Page 29 of Biker's Babygirl

“He kinda has,” I point out with a giggle.

Ellie’s expression brightens and she laughs, too. “You know, I guess you’re right. Don’t say that tohimthough.” She winks, then her expression sobers once more. “Duke still has a hard time with traditional doctors, even though he knows it’s not their fault his wife died.”

I take all this in, my mind spinning with the new information. And I can’t help but feel for the large, hulking man, who, if Ellie can be believed, took one of life’s worst pains and turned it into something wonderful.

“So he was kind of a nomad for a while, riding his motorcycle to every remote corner he could find. Shep didn’t want him to go alone, so they went together and he was Duke’s assistant until he wanted to get his own medical degree.”

“Wow.”

“That’s where Shep and I met, actually.”

“Oh. So do you two?—”

“No.” She cuts me off, a sharpness I haven’t heard before in her voice.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“No, don’t be.” Ellie waves a hand dismissively. “I was working at a diner to make ends meet while putting myself through school, and Shep told Duke about me. He came by to meet me for himself, and well. The rest is history. When he asked me to fix this place up, I wasn’t sure if he was hiring me to be an interior decorator, or a doctor.”

She pulled a face, making me giggle.

“So, anyway, when Shep told me about Duke losing Cynthia, and that he could barely stand to look at the place since, I came to town redecorating and turning it into a place he could also bring patients, if he needed to. Now we use it as a home base.”

“When you’re not on the road,” I muse. “How long do you usually, um… stay?”

Ellie gives me a long, assessing look that makes me want to avoid her eyes, but I force myself to look back at her. “Not long,” she says, and her tone is filled with regret.

“Oh. Okay, well?—”

But before I even know what I’m going to say, there’s a knock at the door. Almost immediately after, the door opens and Duke pops his head in. “You ready?”

His eyes find me, and the fluttering in my tummy intensifies. I know I need to look away, but I can’t. It’s like he’s locked me in some kind of staring contest, but with much higher, adult stakes.

When I feel my face flood with heat, I finally drop my eyes, but it doesn’t stop the pounding in my ears.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it.”

I look up just in time to see Ellie walk past, wearing a grin that tells me she’s seen everything on my face that I tried to hide.Ugh, I’m such an idiot.

But I don’t have long to meditate on that, either, because Duke walks in and shuts the door behind him, and my belly is quivering. I don’t know if it’s excitement or fear, but either way, I feel helpless to keep him from seeing more than I’d like.

Duke

“You okay?” I ask as I walk to the center of the small room.

“Sure. Yes. Of course,” she answers, rapid-fire, staring down at the floor. The color in her cheeks deepens.

“Ginny, look at me,” I command.

Her eyes flash to me instantly, which is more than a little gratifying. She bites down on her lower lip, chewing it, but she’s silent.

“What’s going on? If you’re not comfortable with me doing this, I can call Ellie back. You need an exam, but I don’t have tobe the one that gives it to you.” Iwantto be, but I don’t tell her that.

She shakes her head. “N-no. It’s… I’m fine.”

I cross my arms. “I don’t believe you.”

Her eyes widen slightly and she tips her head to the side, clearly unsure how to answer that.

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