“Well then, I shouldn’t be in too much trouble. I do want to learn how to be the best doctor I can.”
“You’re off work tomorrow, right?”
Of course he knew her schedule. He was asking, but she knew he was planning something. She waited, not bothering to answer.
“It’s time I get my tree, and if I do recall, you offered to help me.”
“If I remember correctly, you pretended I offered to help,” she informed him.
“That’s not what Grace said.”
There goes my lazy day off, she thought. And still she couldn’t feel a hint of regret. Spending the day with him and picking out the perfect tree sounded pretty darn great.
“Why don’t we go get some coffee and discuss our strategy? Better yet, let’s get some dinner. You’re off the clock, right?”
“Yes, my shift is over, but it’s been a really long day. I was planning on heading home, sinking into a deep, hot bath, and not emerging from the apartment until I have to work again,” she said, though she knew he wasn’t going to be discouraged that easily.
“Then it’s my mission to make sure you are well fed, and that you get out to see the sunshine. Being cooped up either in the hospital or in your apartment for too long will turn your skin white and endanger your health. Doctor’s orders.”
“Oh, I see. You’re just a concerned doctor?”
“Of course I am. As the head of the ER, I have to make sure all my patients are well taken care of.”
“You’re now my doctor?” she asked, and was greeted with the instant image of the two of them playing doctor. Bad move, but she was having trouble feeling disgusted.
“I’ll be your doctor anytime you like. I have all the tools I need—right on me,” he said with a wink. When he saw her eyes straying involuntarily down his body—however convenient in general, scrubs weren’t good for voyeurism—he had to ask, “Like what you see?”
Her head snapped up to meet the devilish smile on his face and the small box in his hand. “What’s that?” She wanted to reach out and grab the package. But though she knew it was for her, she also knew she should refuse it so she wouldn’t encourage his behavior. That wasn’t going to happen, though, because she loved presents too dang much.
He held out his hand. “Just a little gift.”
“You’ve got to quit getting me things,” she said, but, after looking around to make sure that they were alone, she reached for the box.
“I like getting you gifts, Sage. Open it.”
“It’s not even Christmas and you’ve already left several packages at my place and at work. People are going to talk.” Damn. Even the packaging was beautiful.
“Let them talk. I have nothing to hide.”
“The other staff will hate me if they think you’re playing favorites, you know.”
“Everyone in this hospital knows already. As a matter of fact, if you want to earn a few extra dollars, you can sign up on the big office betting pool. People are laying down wagers on the date they think we’ll get married.”
Sage’s mouth almost hit the floor. Marriage? Ridiculous. No way. She was so not ready for that. She hadn’t even gone out on a real date with this man. Yes, there’d been a lot of flirting, and then, of course, their night in his hot tub . . . Add the fact that they kept running into each other—it was a small town, after all—and she was with him more than anyone else she knew. But still, they weren’t a couple, and certainly weren’t anywhere near having him proposing marriage.
“You have to stop saying things like that,” she whispered as they reached the locker room.
“I like shocking you. I love the way your mouth opens into a perfect circle, love the way your skin flushes. I love watching you, love waiting on you. I don’t think there is anything about this unusual relationship we have that I don’t love.” He leaned in even closer as he spoke.
Sage’s heart fluttered again. The word love was sure coming from his mouth a lot. They weren’t in love. She knew that. But, oh man, was she falling for this guy—falling hard.
Lifting the lid on the box, she sighed as she looked inside at the jewel-encrusted comb.
“Every princess needs a special comb,” he said into her ear, making her heart beat faster.
Unfortunately, she had no doubt the gems on the handle were real. “I can’t take this, Spence. It’s far too expensive,” she told him, though she wasn’t putting much effort into handing the gift back to him.
He closed her fingers around the comb. “You will take it, use it, love it, and . . . think of me.”
And he was right—she would.
“How do you know what to get? How did you know how much I love princesses?”
“A lot of determination and research on the perfect gifts. I’ll have you know that I had a Disney movie marathon and watched Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled, Frozen, and a few others. I wanted to make sure you were fully enchanted.”
She looked at him and knew he was speaking the truth. How could he be wrong for her when he was doing all the right things? Why had she decided dating him was a bad idea? The reason was beyond her right now, because at least in this moment, he seemed more perfect than humanly possible.
She was in a fog as she gazed up into his eyes.
“Why? Why me?” she asked him, letting the walls tumble down and opening herself up.
“I like you,” he said as he got even closer, his body brushing against hers in the most sinful of ways, his lips grazing her ear before he continued speaking. “I want you. You’re all I think about. Right now, I plan to take you for a nice meal, and then I’ll take you back to my place, where I’m going to make love to you all night long, sleep with you in my arms, wake up to a nice brunch, and then go Christmas tree shopping.”