Chapter Twelve
CHAPTER TWELVE
H ello, Ms. Walters.” The woman at the reception desk of the doctor’s office greeted me without my having to tell her my name. I still hadn’t gotten used to that. “Dr. Westlake is finishing up with a patient, then she’ll be right with you.”
“Um, are there two Dr. Westlakes?” I asked, slightly confused.
She let out a loud chuckle. “If there were, it would certainly make my job a lot easier.”
“Then, I’m sorry, there must be a mistake.” I leaned closer to the desk. The receptionist raised an eyebrow. “I’m here for a gynecology appointment.”
“Yes, Emmaline Walters. One-thirty with Dr. Westlake.” She spun the monitor of her computer around so I could see it.
“Dr. Westlake is a GP, a vet, and a gynecologist?”
“She is the town doctor,” the receptionist replied with a small shrug before shoving a clipboard at me. “Please have a seat, fill out these forms, and I’ll need to see your insurance card, if you have one.”
I took my place in the waiting room, seriously contemplating canceling my appointment and making the four-hour drive to Atlanta, but then I remembered my regular doctor had a six-month wait and I had no desire to accidentally run into anyone I knew. Atlanta didn’t feel like my home anymore, and my life there felt like it belonged to someone else. I wondered if my mother was right. Was I running away from my problems? Then I remembered my talk with Erica’s mom. My mother ran away from her old life and started a new one. Who was she to judge me?
Dr. Westlake called my name twice before I jumped out of my chair and followed her into the exam room. I guessed I was keeping this appointment. At least there weren’t any goats this time.
“Okay, everything looks good.” Dr. Westlake sat up and rolled her stool away from the exam table. “Did you have any specific concerns?”
“Actually, I would like birth control.”
“Birth control?” Her eyebrows quirked and I could see the faintest hint of a smile. “Of course; would you like to discuss your options, or did you have something in mind?”
“I was on the pill, but my prescription ran out a couple of months ago and I haven’t been able to get a refill.”
“No problem; I can write you a prescription, but once you start taking it again it will be a week before you’re protected, so you should use another form of protection to be safe.” She stood and walked to the counter and began typing notes on a tablet. I pulled my feet out of the stirrups and sat up. “I’m sending your prescription to the pharmacy and sending your tests to the lab—”
“There’s a lab in town?”
“Oh no.” Dr. Westlake laughed. “They go to County General. It’s the closest hospital. We have a close relationship with them. A lot of their visiting patients and their families stay in town.”
“Visiting patients?” I asked, confused. “To a small county hospital?”
“Emma.” She turned to me with a sardonic smile. “You’re a very smart woman. The farm you’ve inherited from your grandparents is one of the leading producers of medical marijuana in the southeast. People come from all over the country, sometimes the world, for treatments. Not only have your grandparents helped hundreds, maybe thousands of people who’d almost given up hope, but they also brought this town back to life. We owe them a lot.”
“Whoa,” I whispered under my breath.
“Indeed.” She chuckled. “I’m gonna let you get dressed.”
“Everything said here is covered under doctor/patient confidentiality, right?”
“Of course,” she called over her shoulder as she washed her hands in the small sink, “but if you think you’re keeping whatever you and Dan have going on under wraps, you can forget it.”
“What do you mean?” I was surprised, but a smile was spreading across my face.
“I could tell by the look on Dan’s face when he brought you in here to get your hand stitched up. He might as well have been wearing a sandwich board. And of course, everyone sees you two making eyes at each other at Erica’s. It was only a matter of time.” She winked at me and left the room. It wasn’t until she’d gone that I noticed the small pile of condoms on the counter of the exam room that definitely wasn’t there when I came in.
“Hello, beautiful.” Dan came into the kitchen holding a giant plastic pot with a small blooming rosebush in it. He set it down on the table where I was trying and failing to reconcile the schedule of events for the festival.
“Hey.” I leaned back in my chair and pursed my lips so Dan could kiss me. “Were you talking to me or…” I pointed my pencil at the plant.
“Definitely you, love,” he said with a chuckle and took a seat next to me. “But this,” he pushed the pot toward me, sprinkling my notebook with potting soil, “is also a work of art.”
