But today, she would go home, take a shower, eat some ice cream, and watchThe Bachelor.The show always cheered her up — at least she wasn’t fighting for the attention of a man who didn’t notice her, right?
Hopefully, the show would be enough to make her feel better about the ruins of her career, too.
CHAPTER 3
NATHAN
“And do you have any specific complaints?” Nathan asked. His current patient was a young woman, Olivia, in her early twenties with straight black hair and big brown eyes that were focused directly on him. She was a new patient, here for her first checkup, and she was… well, a little overdressed for the event. She wore a tight red dress that looked more suitable for an evening at a nightclub than an early morning in a doctor’s office, and her makeup was so thick that he could barely tell the real color of her skin.
“No,” she said in a breathy voice. She fluttered her eyelashes.
“Then I’ll just listen to your heart.” Nathan got to his feet and took his stethoscope, which he’d draped around his neck. As he approached, Olivia pulled the top of her dress down far enough that Nathan could see the outline of a lacy black bra, and he looked away.
“Listen to my heart,” she said in the same breathy voice. Nathan did so, still keeping his gaze turned away from the bra.
“All done.” He stepped away, back to the relative safety of his desk chair. “Your height and weight are perfect for your age, your blood pressure looks great, your heart sounds good. You’re officially registered with the clinic now, so if you have any issues, just call the receptionist, Maya, and schedule an appointment.”
“Is that it?” Olivia asked, her brow furrowing.
“Yes.” Nathan leaned against his desk and folded his arms. “Unless you have any questions or concerns you’d like to share with me.”
“I do have one question.” Olivia leaned forward. “Are you single?”
Now it was Nathan’s brow that furrowed. Feeling uncomfortable, he took off his glasses and cleaned them with the hem of his shirt so that he’d have an excuse to avoid eye contact.
“Yes, although I’m not sure what that has to do with your health,” he said.
The truth was that Nathan was a perpetual bachelor. He’d had a few short relationships before, but there was nothing that compared to the importance of his practice. And in the small town of Islingburn, there weren’t exactly a lot of single women in their thirties running around looking for love. Most of his friends from high school were already married, many of them with a kid or two. Even though he was only thirty-four, Nathan had pretty much given up on finding love, and that was all right with him.
Not that he was going to say any of that to his patient. Olivia was already acting strangely, and Nathan wasn’t going to do anything to encourage that.
“I was just wondering.” Olivia batted her eyelashes. “I’m single, too.”
“Okay.” Nathan nodded. “Well, it was nice to meet you, and once again, welcome to the practice. Please stop by reception on your way out to make sure all your paperwork is in order.”
Looking more than a little grumpy, Olivia jumped down from the table, put her heeled pumps back on, and left. Nathan shook his head as she closed the door behind her. She was his third patient of the day, but not the first strange experience. His first patient, a local carpenter in for his annual checkup, had asked about Nathan’s cow puppet. And his second patient, an older woman, had suggested setting him up with her granddaughter.
Before Nathan had much time to wonder if there was something in Islingburn’s water that was making everyone act weirdly, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Nathan called. This must be his fourth patient of the day, who his schedule told him was an older gentleman whose knees had been bothering him. When the door swung open, though, it wasn’t the older gentleman but his receptionist, Maya. She was grinning broadly and looking a little frazzled, neither of which was unusual for her. Her hair, which was dyed red today, was escaping from its braid, and she wore wide hoop earrings set with topaz, her birthstone. Nathan knew it was her birthstone because, one snowy day last winter when most patients had decided not to brave the elements for their appointments, she’d given them all a lecture on birthstones and zodiac signs. At twenty-three years old, she was his youngest employee — and his most excitable.
“You’re not Mr. Whitaker,” Nathan pointed out.
“Sorry to disappoint.” Maya grinned, putting her hands on her hips. “I just wanted to ask how you’d like to handle the influx of requests from new patients. We’ve also had a few people reach out from the media.”
Even though Nathan had cleaned his glasses only a few minutes ago, he slipped them off and started wiping the lenses again.
“We always have new patient requests — handle them the same way we always do. Tell them that there’s a waitlist, explain the priority system for chronic illness, and if they’re not able to wait, refer them to Doctor Benson in Montpelier or Lewis and Co. Doctors in Stowe.”
“Right. And the media?”
Nathan continued wiping his spotless glasses. “Why is the media reaching out?”
“I think you know why,” Maya said in a teasing voice. Nathan slipped his glasses back on and saw that she was practically bouncing on her toes.
“I really don’t.”
“Modest, huh?” She beamed. “I knew you wouldn’t let your fame go to your head.”
