Her Doctor Daddy (6 page)

“My gut tells me that this was a random creep just getting his kicks trying to scare someone. The only thing I’m interested in right now is that you get home safe and sound,” he said, his calm voice attempting to abate her fears. “And there will be no more walking home alone. If you don’t have a ride, I’ll drive you myself. Does your sister bring you to work in the evening?”

“Yes, sir,” she said, amazed at her own words. The only place she’d heard that type of conservative response was on television.

Dr. Morales certainly seemed pleased with her respect toward him, and she reveled in the fact that someone wanted to protect her. Lexi’s biological dad hadn’t exactly showered her with fatherly love, and it warmed her heart to see genuine concern in the doctor’s expression. The doctors in the emergency room worked long hours, and stories circulated about how egotistical they were, but he seemed different.

She watched him rub a palm over his tired, bristly face. “You look exhausted, Lexi,” he said with a hint of weariness, stroking the back of his neck. “Since we had such a busy night—I’m wondering if you had a chance to eat anything?”

“No, but the tray of bagels brought in by the morning shift looked mighty inviting. Do you think they’d mind if I grab one?”

“Better yet, why don’t we stop at IHOP for breakfast? And then I’ll make sure you get home safely.”

Lexi smiled. “You won’t have to ask me twice.”

Chapter Eight

Dr. Morales and Lexi got comfortable in a corner booth of the restaurant as their waitress handed each of them a colorful laminated menu.

“The breakfast specials are on the back. Do you want a minute to look them over?” the tall young woman asked, chewing a mouthful of bubblegum. “And coffee for both of you?”

“Yes, thank you very much,” Raul answered in a quiet tone.

Lexi put her menu down and fished through her purse, successfully locating a box of Kool Super Long
cigarettes that had a pack of matches snugly stuffed under the cellophane. “Could you please pass me that ashtray over there?”

His gentle, sweet face instantly morphed into a disapproving, stern one. “No, I will not.”

“Excuse me?” she asked, defiantly moving upward to reach for the curved glass tray.

“Sit back down and listen very carefully.”

Pressing her lips together, she contritely sank into the booth and set the green and white labeled box on the table, waiting for the familiar
you shouldn’t smoke
lecture.

“Those long white sticks are toxic, and as someone who is dedicated to saving lives, it goes against my grain to watch you inhale one. Are you not aware of the dangers?” he asked, tilting his head.

“I don’t smoke all the time. Normally, I’ll have one with a cup of coffee in the morning, and a couple when I’m in a bar having a Tequila Sunrise on the weekend,” she defended, with a dramatic wink.

His brow furrowed as he bent forward. “How old are you, Lexi?”

“I’ll be twenty-one in June,” she said, demonstrating her sassiest eye roll.

He crossed his arms and frowned. “Which means you’re not of age to be consuming alcohol in the State of Florida. Wait, let me guess, someone made you a fake ID while you were in college, so you could get into bars?”

Crossing her arms to mirror his, she bravely met him nose to nose. “The last time I checked, you weren’t my father.”

“Then I would consider this your lucky day. Because if you were my daughter, I’d take you across my knee right now and give you a good hard spanking.”

“Jesus.” While a strange emotion stirred deep inside her belly, Lexi’s face reddened with embarrassment as she slouched back into her original position.

“Should we continue to get to know each other better, or would you rather I just take you home?” he asked as their server approached with a pot of coffee in one hand and a miniature spiral tablet in the other.

“I’ll have a short stack of pancakes and two eggs over medium,” Lexi quietly responded to the waitress, hoping that she hadn’t heard what Dr. Morales had just said to her.

“And I would like two sunny side up eggs with home-fried potatoes and rye toast, please,” Raul requested, turning both cups over for the woman to fill with hot coffee.

As their waitress walked out of earshot, he turned to Lexi and spoke in a gentle voice. “I know we’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks, but I’m too old to play games.”

Once again, she leaned forward. “I’m not a kid anymore. Go ahead and say what’s on your mind. You certainly haven’t held back so far.”

