The M.D. Next Door

by Gina Wilkins

  He turned and walked away from her with a reluctance that was starting to feel all too familiar the more time he spent with her. Maybe Saturday night, he wouldn’t have to be in such a hurry to leave.

  It was getting a little too easy to be with Seth, Meagan thought sometime late Saturday evening. She’d known the man less than a month. Should it feel so familiar to sit across a dinner table from him? To dance with him afterward at a small, dimly lit, live-music club? Should they have so many little private jokes already? Seemingly random things that made them look at each other and smile each knowing what the other was thinking?

  They had shared a few meals and one brief kiss. She had helped him with his daughter and his housekeeper search, he had taken her to a charity dance and out for dinner a couple of times, both with and without his daughter. That was the extent of their…relationship, for want of a better word. She’d spent more one-on-one time with patients.

  And yet…

  His gaze met hers across the tiny table in the colorfully-lit music bar and he smiled. Her heart tripped.

  And yet.

  The band launched into a song that was too loud to encourage conversation, but Seth made himself clear enough when he motioned to ask if she wanted to dance again. She thought about it a moment, then held up one finger to indicate that she was up for one more. He grinned, stood, and held out his hand.

  She laid her hand in his, their fingers intertwining as they maneuvered their way onto the crowded dance floor. They had chosen a club that didn’t skew too young; most of the others surrounding them were in their late twenties through late thirties. Meagan’s dark jeans and floaty black-and-red-print top fit in just fine with the crowd, as did Seth’s khakis and casual shirt. The band was loud but talented. Meagan enjoyed both the music and the dancing, and the place served an excellent strawberry margarita. Because he was driving, Seth ordered only a beer and he nursed that slowly during the evening, munching on chips and salsa along with it.

  As low-key as the evening was, Meagan couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a date so much.

  Seth held her close when they danced, and she suspected that was only partially because there was no room for them to move farther apart. He seemed to be enjoying the evening as much as she was. Already her thoughts were racing ahead to the moment when he would walk her to her door. Alice was gone for the night, so there would be no need for him to rush home. She could ask him in for coffee or…something.

  His hand moved against the small of her back and she felt a rush of heat flow from that spot through her veins. His eyes gleamed in the flickering club lights, the green darkened to smoky emerald in the shadows. She couldn’t quite read the expression there, but she could make a guess at his thoughts if they were anything like her own.

  The club was still rocking when they left a few minutes later, but Meagan was ready to go. As much fun as it had been, her ears had been assaulted enough for one evening. They were ringing a little when she strapped herself into Seth’s car, and as a physician she knew that wasn’t good for her long-term hearing. But she went to a club maybe twice a year and lived quite sensibly the rest of the time, so she would have no regrets about having had a little fun this evening.

  They hadn’t talked much about Alice that evening, nor about the search for a housekeeper or any of the other daily responsibilities either of them faced. By unspoken agreement they’d kept their conversations light and diverse, talking of music and books and films, touching on politics and current events, sharing a few tidbits that gave them a little more insight into each other. Conversation for adults enjoying each other’s companionship, with no outside responsibilities for just that one evening. She kept her phone nearby in case she was needed and she had no doubt that Seth did the same, but the devices stayed mercifully silent during those few hours.

  Seth was the one who brought them back to reality during the drive home. “So, I hired a housekeeper this afternoon.”

  She hadn’t even thought to ask how the interviews had gone that morning, which only showed how captivated she was by Seth himself. “Who did you hire?”

  “Got a guess?”

  Something about his wry tone made her smile and say, “Jacqui.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Alice convinced you?”

  “I can’t say I wasn’t influenced by Alice’s opinion. But once I met Jacqui, I saw why you and Alice both thought she’d be good for the job. She has a way of inspiring confidence, doesn’t she?”

  Meagan laughed softly, remembering Jacqui’s direct gaze and self-possessed demeanor. “She does.”

