Page 69 of Dr. Attending

Keep it up, princess.

I read his message with the same tone that he used with me in his bedroom—the deliciously dominant one that had me gladly kneeling in front of him, literally drooling for more.

I’ve been letting my mind wander back to him throughout the day, but even when I try to focus on the ridiculously sexy hookup, I get caught up in the rest. It feels like something fundamental has shifted between us, and it shockingly doesn’t freak me out.

As I start trying to figure out a flirty text that doesn’t sound desperate, my phone rings.

“What are you doing?”Weston growls as I answer the call.

I glance at the clock on the bottom corner of my laptop—it’s six thirty. I really should be done studying for the day, but I could probably make it through another set of practice questions if I grab an Uncrustable and an Alani energy drink.

“Just going through some stuff,” I answer cryptically.

“Caroline.” Weston’s voice lowers a register. “Did we not talk about this?”

I snicker to myself because technically, words weren’t exchanged—articles were.

When I left Weston’s house this morning to go study, he reminded me that I needed to take breaks throughout the day. I blew him off, obviously, which resulted in a slew of texts with links to research on information retention and study time.

Snooze.

To be fair, I know that he’s right—I have been pushing myself a little too hard. But there’s an end in sight, and if I can just make it through the next several weeks, I’ll be in a much better spot. I know I will be.

“Relax.” I sigh as I roll my head in a circle to relieve the giant knot in my left shoulder. “I’m fine. I promise.”

I actually feel a lot better than I did yesterday. I’m reinvigorated because of him—because of the surprising amount of peace he brings me.

Weston clicks his tongue like he doesn’t believe me. “Don’t make me come over there and force you to take a break.”

“I’d like to see you try,” I shoot back, knowing he won’t do it.

He has responsibilities that he can’t ignore for me, even if he wants to. And I wouldn’t ask him to.

“I’m about to drop Carter at my parents’ house for the week. I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes.”

My stomach drops as I try to compute what he just said.

“What—”

I don’t get a chance to finish my thought because he interrupts me, his tone so intense that it sends a shiver down my spine. “Bring a bag. You’re staying with me this week.”

Chapter 25

Weston

When I was trying to decide if I could return to Midtown Memorial, I reached out to the department leaders to see if they would waive my call requirement until after Carter’s first birthday. While it isn’t the norm to ask for an accommodation like that, I wanted to ensure we had our routine down first. Fortunately, they were more than willing to work with me and gave me all the time I needed to figure out a solution.

After a ton of logistical chess and thinking through options, the best choice was to have my parents watch him. Since my dad retired last year, they’ve slowed down a little. And while they are still ridiculously social and active in the community, they were thrilled to take their grandson for the few weeks a year that I had to take call.

I was slightly worried that a toddler on the verge of walking any day might prove too much for them, but given the barrage of pictures I’ve received this week from “Camp Ma Pa,” I’d say the three of them are doing just fine.

And so am I.

Do I miss my son? Yes, of course I do. But I’m also loving getting to have this uninterrupted time with Caroline.

We have one more free evening together before I have to go pick up Carter from my parent’s house, and I told my senior resident to leave me the hell alone. When I left my office, the service looked significantly better than it did last night, so I’m choosing to believe that nothing urgent will come up. And if it does, well, that’s how they’ll learn.

I open my phone to shoot Caroline a quick text as I slide into my car.

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