The Royal Doctor's Bride. Jessica Matthews

they aren’t expecting and the test turns up positive.”

      “Then what’s wrong with her, Doctor?” Kyle demanded. Tall, lanky, and wearing a mechanic’s uniform, his worry was as obvious as the grease stains on his clothing. “She’s been like this since last night.”

      “Abdominal pain, fever and your slightly elevated white blood count suggest appendicitis,” Gina admitted, “although those symptoms could be due to a number of other things as well.”

      “Like what?”

      She stuck to the more minor conditions on the list of possibilities. Suggesting Crohn’s disease or cancer at this stage was premature. “Pelvic inflammatory disease,” she said, thinking of how Janice only noted tenderness during her pelvic exam. “A hernia or diverticulitis, to name a few.”

      “What about food poisoning?” Janice asked.

      “Food-borne illnesses usually manifest themselves rather abruptly. You mentioned your pain actually started two days ago and gradually grew stronger, which doesn’t fit the picture.”

      “So what do we do now?” Kyle asked, his gaze focused on Janice. “Wait and see if the pain goes away on its own?”

      Gina tucked the metal chart under one arm. “Absolutely not. I’m going to ask for a surgical consult.”

      “Surgery?”

      Noting the horrified look the couple exchanged, Gina explained, “Your ultrasound didn’t show anything unusual, so he may decide it would be best to take a peek inside you with a laparoscope. But we’ll let him decide.” She patted Janice’s shoulder. “Try to relax. Dr Horton should be in shortly.”

      She strode toward the nurses’ station and plunked the chart on the counter, conscious of Ruark and Lucy at the opposite end. “Call Horton for a stat consult,” she told Ruby. “Possible appendicitis in room three.”

      “He won’t be happy,” Ruby warned, her kohl-lined eyes matching her short black-out-of-a-bottle hair. “He only left a little while ago.”

      “I don’t care if he walked out the door and has to turn around and come back—it can’t be helped. My patient needs a surgery consult. If he won’t come, he should send someone else.”

      “I’ll get right on it.”

      “Please do.”

      “When you’re free, Dr Sutton,” Ruark interrupted as Ruby picked up the phone, “I’d like a few minutes.”

      She couldn’t refuse, although she wanted to. At times she’d been able to pretend the events of that morning had all been a bad dream. At others the throbbing in her cheek and the occasional whiff of his expensively masculine cologne as she stepped out of a patient’s cubicle reminded her otherwise. Now, with hope borne of desperation, she glanced at the whiteboard room grid.

      To her regret, other than Janice’s name written in room three’s square, someone had wiped the board clean. “OK,” she said.

      If he heard her reluctance, he didn’t comment. Instead, he politely followed her into his office.

      She immediately noted the room’s appearance as she gingerly took the chair he offered. “You’ve been busy.”

      He propped one hip on the edge of his desk. “It wasn’t as bad as it looked,” he admitted. “Most of the papers didn’t stray too far from their folders, so it was a matter of slipping them back inside. Until I figure out the filing system, I thought it best to enlist help and Ruby obliged. According to her, you might know where these belong.” He handed her a thin stack.

      She quickly scanned them. “Contracts are kept in the accounting department. We certainly don’t deal with real estate down here.” She turned another page. “Selling equipment? We didn’t sell anything…” The list of items caught her attention.

      “Why, that rotten…scoundrel,” she muttered under her breath.

      “From your reaction, I assume you weren’t aware he was selling the department’s medical equipment?”

      “Not at all.” She shook her head before one entry caught her eye and she pointed to it. “I recognize this ophthalmology scope. We had a patient with a scratched cornea and I couldn’t find it. Bill said he’d sent it out for repairs and we had to scrounge an ancient model out of storage.”

      “No wonder he reacted so strongly when I wouldn’t give him time to clear out his desk,” he mused.

      “He didn’t have time to hide the evidence,” she agreed, handing the papers back to Ruark. “Lucky for us he threw that coffee-cup.”

      His gaze moved to her scratch and a muscle tensed in his jaw. “I don’t happen to agree. How’re you feeling?”

      She gingerly touched the adhesive strip. “I’m fine. Other than an occasional throb, I hardly know it happened.”

      Amusement flitted into his eyes, as if he knew she wasn’t being completely truthful, and she quickly changed the subject.

      “Did you find anything else of interest in Bill’s files?”

      He folded his arms across his chest, which only emphasized the broad shoulders she found so appealing. How odd for her to be attracted to him, of all people. He was a man who represented everything her father had given up, from his responsibilities to his extended family, so how could she possibly entertain any fantasies about him?

      She should get out more, she decided. She should get involved in a cause more personal than treating patients day in and day out. As rewarding as she found her job, she clearly needed an activity that met her needs. With nothing more than a houseplant to call her own, her hormones were plainly running amuck.