“Explain.” I put my pen down and rested my chin on the heels of my hands, giving him my full attention.
“I did it.”
“Did what?”
He pointed at the rosebush. “I have succeeded in making a rosebush that even you couldn’t kill.” He waggled his eyebrows and grinned at me.
“Hey!” I grabbed a handful of potting soil and threw it at him.
“I’m serious.” He grabbed my hand and kissed it. “Do you remember when I told you I had that breakthrough?”
Did I? That night would forever be burned in my memory. I nodded.
“This is it. I’ve figured it out. This is the culmination of years of my life.”
“Oh my God!” I jumped up when the realization hit me. “This is amazing! We have to celebrate. These roses will be in every garden store and nursery in the country—in the world.” I started pacing around the kitchen, already formulating all the ways we could get publicity for his discovery… morning talk shows, trade shows… I’d bet Max could help me if—
“Hold on.” Dan snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me into him, pressing a kiss to my neck. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is just the first step, and I’m not sure what I want to do with it yet. For right now, I’m happy it’s done, and I’m happy that you’re the first person I got to share it with.” I spun in his arms and pressed our lips together.
“Well, I never had a doubt,” I whispered.
“I did.”
“That’s why I had enough faith in you for the both of us.”
“You’re amazing, Emma.” Dan’s intense gaze made my belly do flips and my heart race. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me.” I gave him another peck on the cheek. “But you know what would make me really happy?”
“What is that?” He tightened his arm around my waist, pulling our hips together and alerting me to the fact that Dan was already very happy.
“If you would clean up all the dirt in kitchen… and on you and make me dinner.” I gave him my most adorable smile. “I’ve been working on this schedule for hours, and I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Anything for you.” He kissed me and patted me on the ass when I turned away from him.
“That was amazing.” I pushed away my plate and allowed myself a steadying breath before I rose from the table a few hours later.
“Where are you going, love?” Dan asked and wrapped a large, warm palm around my forearm as I backed away from him.
“I have a surprise for you.” I slipped out of his grasp and pulled a bottle of champagne out of the refrigerator. “I bought this bottle to celebrate.”
“But I just told you about it a couple of hours ago.” He furrowed his brow and chuckled. “How long have you had that?”
“I bought it the day after you told me you were almost done with it.” I grinned and set the bottle down in front of him. “I knew that we would need it.”
“You did, eh?” He wrapped one of his arms around my waist and pulled me into his lap.
“Yes.” I turned and planted a giant kiss on his lips. “I did. Now, should we open this thing?”
“You know, I usually don’t drink, but I’ll make an exception for you.” He grinned and kissed me before he twisted the top off the champagne bottle. I squealed when the cork shot out of the bottle with a large pop, hitting the ceiling while champagne simultaneously sprayed onto my lap.
“Dan,” I screeched, pointing at my alcohol-soaked leggings. “Look at my pants.”
“I made a mess of you, didn’t I?” he said in a sultry growl before setting the champagne bottle down so he could use both arms to squeeze my waist, pulling me over to straddle him.
“Yes, you did.” I pressed our foreheads together and gently brushed my lips against his.
“I guess I should clean you up, eh?” He punctuated his question by brushing his lips across my jaw, making the muscles between my thighs clench against the hardness between Dan’s legs.
“It’s a start.” I replied in a breathless whisper. Dan rose to his feet with my legs wrapped around his waist. He took two steps toward the kitchen door before I stopped him.
“Wait.”
“What? What is it?”
“Don’t forget the champagne.”
He laughed and turned toward the table so I could grab the bottle before he carried me into the living room.
“This isn’t exactly what I pictured when you said you would clean me up.” I took a sip from the mason jar half filled with champagne before taking another of Dan’s pawns.
“That was sneaky.” He was referring to my chess move, and not my comment, while appraising the board and stroking his beard. “And I did exactly what I said I would.” He tipped his chin at his very large gray sweatpants that I was wearing. “Maybe you just have a dirty mind… check!” he called triumphantly as he captured my knight, giving his rook a direct path to my king. Poor baby. He thought he was distracting me by using his pawn as bait, but I was three steps ahead of him. My queen made short work of his rook, and though he could move his king out of danger, he’d only be delaying the inevitable. The game was mine.
