walked with her to the
door. “You work on him and I’ll work on Rebecca. Maybe we can talk her
into a shopping trip. I’ll discuss it with Suzanne. We need
to swap those baggy clothes for some sexy ones, so he can see her great
figure.”
Thomas escorted Rachel Lackey to the door. “Now remember, call me
anytime if you start having contractions.”
“Thanks, Dr. Emerson.” Rachel laid a hand over her burgeoning belly. “I
don’t know what little Rodney and I would do without you.”
He shrugged. “Just doing my job.”
Rachel waved and left. Thomas sighed, grateful she had a husband. His
last patient, Benita Waters, had asked him to dinner right in the middle
of her exam. He’d been stunned and had resorted to his usual line- he
didn’t date his patients.
Afterward, he’d heard Benita tell Hannah to switch her patient file to
Hannah for her next exam.
“Ready to call it a day?” Hannah asked.
“Yes, how about you?”
“I just finished with the Terrel twins. What a handful.”
He laughed. “Doesn’t make you want a kid?”
“Not like those two. They’re holy terrors.” She slid the chart in the
bin to be filed. “What happened with Benita? I thought she loved having
you as her doctor.”
He grimaced and explained the situation.
“So you suggested she see me from now on so you could date her?” Hannah
asked.
“No.” Thomas raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t intend to date her.
Coming to you was her idea. Sorry about that.”
“It’s not your fault every single woman in town wants you.”
He chuckled. “Actually, not every one does.”
She offered a teasing smile. “Someone turn you down for a date?”
“Not exactly.” He shifted, fumbling with a file, unsure whether to
confess. But, hell, what harm could it do? “Your cousin Rebecca seems
less than enthusiastic about being around me.”
“Hmm. Did you ask her about the murals?”
“Yes, and she agreed. Reluctantly. I don’t know what I’ve done to make
her uncomfortable, but I got the distinct impression she doesn’t like
me.” And that really bugged him.
Hannah laughed. “Then I guess you’d better turn on the charm when she
comes to paint the murals.”
He shrugged, then remembered the lunch meeting to plan the party for her
grandmother. “How’d the planning session go today?”
“Great. We nailed down the details.” She described the Tiara Room and
the small inn where guests would probably stay. “Oh, and Mimi mentioned
to Suzanne that she and Rebecca could bring dates.”
“Really.” Why did that idea bring a twinge of jealousy?
“Suzanne already has someone in mind,” Hannah said. “I’m not sure about
Rebecca, though. It’ll be interesting to see who she brings. It’ll take
a special man to see through her shyness to the wonderful person inside.”
He saw through her shyness.
And he’d better be her date, he thought, irritated with Hannah’s
comment, although he didn’t take the time to analyze the reason. Wasn’t
he special enough for Rebecca?
He grabbed his doctor’s bag and headed to the door to firm up plans
about the paintings. But he decided
to take Hannah’s advice and turn on the charm, just in case he had
competition.
Not that he really wanted a date, he reminded himself. But he did want
to attend that party-to meet her father. Nothing more.
Rebecca steeled herself for her meeting with Thomas. In fact, she’d been
reading How To Get What You Want in between customers, practicing the
visualizing techniques they suggested for thinking yourself into
success. But whenever she’d imagined herself turning him on with just
one passionate look, enticing him to make love to her to get her
pregnant instead of donating his sperm into a plastic vial, visions of
her stuttering and falling on her face in front of