“No.” Clever shakes his head and fists his outstretched hands. “I’ll take her.”
I wiggle slightly because I feel less like a damsel in distress and more like the prize in a pissing match. “I can stand on my own.”
Donovan gently sets me down, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Lean on me if you need to, Delia.”
Need or want?
I keep that question to myself and smile up at him. Still stunned that he’s on this cruise, I shake my head slightly.
“Wait.” He sucks in a deep breath. “I’m assuming you’re aware of who I am. You followed me on Instagram a while ago. I followed back. I’m…”
“Dr. Donovan Hunt,” I finish his introduction for him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
CHAPTER TWO
Donovan
I stand silently in the corner and watch as a man wearing a white lab coat studies Delia’s toes.
He’s barely paid any attention to the one that was bleeding when we first arrived to the ship’s medical facility. I anticipated we’d be ushered into a crowded room, but this spacious area rivals any well-appointed clinic I’ve ever been in.
A nurse greeted Delia and assured her she’d be well taken care of. Then, we were taken down a corridor with three separate exam stations separated by thick curtains.
It’s obvious that the people in charge of this particular cruise line spared no expense in terms of décor and the ratio of staff to guests.
As we made our way here, we must have passed twenty people all decked out in what I assume is the mandatory blue and white staff uniform.
Delia walked half the length of this monstrous vessel with a cut on her toe. I slowed my normal pace to stay in step with her because I knew Clever was trailing us.
Who names their kid Clever?
“Does she need a stitch?” I ask to move this along.
I already know the answer to that question. Since the doctor wiped away the blood, the wound is visible. It’s a surface scrape. Her toe will be as good as new in a day or two with a bit of antibiotic ointment and a small bandage.
“You can’t rush medicine,” the doctor tosses those words out like they mean something.
You can rush it and often have to.
I’m not thrust into life-and-death emergencies on a daily basis, but I do handle critical cases several times each month.
It’s neither here nor there that my patients are pets. Many, if not most of them, are considered treasured family members.
Delia wiggles all of the toes on the foot wrapped in the doctor’s hand. “It’s fine now. I’m good to go.”
His gaze trails up her legs to the hem of her dress.
When we arrived, he asked her to sit on the exam table. I saw the merit in that since he didn’t want to bend down to gaze at her foot, but he’s taking the concept of a thorough exam to a new level.
“I’ll keep an eye on it,” I offer.
“Me too,” Clever adds his voice to the mix. “I can stop by Delia’s cabin every few hours to check out her toe and anything else she needs checking.”
I toss him my best back-the-hell-off look, but he’s not paying attention to anything but Delia’s breasts.
She’s a petite brown-eyed blonde with a beautiful face and lush curves. It’s no wonder all three men in this crowded room can’t take their eyes off her. In the case of Dr. Feelingherfeet, he can’t take his hands off her either.
Feil. His name is Dr. Feil.