“Madison?” I called as I climbed off the bed. Dread spread through me as I realized that her clothes were no longer strewn about my floor. She’d skipped out on me while I was sleeping? Anger began to fester as I stalked through my house, checking every room. Eventually I accepted the fact that she was gone and festering turned to a full on burn as I stared out the windows of my bedroom. Usually the idyllic view of the rolling ocean calmed me but at that moment, the only thing that would settle my nerves was having Madison in my arms.
I was going to find her and when I did, I was going to spank her ass for leaving like that. Sneaking off while I slept made our time together seem like a one-nightstand. My hands clenched into fists. If that’s what she thought, she was sorely mistaken.
It hit me then that I didn’t know her last name. I groaned, knowing that finding her was going to be difficult. Still, I was determined, and I had the money to hire the right people.
My alarm beeped, dragging me away from my contemplations. Fuck. I needed to get ready and head to the office. I had an appointment with a new client at nine. I was suddenly reminded of the bomb my partner had dropped on me the day before. I sighed and dragged my hands through my hair in frustration.
Then I hardened with resolve. I was going to get my ass to the office and figure out how to deal with that mess. Then I would make some calls and get started tracking Madison’s sexy little ass down.
Chapter Four
Madison
Leaving Ethan’s bed was harder than I’d thought it would be. I’d wanted to curl up against him and stay there until he woke up. I wasn’t sure about one-night stand etiquette, but another round would’ve been a great way to start the day. For a girl who’d never had a guy give her an orgasm before, I’d quickly become addicted to the way Ethan made me feel. But I’d reminded myself that what we had together was only for a night.
Since he was still sound asleep when I woke up, I took the opportunity to hightail it out of there without any of the awkward morning-after conversation I was desperate to avoid. I didn’t think I could handle it after everything he’d done to my body, and avoidance seemed like the best way to go.
I was a teacher and had the summer off, so there was no using work to distract me from my memories and thoughts about the night before. In order to ignore my regret for leaving him the way I had—along with a surprising amount of guilt over it, I ran around during the day to get things done before my appointment. But when I was minutes away from meeting the man who could change the course of my life by giving me the one thing I wanted more than anything, my best friend started to grill me about what I’d been up to the night before.
She’d tried to text and call me about a dozen times after I’d sent her my location, but my phone had been the last thing on my mind while I’d been in Ethan’s bed. I’d only sent her a brief reply this morning while I was on my way home, letting her know I’d tell her what happened when I saw her that evening. Melody was a nurse in Dr. Cole’s office. It was how she managed to finagle me an appointment with the renowned doctor. She was meeting me there to be my support system since I had no family.
I’d expected her to be more than a little bit curious when she finally got ahold of me, but I wasn’t anticipating outright shock or the odd look she gave me when I told her about my night.
“You had a one-night stand?” Melody shook her head like she couldn’t possibly imagine me confirming that it was true. “With the guy who lives at the address you sent me?”
“Yup.” I grinned, and her eyes grew wide.
She leaned towards me, her gaze darting around to make sure nobody was nearby. The she whispered, “Judging by the shit-eating grin on your face, can I at least assume it was good?”
“It was more than good. It was amazing. Fantastic. Incredible. Mind-blowing.”
“Stop.” Her ears turned bright red, like they usually did when her emotions were high. “You can’t tell me the specifics. At least not here.”
“But—”
“And maybe not ever,” she mumbled.
I pointed down at the questionnaire I was filling out. My medical records had already been transferred over from my gynecologist, but it didn’t include the same level of details as what I was answering now. “It’s not like anyone reading my responses on here won’t know every tiny detail about my sexual history anyway.”
Her eyes went even wider than before and all the color left her face. “Oh shit! You’re right.” She ripped the clipboard out of my hands. “Don’t answer anything else.”
