Six Weeks of Seduction by Ellis O. Day
CHAPTER 69: NICK
Nick sat in the waiting room, paging through old magazines and playing on his phone.
“Nick Macris?”
“Yes.” He looked up. An older woman was walking toward him a frown on her face. “And you are?” Someone who didn’t care for him that was obvious.
“Dr. Smileworth.” She raised her brow as if that meant something to him.
“Are you Sarah’s doctor?” She wasn’t the guy from before but perhaps they’d called in someone else.
“Yes.”
“Is she all right? Did something come up in the tests?” This couldn’t be happening.
“I’m sure everything is fine but—”
“You’re sure everything is fine? You’re her doctor you should know if her tests are okay or not.”
“And you should’ve come to see me before taking her to a party. A party.” She huffed the last part as if he’d taken Sarah on a jaunt to North Korea.
“Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m Dr. Smileworth.”
“You said that.” He glanced around. Perhaps she’d escaped from the mental ward of this hospital.
“You have no idea who I am, do you?”
“You’re Dr. Smileworth.” He watched television. He knew how to placate crazies.
“I should’ve expected this.” The doctor sighed and sat next to him. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For thinking you’re an ass and treating you as such.”
His mouth dropped open. This doctor, who looked like an olden-time grandmother that baked cookies and blushed at an innocent kiss, had just called him an ass.
“I’ve known Sarah for years and I have a fondness for her that perhaps I shouldn’t, seeing as she’s now my patient.” The doctor sighed again. “But I’m only human and I thought I could help. Actually, I believe I am helping.”
“What exactly are you talking about?” He felt like he’d passed out and woken in another world.
“I told Sarah I wanted to speak with you. She said she told you but you were too busy.”
“Who are you again?” He held up his hand to stop her. “And don’t say Dr. Smileworth. I got that part.”
“Sarah gave me permission to speak with you but my office would be a better location.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Of course not, but you could come by on…” She grabbed her phone from her purse and started paging through her calendar. “I have an opening on Wednesday.”
“Now. Now is better.” He wasn’t waiting until Wednesday to find out what was going on.
“Of course.” She smiled. “I think you may be good for Sarah after all.”
“Of course, I’m good for her.”
“Sarah began seeing me a little while ago.”
“For what?” Panic flicked his heart again. She couldn’t be seriously sick. Life wouldn’t be that cruel.
“For PTSD.”
“Sarah wasn’t in the military.”
“It doesn’t only affect people in the military or first responders. I don’t know what you know about her past but Sarah went through some trauma.”
“I know about Adam and the baby.”
“Good. I wouldn’t have discussed that with you without clearing it with Sarah first.”
This explained a lot. “You’ve been seeing her for an hour a couple of times a week, haven’t you?” It wasn’t business and it wasn’t her ex.
“Yes. I’ve wanted to help her for years but she never contacted me no matter how much we tried.”
“We?”
“Her family, her business partner, the vet who treats her dogs, others at her work.” She paused. “Everyone who loves her.”
He clenched his jaw to keep from snapping at the older woman. Her business partner—her ex-lover—was not allowed to still love her.
“I was surprised—happy, but surprised—when she called me. We were making progress but that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to get better faster as if she had a deadline.”
He was that deadline. He didn’t need the doctor to say it.
“That’s when I asked to speak with you. I’d hoped you could help me make her understand that these things happen over years, not weeks.”
“She never told me.” She’d never told him anything.
“I understand that now.” The doctor patted his hand. “I was furious when Maisie called me and told me what’d happened. Sarah should’ve never gone to a party. She wasn’t ready.”
“I didn’t know. I would’ve never taken her if I’d known.” He’d never have left her either.
“Now you do.” She pulled out her phone again. “I think we should all talk.”
“I’ll be available whenever you need me but Sarah has to ask. She has to be the one to tell me about…this…her issues.”
“I’d think this incident would cover that.”
“She’s saying she passed out because she didn’t eat.” She was lying to him—not avoiding the truth but actually lying. “She doesn’t trust me.” That hurt more than he liked.
“Sarah has a hard time trusting.” The doctor patted his arm. “She needs patience and understanding.”
Great. Patience wasn’t his strong suit.
