Touched, she accepted the gift and lifted it to her nose, inhaling the sweet fragrance. “Thank you. Is this my surprise?”

“Oh, no.” Snagging one arm around her waist, he drew her toward him, his head already ducking toward hers. “I’ve got quite a few of those in store yet.”

Holding the rose in her right hand, she looped both arms loosely around his neck and brushed her lips against his. “I can’t wait to see what they are.”

His hands beneath her bottom, he hoisted her into the air. She laughed and locked her legs around his hips. “What about dinner?”

Carrying her as easily as if she weighed nothing at all, he moved toward the open door to the bedroom. “It’ll keep another half hour or so. Let’s start with something to whet our appetites, shall we?”

“I think that’s a brilliant plan,” she said, then pressed her lips against his again.

Chapter Three

“So, how did your study session go?” Liam asked when they settled in the living room a couple of hours after she’d returned home.

“Not bad. We got quite a lot accomplished, I think. What about you? Did you get started on your book today?”

He studiously examined his fingernails. “Um, yeah. Sort of.”

“Not going so well?”

“I spent today sort of settling in. Setting up my stuff in the office, getting organized. I glanced over the revision letter again, but I thought I’d wait until tomorrow to really dive in.”

“That makes sense. Do you have everything you need in the office?”

“Sure. All I really need is a place to set up my computer. The desk in there is fine. Comfy chair.”

She smiled wryly. “Dad bought it for me. He said I need a comfortable place to study. I’ve sat in it maybe half a dozen times. I study a lot better sprawled on the couch or sitting on my feet in a kitchen chair than at a desk.”

“Maybe that was the reason I couldn’t concentrate in there. I’m not accustomed to being comfortable when I work. I’ve written most of this book in hole-in-the-wall hotel rooms, and on airplanes and buses, or wherever I could find a quiet spot to set up my laptop or pull out a pen and pad.”

Her smiled felt a bit strained. “I guess you’ll just have to get used to staying in one spot for more than a few days at a time, and having nothing to do except concentrate on your writing.”

“I think I can manage that,” he replied, his own smile bright. “Having you here—at least part of the time—is certainly a nice side benefit.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure how I feel about being called a ‘side benefit.’”

He laughed. “No offense intended.”

Settling against him on the couch, she leaned her head against his shoulder, enjoying the rare moment of intimacy. “I could probably take another hour off before I have to get back to my books tonight. Want to watch some TV or something?”

He rested his cheek against her hair. “I’d rather just sit here with you.”

She liked the sound of that.

They spent that hour snuggling and talking and laughing. She could get used to this, she thought as they chuckled together over another funny story he told her about his travels. Too easily, actually. She had a difficult time returning to her studies when she could be nestled against Liam instead.

It was probably just as well he was only staying for a couple of weeks. She could concentrate exclusively on her work again after he left. Assuming, of course, she didn’t miss him too much to focus on anything but his absence, sh

e thought uneasily.

She was up early Sunday morning, anxious to make up for lost time. While Liam had watched television, she had only managed a couple of hours studying last night. She’d assured him the noise wouldn’t bother her while she sat at the kitchen table immersed in her books. She could study in noisy coffee shops, on buses and planes, anywhere she could find a place to sit with a book or her computer. She had the ability to tune out everything else except the material in front of her.

Although it wasn’t always easy to tune out Liam. Several times last night she’d found herself gazing at him as he’d focused on the flickering screen, admiring the way the flashing light danced over his face, the way his mouth curved upward when he was intrigued or amused, the way he frowned when he disagreed with something spouted by a political “expert” on the news programs he favored. Each time, she’d had to force herself to return to her studies, though what she’d really wanted to do was climb into Liam’s lap and taste that so-expressive mouth.

He hadn’t said anything about how late she’d worked, though she’d become aware of his looks of concern and disapproval. She’d urged him to go on to bed whenever he got tired, but he’d assured her he was still adjusting to central time and wasn’t ready to turn in yet. Finally deciding they both needed rest, she’d shut down her computer and accompanied him to the bedroom, where they’d fallen asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.

It would be all too easy to grow accustomed to waking with him lying beside her, she mused as she turned on her computer for a new day of work.

Tags: Gina Wilkins Doctors in Training Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net