Page 9 of Doctor's Surprise Bride

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” she whispers. “I followed your instructions and iced it, then took some painkillers before bed.”

“I’m glad, but still. If you have any issues with it, come to me.”

“It’s fine,” she murmurs, her eyes shifting from mine. “Besides, I’m sure you’re a busy man. I wouldn’t want you to impose on your time.”

“I’m afraid I’m not of the same opinion,” I say. I can’t help smiling at how shy she is. “I don’t view any time I spend with you as a waste of time. Tonight—”

My words are cut off by my phone vibrating in my back pocket. The screen flashes, telling me I have a message from the hospital. As much as I hate to leave Daisy when we haven’t really established where we’re at, I can’t ignore a call from the hospital.

“I have to go,” I say, pocketing my phone before before meeting Daisy’s deep blue gaze once more. “But before I do, I would like to establish a few things. I’m not be the person who signed up for the mail-bride order website, but I still want to give this a shot. What do you say, dinner tonight?”

She blinks up at me in confusion. “Dinner?”

“Yes, I would love a chance to take you out and get to know you, Daisy.”

Daisy blinks up at me as though she can’t make sense of the words coming out of my mouth. I would find it adorable if I weren’t pressed for time. “You said it was a misunderstanding. You said—”

“I know. It was.” I lean in and brush my lips softly against hers. “I’ll explain everything tonight, but for the record, if it had been me who’d made my profile, I would still have chosen to match with you over anyone else.”

I can read thewhyin her eyes but she doesn’t push the question, probably reading the urgency in my body language. She simply nods at me. I lean in to kiss her one last time before going. It’s meant to be a soft touch of skin, a brief goodbye kiss, but once I get a taste of her, I find myself starved for more, deepening the kiss and chasing her tongue with mine. It’s not until someone clears their throat that I push away from her.

“I’ll pick you up tonight, okay?”

“Okay.”

I push back and lift my head to find the woman who’d been there to pick Daisy up from my place yesterday watching us. The glare she’d given me then is still firmly in place, except it’s more intimidating up close, without a window between us. If I’m being honest with myself, I’m glad Daisy has someone like that in her life. My flower is worth protecting.

“I’ll get going. The hot chocolate I brought you is probably already cold, so I’ll send have someone deliver you breakfast. See you tonight, Daisy.”

***

It was careless of me to promise to see Daisy tonight when I didn’t know what I was getting called in for. When I got the initial ping from the hospital, I wondered if it would end up keeping me long and I’m right. One of my patients has an infected lung and needs and emergency surgery. Before I scrub up, I make sure to ask my perpetually bored cousin to deliver breakfast and lunch for the library staff. Maybe they can direct him to a book section that holds his attention long enough to keep out of my personal business.

It’s close to midnight when I’m finally done at the hospital. Only when I’m leaving do I realize that I never told Daisy what time I would be picking her up. My heart plummets when I look at the time as I make my way to my car. If I was aiming for a better second impression, then I’ve really blown it. I don’t even have her number, or any other way to contact her. When I call Marcus to ask for it, he points out that all communications he made with her were made on the site.

Fuck!

Normally, I’m a calm and collected person. Even the most complicated or urgent surgeries don’t rattle me anymore, but the thought of having Daisy think that I’ve just stood her up makes my heart thump anxiously in my chest. My head’s starting to pounds with headache, probably from lack of sleep, and I bet my constant coffee consumption today didn’t help. For fuck’s sake, I’m always lecturing my patients about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, yet here I am doing all the wrong things.

None of it seems to matter more than getting to Daisy.

My heart drops to my feet as I pull up in front of the library and notice the closed sign. I let out a sigh and drop my head over the steering wheel, swearing under my breath. I’ve fucked this all up. I was in too much of a hurry to ask for her number this morning, too addled by the addictive taste of her on my lips. Who’s to say that she’d want to see me again after this?

I squint at the library one last time. My heart jumps to my throat when I notice dim light coming from inside. It’s faint, so it’s a long shot, but I find myself climbing out of the car and heading for the entrance. I walk to the glass door and peek inside and sure enough, there’s a light coming from somewhere inside, and it doesn’t seem like one of the security lights.

When I push open the door, it’s unlocked, so I walk in. I follow the light to the corner of the library and stop when I see her, I find myself rooted to the spot.

The only light in the building is coming from a reading lamp on a table. Next to it lies a book splayed open. Daisy has her in her arms, her glasses still perched on her nose as she breathes softly with she sleeps.

She waited.

Because the building is unlocked, anyone could’ve walked in and hurt her but despite that, she still waited for me. I am suddenly consumed with fantasies of coming back to my place, walking in to see her lying on my couch or waiting in my bed for me. The thought warms me through, and it feels so much safer than her waiting up for me here.

As if she feels my presence, Daisy stirs awake, yawning like a kitten. She tilts her head back to stretch her arms over her head, stopping when she notices me watching her.

“Oh, hi, you’re here,” she says mid-yawn, sitting up straighter and flashing me a sleepy grin. In that moment, it hits me. This woman waited for me, even though I didn’t deserve it. It seems like Marcus managed to get me the perfect birthday gift after all.

A bride.

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