The Daddy And The Baby Doctor. Kristin Morgan
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ignore the way something had pulled deep and hard inside of her as her eyes had traveled up and down his muscular body. “Because I feel I’m owed an explanation.” Then she watched as Sam drew in a slow, deep breath.
“First off,” he began, “allow me to clear up something. I’m not some weirdo, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Amanda lifted her eyebrows in a way that suggested that was exactly what she was thinking. “And I wasn’t snooping,” he added gruffly—almost forcefully. “I was just trying to find out some information about you.”
Amanda couldn’t help herself. She wasn’t about to let this man off the hook that easily. After all, he was the one who had pushed his way into her office. She was aggravated now. She wanted answers. “Then why go to my friends and neighbors? Why not come straight to me?”
“Good point,” he replied evenly. “I’ll remember that next time.”
“Indeed,” she said, giving him a hard glare. Still, her heart was beating wildly. Too wildly. She dropped her eyes from his as soon as she could. Then, drawing in a deep breath, she walked right past him to her desk. “Let me explain something to you, Mr. Arquette,” she said, turning around to face him. “Any information I have concerning my patients is strictly confidential between them and me.”
“I understand how you must feel about that, but—”
“When it comes to matters of this nature, Mr. Arquette, there are no buts,” Amanda said, interrupting him. Frankly, she wanted to put an end to this conversation as soon as possible. She needed oxygen and there simply wasn’t enough in her office right now for the two of them. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a busy schedule. I’ll have my receptionist show you out.” With that, she headed straight past him for the door.
“Now wait a minute,” he said, suddenly reaching out to stop her. In truth, he wanted to stop her for more reasons than he cared to think about. In fact, he would have liked nothing better in that moment than to chisel away her icy persona. So he had gotten off to a wrong start with the woman. Did she have to be such an iceberg about it? Where was the compassion that all doctors, male or female, were supposed to have? He was used to tangling with international spies and war criminals. Surely he could handle one small-town female doctor. Of course, the protocol in dealing with her as opposed to some war criminal was quite different. Right now, he was on his best behavior. While in the navy, not every situation required that of him.
“The least you can do is hear me out,” he said meaningfully.
Immediately, her eyes dropped to where he held her arm. “Obviously, you don’t understand, Mr. Arquette,” Amanda said. “It’s a matter of ethics. My patients trust me not to repeat our conversations.” She gazed up at him, her blue eyes sparkling with indignation. “Now, if you would be so kind as to let go of my arm.”
The sound of her voice swept through him like a warm, balmy breeze in springtime. Only it wasn’t springtime. It was November, and the winds outside were as chilly as the glare she was giving him. Frankly, he didn’t want to let her arm go. He wanted to pull her against him and kiss those pouty lips of hers. Then again, he was trying to be on his best behavior. Dammit.
“Sure thing, Doc,” he said, releasing her a moment later.
Taking a deep breath, Amanda turned immediately to leave the room.
“But you’re making a mistake,” Sam said in her wake, in a last-ditch effort to stop her without making a scene. He was experiencing an adrenaline rush, and he knew it had to do with her somehow. With the way she had turned her back on him. He wasn’t used to that kind of treatment. He was used to giving it. “It’s you, Doc, who doesn’t understand the seriousness of the situation. This could be a matter of life and death.”
A moment passed while Amanda paused in the doorway. Finally, she spun on her heels to face him, although her expression clearly stated that she was angry at herself for giving in. She gazed at him furiously. “Okay, Mr. Arquette. You’ve got my undivided attention. But this had better be damned good.”
Sam smirked. In spite of everything, he truly admired her spunk.
Not to mention the fact that he was in love with her voice.
He placed his hands on his hips. “Have you ever heard of the Wentworth family of Freemont Springs?” he asked.
Amanda Lucas narrowed her eyes. “Of course. Everyone in Oklahoma knows of them. Their contributions to local charities are legendary.”
“So, you’re aware of their reputation. Then you’re also aware that they’re good, honest people.”
“I know that they’re extremely generous with their money. But I don’t know any of them personally,” Amanda replied.
“Well, I do. They’re close friends of mine—in fact, I’m here on their behalf. They’re looking for someone. A woman by the name of Sabrina Jensen. They have reason to believe you know her. Do you?”
Of course, Amanda knew her. Sabrina Jensen was one of her OB patients. Only Sabrina had missed her last appointment and Amanda’s receptionist had been unable to reach the woman to reschedule. Amanda had thought that rather odd, and had even tried to follow up on it herself, but to no avail. Now, to have this stranger asking questions about her...
“Why are the Wentworths looking for her?” Amanda asked evenly. The last thing she wanted was to give away the fact that she knew Sabrina as a patient. To her way of thinking, she saw nothing in Sam Arquette that made that information any of his business.
“Look, all I need to know is her whereabouts.”
Amanda frowned. “Is she in some kind of trouble?”
“To be honest with you,” Sam said, running his fingers through his hair, “the Wentworths don’t know. That’s why they’re trying to find her.”
“But I don’t understand,” Amanda said. “Why are they having such a problem finding her in the first place?”
Sam frowned to himself. He wasn’t accustomed to being questioned like this. As a soldier, he had been the interrogator. Now, suddenly, he found himself at the other end of the spectrum, and, frankly, it wasn’t any fun. In fact, his patience with the good doctor was wearing awfully thin. “It seems,” he said, “she’s disappeared.”
“I see. What do they think happened to her?” Amanda asked warily.
He shrugged. “That’s just it. They don’t know. But I can tell you this much—the Wentworths are truly concerned about her.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with this matter.”
“You can’t—or you won’t?” Sam replied, gazing at her intently.
Amanda had turned to leave the room, but she stopped short. She’d had about all she was going to take from this...this imposing man. Just who did he think he was? Wasn’t it enough that he had her guts all tied up in knots to the point where she doubted if they would ever relax again? “Look, Mr. Arquette,” she said, giving him another one of her hard glares. “Even if I knew where the woman was—which I don’t—but even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“So, in essence,” Sam began cockily, “you would deliberately hide her whereabouts from me even if you knew them.”
Determined to keep her cool, Amanda breathed deeply. “In essence, yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Arquette, I have nothing more to say to you.”
Frustrated that he wasn’t getting anywhere with her, Sam felt his temper flare. More than anything in that moment he wanted to shake some sense into her. For heaven’s sake, couldn’t she see he was only trying to help out a friend?
Sexy voice or not, Amanda Lucas had pushed him just about as far as he wanted to go. Her icy manner was becoming nothing but a pain in the behind. Frankly, it stunk. She was an iceberg, all right, through and through. He had thought he could thaw her without