The M.D. Next Door

He turned and walked away from her with a reluctance that was starting to feel all too familiar the more time he spent with her. Maybe Saturday night, he wouldn’t have to be in such a hurry to leave.

It was getting a little too easy to be with Seth, Meagan thought sometime late Saturday evening. She’d known the man less than a month. Should it feel so familiar to sit across a dinner table from him? To dance with him afterward at a small, dimly lit, live-music club? Should they have so many little private jokes already? Seemingly random things that made them look at each other and smile each knowing what the other was thinking?

They had shared a few meals and one brief kiss. She had helped him with his daughter and his housekeeper search, he had taken her to a charity dance and out for dinner a couple of times, both with and without his daughter. That was the extent of their…relationship, for want of a better word. She’d spent more one-on-one time with patients.

And yet…

His gaze met hers across the tiny table in the colorfully-lit music bar and he smiled. Her heart tripped.

And yet.

The band launched into a song that was too loud to encourage conversation, but Seth made himself clear enough when he motioned to ask if she wanted to dance again. She thought about it a moment, then held up one finger to indicate that she was up for one more. He grinned, stood, and held out his hand.

She laid her hand in his, their fingers intertwining as they maneuvered their way onto the crowded dance floor. They had chosen a club that didn’t skew too young; most of the others surrounding them were in their late twenties through late thirties. Meagan’s dark jeans and floaty black-and-red-print top fit in just fine with the crowd, as did Seth’s khakis and casual shirt. The band was loud but talented. Meagan enjoyed both the music and the dancing, and the place served an excellent strawberry margarita. Because he was driving, Seth ordered only a beer and he nursed that slowly during the evening, munching on chips and salsa along with it.

As low-key as the evening was, Meagan couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a date so much.

Seth held her close when they danced, and she suspected that was only partially because there was no room for them to move farther apart. He seemed to be enjoying the evening as much as she was. Already her thoughts were racing ahead to the moment when he would walk her to her door. Alice was gone for the night, so there would be no need for him to rush home. She could ask him in for coffee or…something.

His hand moved against the small of her back and she felt a rush of heat flow from that spot through her veins. His eyes gleamed in the flickering club lights, the green darkened to smoky emerald in the shadows. She couldn’t quite read the expression there, but she could make a guess at his thoughts if they were anything like her own.

The club was still rocking when they left a few minutes later, but Meagan was ready to go. As much fun as it had been, her ears had been assaulted enough for one evening. They were ringing a little when she strapped herself into Seth’s car, and as a physician she knew that wasn’t good for her long-term hearing. But she went to a club maybe twice a year and lived quite sensibly the rest of the time, so she would have no regrets about having had a little fun this evening.

They hadn’t talked much about Alice that evening, nor about the search for a housekeeper or any of the other daily responsibilities either of them faced. By unspoken agreement they’d kept their conversations light and diverse, talking of music and books and films, touching on politics and current events, sharing a few tidbits that gave them a little more insight into each other. Conversation for adults enjoying each other’s companionship, with no outside responsibilities for just that one evening. She kept her phone nearby in case she was needed and she had no doubt that Seth did the same, but the devices stayed mercifully silent during those few hours.

Seth was the one who brought them back to reality during the drive home. “So, I hired a housekeeper this afternoon.”

She hadn’t even thought to ask how the interviews had gone that morning, which only showed how captivated she was by Seth himself. “Who did you hire?”

“Got a guess?”

Something about his wry tone made her smile and say, “Jacqui.”

“Yeah.”

“Alice convinced you?”

“I can’t say I wasn’t influenced by Alice’s opinion. But once I met Jacqui, I saw why you and Alice both thought she’d be good for the job. She has a way of inspiring confidence, doesn’t she?”

Meagan laughed softly, remembering Jacqui’s direct gaze and self-possessed demeanor. “She does.”

“She is young—and at first glance, looks even younger than she is. I hope that doesn’t mean she’ll get bored quickly and move on, but she said she’s looking for a long-term position. She was with her last employer for almost a year, so that’s encouraging.”

“She certainly had some glowing recommendations.”

“She did. I called a couple of them yesterday, after I set up the interview with Jacqui this morning, and everyone I talked with spoke highly of her.”

Meagan nodded. “I’m not really surprised. I read the letters she provided.”

“She couldn’t be more different than Nina.”

“Not much.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing. It would be hard for anyone to stand up to a direct comparison to Nina, as we might have been tempted to do with some of the older women who applied. This way we’re really starting fresh.”

Meagan studied his profile as he drove, glad he was the one who’d made the final decision, and not her. It had to have been difficult to choose someone with whom to trust his home and his daughter, as he’d pointed out to Alice the other night. “Are you nervous about it?”

He shrugged. “Not really. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just blame you.”