Page 62 of Marry Me, Doc

I guess announcement: I moved to Park City.

Frost:

I'm not sure our friendship can recover from this.

Wells:

Mine either. I'm crushed.

Rook:

Steady on, old boy.

Wells:

Are we

Are we making fun of me again?

Frost:

Righto, chap

Wells:

Right. Crack on, then.

Reed:

English wanker.

Alright, so everyone knew about my move to Park City, now. It hadn't been on the impossibly long to-do list I'd made to get my practice up and running, but I still mentally checked off the box. My friends knew, and more importantly, Arabella knew that I was moving here permanently. I'd expected her to blow a gasket, accusing me of spying on her or playing into her mother's sick games. But, instead, she'd peered down at me, straddled over my stomach and puzzled me out.

And I'd almost lost my heart to her right then and there. Maybe almost. Maybe all the way.

"Shit," I muttered to myself.

My new office manager picked up her head from where she'd been peering at my list on her phone and gave me a surprised look. "Sorry?"

I winced. "No, I'm sorry. I just… never mind. Thanks for being willing to start so soon right before Christmas."

"Absolutely." Margot returned her attention to the exhaustive list I'd shared with her, and I hoped she was as strategic and no-nonsense as she seemed. Her resume was impeccable, her interview had been flawless, and if her life was as even and orderly as her perfectly cut, black bangs and pressed three-piece suit, then I had high hopes. "I'd say, if you have licensing and insurance under control, then I can get to work on supplies and modest renovations to get the space up to the standards you have laid out in your business plan."

Music to my ears. We were standing in the middle of my—as of now—empty leased building space, and as I'd hoped, hiringan office manager first had been the right course of action to take. Margot had over a decade of experience in managing small medical practices, and although she'd never helped build one from the ground up, she knew what it took to make them function. I checked my watch—twenty minutes. "Well, you have my accounts and the list. If you need me to sign off on any purchases or renovations, we can meet back here tomorrow if that works for you."

Margot tapped that into her schedule. "I'm getting a desk and workspace for myself today." She said this with a look over her rimless glasses.

I chuckled. "I think a chair and a desk would make things a little easier than standing in an empty waiting room."

"Infinitely. Is nine o'clock too early?"

"You've worked with doctors for too long," I grinned. "Yes, nine is fine."

With a self-satisfied smile, Margot went back to work on her phone, and I left her with another glance at my watch. I could make it to the lawyer’s office, but no time for lunch. We were finally signing the ranch over to Arabella's name now that she was feeling better. I jogged back to my SUV, which I had leased two days ago, and as I got into the car, a text buzzed my watch. I checked it as I started the engine.

Bee:

This is Dr. Rook’s assistant. She’s had an emergency come up. She says sorry.