Marrying the Playboy Doctor - By Laura Iding Page 0,14
relief the place didn’t appear too busy. She stood for a minute in the center of the ED area, seeking a familiar face before she spotted him.
Her heart squeezed with an unfamiliar flash of jealousy when she saw him smiling down at one of the nurses, looking handsome, as always, with that stubborn lock of dark hair falling rakishly over his brow.
What on earth was wrong with her? What did she care who Seth Taylor smiled at?
Unfortunately she was still staring directly at him when he glanced in her direction, catching her eye. His smile deepened and he murmured something to the nurse without breaking eye contact, then headed straight toward her.
“Hi, Kylie,” he greeted her cheerfully. “How are you?”
“I’m good, thanks.” She inwardly cursed her heart for racing when he approached. She strove for a light tone. “I hope this is still a good time for us to meet?”
“You managed to arrive during a momentary lull,” he said dryly. Lightly clasping her arm, he drew her toward his office, where they’d met before. “But I really hope you don’t mind that I had lunch delivered. If you’ve already eaten, maybe you’ll forgive my rudeness if I munch while we talk?”
His attitude was so matter-of-fact, how could she mind? The poor guy had to eat sometime. Maybe she’d overreacted to his asking her to meet over a meal. Doctors were much like paramedics—they had to grab food whenever the opportunity presented itself.
“How is Ben feeling?” Seth asked, as he opened the office door for her.
“He’s fine.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
His tone was sincere, and it was nice of him to ask about Ben. Although Seth being a nice guy only made ignoring her physical reaction to him that much harder.
Keep it professional, she reminded herself.
His desk had been cleared to make room for two place settings and a plate of sandwiches in the middle. As an impromptu meal, everything looked very good. Her stomach rumbled, since she hadn’t eaten anything except some cold cereal with Ben earlier that morning.
“What would you like to drink? Water? Or a soft drink?”
“Water is fine.” Why did this suddenly feel like a date? She set the hypothermia protocol on the desk, as a tangible reminder that this was a business meeting.
“Here you go.” Seth set a bottle of water in front of her and then sat down on the other side of the desk. He helped himself to a sandwich, taking a big bite, as if he were famished.
“Thanks.” She took the water and took a quick sip to wet her suddenly dry throat. She handed him the papers she’d brought. “Here’s a draft of a hypothermia protocol that I put together after researching what other institutions have been using. It might not be exactly what you’re looking for, but I thought it would be a good starting point. I’m happy to make whatever changes you recommend.”
“Excellent,” Seth said with frank approval. He took another bite of his sandwich as he scanned her work. “This is great. We can probably use this protocol just as you’ve written it.”
“Really?” Ridiculously pleased by his comment, she relaxed enough to help herself to a sandwich.
“Absolutely. From a medical perspective you have everything covered.” He set the protocol aside and pulled out some paperwork of his own. “I’ve been working on the equipment side of things. I know the paramedic budget is tight, but I found a device the company will allow us to use for free if we buy their supplies.” He handed her a picture of the hypothermia machine. “What do you think?”
The portable device was small enough to fit on the foot of a gurney, with a hypothermia blanket covering the patient from chin to toe. “Impressive,” she murmured. “We’d need one for every unit, though.”
“I have it covered,” Seth assured her. His smile was dazzling, and she had to look away, reminding herself not to read too much into it. “All you need to do is to help me distribute the equipment to the paramedic units.”
“I can do that,” she agreed, without hesitation. “Once I get everyone trained on the device, that is.”
“How long do you think that will take?” Seth asked, his dark brows pulling together in a slight frown.
She understood his frustration at the potential delay. She was just as eager to start with the new protocol as he was. “Our next quarterly educational update is in two weeks.”
“Are you sure that’s enough time?” He raised a skeptical brow. “You have