  “She is young—and at first glance, looks even younger than she is. I hope that doesn’t mean she’ll get bored quickly and move on, but she said she’s looking for a long-term position. She was with her last employer for almost a year, so that’s encouraging.”

  “She certainly had some glowing recommendations.”

  “She did. I called a couple of them yesterday, after I set up the interview with Jacqui this morning, and everyone I talked with spoke highly of her.”

  Meagan nodded. “I’m not really surprised. I read the letters she provided.”

  “She couldn’t be more different than Nina.”

  “Not much.”

  “Maybe that’s a good thing. It would be hard for anyone to stand up to a direct comparison to Nina, as we might have been tempted to do with some of the older women who applied. This way we’re really starting fresh.”

  Meagan studied his profile as he drove, glad he was the one who’d made the final decision, and not her. It had to have been difficult to choose someone with whom to trust his home and his daughter, as he’d pointed out to Alice the other night. “Are you nervous about it?”

  He shrugged. “Not really. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just blame you.”

  She blinked a couple of times, then smiled wryly in response to his grave teasing. “Might I remind you who made the final decision? It wasn’t me.”

  “Okay, I’ll blame Alice. She threatened to move outside into Waldo’s doghouse if I didn’t hire Jacqui. I half believed she would.”

  “She really took to Jacqui.” Meagan was aware again of a fleeting ripple of what felt a bit too much like jealousy. Alice had been so attached to her for the past three and a half weeks, but she was aware of the fickleness of youth. And it was just as well, she assured herself. Once she was back at work, the leisurely afternoons by the pool had to end, anyway. It was good that Alice would have another woman to look after her and serve as a role model for her.

  Seth chuckled. When Meagan looked at him questioningly, he explained, “Alice could be surprised when Jacqui starts the job. Yes, Jacqui’s young and pleasant, but I got the impression she’s not going to let Alice get away with much. I told Jacqui I’d expect her to enforce our house rules, and she assured me she would. She said she remembers some of the tricks she pulled as a teenager, so she’ll be ready if Alice tries them.”

  Meagan laughed. Thinking of Jacqui’s no-nonsense attitude when it came to inappropriate behavior from employers, she had no doubt Jacqui could handle a teenager, especially one as generally well behaved as Alice.

  Seth parked in Meagan’s driveway and walked her to the door. The moment of decision, she thought, fingering the keys in her hand.

  She glanced at him through her lashes, and he smiled at her. She had been a pushover for that smile from the first night she’d met him. She let out a breath she’d been holding since she’d climbed out of his car.

  “Would you like to come in?”

  Seth’s smile deepened. “Yes. I’d like that very much.”

  Chapter Seven

  Meagan set down her bag and keys and turned to Seth as he closed the front door behind them. “How does decaffeinated green tea sound?”

  His hands in his pockets, he studied her face. “Great.” He followed her into the kitchen. “Anything I can do to help?”

  Very aware of him standing not far away, she
drew two mugs from the cabinet, feeling a sense of déjà vu from the last time she’d made tea for him. This routine, too, was becoming a little too familiar considering the short time they had known each other. She wasn’t sure why she couldn’t just relax and enjoy the time with him, why she couldn’t simply appreciate the growing intimacy between them. Yet an uneasy feeling nagged at the back of her mind, some qualm she couldn’t quite understand.

  “That instant hot water spout is convenient,” Seth commented. His voice was even closer than she’d expected. He must have moved closer to examine her hot-water dispenser as she filled the tea pot in which she had placed a diffuser filled with green tea leaves.

  She cleared her throat, telling herself she couldn’t really feel the heat emanating from Seth’s body behind her. He wasn’t standing that close. It was simply her own overheated imagination warming her skin.

  “It is handy,” she agreed, hoping her voice didn’t sound as husky to him as it did to her. “I use it all the time.”

  He reached around her to push the lever, watching as steaming water streamed from the spout before he cut it off again. “Maybe I should think about getting one.”

