LITMIR.BIZ

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waved the question away. “First exams are freebies.”

      For some reason, that irritated her. She wasn’t a charity case. She could pay her own way, even if it was hard sometimes.

      “If you’re giving people freebies all over the place,” she said crisply, “I don’t see how you’re going to make enough to keep any sort of staff for long.”

      He looked up after strapping her up to the monitor and laughed aloud. “My God, I’m hiring someone who actually understands how things work. Keep this up and I’ll have to make you office manager.”

      It was humiliating how those half-mocking words of praise made her glow with satisfaction. She had to cover that up quickly.

      “You can’t make me into anything.”

      He didn’t bother to respond. He’d caught on long ago to the fact that most of her words didn’t mean a thing and were just a way to keep him at arm’s length. That was okay. Although he understood her need to protect herself, he just wanted to make sure that she didn’t lose sight of what was important—the welfare of this baby she was carrying.

      He’d noticed her over the last few weeks, whenever he’d stopped by Millie’s for a quick bite. He’d been keeping an eye on the evidence of her baby’s progress, though he’d never said anything to her until she’d dropped into a faint at his feet. She had a bright, intelligent look to her that he’d liked and he’d wondered about her. He’d noticed that there was no wedding ring and it reminded him of his own unsettling situation….

      It had only been a few weeks since an old friend passing through the area had called and innocently asked him what had ever happened to Penny Hagar, a young woman Matt had dated in Dallas a couple of years before. And then he’d asked about the baby.

      “Baby?” Matt had responded, startled. “What baby?”

      That was the first hint he’d ever had that Penny had become pregnant during their relationship. Since that day, searching for Penny and her baby had begun to consume more and more of his time and energy. He’d hired a private investigator once his own efforts had come up dry. So far, even the professional wasn’t having any luck. But the whole affair had made him much more aware of the babies around him. The world seemed to be full of them. Including the one Annie was carrying. And considering giving away.

      “So what kind of staff do you have, anyway?” Annie asked, assuming she would be working right alongside them soon.

      “Here in this office? There are two of us family practice physicians. We’ve got a combination receptionist-bookkeeper, a practical nurse and an RN. We’re thinking of hiring a physician’s assistant, too.”

      She blinked, taking all that in. “So where exactly will I fit in?”

      Turning, he looked at her. “I guess I didn’t make myself clear. You won’t be working here. I’ve also got an office at Allman Industries. That’s where I’m going to need you.”

      “Allman Industries.” She said the words slowly, thinking it over. There had been no such thing as Allman Industries when she’d lived here off and on as a child, but she’d heard it mentioned since she’d come back. As she remembered, it was housed in a big old building just off Main Street, one of those structures with gargoyles at the corners, looking like something that came from times gone by.

      “Does that meet with your approval?” he asked her, getting a little sarcastic himself.

      “I don’t know,” she said pertly. “We’ll have to see.”

      He nodded. “I’ll be awaiting your judgment with bated breath,” he said. “What I need at the office is someone to keep track of what the hell I’m doing. I’m basically the company medical staff at Allman’s, but I keep getting drafted into business meetings as well. My father is doing his best to lure me away from medicine. What he’d really like is for me to take over the company. It gets a little difficult to know where I am or what I’m supposed to be doing sometimes.”

      She couldn’t imagine him having trouble telling anyone what he wanted or what he thought they should be doing. The man exuded confidence.

      “Why don’t you just tell him you don’t have time for the meetings?”

      He stared at her for a long moment before responding. Then he grinned. “Why indeed? That will be your first assignment. Tell everyone who calls that I’m too busy to accommodate them. You don’t know how that would simplify my life.”

      She shrugged. “That seems easy enough.”

      A series of expressions moved across his face. She didn’t know if he was amused or incredulous.

      “You just wait,” he said, shaking his head and laughing softly.

      “And I can assist you with some of the medical stuff, too,” she said, suddenly feeling she needed to explain that she had certain skills that deserved recognition.

      “I don’t think so,” he said. “You don’t have any nursing training.”

      “But I do.”

      That got his attention. He straightened and stared at her. “What?”

      “I was in my second year at Houston Medical School in the nursing program when I got pregnant and had to drop out.”

      He made a whistling sound. “Wow. That will be very helpful.”

      She shrugged. “I don’t have certification.”

      “No. And of course, you won’t be expected to take over any nursing duties. But just to know you’re experienced will be a big help. In a town like this, every little bit of knowledge counts.”

      He favored her with a lopsided grin that hinted at a new respect for her. That curled her toes for some unknown reason.

      “So you see, you were always meant for this job,” he said. “Kismet.”

      Kismet. She shivered. She knew the word just meant fate, but she didn’t like it. There was something romantic about it and romance was something she was dead set against.

      And that reminded her of something. Millie’s beautiful daughter Shelley was set to marry Matt’s brother Rafe. Everyone at the café had been buzzing about nothing else for days. Annie liked Shelley a lot, and she’d been just as interested as anyone in the progress toward the ceremony. Now she wondered about Matt. She knew he wasn’t married, but she couldn’t help but speculate about why that was. He was successful and attractive and wasn’t getting any younger. Men like him were usually spoken for by now.

      “Okay, Doc,” she said, forcing a stern frown. Craning her neck, she looked at the monitor screen. “What’s the verdict?”

      “You and the baby seem fine.”

      The sense of relief she felt surprised her. She hadn’t realized she might be more than a little concerned.

      “You see? All that worrying for nothing.”

      “No.” He shook his head. “It’s never for nothing.”

      He had that one right. The longer she hung around this man, the more attractive he was looking. Reason enough to worry. Reason enough to be very, very careful.

      And time to escape from this situation.

      “You going to let me out of this thing?” she asked.

      “Sure. Hold on.”

      He was turning off switches on the fetal monitor and she watched, starting to feel pretty darn pleased with herself. She’d been in close proximity to this very appealing man—he’d even had his hands on various parts of her body and had leaned very close a few times, so close that she could feel his body heat and catch a hint of some sort of clean and soapy scent—and had been assaulted with all sorts of tempting male virility. Yet she’d remained completely unmoved by it. She was doing okay. She wasn’t even hyperventilating.

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