Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
“I’ll still get my period?” I sound disgusted. Rightfully so. I am. If I can’t get pregnant, why should I suffer through menstrual cramps and bleeding for days on end?
He doesn’t look up while answering me. “For the first few months, yes, but they will slowly subside before eventually stopping altogether.” Now he peers at me. “Hormone changes that occur during your menstrual cycle can make the endometriosis pain worse. By stopping them, your pain should decrease. Once it is manageable, we will look at laparoscopic ablation again.”
“How much will that cost?” My desperation for a pain-free existence sneaks into my tone. I could barely afford my last surgery bill, however, and I had medical coverage through my employer. I don’t have that anymore, so I can’t act like he works pro bono.
“The costs can vary, but since the physician determines billing, I’m sure we can come up with an arrangement that will suit us both.”
I appreciate Dr. Hemway’s honesty. If anyone other than him had spoken those words, I would have taken them the wrong way. Since the doctor has looked out for me more than any other adult in my life, I dip my chin in gratitude.
Continued causes for appreciation roll in when he nudges his head to my handbag before he says, “While you get dressed, I’ll let Melita know that I accidentally double-booked today and that you were gracious enough to agree to reschedule your appointment for next month.”
Tingles bombard my nose as stupid tears form.
By saying he double-booked, I won’t have to pay for my appointment. That may not seem like much to most people, but when you’re between jobs and struggling to pay rent, saving two hundred dollars is a godsend.
I’m also super appreciative that he isn’t planning to examine me today.
I’ve avoided his office like the plague for the past two years because I usually always leave in more pain than when I arrive. Dr. Hemway isn’t necessarily rough. He just has giant hands that should have had him rethinking his profession long before medical school.
“Thank you.”
With a dip of his chin, he accepts my gratitude as if it is worth more than the consultancy fee he missed out on today before he exits his office, leaving me to change into the underwear I hid so well in my handbag it takes me almost five minutes to find them.
The delay in my arrival at the reception desk has Dr. Hemway looking at me more suspiciously than I’m used to. The groove between his brows deepens when I trip over my tongue upon spotting the patient the nurse is calling into his consulting room.
Good lord, I’ve never seen such a handsome specimen. His hair is inky and thick enough to lose several fingers in it. His tailored suit showcases every spectacular ridge of his body, and his cut facial features and icy-blue eyes would have even the most menopausal woman believing dryness would never be an issue for her.
This man is divine—and he knows it.
His smug grin enlarges the longer I stare, and the egotism beaming out of him turns so catastrophic that if we were in a nunnery, several women would clutch their pearls.
I’d be frustrated about the I’m-a-hussy vibes I am throwing out if he weren’t tossing out as many come-get-me feelers. He’s eyeballing me with as much interest as I’m serving him, and it sets my pulse racing.
My insides tap dance in victory when his prolonged gawk sees him crashing into the pamphlet table the receptionist restocks each morning. If he were watching where he was going instead of checking out my ass, he wouldn’t have knocked over the sex education pamphlets he should hand out before every hookup. One glance at his sinfully handsome face demands a safe-sex refresher.
Upon hearing the faint giggle that announces I love that I have his head in such a tizzy he almost tumbled, the unnamed man bows his head in defeat before he follows the nurse to Dr. Hemway’s office.
Only after the quickest glance back my way does he enter the sterile-scented space as requested by the nurse.
I take just as long to return my focus to Dr. Hemway. “Sorry, what did you say? I was…” My words trail off when I can’t find an appropriate excuse. Admitting I was eye-fucking a stranger in an OBGYN office seems a little perverse, even for someone as confident as me.
Why would he be here unless it is for the first half of Stoltz and Hemway Obstetrics and Gynecologist Services?
Unless he’s a traveling pharmaceutical representative?
His suit screams corruption, and drug reps are as corrupt as they come.
Mindful I will only get answers from one man. I flick my eyes to Dr. Hemway and then ask, “Is that man a patient of yours?”
“Who?” His blasé response proves there’s more to his chosen profession than he lets on. Even when the very epitome of a man is in the same room as him, his confidence doesn’t wither in the slightest.