Cindy's Doctor Charming by Teresa Southwick Read Free Book Online

to believe that I want to get to know you better?”
    â€œOh, please.” She made a scoffing sound. “That’s code for hooking up.”
    He wouldn’t say no to a hookup, but that wasn’t hisprimary objective. “I’d really like to see you outside of work.”
    â€œLet me be clear. And honest. You said it yourself. I’m a busy girl. I don’t have time in my schedule for a fling.”
    â€œNeither do I.”
    Her eyes flashed with what looked like anger and frustration. “In my experience, guys like you are all about the one who said no.”
    â€œLater I’m probably going to be annoyed at being lumped in with the jerks.”
    She ignored that and continued. “Let’s just skip to the end. How about if I just sleep with you? Then I can get you out of my life. It’s not even necessary to buy me dinner. It will save us both time. Seven minutes tops.”
    â€œOuch.” He’d heard both heat and hurt in her voice, and that took the sting out of the words for him. If only it had canceled out his curiosity, but he wasn’t that lucky. “What if I want to buy you dinner? No strings.”
    â€œDo you?” she asked suspiciously.
    â€œTake a chance. Find out for yourself.”
    â€œIf I do will you go away quietly?”
    â€œCan we just take this one step at a time?” he asked. “Don’t spoil the surprise. That takes all the fun out of it.”
    â€œIn my experience, there’s nothing fun about a surprise.”
    That was the second time she’d mentioned her experience. It didn’t take a mental giant to figure out that whatever happened hadn’t been good. If Nathan was as smart as everyone thought, he’d run from Cindy and her emotional baggage. But apparently he wasn’t that bright. Because he was inclined to sit here and wait until she agreed to go out with him.
    â€œYou know you want to say yes,” he coaxed.
    â€œWere you raised by wolves? What part of no do you not understand?” She glared at him.
    â€œMy parents were incredibly civilized. Just not to each other.” He refused to take the bait. It didn’t escape his notice that she was pulling out all the stops to get him to give up. That made the challenge of wearing her down all the more stimulating. “Come on, Cindy. It will be fun.”
    â€œThe Titanic was fun, too, if you like freezing cold water and gigantic icebergs opening up the side of your ship like a tuna can.”
    â€œI’m not leaving until you agree to have dinner with me tonight.” Tonight because he didn’t want to give her time to back out.
    She thought for several moments and apparently decided he wasn’t backing down. After an exaggerated sigh, she said, “All right. But only because I have to eat.”
    â€œI’ll pick you up at seven.”

Chapter Four
    C indy peeked out the window of her tiny three-bedroom home in the old part of Henderson. Nathan wasn’t there yet, but it was only six-fifty. She still had ten minutes to fret over and change the sleeveless black cotton sundress that had been her second outfit choice. If only her fairy godmothers were here with borrowed clothes, shoes and much-needed advice because she was running low on clothing options and was fresh out of common sense. A limited budget didn’t allow for a large wardrobe. Lack of variety sure cut down on time spent making a decision, but that didn’t erase the desperate wish to not care so much about looking her very best.
    Because impressing Nathan Steele wasn’t the goal for tonight. Men were trouble and she didn’t need any more of it. This dinner was all about getting the doctor to back off and leave her alone so she could focus on her internship and the current job that helped pay her mountain of bills.
    Cindy paced the living room’s wood floor and stayed far away from a mirror that would send her fashion critique