“Checkmate.” I grabbed his chin and kissed him. He laid down his king before crawling on top of me, covering me with his body. His delicious scent was rolling off of him in warm waves.
“That’s not fair,” he whispered into my ear, sucking the lobe between his teeth and nibbling gently.
“What’s not fair?” I asked in a small moan while Dan was ghosting his fingertips along the waistband of my sweatpants, making me shiver.
“How am I supposed to focus on the game when you are so damn distracting?” He moved on to kissing my neck. He pulled at the collar of his oversize T-shirt I was wearing, stretching it so he could gain access to my shoulder, collarbone, and chest.
“Wow.” I chuckled and ran my fingers through his hair as his head traveled farther south on my body. “And here I was thinking I won because I’m a better chess player.” Dan picked his head up to meet my eye.
“Well”—he grinned—“there’s that, too.” He winked at me before he resumed his descent. His fingertips dug into the flesh of my waist before he tugged my sweatpants over my hips and down my thighs. “Where are your knickers?” He didn’t look at me as he asked the question because he was too busy dragging his lips across the sensitive flesh between my legs.
“If you mean my panties, they were soaked in champagne, so I took them off.”
“I’m gonna have to soak you in champagne more often.” He gently parted my lips with his tongue, making me whimper.
“You won’t get any complaints from—” My words died on my lips when he sucked my clit into his mouth. My entire body shuddered and I tightened my grip on Dan’s hair, grinding my hips into his face.
“Fuck, you taste so good, Emma,” he groaned into the junction of my thighs. “So fucking good.” Dan pressed my legs farther apart, giving himself more access to my sex. Our combined moans of ecstasy filled the living room until I shouted my release. I came so hard my leg kicked out involuntarily, hitting the coffee table and sending the chess pieces scattering all over the floor.
“Shit,” I muttered. My chest was heaving as my heartbeat slowly returned to normal. “Why are you so good at that?” My chest vibrated with a heady chuckle.
“Is that a complaint?” Dan pressed a kiss between my legs, making me shudder, before rolling off of me to scoop up the black and white pieces littering the floor.
“Hell, no.” I laughed and sat up. “It was an inquiry.”
“Well”—he rejoined me on the couch and pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him—“I have a very inspiring muse.” He pressed his lips to mine, and I could taste myself on his kiss.
“Oh, really?” I whispered and rubbed our noses together.
“Yes. She’s incredibly stubborn and infuriating. She’s a terrible cook”—I narrowed my eyes at him—“but she’s the most fascinating woman I’ve ever met.” I felt my eyes prickle and my chest constrict at his words. “And she inspires me to be better.”
“Better at chess?” I quipped.
“Better at everything, Emma.” Our eyes met, and Dan’s gaze was so intense it took my breath away. “You make me want to be better at everything.”
“You’re already pretty amazing.” I stroked his face and blinked away the tears that started to form. “How much better can you get?”
“Well, I got a special delivery of about a thousand condoms.” He smiled a mischievous grin and I burst out laughing. “So I’d be happy to show you.”
“Absolutely.” I grinned and kissed him. “And it’s funny you should say that because I had an appointment with Dr. Westlake, and your girl is now on birth control, so…”
His grin widened and he pressed our mouths together, parting my lips with his tongue and caressing the inside of my mouth. We found a rhythm grinding our hips together as I slid my hands under his T-shirt to smooth my fingertips over the muscles of his chest and abs. Dan suddenly broke our kiss with a loud pop.
“Fuck, Emma,” he said, panting and out of breath. “We can’t do this here.”
“What?” My own chest was heaving. “Why not?”
“Not on this couch.” He kissed me again before standing. “I want to take you upstairs where I can do this properly.” He hoisted me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
“Dan?” I called to him as he ascended the stairs. “Why didn’t you tell me Dr. Westlake had so many specialties ?”
“Small town, love.” I felt him shrug and he punctuated his answer with a sharp slap on my ass, making me yelp. “No more questions.” He entered the small staircase leading to his apartment in the attic and slammed the door shut with his foot.