Marc’s glance went from Susan to Mimi then back to Susan. “You’ve found me out. I’m a regular Renaissance felon.” His grin was teasing and aimed at Susan, but it had an effect on Mimi and she didn’t like it one bit. This doctor had none of the attributes she wanted in a man. Well, maybe a few of the basics—like brains and looks and great teeth—but not the important ones.
“Dr. Blackbeard, huh?” Susan laughed. “I’m sorry, Marc, but I don’t believe it. Not from our incorruptible Dr. Merit.” Facing Mimi, she said, “Did he tell you why his last nurse left?”
Mimi shook her head. She’d assumed it was because his growling attitude left a lot to be desired.
“Let’s not—”
“Because,” Susan cut in over Marc’s objection, “he wouldn’t play nursie-doctor games with her—if you get my meaning.”
Startled by the sexual innuendo, Mimi glanced at Marc. Though his face showed a deep summer tan, his features still managed to go a shade darker. “Thanks, Suze,” he muttered. “I might have forgotten to mention that.”
Susan’s grin was playful as she touched Mimi’s hand. “He’s an uncompromising goody-goody, but we love him anyway.”
Mimi cast the doctor a curious look. The flush beneath his tan exhibited a captivating hint of vulnerability. He might be a bear, but he was cute when he was embarrassed. Plainly his wife didn’t have any doubts about his fidelity if she felt comfortable teasing him about the women who would be his lovers, if only he’d slip off his white charger.
“Go away, Suze,” he grumbled. “I think I hear the baby calling you.”
She laughed. “I love you, too, sweetie.” Glancing at her watch, she added, “It is time for Kyle’s bedtime bottle, but if you can hear him, you have better ears than Foof!” Giving Marc another fond pat on the cheek, she turned to Mimi. “We live up on the hill, so I hope I’ll see you a lot. There aren’t many women on the island, so I’m starved for girl talk.” She turned away. “Assuming Cap’n Bligh gives you any time off.”
“I’m not holding my breath,” Mimi called after her, deciding the doctor used the cottage as an office and lived up the hill. Funny, she’d gotten the impression it was his home.
Susan’s light laugh echoed in the room as the front door closed with a quiet click. Suddenly, Mimi found herself facing an unsmiling grouch, again. “I’ll show you your room.” He indicated the kitchen. “It’s back there.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n.” She struck a jaunty salute. “Lead the way, sir.”
His expression stern, he headed into the kitchen. “Let me know where your things are. I’ll have them delivered here tomorrow.”
She’d been crashing on the sofa of a friend of an acquaintance, an elderly widow who rescued stray cats. The idea of sleeping without six or eight furry bodies curled on top of her seemed like quite a luxury. “Okay,” she murmured, passing the fluff ball as it munched pellets from a bowl in the corner. “I’ll write down the address.”
“Fine.” Adjacent to the back entrance, they rounded a corner into a short hallway. “This is where you’ll sleep.” He opened a door and flipped on a light, revealing a small, plainly furnished room. The place had a quaint, old-fashioned quality and looked clean enough to eat off any surface. “The bath is on your right at the end of the hall. And this…” he touched the knob on a door neighboring her own, “…is my room.”
She went stock still and spun to confront him. “Your room?”
His expression closed further. Apparently her question had come out more horrified than he was accustomed to hearing when describing the living arrangements. “This is my house, Miss Baptiste. I thought you understood that.”
She experienced a rush of panic and didn’t have a clue why. “But—but don’t you live on the hill?”
“No.” He leaned against his door. “I did once, but this is my home now.”
His marital status was none of Mimi’s business, but she was surprised by the revelation. He and Susan seemed so—so friendly. She shrugged. “That’s too bad.”
“It is?”
She had looked away, trying to get a grip on what she was feeling. “So you’re separated?”
“What?”
“From your wife and baby.” She met his gaze, somehow unable to do otherwise.
He crossed his arms before him. “My wife and baby?”
“Do you have a hearing problem, doc?” She waved toward the living room. “Susan—Mrs. Merit, that is—and your baby, Kyle. They live on the hill, but you live here?” She frowned in thought. The doctor was a handsome brute. No woman would reject him because of his looks. He could be extremely ill-tempered, but he’d been charming with Susan. No doubt he was trying to get back into her good graces after some transgression. “Was it the long hours, or too many amorous nurses—or what—that split you up?” She wondered at herself for feeling the need to know.
He watched her with a curious expression. “Excuse me?”
How could a man be a doctor and be this dense? She heaved an exasperated sigh. “Why don’t you and Susan live together?”
“Why don’t…?” His lips quirked. “Oh.”
“Oh?” How annoying—what kind of answer was oh? “Are you telling me it’s none of my business?” she asked, well aware that it wasn’t. She supposed, growing up in the wild, both her parents and her environment unique to say the least, she hadn’t become as proficient in the subtleties of tact as those who’d grown up in more conventional situations. Sometimes she asked outlandish questions. People were free to answer them or not. Surprisingly, many did.
“You’re right. It isn’t your business, Miss Baptiste,” he said. “However, it’s no secret why Susan and I aren’t living together, so you’d find out soon enough, anyway.”
She waited, watching his eyes. They had a powerful pull, and right now, they also contained a suspicious twinkle.
“It’s just a guess,” he said, “but I don’t think her husband would approve.”
“Her hus—” Mimi was confused. “But I thought she was Mrs. Merit?”
“She is,” he said, matter-of-factly. “She’s Mrs. Jake Merit, my sister-in-law.”
Mimi was totally bewildered now. Even somewhat horrified. “Then why did she thank you for the baby?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted it. “No! No!” She threw up her arms, gesturing in the negative. “Never mind. Some things I don’t want to be my business.”
His lips twisted wryly. “Not enough things, apparently.” Pushing away from the wall, he added, “But for the sake of your shocked sensibilities, Susan thanked me because I was instrumental in the adoption of their baby.”
Mimi’s lips opened in a silent gasp. She felt stupid. No, she felt more than stupid. She had an overwhelming urge to sew her lips together. “Makes sense,” she murmured.
“I’ll sleep better knowing you think so.” His sarcasm stung, and she winced as he turned toward the kitchen. “About dinner,” he said. “What do you feel like?”
“An idiot,” she mumbled.
He passed her, heading around the corner. Mimi couldn’t be sure, but she had a sneaky suspicion he was fighting a grin. The bum. He hadn’t been dense or hard of hearing! He’d enjoyed watching her jump to the wrong conclusion. He thought it was hilarious that she’d made a perfect fool of herself. Obviously life on the island was so boring he had to get his kicks flustering people.
She took several restorative