Page 16 of Tempting the Single Dad
"What happens next?" he asks, his eyes serious. "You said plans change, but... what does that mean for you? For your job in Boston?"
The question is fair, but complex. "Honestly? I'm not sure. My position here is for three months while Dr. Winters finalizes his retirement. After that..."
Hope and anxiety war in his expression. "After that, you go back to Boston?"
I shake my head slowly. "I don't think so. Not anymore. Maggie mentioned that they're looking for someone permanent. Someone who might want to buy into the practice eventually."
"And would you?" David asks, his voice carefully neutral. "Want that?"
I consider the question, looking around at the peaceful garden, the Victorian clinic with its warm wooden floors and sunlit rooms. I think about my sterile apartment in Boston, the frantic pace of the ER, the way I'd started to dread going to work.
"Three days ago, I would have said no," I admit. "But now... Now I'm thinking about it. Seriously thinking about it."
The hope in his eyes is almost unbearable in its intensity. "Because of Whitetail Falls?"
"Because of Whitetail Falls," I agree, then add softly, "and because of you and Diana."
He takes both my hands in his. "Miranda, I need you to be sure. I need you to want to stay for you, not just for us. I can't be the reason you give up your career plans."
His concern—not pushing me to stay for his sake, but wanting me to make the right choice for myself—only confirms what I already know: this man is worth changing plans for.
"David," I say, "I was burning out in Boston. That's why I took this posting in the first place. My mentor saw it happening and practically forced me to take a break." I smile ruefully. "Here I get to know my patients. Watch them grow. Be part of a community. Yesterday, Mrs. Patterson brought me homemadejam because I helped her grandson with his earache. I've never had that in Boston."
"Community matters," he agrees. "It's what got Diana and me through losing Elisa. And then Mom."
"I'm not giving up anything by considering staying here," I tell him. "I'm gaining something I didn't even know I was missing."
The relief in his smile makes my heart skip. His hands release mine only to frame my face, his touch achingly gentle.
"I'm falling in love with you," he says quietly, the words hanging in the crisp autumn air between us. "I know it's too soon to say that. I know it's crazy and impulsive. But it's true."
The simple declaration steals my breath.
"It is too soon," I agree, my voice barely above a whisper. "And completely crazy."
His face falls slightly, but before he can pull away, I catch his wrists, holding him in place.
"And I'm falling in love with you too," I continue, watching joy bloom across his features. "With you and with Diana and with this whole ridiculous fairy-tale town with its pumpkin festivals and hayrides."
He laughs, the sound warm and free. "Maggie is definitely watching us right now."
"Let her watch," I say, sliding my hands up to his shoulders.
His eyes darken, dropping to my mouth. "Dr. Allen, are you suggesting we give the town something to talk about?"
"Mr. Hilton," I counter, leaning closer until our noses almost touch. "I'm suggesting you kiss me before my one o'clock patient arrives and ruins the moment."
He doesn't need to be told twice. His lips find mine with perfect certainty, soft and warm and tasting faintly of apple cider. Unlike our desperate kisses in the barn or even the tender goodbye in the parking lot, this kiss feels like a beginning. Unhurried, thorough, full of promise.
His hands slide into my hair, cradling my head as if I'm something precious. I melt against him, my fingers curling into the worn flannel of his shirt, anchoring myself to his solid warmth. He kisses like a man who has all the time in the world, like each press of his lips is a vow he intends to keep.
When we finally part, I'm breathless and dizzy, my heart pounding against my ribs.
"Still too soon?" he asks, his voice a low rumble that I feel more than hear.
I shake my head, unable to stop smiling. "I think time works differently in Whitetail Falls. Three days here is like three months anywhere else."
A throat clears behind us, and we turn to find Maggie standing at the garden door, arms crossed but expression amused.
