Designs on the Doctor

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But he didn’t give her the chance to probe into it any further. “Anyway, when I’m dealing with my patients and their relatives, I’m good at keeping my personal feelings under wraps. But you got me in personal mode and… Well, like I said, I know I was rough on you. But the important thing is that you are here, doing what you can for Estelle now that you know that something is wrong. So how about if we put everything else behind us and start fresh?”

Ally still wasn’t sure whether or not to drop her guard with this man. But she’d appreciated Bubby’s help with her mother today and if Bubby had gone to bat for her with Jake Fox, it seemed only fair to accept the olive branch he was offering as a result.

“You have been sort of awful to me,” Ally said, unwilling to give him a completely free pass.

He smiled sheepishly—and very engagingly. “But was it so bad that it’s unforgivable?”

Ally pretended to consider that. But then she conceded. “I suppose unforgivable is a bit of a stretch.”

“So I’m forgiven?”

His smoky voice was a blend of humor and mischievous contrition. There was a glimmer in his gray eyes, and one eyebrow arched—the man could be charming when he wanted to…

And it took Ally a moment to stop basking in it all.

“You’re only forgiven if I’ve seen the last of that mean guy,” she warned, wishing her tone hadn’t come out slightly on the coy side.

“I’m on probation then?”

“Actually, I guess you are,” she said. “Because if the mean guy comes out to bite off my head again I’d just as soon not see any more of you.” Handsome, hunky and charming or not.

But her ultimatum only seemed to amuse him. “Okay, I guess I had that coming. Let’s just work together for Estelle’s benefit and see if I can’t prove myself while we do.”

“How will we work together?”

“For starters, tomorrow I’ll pick up the two of you, take you both to the hospital and stick with you through the tests. There’s only so much friends can do to get the ball rolling with someone like Estelle, but once it is rolling, we can be there for all the help and support you need.”

“Are we going to be friends?” Ally challenged.

“At least,” he countered with some devilishness to his expression.

He couldn’t be flirting with her, could he?

That just didn’t seem likely.

And yet, she had the sense that he was.

She was still trying to figure it out when he abruptly got to his feet. “I should go. I haven’t been home since six this morning,” he announced.

Feeling more steady, Ally stood again, too.

“What time tomorrow?” she asked, following him to the door.

“I’ll be here at about one. Be prepared for some waiting, though—I’ve made these arrangements with an emergency-room doctor who’s a friend of mine. We’ll go in there, he’ll order labs and the CT, but if the E.R. is busy—”

“Everyone else will go ahead of us because we’ll be there on the sly,” Ally guessed.

“Right. But we’ll still get the tests done and get the results right away—that’s the advantage of the E.R.”

The results…

The color felt as if it drained from her face and it must have because he smiled at her again, compassionately this time.

“It’s better to know what you’re dealing with, Ally. And by tomorrow night we’ll have more to go on,” he said.

Ally nodded even though she wasn’t entirely sure if he was right. Sometimes ignorance was bliss.

He raised his hand to press the backs of his fingers to her cheek as if to test for temperature. “Are you gonna faint on me again?” he asked with a hint of amusement in his deep voice.

“No, I’m fine,” she said, unusually aware of the feel of his skin against hers.

“We’ll handle whatever we need to, you know?” he assured.

He was pretty free with those we’s. And yet, somehow, it was reassuring.

He took his hand away from her cheek, but his eyes were still on hers, and if this had been any other situation she might have thought he was going to kiss her.