One Sure Thing (Mamma Lou Matchmaker Series) by Celeste Norfleet Read Free Book Online Page A

casually down the hall, her in hospital scrubs and him in a classic casual designer attire.
    After a few turns they arrived in front of a door with its shade pulled down. Hope paused, knocked, opened the door slightly and peered inside. Finding it empty, she turned and held the door open for Raymond. “In here.”
    Raymond took the weight of the door and with gentlemanly grace, waved for her to enter first. She did. Then with questionable thoughts and a raised brow of interest, he watched the slight sway of her hips against the white medical jacket. Before she turned he jauntily walked in and took a seat on the arm of a nearby sofa as she went to stand by the door. He looked around at the lifeless still life prints, the drab putty colored walls and the brown tweed furniture. It was the typical quiet room decor, designed as a place for family members of seriously ill patients to relax.
    Hope stayed at the door, her back turned for fear that if she faced him she’d rip his smiling face off. Patiently she counted to ten then to twenty. With each ascending number she willed the tension in her neck and shoulders to dissolve. She was well on her way to thirty-five when Raymond spoke.
    “Doctor,” he began with the condescending tone that irked her, “in the future, please refrain from frightening patients. That’s a very dear woman to me in there. I take exception to her discomfort by your unprofessional bedside manner.”
    Unable to hold her temper any longer, Hope responded. “Then maybe you should have thought about that before barging into my examination room with my patient and second guessing my diagnosis. I don’t know where you studied medicine but, where I studied, physicians don’t behave like assholes toward other physicians. I’m sure you’re reasonably competent in you field, but this is my ER and I run it how I see fit.” Raymond opened his mouth to respond, but Hope promptly threw her hand up to still him.
    “I do not appreciate your interference and in the future as long as I am in this hospital, and on call performing my duties as a trained medical professional, I suggest you stay as far away from me as possible. Is that clear?”
    Before he could answer she began again.
    “This is not your hospital and she is not your patient. I realize that Mrs. Gates is a relative and therefore your concern is genuine, but that does not give you the right to burst into my exam and take over.”
    A cocky smile tugged at the corners of his full lips. He had just been reprimanded plain and simple. Hope ignored his smirk and continued. “I will however, allow you to visit your ‘Mamma Lou’ during visiting hours.  But as for her medical care, leave it up to the real professionals. I will not tolerate your interference.”
    “Am I to understand that you are refusing my input?”
    “You need to check your prescribed dosage, I think it may be too strong, ‘cause you’re just not getting it,” she said sarcastically. “You must have been number one in your med school class. Yes doctor, I am refusing your input. I don’t want to hear from you. I don’t need, nor want your help. Got it?”
    “You can’t be serious.”
    “As a heart attack,” she assured him.
    “Then I’m afraid that you and I are going to have a problem. Because I don’t intend to relinquish my grandmother’s heath to anyone,” Raymond politely assured her.
    She laughed openly, “You must be kidding.” She was just about to add more when her pager rang. She immediately unclipped it from her pocket and looked at the message and number. She clipped it back in place and began walking back toward the door, then she turned back to face him. She paused to stare up into Raymond’s heavenly hazel eyes. “Stay out of my way Gates,” she warned then jerked open the door and marched out.
    ***
    “I think you might have gone too far this time Louise,” Colonel Wheeler said as he neared her side and took her hand. “Those two look like