Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 35876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
"It's not what you think, little thorn."
Her anger disappeared in a blink, and she looked up at him in a mixture of exasperation and amusement instead. "Little thorn? That's your idea of endearment?"
"It is, yes." Because the moment he had said those words out loud, Adam realized that was exactly what Temptation was, and he wouldn't have her any other way.
His Temptation was a rose on the outside, but her soul was that of a prickly little thorn, and he loved the fact that she could be both.
"You're crazy."
"Crazy for you," he corrected her, "and that's why I want to do away with this whole fantasy business. The next time I meet, I want everything to be real between us."
She didn't answer right away, but Adam soon realized why when he felt her cheek grow wet against his palm.
"I want that, too." And this time, it wasn't just the tears he heard clogging her throat.
This time, he also heard her heart whisper the same words she had cried out earlier.
I love you.
She loved him just as he loved her, and it was this thought that Adam held close to his fucking heart even as he reluctantly forced himself to get moving.
Adam kissed the top of her head one last time before leaving, and while he had intended to talk to her again after his unscheduled operation, life was never what one planned in his line of work.
He had thought they would only be apart for a few hours.
But he was wrong.
JOELLE RETRIEVED A party horn blower from under the counter when her cousin walked inside his clinic.
"Congratulations, boss!"
The fact that all Adam could do was nod spoke volumes, and she quickly went around her desk to hand him his decaf. "Here you go."
"Thanks." Adam drank everything down in one gulp.
"You need to rest. You've worked nonstop for seventy-two hours."
"Didn't really have a choice with that one," Adam reminded the younger girl while massaging the muscles at the back of his neck. A colleague's bachelor's party had ended up severely crippling the hospital's surgical unit, and Adam had ended up handling other doctor's case loads when both groom-to-be and four invited surgeons went down with a viral infection the following day.
"Well, you have a choice now," Joelle told him. "You have until next Friday off, so go home and get some sleep."
Adam frowned. "What about my meeting with the board?"
"Canceled by the CEO himself."
Adam only looked at her, but Joelle by now was well used to such a reaction. It was only when he was dead tired that her cousin's brain cells tended to work just a tad slower than usual.
"Yes, you heard me right," she said patiently. "You really do have that many days off, and we also have four surgeons in reserve for emergencies. You've earned this vacation, so..." Joelle smiled slyly. "Go and enjoy it with your mysterious girlfriend!"
Adam's shoulders finally relaxed. "I will, thanks."
Joelle's eyes widened. "I was just joking!"
"I wasn't."
"Oh my God, so you really do have a girlfriend? Who is it—-"
Adam walked out of the clinic, and Joelle was left talking to an empty room.
Bliss.
It was a struggle not to grin like a fucking fool as he walked to the nurses' station. He could finally see Temptation again, and hopefully, once she learned how crazy the past few days had been, she would understand why he hadn't been able to send her even a single text.
It took about half an hour before Adam was done giving last-minute instructions to the nurses handling his patients, and it was upon walking back that he saw a girl stepping out of his clinic.
What the hell?
Adam froze in his tracks.
He would know those lovely dark eyes of hers anywhere.
What the hell was Temptation doing coming out of his clinic?
How the fuck had she found him, and had he just caught her doing the same thing as Ilona had done?
Twenty-One
It's far from my first time to come to Stanhope, but I think this is the first time ever that my stomach isn't curdling in fear as I cross its doors, and of course I have him to thank for this.
One of the receptionists behind the concierge desk greets me with a smile as I come up. "Hi. What can I do for you?"
I give the name of Io's old doctor, and the other woman nods right away.
"What's your sister's name?"
"Iolanthe Raptis."
She types my sister's name on the computer. "Oh, lucky her. And you. She'll now be under Dr. Adam Al-Masri." She opens a drawer and pulls out a business card. "Here you go. His clinic details, schedule, and contact information - everything's there."
"Thank you so much." I glance down at the card she's handed me as I turn away. Adam Al-Masri? I know Al-Masri is a really, really common family name in Huzna, but could Io's new doctor be related to Madeleine's fiancé?