Page 64 of The Cajun Doctor

No, no, no!

Down, libido, down!

Lowering his butt to the bed, he exhaled loudly. “Maybe I should give you my list first. It’s probably way shorter.” And has only one word on it. Sex.

“You have a list?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I do have a brain,” although it’s in sleep mode at the moment, “even if you think I haven’t been using it since I gave up medicine.”

“I never said—”

“I need to examine Lily Beth,” he interrupted, before she started backtracking and tried to be nice, which would be a real stretch. He knew what she thought of him. “Not an internal exam. Just a check of her heart rate and blood pressure. If there’s nothing apparent causing her swelling, at the very least I’ll have to get a urine sample and draw blood for testing.”

“You could draw blood here?”

“Probably lose my license, if I had one, a Louisiana one, that is . . . a real one, not a Tante Lulu quickie-stamped one . . . but, yeah, I can draw blood and Lily Beth can surely pee in a sterile cup. My medical bag is up to date with basic supplies.”

“You couldn’t test the blood and urine here, though. Could you?”

“No, I’d have to take them into Houma. The director of a cancer center there would do it for me. He owes me.”

He could tell she wanted to question him about that connection, but she restrained herself and asked, instead, “Do you think there might be a problem?”

“I have no idea. Edema is normal during pregnancy, especially the later months. The usual swelling of hands, face, legs, or ankles. Like Lily Beth exhibits. But edema can also be a precursor to preeclampsia, blood clots, and even cellulitis. Another cause of swelling could be anaemia, but that can be cured with better food choices and iron tablets. I can almost rule anaemia out because your ex would have caught that if he’s been checking her regularly.”

“Blood clots? Preeclampsia?” Samantha groaned and pressed the fingertips of both hands to her mouth.

“Those are extreme cases,” he was quick to add. “This is probably just normal edema, aggravated by the stress of their situation and all the running around during the past twenty-four. But it’s best to be safe.”

“Agreed. But, Daniel, you have to know how sorry I am for dragging you into this mess.”

Oh, please! More attempts at niceness! It was enough to make him barf. He liked her better when she was being snarky. “Don’t worry. You’ll pay. Later.” Oh, God, I sound like a bad romance novel. (Not a good one, a bad one.) Rhett says to Scarlett, “You’ll pay later, Scarlett, my dear.”

“What do you mean?” she snapped.

“Never mind.” Face it, I’m no Rhett.

“You better not be thinking about that kiss.”

On the other hand, she must be thinking about the kiss, too, if she brought it up. Hmmm. “Who? Me? What kiss?”

“Just because I let you kiss me—”

“No revisionist history here, sweet pea. You kissed me back. Don’t you dare deny it.”

“It was all part of the act.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And there won’t be a repeat.”

“Unless Mutt and Jeff show up again.”

“Whatever.”

“You must admit it was a really good kiss.”

She said nothing.