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Josh let out a breath "Yeah But she’s not your responsibility Don’t let her drive you off"

"She won’t need any help?"

"No Trust ize ahead of time for her"

"We’ll be fine, Dr Scott"

He let out a half laugh "Back to that, are we?"

"Don’t you like it when people call you doctor?"

"Only if they’re sitting on n that he was being falselybut a aze

And a lingering heat that stoked hers back into flao"

"Yeah" He leaned in and brushed his mouth over hers, then kissed her with so back "Shit"

She wobbled unsteadily and had to laugh at the both of them, shaken by a kiss "It’s still there"

"Yeah It’s still there"

Chapter 9

There’s no Chocolate’s Anonymous because no one wants to quit

Josh went back to the office, and as he worked through his patients, all he had to do was look at a door and he’d think about the full-body press he’d given Grace

Twice

He wanted her, which was just about as crazy as it got, since she was a wo more than fun on her mind But he’d been there, done that, and had had his life changed forever It was how he’d gotten Toby, which he wouldn’t change for the world

But he wasn’t about to do it again

So it made no sense to him, his crazy attraction to Grace She wasn’t his type Okay, so he didn’t have a type His requirements arm and sweet--except in bed, where he preferred decidedly not war to end up in his bed They’d both said so They’d agreed to be on the sarown up

Christ, he hated being grown up

"Room one," Dee said as they passed each other in the hallway

Mrs Carson aiting on him She’d accidentally ra Unfortunate that she was also hard of hearing "Mrs Carson, you need to get the pill dispenser that we talked about to prevent this fro"

"What is that, dear?" she yelled, an arthritic hand curled around her ear "I’rinned at her own joke, slapping her knee, co could also hear her "Not that I wouldn’table to take care of ood man, but he’s not built for "

Josh did He just wished he didn’t

"Aw Your father would have laughed You’re not much fun"

Gee, where had he heard that before?

Josh’s next patient was Kenny Liotta, a truck driver who came in every six weeks without fail with a new STD "You ever think about getting srinned "Your dad used to ask e And my dick’s not the one with the IQ"

Josh shook his head and wrote a script "Your dick needs to read Dicks for Du to fall off before your next birthday"

Kenny laughed "But what a way to go, right?"

"No," Josh said "It’s not a good way to go Go with a hot tub full of blondes in some seedy hotel, from a heart attack of pleasure Not frooodto sell the practice, are you? Like all the others around here have?"

It was coe that the hospital had been slowly but surely procuring other county medical facilities, from labs to pediatricians to specialists of all kinds By absorbing thee boost in popularity and reputation This translated to big bucks, of course Just about every doctor Josh worked with in the area was a part of the hospital in so about it"

"It’s like some socialist takeover What did they threaten you with, broken kneecaps?"

Thistoothe same way The level of care here will remain the same as well"

"You sure about that?"

"Yes," Josh said firned already?

The board didn’t understand either Neither did Matt when he called to see if Josh was ever going to go rock cliet away," Josh said

"Jesus Sign already"

"I’ when you’re too old to hang off a cliff without worrying that you’ll drop your dentures?"

Josh sighed "Call Ty He’ll rock cliuy who ju doesn’t like heights"

This was true "Take Ao," Matt said "She told ain, she’d kill un"

This was undoubtedly also true Ah as hell

"You need some more hours in your day," Matt said "You’re not any fun Anyone ever tell you that?"

Okay, now this was starting to piss him off "I’ue had been in Grace’sfun

"Sell," Matt said, and disconnected

"I’m fun," Josh repeated to no one He slid his phone away and thought about Grace some more That was fun all in itself, actually Too much fun She was a complete time sink, not to s She made hi he absolutely couldn’t do

No ht-thirty, half an hour late Toby was bathed and ready for bed, a Zhu Zhu warrior hahtsaber in the other, Tank coels

When Grace had arrived at his house earlier, she’d looked soft and y in a sundress, cropped sweater, and sandals, her wavy blond hair falling silkily to her shoulders, facial expression dialed to easy, curious intelligence During their otten --and her expression hadn’t been nearly so calm Her eyes had been dilated, her mouth wet from his, her niles hard

He’d liked that look, a lot

Now her hair had been put up in so silky strands escaping wildly,her look a little bit like astreaked and stained down the front of her sundress, and her expression wasn’t serene or aroused

She was laughing She and Toby were in the kitchen, counting the cupcakes on the tray at the table, cracking up Just looking at the from his shoulders "Sorry I’ency?" she asked, turning a concerned face his way

"A sixteen-year-old girl pierced her own tongue, and it abscessed She didn’t tell her parents for three days, not until it swelled, blocking her breathing passage"