Dr. Morales smiled at her spunk while opening the small plastic container of cream and emptying it into his cup. Thoughtfully, he watched the clouds form before stirring the creamy white mixture into the dark hot liquid. “Since I’ve been working unusually long stretches lately, we’ve had some time to get to know each other. You really do get a feel for someone’s personality, working side by side in tense situations. Is it my imagination, or were we instantly attracted to each other?”

“You’re not imagining things,” she said in barely a whisper, her face flushing a deep pink as she peered down at her hands. It was embarrassing that he knew how attracted she was to him, and Lexi had trouble making eye contact with the handsome doctor.

“I was married quite young, and our parents arranged the union. We both came from religious families. I probably don’t need to paint you the whole picture. It wasn’t exactly the Norman Rockwell version.”

“I don’t come from a close-knit family, but I get the idea.”

“Well, in the end, it wasn’t what either of us wanted. She cheated on me more times than I could count, and we never had kids. In my opinion, narcissistic women don’t usually make wonderful mothers,” he said facetiously.

“Why do I get the feeling that there’s more to this story?”

“I’ve always had the desire to be a daddy, but the chances are good that I won’t start a family at my age.”

“Biblically speaking, I believe men were much older than you when they fathered children,” Lexi joked, stirring sugar into her coffee.

“The relationship I’m looking for is kind of unique,” Raul continued in a serious tone, lifting his eyebrows along with the cup to take a sip.

“Let me guess. You want to be like a father to someone.” She stopped to think about what she’d said. “Oh, my God, do you want to be a
sugar daddy
?”

Raul laughed. “Not so much from the material aspect. I’m more interested in nurturing someone. And just from spending time together at work this week, I get the feeling that you wouldn’t mind a little attention. Am I right or wrong?”

Lexi smiled and lowered her head. “My dad seemed to have missed the
caring chromosome
,” she admitted. “I’ve always dreamed of someone who would take care of me, but so far, I’ve only dated college boys who weren’t very mature.”

“I like that you’re so up front. It’s refreshing,” he said, lifting her chin with two strong fingers.

“You know most people go to the movies and get to know each other by asking if they prefer buttered popcorn or plain,” she joked, batting her eyelashes. “By the way, are we counting this as a date?”

Waiting patiently for his response, she felt an intense heat bloom in her cheeks. Though she loved being close to him, every time he leaned toward her, Lexi’s heart skipped a beat.

Be careful what you wish for.

His smile was wide. “I haven’t dated anyone in the hospital since my divorce two years ago because I’d always thought it was a bad idea to mix work with pleasure.”

“But now you’re changing your mind?”

Jesus. Why can’t I ever keep my mouth shut? No one likes to be pressed for an answer!

Though he shrugged, his hazel eyes glittered. “Evolving would probably be a better term. I’m not sure what’s happened to me since we started working together. But whatever it is, I’m willing to take some risks. Are you?”

Though excitement bolted through her body like lightning, she tried to appear calm on the outside. “Of course,” she answered in a serious tone before returning to her usual animated one. “Hey, did I tell you that my sister is moving in with her boyfriend next week? They just got engaged…”

“I guess that means you’ll need a ride to work.”

Lexi opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it as he put one finger in the air.

“No arguments, young lady. As soon as she moves out, we’ll arrange a time that I’ll pick you up.”

“But you don’t always work when I do.”

“That won’t be a concern of yours,” he said, his dark eyebrow darting upward.

Their server approached, carrying full plates on a large tray. “I hate to interrupt, but who ordered the short stack of pancakes?”

“She did, and I’ll take the check,” he answered, grinning.

Chapter Nine

“Rich, you’re here to work, not flirt with Lexi,” Ronnie admonished. “And you look like hell today, where were you last night? I tried calling, and you didn’t answer.”

“Could you give it a rest, brother? I’ve had a monster
hump day
hangover all morning, and your apartment is only a hundred feet down the walkway, so let’s just get this done. And for the record, she stopped to talk with me,” Rich countered, nodding in Lexi’s direction.

