Page 51 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

She covered his hand with her own.“You don’t need to justify it—I’d love to come home with you and stay the night again.”

“You would?”

“Yeah, Trip, I really would.”

Something about the way she said it made him relax.If he’d been trying to justify his request, it felt like she was trying to reassure him—and he liked that, a lot.

He locked the door behind them as they left and gestured toward his SUV.

“Want to ride with me and leave your car here?”

She hesitated.“I’d love to, but I don’t think I should.If you’re called to any kind of emergency, I’d be stranded at your place.”

“You’re right.”She was; bringing her own car was the practical, logical thing to do, but he couldn’t help feeling disappointed as he pulled away from the clinic and could only watch her following in his rearview mirror, rather than have her sit beside him like he wanted.

He kept checking his mirror the whole way, and didn’t relax until he saw her car emerge from the line of cottonwood trees by the creek.

~ ~ ~

Shelley set her fork down and pushed her plate away.“That was wonderful, thank you.”

“You’re most welcome.I figured it was about time that I cooked for you myself—you know, prove that I’m not completely helpless.”

“I never thought you were—I just didn’t expect you to be such a great cook.It almost seems a shame that you have Anita and Maisie to take care of you.”

He cocked an eyebrow, and she laughed.“I mean, of course it’s wonderful that you have them, but your talents in the kitchen shouldn’t go unused.”

She loved the way he smiled as he said, “I’ll cook for you anytime you like.”

“Thank you—and you can’t take it back now that you’ve said it; I intend to hold you to that.”

“I hope you will.”Trip pushed his chair back.“I’ll just clean up the kitchen and –”

Shelley got to her feet.“Oh no, you won’t!You cooked; I’ll clean up.”

“There’s no need, I can –”

She gave him a stern look.“Am I a guest, or are we a team?”

“Well, since you put it that way …”

She started gathering the dishes.“Exactly.”

“Do you want me to go get us a bottle of wine?”

She turned back to him when she reached the sink.“You have a glass if you want to, but I don’t need any tonight.It wasn’t just that I didn’t want any with dinner, it’s that my system needs a night off.I only usually drink at the weekends, and last night …”

He chuckled.“That’s right, I forgot about that.The ladies know how to have a good time, don’t they?”

“They sure do.I’m going to have to watch myself when I go out with them.I don’t need to drink that much.”

A shiver ran down her spine when he winked at her.“You don’t have to go easy, either.You know I’m happy to be your chauffeur, and it’s fun for me—you’re way chattier when you’re tipsy.”

She frowned.“You think I need to be chattier?”

“No.I was only thinking the other day that one of the things I like about you is that you don’t need to talk all the time.But by the same token, I enjoy hearing your stream-of-consciousness kind of narrative when the wine kicks in.”

She made a face at him as he stalked across the kitchen toward her.“Thanks, I think.”