Triplets for The Millionaire - K.C. Crowne Page 0,6
on hard times, though. The old equipment was dying bit by bit. To that end, I’d scheduled a meeting with some of the higher-ups in Pitt Medical, hoping that I could talk them into donating some new equipment.
Between now and then, I had a busy week of patients ahead of me. Lucky for me, I didn’t have much of a personal life to get in the way of work.
In the middle of paperwork, nine rolled around. Sarah hadn’t buzzed to let me know my appointment was here. I sat up, taking my hands away from my keyboard, as if Sarah might buzz without me hearing. When I heard nothing, I turned my attention back to my computer.
Another ten minutes passed, then five more. I frowned, wondering what was going on. I hit the lock key on the computer and got up, heading to the office door and stepping out. A few doctors passed me, and I said my “hellos” to them as I headed to the front desk. As I drew closer, I heard laughter coming from Sarah’s direction – her laughter. I could also hear a man’s voice, though it was not a normal male voice. He had an Irish accent, like a character out of Peaky Blinders.
“Now, you wanna come to Ireland, you’re welcome any time, love.”
“Oh, really?” Sarah giggled. “I haven’t even been east of the Mississippi. I seriously doubt I’d fit in there.”
“You kiddin’?” The man scoffed. “Look at that gorgeous head of red hair. No doubt you’ve got the Irish blood in you. Why, I bet you’d set one foot on the island and feel like you were comin’ home.”
More laughter. “Oh, I don’t know about that…”
I’d listened to enough. I stepped around the corner to the small hallway that led to the waiting room, eager to find out what was going on. And what I saw – who I saw – made my eyes go wide.
The man leaning over the receptionist counter was the best-looking man I’d ever seen in my life. He was tall and handsome with thick, wavy, reddish-brown hair and tanned skin that reminded me of a surfer’s. His eyes were a brilliant green, his smile wide and his mouth filled with perfect, white teeth. His shoulders were broad and round, his waist slim. He was dressed in a simple, red T-shirt with a pocket on the chest, along with a pair of black jeans and suede gray sneakers.
I’d been prepared to scold Sarah for not being on the ball with my appointment, but the second that man flicked those emerald eyes onto mine, there was nothing in that moment but him and me.
“Hey, there,” he said, his voice thick with his accent. “What’s the craic?”
I cocked my head to the side. “Excuse me?”
Sarah turned to me, her eager expression making it clear she was ready to explain. “It means, like, what’s up, what’s happening. Patrick just told me about it.”
Something about Sarah snapped me back to reality, and my professional demeanor returning. “I see. Well, if Mr. O’Conner is here for a nine o’clock, he should come back to the exam room so I can take a look at him. I’ve got a lot of patients today and can’t afford to be any later than we already are.”
“Um, sure,” Sarah said. “I’ll finish checking him in and send him back to your exam room.”
“Thank you, Sarah.” I pulled my eyes from Patrick and headed to my office. Once alone, I realized that my heart was beating wildly in my chest. I placed my index and middle fingers on my wrist, checking my pulse.
What the hell was going on with me? I’d always taken pride in my ability to keep calm under any circumstance – sometimes too calm, depending on who you’re asking. But for some reason, thirty seconds of speaking to that man had been enough to make my blood run hot and my panties to be soaked.
I stepped in front of the small mirror near the door, making sure I didn’t look as out of sorts as I felt. I grabbed my white doctor’s coat from where it hung on the door and threw it on. The front pocket of the coat held a small roll of breath mints, one of which I popped into my mouth. This wasn’t for him, of course – being an eye doctor meant getting close to people’s faces, and I preferred my breath to smell like something other than coffee and Luna Bars.