HARLEY
In the end,I chickened out and never called Carter. I figured, if he was interested, he would have called me by now. The thought of getting rejected doesn’t sit well with me and makes me kind of nauseous. No, thank you. Yeah, I may be missing out on something great, but I figure I won’t miss it if I never had it.
The day after Jersey’s visit, I get out of my car and beep my door locks. Anxious flutters fill my stomach as I walk toward the office building door. Not the good kind of flutters either. These are the ones that make you want to not step into the situation you’re getting ready to step into.
It’s that time of year again when I have to lay practically butt-naked on an uncomfortable exam table and flash my lady bits to the doctor. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t be so bad. Dr. Rosen has seen my coochie many times over the years, so it’s nothing new to him. Unfortunately, he recently retired, so I’ll be seeing the new doctor. I have no idea who the new doctor is, and I don’t like going into something when I don’t have all of the information.
I spent an extra thirty minutes grooming my nether regions during my morning shower, because you know, girls need to be presentable when they meet new people. Especially girls who will be flashing their goods.
I’m surprised when I walk up to the counter and don’t see Lauren, the usual receptionist. I don’t know who this new woman is, which sucks, because I was going to get the scoop from Lauren when I signed in. I would ask this new woman, but she’s on the phone. The smile she gives me is more fake than real as she points to a clipboard on the counter in front of her. I write down my name and other requested information then take a seat.
Since it’s four o’clock and from the lack of anyone else in the waiting room, I realize I must be the last appointment of the day. Hopefully, that means I won’t have to wait long to get this over and done with.
Ten minutes later, my name is called. I stand, my smile in place, but it falls flat when I see the woman in turquoise scrubs waiting for me. How in the hell could I forget that Amanda Lazzare works as a nurse here? She and I were rivals in high school, and while we don’t compete academically anymore, the mutual hatred we’ve always felt for each other is still very much alive.
She gives me her usual sour look, and I still wonder to this day if it’s her permanent expression, because every time I see her, the look is always there.
After she takes my height and weight, talking only when necessary, she leads me down the hallway to the last room, and I take a seat on the padded table.
“What brings you in today?” she asks without looking at me, wiggling her finger across the mouse pad on the laptop she carried in with her. I hope she doesn’t treat all the patients this way.
“Annual exam,” I answer with the same bland tone.
“Are there any concerns?”
“None that I can think of.”
“Any chance of pregnancy?”
I sure hope not, I mentally answer. Out loud, I say, “Nope.”
She asks me a few more typical questions, which I answer with one-word replies, before she wheels over the blood pressure machine. I swear she pumps the cuff a couple times too many, because my arm feels like it’s going to fall off before the pressure releases.
She puts the machine away and opens a cabinet, pulling out a little plastic cup. “I need you to pee to the line, then put it in the little door behind the toilet.” She moves to another cabinet and takes out one of those god-awful gowns and a white sheet. “Strip down and put the gown on, with the opening in the front. The doctor will be in shortly.”
It’s a good thing I don’t have any questions, because she’s gone in the next instant.
With a low-pounding headache forming behind my eyes, I snatch up the cup and take it to the restroom in the hallway. After I’ve filled the cup to the line and placed it into the little cubby hole in the wall, I wash and dry my hands. The hall is empty when I leave the restroom and make my way back to the patient room. I take off my clothes, fold them, then put them on the chair in the corner. I’ve barely had time to cover myself with the gown when there’s a rap on the door.
“Come in,” I call out as I sit down on the end of the table and drape a white sheet over my lap.
The door opens, and I get my first look at who took over Dr. Rosen’s position as Silver Falls’s primary physician. To say I’m shocked would be an understatement. Shock isn’t even in the same realm for what I feel as Carter Beckett waltzes into the room. From his expression, he’s not surprised. In fact, he looks quite pleased with my dumbfounded look.
“Miss Adair. How are you today?”
I clutch the sheet over my thighs and unstick my lower jaw from my lap. “Are you serious? You’re the new doctor?”
“It would seem so.”
His eyes dance with laughter and his stupidly luscious lips tip up at the corners. I want to smack the look right off his face.
“And you never thought to tell me?”
“And when was I supposed to do that, Miss Adair?” he asks, pushing the door closed without looking away from me.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the night we were together.”
His smirk grows into a grin. “I was otherwise occupied that night, if you remember correctly. Or would you rather me have stopped in the middle of fucking you senseless to tell you my occupation?”