Page 4 of Rockstar Baby Daddy

“Fine.”

She gathered her leather document holder and rounded the table, setting one gentle hand on my shoulder. “Don’t look so glum, Gavin Ross. If it makes you feel better, I’m not really a good and caring person. My concern is strictly selfish.”

I looked up at her, a question in my eyes. She’d already gone above what was necessary to get me tested and she thought she wasn’t a good person? “That’s a lie.”

Suzie shrugged. “If you wait too long and your voice can’t be fixed, whose music will be the soundtrack to my life?”

I blinked at the beautiful blond with hot-pink glasses that were giving off seriously sexy nerdy-girl vibes and smiled. “Be careful, Suzie, or you just might become my muse.”

Her cheeks turned an endearing shade of pink and suddenly, I wasn’t all that worried about spending a few months in Jackson’s Ridge. In fact, a few months might be just what I needed to get my voice fixed and my next album written. Without the chaos of Los Angeles and contractual obligations, I might even be able to get it done before the studio’s deadline.

Suzie

After yesterday’s mustard debacle, I opted for a simple garden salad for lunch today. My ability to plan and organize, unfortunately, did not extend to my ability to meal plan or figure out the next day’s lunch ahead of time. As the senior executive in the facility, one of the most useful perks was a discount on cafeteria food, which was good since I ate nearly all of my lunches inside the four peach walls of the cafeteria.

Not today, though. The plan was to grab a salad and head back to my office to double check the schedules of each grouping of staff, make sure no department was close to exceeding their budget and to act as go between for department heads. It was my job to keep JRMC running like the well-oiled machine I’d honed it to be over the years. If everyone had what they needed to do their respective jobs, we could continue to be the premier medical center outside of major universities in the state. My next goal was to get us certified as a level one trauma center.

But first, I needed to replace several of the young nurses who’d fled to the city in search of nightlife and true love. I wished them well even though I firmly believed all four of them were on a fool’s errand.

If you couldn’t find what you wanted out of life where you were happiest, you wouldn’t likely find it anywhere. Would I like to meet a man to fall in love with and take the plunge, rounding out the photo with a picket fence and two-point-five kids? Absolutely. The problem was, I grew up in Jackson’s Ridge and spent most of my life outside of college in this small town, which meant I knew pretty much every man over the age of eighteen. I’d either dated them in school, babysat them, sold them cookies, or helped them get funding for some type of medical procedure. I absolutely did not blame the young nurses for leaving in search of the future they wanted—a girl had to do whatever she could to find her happy. But I also figured they’d be back here, at JRMC and Jackson’s Ridge, within a year.

“You’re thinking so hard, smoke is kicking up all around you.”

My mind and body froze at the sound of that voice. I knew that voice well—and I should, since it had been in my head for more than twenty years. Gavin Ross. I took a moment to steel myself against his beautiful face and raw sex appeal. The man was too potent for a frumpy girl like me, whose favorite wardrobe item was my collection of colorful eyeglasses. I didn’t need to let him see just how attractive I found him, so I kept my expression neutral and turned to face him.Dammit.I should have taken a few more seconds. I swear he’d gotten even more attractive since yesterday.

Gavin was gorgeous under the magic of Hollywood, and I knew that from hundreds of magazine covers, billboards, posters, and television interviews. But nothing in the whole world could have prepared me for just how beautiful he was in the flesh.

I cocked an eyebrow at his words and slid my tray down the line. “Scared of a woman who thinks, Gavin?”

He licked his lips and leaned in to bump our shoulders together. “Not as long as she’s thinking about me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry to say I was making sure the OR schedule was updated for the next couple days. Bummed out?”

“Nah, you seem like a very capable multi-tasker.”

I shrugged off his words that sounded like a compliment, but felt like a criticism. “Thanks?”

Gavin shook his head. “You save lives and run a whole hospital, but you can’t take a compliment. We’ll have to work on that.”

“Will we?” It was such an odd thing to hear from a man I had met less than twenty-fours ago.

Gavin’s laugh wasn’t full throttle, which only reminded me why he was at JRMC and in Jackson’s Ridge. “Absolutely. Stick with me and I’ll have you accepting words that aren’t even compliments as compliments.”

“Are you here for your appointment?”

“I can’t be here just to see you?”

My eyes rolled skyward at his attempt to flirt with me. At least, that was what I thought it was. “We both know I’m not the reason you’re here.”

“Then let’s just say we’re both right,” he shot back with a smile. “I’m here for my appointment, but I came in early to see you.”

I felt my brows pulled down into a vee of confusion. “Why?”

“I like you, Suzie Wright.”

Oh, how I wished that were true. I mean, sure he probably did like me, I was a perfectly likable woman. But that gleam in his forest green eyes wasn’t for me. “You mean, you like that I’m a fan. A huge fan.”

He nodded. “I do like that you’re a real fan who knows my stories and my songs, sure. But that pep talk you gave me the other day reminded me a lot of my granddaddy. He would use a few more colorful words than you did, but the gist was the same, and few people give it to me straight like that, even when I need it.”

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