“Good job, Richie, you really know how to defend a girl,” Lexi joked before grabbing a heavy box. “Sorry for interrupting, I’ll let you strong he-men get back to work,” she said with a wink.

“Katie, what else do you need moved? So far we’ve only taken a couple pieces of furniture, and my brother is already holding his lower back,” Ronnie called out.

“Come into the bedroom—it’s mostly just clothes that are left,” Katie responded loudly.

As the guys entered the small room, she pointed to the racks of clothing. The brothers looked at each other and mumbled.

“Where did this all come from?” Ronnie sputtered. “It’s going to take an hour to carry this. Can’t you donate some of it to the Salvation Army?”

“Don’t you want your future wife to look nice?” she retorted, fluttering her eyelashes.

Watching them exit the apartment with armfuls of clothes, Katie looked around, taking stock of what else she might want to move when Lexi came in.

“Looks like I’m going to have lots of room in this closet,” Lexi observed. “I don’t have half as many outfits as you do…”

“Are you okay with all of this? I know it was kind of sudden. Maybe I should’ve delayed this a few more weeks.”

“Katie, I’ll be fine. You’re only moving a couple of doors away—it’s not like you’re relocating out of state. Besides, it’s time I stood on my own two feet and quit being such a burden to everyone.”

Katie reached out and gave Lexi a big hug. “You’re my little sister and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. I’ve already pre-warned Ronnie that we’re a package deal and reminded him that he’ll be inheriting a sister in the marriage agreement. Now that Dad isn’t speaking to either of us, we really need to stick together.”

* * *

Two hours later, Lexi sulked as she sat in her lonely living room.

I’m glad Katie left me most of her things, but it sure is depressing here. I wonder if there’s anything in the fridge for dinner.

Meandering into the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator door and gazed at the empty shelves.

Bummer, I should’ve gone grocery shopping.

As she rounded the corner, Lexi heard a light knock on the door. After peering through the peephole, she opened it wide and there stood Raul Morales dressed in a light blue T-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts.

“Dr. Morales, this is unexpected.”

“When a man brings you take-out for dinner, you might want to call him by his first name,” he teased, raising one hand to display a large white paper bag that was labeled Woo’s Chinese while clasping another small brown-handled package in the other. “I thought you might not have time to go grocery shopping since your sister moved out today.”

Lexi’s mouth opened wide and she stood there speechless. She couldn’t believe he’d remembered.

“I’m sorry, do you have company?” Raul asked, still standing in the doorway.

“No, please come in. You’ll have to forgive how this place looks—Katie just left and I obviously haven’t had the time to redecorate,” she joked, stepping aside.

“I hope you’re hungry because Woo’s gives you a ton of food,” he said, strolling into the tiny kitchen area. “Did your sister leave you any plates?”

“I think so, let me look.” Nervously, she edged her way past him and rummaged through a couple of cabinets. “Here they are, and the silverware should be in the drawer right in front of you.” Grabbing the plain dinner plates, she set them down on the small table before ripping off a few paper towels from a roll that sat next to the sink. “We use these as napkins, because Katie thinks it saves on expenses.”

Sitting down, Raul retrieved three cardboard containers from the large bag and placed them in front of their plates. “I hope you like Mongolian beef, but if not, there’s a shrimp and chicken dish as well. Of course, they gave us plenty of rice,” he said, peering up with a guarded smile. “Okay, you seem nervous that I showed up unannounced. I probably should’ve called before coming over.”

“No. It’s good that you’re here. I guess I’m just a little more wired today than usual. I’ve never lived alone before.”

He turned at the waist to see what kind of locks were on her door. “Considering everything that’s going on in this city, your uneasiness is understandable. When I walk out that door tonight, you better be sure to lock it and put the chain on, young lady,” he said, dishing a variety of entrées on Lexi’s plate before spooning some onto his own. “Go ahead and see which one you like best. There are a lot of Chinese restaurants in the area, but Woo’s is my favorite.”

Lexi took a couple of tiny bites along with some rice before looking down into her plate. “It’s very good.”

“You’re usually much more talkative. Are you nervous being alone with me in your apartment?”