  His right arm brushed against her left with his actions. Both wore short sleeves, so that skin touched skin. Accidental contact, she assured herself quickly. Fleeting, at that. Which meant there was no reason at all that every nerve ending in her left arm should be tingling now.

  When was the last time the brush of a man’s arm had left her tingling? It had been a while, she decided. She’d almost forgotten how nice it felt.

  Deciding the tea had steeped long enough, she poured some into a mug and turned to hand it to Seth. He still stood close enough that she barely had to reach out to hand it to him. Their hands met on the mug, and their gazes met and held. Meagan didn’t immediately draw away.

  After a momentary hesitation, Seth took the mug from her grasp, then set it on the counter without tasting the hot beverage. Seeing the intent in his eyes, she made no move toward her own tea mug which would have taken her out of his reach in a subtle but very clear way. Instead, she leaned slightly toward him.

  The one kiss they had shared before had been light, brief, almost platonic. None of those adjectives fit this one. This was the kiss Meagan had been fantasizing about all evening. The kiss she’d more than half expected—and yet had anticipated with an undercurrent of the tension she couldn’t explain.

  Her hands slid up Seth’s chest and around his neck as his arms went around her, nestling her against him. He took his time kissing her. No rush, no pressure for more than a slow exploration of lips and mouths. His hand moved at the small of her back, but only in small, soothing circles, no roaming out of bounds. Seth was clearly leaving it up to her whether this progressed beyond a pleasant kiss in the kitchen.

  Maybe it still would before the evening was over…but not yet.

  She drew back enough to be able to speak. “Why don’t we take our tea into the living room?”

  His mouth quirked and his fingers twitched a little against her back, but he merely nodded and moved away, reaching again for his tea.

  They sat side by side on the couch, half turned to face each other, gazes meeting frequently over the tops of their tea mugs. She tried to think of something to say but she seemed to have used up all her small talk for one evening. Seth seemed content to drink tea and smile at her.

  The silence wasn’t painfully awkward. And it wasn’t as if there hadn’t been a physical awareness between them earlier. But that kiss had definitely ratcheted up the tension a few degrees.

  “I’ve had a great evening,” Seth said, as if following the direction of her thoughts. “It was nice, just the two of us. No social obligations to fulfill, no partners or clients or former patients to make small talk with.”

  “That was pleasant.”

  “And as much as I enjoy being with my daughter, it was nice having a grown-ups only night. Not to mention no Waldo.”

  She laughed. “I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent with Alice, but I have to agree that a little Waldo goes a long way.”

  “I warned Jacqui about Waldo. She said she likes dogs, but I assured her she wouldn’t be expected to take care of him. Feeding, bathing and cleaning up after her dog were all conditions of the contract Alice signed when she took on a pet.”

  “You had her sign a contract?”

  He chuckled sheepishly. “Well, yeah. The lawyer in me, I guess.”

  “I think it’s a great idea. My parents required us to take care of our own pets, too—at the risk of losing our privileges if we ever dared to neglect an animal—but they never thought to have us sign contracts.”

  He shrugged. “It was never an issue when I was growing up. My parents let me have pets once I was old enough to take care of them, but they wanted nothing to do with them. I knew if I didn’t take care of the pets, no one else would.”

  Before she could comment, her phone rang. It was the first time either of them had been disturbed by a phone call all evening, so she supposed she could count herself lucky in that regard. Murmuring an apology, she glanced at the phone screen. Calls coming in this late always worried her. Seeing her mother’s number, she lifted the phone quickly to her ear. “Mom?”

  “I’m sorry to disturb you so late, Meagan. I hope you weren’t already in bed.”

  “No, I’m not in bed.” She didn’t meet Seth’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “Is it okay if I give your grandmother some ibuprofen? She says she has a headache and can’t sleep. She got into the chocolate earlier and you know how too much chocolate always gives her a headache.”

