Scandalous Scotsman - M.J. Fields Page 0,17
were referred to me by mutual friends, and I’m making damn sure I fulfill a promise to see to ye as a patient.” He hands me the towel wrapped around something, not ice, that he grabbed from my freezer, and then a spoon. “Whatever it is ye think is going on, ye’re wrong.” He steps back, eyeing my raised leg. “Now stop yer nonsense and rest yer leg, or you’ll be a hell of a lot longer healing and out of work.”
“Pfft, out of work my ass.” I try to sound badass.
His eyebrows knit, and he leans in just a little closer. “I will give the manager of the restaurant a call and tell them ye’re not to be on yer leg.”
I gasp. “You’re not my father.”
“No, I’d say not, but ye certainly need someone to look out for ye until ye’re healed.” He turns and walks toward the door.
Pissed, I yell at his back, “Maybe you should be more worried about your dog!”
He shakes his head and sputters as he opens the door, steps out, turns, and reaches his hand in to turn the lock on the doorknob. “Thank you for looking after Scotch,” he grumbles. “Now enjoy yer show, Ms. Bloom.” Then he shuts the door behind him.
Oh, no, he didn’t.
I unwrap the towel and see that what Dr. Stewart wrapped up was my new pint of Ben and Jerry’s.
With that, emotions swell in my chest.
Saturday
I wake on my couch to the sound of my phone and sit up, cringing just a bit more than I did yesterday when I first moved my leg.
I grab my phone off the floor and see Tonya’s name on its display screen.
“Shit,” I grumble as I hit “accept” and see half a carton of melted Ben and Jerry’s on the floor.
“Shit?” she huffs then laughs.
“I lost half a pint of the good stuff when I fell asleep on the couch last night,” I explain.
“Fraser keeping you awake?”
I run my hand over my face, hit speaker, and sigh.
“Spill it,” she says.
“Is it just me or can you also telepathically sense when one of your clients has had a, um … mishap when you’re not even in the room with them?”
“You’re not my client, Lizzie, you’re my best friend. And flattery may get you some places, but denial will get you nowhere. Now spill it.”
Picking up my melted ice cream container, the spoon, and my phone still on speaker, I give her the run down on Fraser, leaving out the fact that the new asshole neighbor who doesn’t know how to watch his dog is none other than Dr. Nail It or Screw It.
When she doesn’t say anything, I know I’m supposed to continue, so I tell her how it sucked to lose Fraser, but yesterday’s double at The Oasis gave me some magic. I do mention Dr. Nail-It-or-Screw-It was there, too, and what a jerk he was, but left out the fact that he stopped here, and I made a complete and total ass of myself.
Best friend or not, a girl needs to keep a little bit of her dignity.
“Uh-huh,” she says, and I can hear her fingernails tapping as she waits for me to continue.
“That’s it. Now your turn.”
“I’m running late. Mind stopping by the coffee shop and grabbing me a cup on your way in to start setting up your class today? Maybe stop by my office and drop it off?”
“Sounds good. Should take me about an hour to get ready, grab coffee, and head in.” I drop the spoon in the sink.
“Perfect, and then you can tell me the rest of your story.”
“Huh?”
“You and I are coffee girls, so when you come, bring coffee; non-diluted coffee, not a decaffeinated weak version, and definitely not the half cup of tea you just spilled.”
“Fine,” I concede.
“Good,” she counters.
She smirks. “I don’t know why you try hiding things from me.”
“Because telling you what an idiot I am and how he, the first guy I’ve felt anything for … even though it’s mostly pissed off, proved to me that I am just that— an idiot— doesn’t sound like a great way to start out a Monday when you’re the one constantly telling me to focus forward.”
She sets her cup of coffee down and smiles. “As your friend, and a counselor, I think you made great progress. And let me remind you that I’ve seen the two of you in the same room. You’re not an idiot; he’s totally into you.”
I shake my head.
“He comes