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I spin on my heel to look at her, not realizing she was watching me. “Uh, nothing.”

Her mouth twists as she studies me. “You were standing the way superheroes do.”

“Well, surgeons are basically superheroes.”

“Right,” she scoffs, then continues riding her bike.

Kids. They keep you humble, that’s for sure.

Stepping out of the hot shower, steam billows around me. I’m not a tedious man, and I don’t require many of the finer things in life … but I installed a large shower in my master bathroom, complete with two waterfall shower heads. I’m taking advantage of an extra long and relaxing shower while Penny is watching her tablet. Screen time for the win.

There’s just something incredibly relaxing about the steam and the sound of water hitting the tiles. It must be soothing to me after growing up in Seattle. I especially enjoy it after being on my feet all day performing surgeries. But it works just as well after a rigorous workout.

I can tell the heat and humidity of the Kansas summer has increased outside because the steam from the shower isn’t dissipating. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I open my bathroom window to let the bathroom air out.

A glimmer of gold catches my eye and I squint through the steam. Sophie is outside in the large backyard, watching Samantha climb on the little play structure.

Samantha is adorable, but that’s not what catches my attention. It’s Sophie’s wide smile, gleaming brightly through her full lips.

She’s always smiling. Even when her eyes look sad, the smile remains firmly in place. I don’t know how she stays so positive. I’m no stranger to loss, but losing your young husband while you're pregnant with his child? I don’t know how she manages to smile at all after experiencing something like that.

She’s wearing a pink sundress with little straps tied at her shoulders. The dress shows off her willowy form and endless legs. Sophie is slim, with dainty wrists and long golden hair. It’s usually up in a bun or ponytail, but today it blows softly in the wind, catching the light like a thousand pieces of broken glass.

Samantha is a tiny miniature of Sophie and smiles all the time, just like her mom. I continue watching as Samantha slides down the slide a little too quickly and lands on her bottom with a thud. Samantha looks stunned, and Sophie runs to her side to make sure she’s okay. Samantha bursts into giggles, making Sophie laugh too. Her laughter is loud and joyful and exuberant. I could listen to that sound all day.

I’m mesmerized by the sight of them.

“Daddy! The battery on my iPad is dead!” Penny yells, while banging her fist on my bathroom door.

How a fist that tiny can cause such a ruckus is beyond me, but it’s loud enough to draw Sophie’s attention to the open bathroom window … where I’m standing and staring at her … in nothing but a towel … like a total creep.

I quickly shoot her the most natural smile I can muster up, then wave like a buffoon.

She has a quizzical expression on her face but waves back at me. I turn from the window and walk to unlock the bathroom door, shaking my head at how weird it was for me to watch Sophie and Samantha through the window. Here she is having a completely innocent interaction with her daughter, and I can’t pry my eyes away from her just because she’s wearing a sundress.

What the hell is wrong with me?

The next day, I am called into work early. Dr. Pham has some kind of stomach bug so, naturally, the on-call surgeon steps in. Which is me this weekend. Physicians aren’t great about taking sick days. Usually we just hook ourselves up to some I.V. fluids and carry on about our days. But I don’t suppose anyone wants a surgeon with a stomach bug cutting them open. I know I wouldn’t.

I’m disappointed I can’t take Penny to the park today, our Sunday ritual. But I’m also relieved to get away after my awkward window fiasco yesterday.

Sophie is my mentor’s daughter and my daughter’s sitter. She’s so off-limits I definitely shouldn’t be noticing her full mouth or her gorgeous flowing hair.

Which would be a lot easier if she wasn’t in my yard wearing a sundress with her hair down.

I bet her hair smells incredible … like the ocean at sunrise.

STOP, YOU BIG CREEP.

I smack my palm to my forehead. What has gotten into me lately? This is ridiculous. I’ve been around Sophie dozens of times before she moved into the basement apartment and never thought about her like this.

As I pull on my black scrubs, I remind myself over and over that I should think of her more like a sister. But I know that’s impossible.

But you know who’s not off limits? Mariah—who I have a date with in five days. She’s beautiful and completely appropriate girlfriend material. We work in the same field, but not together. It’s perfect. She’s easy to talk to, down to earth.

And so far gives me no flutters in my stomach or sparks in my chest.

We’ve only had one date, though. After Friday, I’ll probably feel all the sparks. And if not, then at least that’s less drama in my life, right?