The M.D. Next Door

Somewhat miraculously, not once during the evening had a phone rang—neither his nor hers. They’d managed only an hour together last night before Meagan had been called to the hospital for an emergency surgery, which had made tonight’s uninterrupted time together even more special.

He ran a towel over his dripping head, swiped it over his chest, then looped it around his neck. “Getting tired?” he asked Meagan.

“I should be,” she said with a smile. “It’s been a long day. But for some reason, I’m not. I think I’d like a cup of tea. Do you want some?”

“Sounds good.”

Sliding his damp, bare feet into his shoes, he followed her into the house.

Meagan took a quick shower and dressed quickly in a loose T-shirt and dorm pants. She left Seth to shower and dress while she went to make their tea. Only a few minutes later, dressed now in a polo shirt and jeans, he leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching her puttering around the kitchen. Two steaming mugs waited on the counter while she put away the tea canister and rummaged in the cupboard, maybe looking for a late-night snack to go with the hot beverage.

He could end every day just like this, he thought in a somewhat wistful satisfaction. If only Alice were here, everything would be perfect.

“Meagan.”

She glanced over her shoulder with a distracted smile. “Yes?”

“Do you have plans for tomorrow?”

She shrugged and turned her attention back to the cupboard. “Nothing specific. I’m not on call, which doesn’t mean my phone won’t ring at some point, anyway, but I shouldn’t have to go by the hospital. I need to do some laundry and grocery shopping, run by Mom’s for a while, that sort of thing.”

“Do you want to go with me to meet Alice at the airport?”

Her hands went still. He knew she hadn’t missed the implications beneath the seemingly casual invitation.

“I’m sure you’d rather greet your daughter privately,” she said after a moment, her voice oddly strained. “You haven’t seen her in a month.”

“She’d love to see you, too. She’s asked about you several times when she called.”

“You haven’t told her we’ve been, um, seeing each other, have you?”

“No. I gave her the impression I’ve seen you in passing a few times. I didn’t think she needed to know more than that. Yet.”

She turned slowly, her expression troubled. “There’s no need for her to ever know. We’ve had some fun. Spent a little free time together while you were at loose ends for a few weeks. That doesn’t mean—”

He felt his eyebrows draw downward. “Are you suggesting I was using you to keep me from missing my daughter?”

“I never thought you were using me,” she assured him hastily. “I’ve had a great time, too.”

He didn’t like the way she was using the past tense. Or the implication that their good times ended tonight.

He supposed he couldn’t blame her for the way she had interpreted his actions during the past few weeks. Maybe at the beginning he had seen their evenings together as a temporary diversion. But the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to be with her. He found himself wanting to believe they could still spend time together even after his life returned to normal.

“All I’m suggesting is that you come with me to get Alice.”

“I know.” She moistened her lips. “But I wouldn’t want her to misinterpret us coming together to pick her up.”

“Misinterpret in what way?” he asked, though he was pretty sure he got the idea.

“I don’t want her to think we’re a couple. Or even a potential couple. I want her to continue thinking of us as friends. Neighbors. Nothing more.”

“Look, Meagan.” He pushed a hand through his hair, wondering how to phrase what he wanted to say. “I think maybe I hurt your feelings a few weeks ago. I mean, we went out a couple of times, seemed to be hitting it off pretty well and then…well, I pulled back. I’ll admit it. I started having second thoughts.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he forestalled her with a raised hand. “I guess I got a little nervous. Alice was matchmaking, everyone kept saying what a great couple we made, everything was going so well…and then you went back to work. And things, well, things changed.”

He knew how awkward he sounded, but he didn’t know how else to explain his behavior of the past month. He was still struggling to understand it, himself. He supposed he’d panicked a little when he’d realized how hard he was falling for his pretty neighbor. But in the long run, he just couldn’t stay away. And the past three weeks had been amazing.

“Yes, things changed,” Meagan repeated quietly.