Read Online Cedar Bluff's Most Eligible Bachelor (Cedar Bluff Hospital) by LAURA IDING - Free Book Online Page A

and home. If the hospital would let her work with her walking cast on.
    With a sigh she decided not to worry about that now. First she needed to get through the next two weeks.
    Surprisingly, she must have dozed because she awoke to a more intense throbbing in her leg. And the mouth-watering scent of chicken noodle soup.
    Dusk had fallen. Her living room faced west, so it was easy to see through the window that the sun had set. She estimated the time must be somewhere close to seven o’clock.
    She stretched, working the kinks out of her neck. Had Simon left some soup for her? She propped herself up on her elbow and leaned over to reach for her crutches standing upright against the edge of the end table nearby.
    “Hailey, you’re awake?” he asked, coming into the living room and startling her so badly she jerked like an epileptic and knocked the crutches to the floor with a crash.
    “Cripes, don’t do that!” she admonished, clutching a hand to her hammering heart. “You scared me to death.”
    “Sorry,” Simon said with a grimace. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I didn’t think you were sleeping very soundly because you kept muttering in your sleep.”
    “I did?” She could feel her face flush. Talk about embarrassing. Although it could be worse. He could have told her she snored.
    “Are you ready for more pain medication?” he asked. “It might be helpful to eat some soup first, so that your stomach doesn’t get upset.”
    She wasn’t sure which need took higher priority—her mouth watering and stomach growling for the soup or the throbbing in her leg.
    “Soup,” she finally decided, leaning over to pick up the fallen crutches from the floor. She narrowed her gaze when he swooped down to snatch the crutches before she could grab them. She sighed. “Look, Simon, I appreciate your help, but you don’t need to stick around any longer. I’ll be fine.”
    He stood holding the crutches, and lifted a sardonic brow. “Don’t worry, I haven’t exactly moved in yet,” he said dryly, making her flush all over again. “Relax, all I did was pick up a few groceries and heat up some soup. Why don’t you let me bring it in on a tray, so you don’t have to get up?”
    “Because soup would be easier to eat at the kitchen table. I’d prefer not to wear it.” Somehow, she knew that once she got up and moving, she’d prove to Simon once and for all she was fine. And then he would leave.
    At least, in theory.
    Because surely that crack about moving in was a joke.
    Wasn’t it?
    Yes, it was. She was losing her mind to think anything else. She gritted her teeth and swallowed a groan as she swung her leg over the edge of the sofa. Simon set the crutches aside and bent over to put his hands around her waist. Before she could squeak out a protest, he lifted her up on her good foot, supporting most of her weight.
    She gripped his upper arms, momentarily distracted by the bulging muscles beneath her fingertips. His musky scent filled her head, making her dizzy.
    Good heavens, she could stay here with him like this for the rest of the night without needing a single dose of pain medication.
    “Let me know when you’re ready,” he murmured, his mouth dangerously close to her ear.
    Ready? For what? To fall into his arms? To be swept down the hall to her bedroom?
    “I’m—uh—ready,” she said breathlessly, forcing herself to concentrate. She needed to move away. And fast. “You can—uh—hand me the crutches now.”
    For what seemed like endless moments neither one of them moved. She held her breath, waiting for what she had no idea, but every nerve in her body was tingling in awareness. The throbbing pain in her leg was nothing compared to the blood rushing through her system.
    But then Simon moved one of the hands at her waist to bring over the crutches. He tucked one beneath her arm, and she reluctantly let go of his biceps to grasp the crutch. Then he handed her the second crutch.
    When he was sure she was