Diamond in the Ruff (Matchmaking Mamas Book 13) by Marie Ferrarella Read Free Book Online

if I minded,” Theresa pointed out. “Now shoo!” she ordered, gesturing the pastry chef out the door.
    She was gone before Theresa could finish saying the last word.
    * * *
    When the bell announced the arrival of yet another patient, Christopher had to consciously refrain from releasing a loud sigh. It wasn’t that he minded seeing patients, because he didn’t. He enjoyed it, even when he was being challenged or confounded by a pet’s condition. Plus, his new practice took all his time, which he didn’t mind. It was paperwork that he hated. Paperwork of any kind was tedious, even though he readily admitted that it needed to be done.
    Which was why he had two different receptionists, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, to do the inputting and to keep track of things.
    However, on occasion, when one or the other was away for longer than ten minutes, he took over and manned the desk, so to speak.
    That was what he was currently doing because Erika had taken a quick run to the local take-out place in order to buy and bring back dinner for the office. He looked up from the keyboard to see just who had entered.
    “You’re back,” Christopher said with surprise when he saw Lily coming in. The moment she stepped inside, she filled the waiting area with her unconscious, natural sexiness. Before he knew it, he found himself under her spell. “Is something wrong with Jonathan?” It was the first thing that occurred to him.
    And then he noticed that she was carrying a rectangular pink cardboard box. Another animal to examine? No, that couldn’t be it. There were no air holes punched into the box, which would mean, under normal circumstances, that it wasn’t some stray white mouse or rat she was bringing to him.
    * * *
    “You brought me another patient?” he asked a little warily.
    “What?” She saw that he was eyeing the box in her hand and realized belatedly what he had to be thinking. “Oh, this isn’t anything to examine,” she told him. “At least, not the way you mean.”
    He had no idea what that meant.
    By now, the savory aroma wafting out of the box had reached him and he could feel his taste buds coming to attention.
    “What
is
that?” he asked her, leaving the shelter of the reception desk and coming closer. He thought he detected the scent of cinnamon, among other things. “That aroma is nothing short of fantastic.”
    Lily smiled broadly. “Thank you.”
    He looked at her in confused surprise. “Is that you?” he asked, slightly bemused.
    Was that some sort of new cologne, meant to arouse a man’s appetites, the noncarnal variety? He could almost
feel
his mouth watering.
    “Only in a manner of speaking,” Lily replied with a laugh. When Christopher looked even further confused, she took pity on him and thrust the rectangular box at him. “These are for you—and your staff,” she added in case he thought she was singling him out and trying to flirt with him—although she was certain he probably had to endure the latter on a regular basis. Men as good-looking as Christopher Whitman
never
went unnoticed. From his thick, straight dirty-blond hair, to his tall, lean body, to his magnetic blue eyes that seemed to look right
into
her, the man stood out in any crowd.
    “It’s just my small way of saying thank you,” she added.
    “You bought these for us?” Christopher asked, taking the box from her.
    “No,” Lily corrected, “I
made
these for you. I’m a pastry chef,” she explained quickly, in case he thought she was just someone who had slapped together the first dessert recipe she came across on the internet. She wasn’t altogether sure what prompted her, but she wanted him to know that in her own way she was a professional, too. “I work for a catering company,” she added, then thought that she was probably blurting out more details than the man wanted to hear. “Anyway, since you wouldn’t let me pay you, I wanted to do something nice for you. It’s all-natural,” she