Read Online The Boss and Nurse Albright by Lynne Marshall - Free Book Online

top.”
    Ha! He might have to get up early to drive to the farmers’ market to find a ripe avocado, but he wasn’t about to let her know that. “As you wish, my lady.” Only because she’d called him a prince did the “mylady” tag occur to him. It sounded completely unnatural, something he’d never say, and he wanted to cringe the moment he’d said it. It felt too intimate and foreign when it slipped out of his mouth, but he’d said it and couldn’t take it back. He glanced at Claire, reclining on the sofa looking pale and angelic. Really? Had it felt that foreign to call her “my lady”?
    “And sourdough toast,” she added, bringing him out of his convoluted, awkward and uneasy thoughts.
    “Strawberry preserves?” he said.
    “Marmalade, please.”
    “Hmm. I hadn’t pegged you as a marmalade kind of girl.”
    She forced a smile through her compromised state, and he recognized a trace of the vital woman he’d come to know at the clinic. He stood, crossed the room and straightened the blanket over her feet.
    “I’ll be here at nine. I’ll bring the food. You bring your appetite.”
    She gazed gratefully into his eyes. “I’ll do my best, boss.”
    “See to it.” He stopped himself from patting her shoulder. “I’ll let myself out. You get a good night’s sleep. That’s an order.”
    As he reached the door he heard a faint, “Thank you.”
    And, just before he closed the door, he turned. He could go sailing any weekend with the mild local climate, and he would gladly cancel the weekend plans in favor of helping out a sick employee. A new friend? “You’re entirely welcome,” he said.
    A slender arm with graceful hand and fingerswaved above the back of the sofa, and a strange feeling came over him.
    Was getting more involved with Claire Albright a good idea or a recipe for disaster?

CHAPTER FOUR
    C LAIRE didn’t want to be a medical burden to anyone but herself. Being sick had ended her marriage, but she also knew if she’d married the right guy he would have stuck it out with her. When Charles had proposed, she’d been positive he was the one for her. He might have been if she hadn’t gotten sick. When her illness had developed the real Charles had emerged and, because her heart had been nearsighted, nothing had prepared her for his rejection.
    Since then, she’d made a vow to deal with her illness alone.
    So why had she allowed Jason to bring breakfast today? Because he seemed to be on her side, and she could use a friend. At least that was how it had felt last night when he’d shown up at her door with her pay check and chicken soup. He’d made an extra effort to stop by and, since she’d been feeling very alone lately, it had touched her.
    After taking a shower and forcing herself to get dressed for the first time all week, she felt a lot better. Almost human again. And she wasn’t sure if she’dwashed and combed her hair for herself or partially for Jason. The notion disturbed her but was a revelation she’d have to deal with when she wasn’t sick. She simply didn’t have enough energy left now.
    She’d decided to wait to take her morning cocktail of medicine until she’d eaten breakfast. And she’d take Jason up on his offer to deposit her check in the bank for her. The thought of running errands seemed overwhelming. Last night, he’d brought the paperwork for her to sign up for automatic deposit, and that thoughtful gesture almost made her cry. How long had it been since someone had looked out for her?
    She shook her head. The Lupus flare-up had weakened her resolve. She’d never depend on anyone but herself again.
    Now that she was clean and dressed, she felt as though she needed to take a nap, and it was only a quarter to nine. She plopped onto the couch and stared at the ceiling.
    Jason had been a prince to stop by last night. She had barely believed her eyes when she’d opened the door. And he’d appeared genuinely concerned for her. Though she’d been caught