Page 6 of Doctor's Surprise Bride

I push out of bed and clean up before heading to the kitchen to brew a fresh pot of coffee. After the restless night I’ve had, I’m going to need it.

As I watch the coffee drip into the carafe, I find it hard to focus on anything but her. Daisy Bennet.

The name tastes bittersweet on my tongue. There was no missing the hurt in her eyes as she walked away from me last night. I’ve yet to call Marcus and tear him a new one for the shit he pulled, but the thought is tempting. Instead, I decide to look her up online and after scrolling through half a dozen of Daisy Bennets, I finally find mine. I am surprised to find she doesn’t have much of a social media presence but there’s enough for me to learn a bit about her.

I find out a few things. She’s fourteen years younger than me, which should probably matter to me more than it actually does. She works as a librarian at the local public library. Judging from what little presence she has online, it seems like she’s a private person, maybe a little shy. She doesn’t seem like the sort of person to just show up to a person’s place of residence, but then again, I’m sure Marcus used every bit of charm he had to get her here. The thought makes me even angrier with him.

In spite of it all, I find myself wanting to see her again, maybe in an environment more comfortable for her. I want to learn everything there is about this delicate flower, so I scroll through what little social media presence she has, taking it all in as if my life depends on it.

At some point, I lift my mug to my lips and find that it’s empty. When I finally look away from my computer, I’m surprised to find that the sun has already risen. I run my fingers through my hair and stare at the smile filling the screen of my computer, her pretty, ocean-blue eyes framed by clear-rimmed glasses.

Fuck, I need to see her.

I need to know what it is about her that keeps my head spinning with thoughts of her. I’ve never had someone capture me like this. I don’t know how she’s managed to bewitch me body and soul like this, but I have to find out more.

Ihaveto see her, but how?

Suddenly, my phone vibrates, derailing my train of thought.

“So, did you two hit it off last night?” Marcus says, forgoing any sort of polite greeting. I look up at the clock on the stove and notice it’s only a quarter past eight. A perfect time to deliver breakfast to my angel and apologize for last night.

“Where did you meet her?”

“I knew…”

“Marcus, I amnotin the mood. Just tell me where you met her so I know what I need to do to fix your fuckup.”

“Damn, so it didn’t go well …” He almost sounds genuinely disappointed. After another angry prod from me, he starts spilling the details behind his stunt. “I signed you up for a mail-order bride website. Bride4u, if you haven’t heart of it. The app matched you two together and I pulled some strings … What happened?”

I hang up on him without any further thought, shaking my head at the eagerness in his voice.

I think she mentioned the same app or whatever last night. Bride4u. My mind stumbles over the service’s name.

A bride.

I stop in my tracks, swallowing at the thought of marrying Daisy. I’ve never really placed much thought on marriage; my career has always been far more important to me and pursuing a personal relationship. But something about seeing Daisy at the end of an aisle, a confection in a white dress, makes it seem like something I could do. And not just something I could do, but something Iwantto do …

She probably doesn’t want anything to do with me now, but I have to figure out how to make this right. When my phone buzzes after getting a text from Marcus with my profile’s log in information, I spend every free minute of my morning routine studying her profile. Marcus did a good job filling my account out, surprisingly, so reading through Daisy’s profile is exciting. The app matched us for a reason, and the more I learn about her online, the more I crave knowing her offline.

Instead of driving straight to the library, I stop by a coffee shop to grab a peppermint hot chocolate and a dozen snickerdoodle cookies. I read somewhere on her page that they were her favorite. There’s a part of me can’t believe I am doing something like this, but the need to see her again and fix everything grows more urgent with each second that ticks by.

I pull into the parking lot in front of the library, collect my offerings, and step out of my car. It’s still early, so the place is deserted but I make my way to the entrance nonetheless. It doesn’t occur to me until I am walking through the lobby that Daisy may not even here at the library. After what happened last night, she may have decided to call into work. That could put me in a weird position.

Even if sheishere, she may not want to see me. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I’ve never backed out of going after what I want and I’m not about to start. I want to see Daisy. I need to know why this woman has a hold on me.

When I finally see her, dressed in jeans and a baby blue sweater with hair tied in a loose bun, glasses perched on top of her nose, she’s leaning against a shelf and reading a book. It suddenly hits me.

As if she feels my gaze, she whips her head up from the book and stares right at me, those intensely blue eyes twinkling brightly in the morning light. It’s in that moment that I realize why she has a hold on me like I’ve never felt begore.

It’s not just one thing about her that draws me in, buteverything.

Chapter Five

Daisy

I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent …

Something draws my focus from the page. When I look up, I notice a familiar figure standing a few steps away, watching me.

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