have known more.” Barbra shrugged and scrunched her face up. “Sorry.”

I shook my head. “You’re HR. If she was going to call in, it would be to you. I’ve tried to call and text, but I haven’t gotten a response. I’m sure she’s just ill.”

Trying to brush it off like it was nothing, I dismissed Barbra from the office and focused on my transcriptions. But halfway through the first one, when I heard the office door click shut after Gypsy left, I found myself unable to concentrate. It wasn’t like Maggie to ignore me, so she must have been really sick. I’d ask Curt if he heard from her, but I didn’t want to stir the pot there or make him worry too.

I headed out, determined that if she did not answer my texts or show up to work tomorrow, I would call her brother and let him know. At least Curt knew where she lived. I kicked myself for not having even taken time to get to know her. And now that Barbra’s office and computer were locked, I had no way of looking in Maggie’s personnel file to get her address either.

I pulled into the driveway, noticing Peter’s car parked by the barn, and growled my frustration. I had forgotten he was coming, and it was the last thing I wanted to deal with tonight. Rather than parking by the house, I pulled out to the barn and parked there. Peter appeared in the doorway to the barn and watched me climb out of my car. He barely waited for me to shut my car door before he started in.

“You’re late. You told me to be here at seven p.m.” His scowl met mine, but I refused to back down. I hadn’t told him anything. I had merely agreed to what he suggested, and honestly, I had hoped he had forgotten.

I walked past him and he followed me. I wasn’t dressed for this, wearing Dockers and Sperrys—not exactly farm attire. Peter had on a pair of boots and some jeans that had paint splattered on them. I was honestly surprised by this because Peter wasn’t the type to get his hands dirty. But if he came prepared to work, I’d put him to work.

We strolled to the tack room, where some noises emanating from within told me Hammer was working on sorting out the mess like I told him I’d like him to do. As I stepped into the doorway and noticed the clear path through the chaos to the lone toe-headed man kneeling on the floor next to a pile of bridles, Peter nearly rammed me. I felt his breath on the back of my neck briefly before he nudged me aside.

“Hammer, this is Pete, my brother. Pete, this is Evan Miller. We call him Hammer because he is an ace farrier.” Peter looked at me with an odd expression but shook hands with Hammer anyway.

“Nice to meet you, Pete.” Evan grabbed a handful of bridles off the ground and walked toward an empty hook on the wall. “About done cleaning up in here, Derek. Sorry it got so messy... Oh, and Mitsy is getting close to foaling. I noticed she seems to favor her right hip. I think we should let the vet know to be on standby.” He turned to face me after he hung the bridles.

“Foaling?” Peter glanced at me, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“The mare is going to give birth soon. Hammer, you’ll have to excuse Pete. You’ll need to teach him a lot of things. I just agreed to let him help you out around here for a bit of extra cash.”

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