A Home for the M.D.

Mitch’s bland tone helped when he asked, “Want me to do it?”

“No, that would be too awkward for you.” Telling herself to snap out of it, she lowered herself to one knee so she could better see the cut. She cleaned the area, dabbed antibiotic ointment on the small cut much as she’d seen Mitch do with Waldo and sealed it with an adhesive bandage. “That should stay on until the bleeding stops.”

“Thank you, doctor,” he teased.

Flushing a little, she used the still-damp cloth to swipe up the smudges of blood from the floor, then stood to rinse it out and lay it over the sink. She would toss it in with the laundry tomorrow—um, later today, she corrected herself.

“I’m so sorry I had to get you up at this hour,” she said, glancing at Mitch, who still sat in the chair watching her fussing with the washcloth. “I hope you don’t have to be at the hospital early.”

He looked at the clock over the stove. “I planned to be there by seven.”

Just a little less than three hours away, Jacqui thought with a wince. “I’m really sorry. I hope you can get a couple more hours of sleep first.”

He shrugged. “Actually, I’m wide awake now. I went to bed earlier than usual last night.”

“Still, you couldn’t have had much more than five hours sleep.”

“Five hours was a luxury during my residency. Believe me, I’ve gotten by on much less.” He stood and stretched. The movement dipped his pajama bottoms even lower on his hips and made muscles ripple in his chest and abdomen.

Jacqui’s mouth went dry. Making a hasty grab for the open bottle of water she’d left on the counter earlier, she downed several quick swallows—not that it helped much. “Would you—um—like some coffee?”

“I think I’ll take a shower. Why don’t you go back to bed and try to get some sleep?”

“I’m not sleepy now, either. I’ll put on some coffee. It’ll be ready by the time you finish showering.”

Dropping his arms to his sides, he studied her face intently. “You didn’t get up because you heard Waldo, did you? You were already awake?”

She nodded. “I came down for a drink of water. That’s when I heard him whimpering.”

“You couldn’t sleep?”

She shrugged. “I guess I was thirsty.”

“You sure there was nothing else?”

When had he moved closer? Setting the water bottle carefully on the counte

r, she cleared her throat. “I don’t know—bad dream, maybe.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Because she couldn’t look at his eyes just then, she glanced downward. Probably a mistake, she realized immediately, because she was now looking straight at his bare chest. Which was several inches closer than it had been only moments earlier.

“Um, no, I’m fine now, thank you.”

“Jacqui—”

Slowly, she lifted her eyes. The way he was looking at her…

She swallowed hard. “Yes?”

“Do I make you nervous?”

Chapter Seven

Apparently, Jacqui didn’t like his question. Her chin lifted proudly and her dark eyes narrowed in what might have been a challenge when she replied flatly, “No. You don’t make me nervous.”

He shook his head slightly in response to the blatant untruth but didn’t take her up on the challenge. “Good. I want you to be comfortable with me.”