“What? Why not? When we talked last week, you said that Dr. Cole is super picky about which patients he takes and that he asks for a ridiculous level of information to help him make a decision.” I tried to yank the packet away from her, but she refused to let go. “You specifically warned me not to let a little embarrassment get in the way because he’s one of the top reproductive endocrinologists in the country. With a program that offers a money-back guarantee! And now you’re telling me that I should skip a bunch of the required questions on his survey? Because why?”
She heaved a deep sigh, bit her bottom lip, and looked at me with an apology clear in her eyes. “You’re not going to—”
She broke off mid-sentence, jerking up in her chair when one of her co-workers walked over and asked, “Is Miss Carlyle almost done with her paperwork?” Her gaze darted down to the clipboard in Melody’s hand. “She’s his last patient and I don’t want to keep him waiting. Dr. Cole has been in one heck of a mood today.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Melody groaned, pressing the clipboard against her chest. “Give us a few more minutes, and she’ll be ready to go in.”
The woman didn’t look happy about the wait, but she walked over to another desk, sat down, and started tapping away at the keyboard.
Melody leaned closer and whispered, “The guy you spent last night with; you didn’t get his last name?”
“No, it was strictly first names only.” I kept my voice low, too. It was one thing to jot down embarrassing answers on a questionnaire because it was medically necessary for the doctor to know all those details. It was entirely another thing to discuss my sex life with my best friend with the office staff listening in.
“And you snuck out while he was sleeping?”
“Yes, I already told you that part,” I snapped. “Now hand over that paperwork so I can finish it before your co-worker decides that the easiest way to keep your boss happy is to skip over the patient who you somehow managed to barely squeeze into an already jam-packed schedule because you love me so much.”
“Just do me a favor and remember how much I love you.”
I gently pried the clipboard out of her grasp and gave her hand a light squeeze.
“And you’re sure you still want to keep your appointment with Dr. Cole? Even after last night?”
“Yes! Of course, I do.” Just like I’d already told her, my time with Ethan had been amazing. If I’d met him as little as a month earlier—and not in the way we had, as a bar hook-up—I might have given her a different answer. But my biological clock was ticking fast, and I didn’t want to lose this chance to get pregnant since Dr. Cole was my best bet of making it happen. “C’mon, Melody. Stop being so weird after you went to so much trouble to get me this appointment in the first place. You’re going to ruin my chances
with Dr. Cole!”
“That ship probably already sailed,” she sighed.
“What in the hell does that mean?”
She didn’t get the chance to explain because her co-worker stomped over to us and snapped, “If she’s going in to see Dr. Cole, it has to be now, Melody. He kept the office open as a favor to you.” Her face had a sour look like she’d been sucking on lemons, clearly unhappy with the situation.
“Whatever it is, you can tell me about it later.” I jumped up and flashed my best friend an apologetic smile before I turned to her co-worker. “I’m ready to go.”
Melody groaned something about me being in for one hell of a surprise as we walked away. I didn’t understand what she meant until about five minutes later when I was settled in an office and the door opened after a swift knock. Although Melody had worked for this medical office for a few years, it was the first time I’d ever been there. I’d met a few of her co-workers when I’d met up with them for drinks, but never her boss since, from what Melody had told me, he didn’t really hang out with his staff.
But the man who walked into the room was no stranger to me. After last night, he was the exact opposite. And suddenly, Melody’s weird reaction to my story made sense—she must have recognized the address I’d sent her. That’s why she’d tried to contact me so many times last night; she’d been trying to stop me from sleeping with the doctor I was hoping would get me pregnant with the baby I so desperately wanted.
“Ethan?”
Chapter Five
Ethan
I opened my office door with my head down, still reading through my next patient’s chart.
“Ethan?”
My head flew up at the sound of the familiar voice and my eyes locked with gorgeous brown ones that I’d seen filled with hunger and fire the night before. Madison stared at me, open-mouthed, and her cheeks flushed.
My first reaction was pleasure at seeing her again, but then I remembered why I’d been acting like an asshole all day. Irritation quickly spread through my body. Then…I remembered what I do for a living and why Madison would be waiting for me in my office.