Page 115 of Doctorshipped
“No spin. Please, no spin,” Jayme pleads.
“Yes. I’ve got it!” Ella Mae says, as if Jayme didn’t say anything. Ella Mae looks at me. “Are you willing to dress as a vampire?”
I say, “Yes,” at the same time as Jayme shouts, “No!”
I smile over at Jayme.
“It’s up to Jayme,” I tell Ella Mae.
“Grant is not dressing as a vampire—or going on my social media.”
Ella Mae pouts. I’m not quite sure if her pout is genuine or contrived at this point.
“You really are making this hard on me,” Ella Mae says to Jayme.
“I don’t mean to make it hard on you, but I have to draw some lines. Grant on my socials is a definite no. It’s not happening.”
Ella Mae sighs. “If you insist.”
“I do.”
Ella Mae pulls her phone back out. She turns to Jayme. “Leave it to me. I’ll take care of everything.”
Jayme looks at Ella Mae and then at me.
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
We leavethe ice cream parlor without much more fanfare. A few people turn to look at the four of us together, but I imagine they realize Jayme is Fiona’s tutor and we’re all out together for an afternoon. I tell Jayme as much when we’re back at the house. Fiona’s out in the back yard with dad.
Tutoring will start shortly, so I’m trying to make the most of a few moments alone with Jayme in my office. My arms are looped behind her back, and she’s got her arms around my waist. The comfort between us should surprise me, but in some ways we’ve been leading up to this ever since that first meeting.
We’re not starting anything right now because we know it will either be cut short or interrupted, but we can’t seem to stop touching one another either.
“Well, we made it on our first outing as a couple into town unscathed—with the exception of running into Ella Mae, of course. But she’s focused on your social media, so we’ll probably fly under the radar of the rumor mill for the time being.”
“You think so, huh?” Jayme gives me an adorable side eye. “You don’t know this town. We just became the scorching hot topic. A few sightings of us out together is all it takes. And that run-in with Ella Mae, well, consider us outed, Doctor Peppers.”
I act like I hate the nickname. It always made me grouse before, but from her lips, it’s like a tease—an invitation to come out and play.
“Well now, Miss Culhane. If you think the rumor mill was greased, let them bring their worst. We’re ready.”
Jayme’s playfulness shifts to something more serious.
“Are you really? Because you are not going to be able to leave this house without being hounded and scoped out. Actually, you won’t even have to leave this house. They’ll come to you!”
“Fee and I already experienced all the stares, the quiet whispers, the not-so-quiet whispers. And the casseroles. Let’s not forget the casseroles. Been there, done that, still waiting for the T-shirt,” I tell Jayme, hoping I can put any uncertainty to rest.
“Oh, you want a quirky T-shirt now, do you? This I can arrange. Hmmm. Let me see. How about,Hot, Broody Doctor?”
“I preferWorld’s Most Practical Realist.”
“Only if it has a graphic of a rain cloud over the word,Realist.”
“Anything for you,” I say in a low voice, meaning those words in a way I’ve never before.
I’m about to lean in to kiss her. I need to. I can’t stand here, looking into those warm, playful eyes, feeling her against me, experiencing an awakening of all these dead places inside me without kissing her. Who cares if we’ll be interrupted. Fiona seems all for us, and I don’t care what anyone else thinks.
As if on cue, there’s a “Yoo-hoo” at the door. A man’s voice echoes through the hallway. I reluctantly release Jayme and walk out to see who’s here. Usually patients don’t pop in unannounced this late in the day unless there’s an emergency.