  Relieved there was nothing more to the call, Meagan relaxed. “Yes, you can give her an ibuprofen. One should be enough, but if her head still hurts in a couple of hours give her another. If that doesn’t help, call me back.”

  “Your grandmother again?” Seth asked when she disconnected the call a few moments later.

  “She has a headache. Mom’s afraid to give her anything without checking with me first.”

  “Always with you? Not your brother or sister?”

  “Only when I’m not available.” She shrugged. “I’m the oldest and I’ve been a doctor the longest, so Mom thinks that grants me seniority or something.”

  “Lucky you.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t mind, really. I try to help her out when I can. I have to admit I felt guilty after my surgery, when she felt like she had to take care of me as well as Meemaw.”

  “Meemaw?”

  She laughed in response to his teasing repetition. “Well, what did you call your grandparents?”

  “I hardly remember.”

  She set her phone aside, hoping it wouldn’t ring again.

  “You seem to have completely recovered from your surgery,” Seth commented. “No offense, but you looked a little peaked that first night I met you.”

  Remembering that she’d been exhausted just from carrying Waldo across the street, she grimaced good-naturedly. “Gee, thanks.”

  “Oh, you were still gorgeous. Just peaked,” he teased.

  Her cheeks warmed a little in response to the compliment. She was hardly gorgeous—but it was nice to hear him say so anyway, even if he was teasing. “Yes, I’ve completely recovered. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble returning to work Monday. I’m looking forward to getting back into the O.R.”

  “To cut people up and take stuff out of them?”

  She laughed at his wicked imitation of Alice. “Yeah, something like that.”

  “Do you mind if I ask what sort of surgery you had? You’ve never said—not that it’s any of my business, of course.”

  “I don’t mind. I had an ovarian torsion. My left ovary became twisted, which cut off the blood supply. Unfortunately, by the time I sought treatment, it was too late to save the ovary. But the surgery went well and I’ve recovered with no ill effects, so I was fortunate.”

  He winced. “Sounds like a painful condit
ion.”

  “It was,” she admitted. “Especially since I waited so darned late to see about it.”

  “I’ve heard doctors make terrible patients.”

  “You’ve heard correctly,” she admitted with a short laugh.

  “I’m glad you’re okay now.”

  “Thanks. So am I.”

  “Alice will miss seeing you almost every day.”

  “I’ll miss her, too. I hope she’ll still come by some weekend afternoon when I’m home. My pool is always open for her. She knows the combination to the gate lock, but I’ve made her promise she won’t ever swim alone.”

  “Thanks. That’s one of my rules, too. Maybe Jacqui will come with her sometime, if you really don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind at all. It would be nice to know someone’s enjoying the pool.”

  “I told Alice I’ll consider putting one in for next summer. Too much going on to even think about it this year.”

  “Um—” He’d shifted his weight as he spoke, bringing him a little closer to her. She found it suddenly more difficult to follow the conversation. Who could think about pools when Seth was sitting close enough that his thigh was only an inch or so from her own?

  He must have seen something in her expression. He reached out to take her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. Scooting a little closer, he laid an arm along the back of the couch, lowering his face to hers. She rested a hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating beneath her palm. Steady—but maybe just a little accelerated? She’d hate to think she was the only one whose pulse was suddenly racing.

  His mouth covered hers, slowly at first and then with more urgency. Even their kisses were becoming more familiar, she thought—the taste of his mouth, the feel of his arms around her, the spicy scent of his aftershave. She felt as though she had known him so much longer than three and a half weeks. And yet she was aware that there was so much about him still to learn.

  One kiss led to another. One exploratory caress to the next. Buttons were loosened, heated skin revealed and kissed. Seth’s partially-bared chest was broad and smooth, only sparsely matted with brown curls. She spread her hand against him, feeling nice, firm pecs and abs beneath her palm. Though not bodybuilder ripped, the man definitely worked out.