Page 104 of The Blessings of Christmas
A young couple walked by. The father was comforting a toddler in his arms. A lot of kids must get sick around the holidays. Would she ever have that? A man who cared enough about her enough to want a family?
Then she came to her senses. First things first.
“You look familiar.” The nurse checked the paperwork. “Victoria. Do you own Victoria’s Pantry?”
“Yes. I do.” She sat up straighter.
“My friends and I grab coffee and scones there once in a while. Great place.” She smiled.
“We just put up our Christmas tree.”
“Got your Christmas shopping done?”
“No, I usually get gift cards.” But this year that sounded stupid. Gift cards weren’t quite in the spirit of the season she was trying to create in the shop.
“Okay, Dr. Darling will be with you in a second.” As she left in her sparkling clean uniform, the nurse threw Victoria a curious glance. What was that about? Did she look too healthy?
Helpless. Look helpless and in pain. Slumping in the chair, she rocked her head into one hand.
Suddenly he was there. Tall, dark and still very hot. His red holiday tie had a goofy moose on it. She nearly slid off the chair. “Well, Miss Pomeroy. I see you're back again.”
The words were crisp. His glance skidded off her like she was ice. While he scanned the chart, her stomach knotted into a pretzel.
“It says here that you fell?” His eyes flicked to her. Man, he had the thickest lashes.
“I did. At work.” She thought back. “No, in my apartment.”
Studying her, he did that pirate thing with one brow. This wasn’t a glance that said,Hey, why don't we get a drink? It was more likeHey, what's wrong with this woman?
“What kind of shoes were you wearing?” His soulful eyes dropped to study her feet. “Were you wearing heels?”
“No.” She followed his eyes down to her boots. “And these aren’t shoes. They’re boots.”
“Hmm. In any case, when you get home I want you to take those off.”
Now this was getting interesting.
His eyes flicked up. “Find some sturdy shoes with good grips on the bottom. Slippers too. Get the kind with rubbery soles.”
Was he kidding? She thought of the satin slippers her mother wore. That two-inch heel was what Augusta Pomeroy considered relaxing.
“Let’s take a look.” Smelling of fresh linen and manliness, he drew closer.
Closing her eyes, Victoria breathed him in.
“Open wide, please.” He sounded annoyed. This wasn’t going like she planned.
“What? Oh, right.” After all, he was checking out her eyes.
Clicking on a pen light, he went through the now familiar procedure. “Look left. Look right.”
How could she keep him in sight when her eyes were zipping around? Thank goodness, she’d worn eye makeup. “Everything looks all right here.”
“No headaches. No dizziness?” He clicked off the little light.
“I do feel a little dizzy.” She had to make this look good.
“Nausea or vomiting?”
