Page 25 of The Doctor

He chuckles lowly, shaking his head. “I have no idea what channel that is.”

I’m not surprised he has no clue what channel Bravo is on. He’s probably never watched a show on that channel a day in his life.

Curling up on the couch, I pick up my bowl of soup and place it on my lap. “We don’t have to watch it. I can wait until I get home. What shows do you watch?”

“It’s fine, really. The only TV I usually watch is sports. Normally in my free time, I read or go for hikes.” Turning to look at me, he gives me an almost shy smile. “I don’t have a lot of free time.”

I like that he’s a reader.

“I can imagine your schedule is unpredictable.”

“I sleep when I can since my patients can go into labor at any time of the day or night. It’s not uncommon for me to be called to the hospital in the middle of the night.”

I bite my lower lip. “Even though you’re not my doctor, can I ask you a pregnancy question?”

He moves so his arm is resting on the couch cushion, and his hand is only an inch away from my leg. “You can ask me anything, anytime.”

“While I’m not getting called away to bring babies into the world, sometimes I do have unpredictable hours because of my job,” I start.

“Okay, that’s not really a question,” his brows pull together. “Are you asking if you should keep your job?”

“What? No, I’m not asking you that. Of course, I’m keeping my job.” With each word, my voice rises. Taking a deep breath, I try to calm myself down. “There’s no way I’m quitting my job. I wouldn’t be able to support myself or the baby.”

“Okay,” he holds his hands up. “I’m sorry. What’s your question?”

Maybe I shouldn’t ask. Every time I feel like things are moving forward, something immediately happens, and we move two steps back.

Leaning forward, I set my soup down. “There are times with my job that we have to work very late at night or early in the morning. It’s difficult to keep a decent sleep schedule, but what I’m wondering is I’ve read conflicting things about drinking caffeine. Sometimes I’m so tired, and all I want is a cup of coffee, but I don’t want to do anything that will hurt the baby.”

“While I don’t recommend having coffee every day, I think it would be fine if you occasionally have a cup when you’re extremely tired and need to work.” He loses his slight smile, and his face becomes stern. “But only one on those days.”

Then he cracks a smile. “How does that sound?”

“I think it sounds a whole heck of a lot better than zero cups of coffee. Thanks. I wasn’t sure how I was going to function, and I didn’t want Lexie to have to find someone else to be her assistant when we have crazy shoot times.”

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do once the baby comes?” He asks, his index finger trailing along the side of my leg.

“For work?” I question, unsure of what he’s asking. He nods and continues to touch my leg. His touch makes it difficult to remember his question. “I’ll bring the baby with me. Lexie has Delilah around with someone who watches her when Ryder can’t.” I shrug because no, I haven’t thought too much about it. I’ve barely accepted that I’m pregnant. If this baby wasn’t trying to make me expel my insides like a horror movie, I’d probably still be in denial.

“You’ve still got time to figure it out. I wasn’t sure if you were going to try to get another job or—”

“Oh, no, I’m not leaving Lexie,” I pull my leg away from his touch. “I love my job and being her assistant.”

He frowns down at where my leg was. “Surely, you had higher hopes than being an assistant.”

I’m an easy-going person, and it takes a lot to make me mad, but right now, Kade has made my insides change from rolling with nausea to feeling like I’m about to explode. I’m so angry. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to come here. I should have stayed home and stuck it out.

Sliding off the couch and away from him, I can barely look in his direction when I speak. “You know what? You can go eff yourself. While I may not be a doctor, I love my job and the people I work with. I might not make the big bucks like you, but I’m happy at what I do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to my room before I say something I won’t be able to take back.”

I don’t give him a chance to respond before I storm off. I’m close to slamming the door but realize it’s not my house, and it would be childish—even though I want him to know how pissed off I am at him for discounting me and my job.

Lying on the way-too-comfortable bed, I punch the pillow as angry tears silently slip down my cheeks. I was stupid to think there could ever be more to Kade and me than being acquaintances who share a child together. He’s always going to see me as someone less than.

“Do you not swear?” He rumbles, making me jump.

With my hand to my heart, I turn onto my back and look to the doorway where he’s standing. “Do you not knock?”

“I did knock, but you didn’t answer.”

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