Chapter 24

24

And that someone else was staring right at her. But Genny kept that to herself. The things Dr. Hodges had said outright about Chad disgusted her. And the way he had looked at her when he’d accused her of basically being a slut for getting involved with Chad… “He’s a jerk.”

“Apparently, Dr. Hodges has seen you two together at some point and has jumped to conclusions. And he really has a problem with you,” Aubrey said. Her friend’s expression turned contemplative as she looked at Chad. “I don’t know if he was more upset that you told him no, Genny, or just that he thought Chad was the reason. You have an enemy in Dr. Hodges, Chad?”

“Not that I’m aware of. I don’t exactly get along with the man, but there aren’t any hard feelings between us. At least not on my side. Unless he’s been harassing Genny. Then, I’ll grab Guth, and we’ll take little Dougie out back and tear him apart.”

It was the calm way he said it that gave Genny the shivers. She had no doubt that Chad meant it. He could be such a caveman at times. Just like her brothers.

“I don’t care what he thinks. I’ve told him no, several times. Repeatedly. For weeks now. He’s just going to have to accept that. He’s getting pushier and pushier.” She looked at Aubrey and Chad. “Almost every single day since Chan was in here. Aubrey sent him home tonight. He got really touchy. Angry.”

“If he doesn’t back off after this, I’ll talk to him,” Chad said, eyes kindling fire now.

Oh, she’d bet he would. He was going all possessive-overprotective. Dr. Chad-wicked Fields was becoming Dr. Caveman Fields right before her eyes.

That it was because of her—crazy. Guys like him didn’t feel that way about her. Not in her experience, anyway. Cute side-kicks didn’t get the so-called “catch of the hospital.” Life just didn’t happen that way.

And she hadn’t given him that kind of permission either. “Oh, someone save me from primitive man. It’s starting to get a bit old. I won’t be a number in any doctor’s black book. Even yours. Just so you know.”

She could see the understanding in Aubrey’s eyes. But in Chad’s…

The man looked like he was going to devour her right where she stood. After he went and stomped the rival caveman into the ground completely.

Genny resisted the urge to yelp and hide. The world had gone seriously mad lately. She’d never had two men after her at once before. She’d never really had a man in general “after” her at all. She’d always just sort of fallen into a relationship before.

She felt hunted at the moment. Seriously hunted. And the beasts were coming at her from every direction.

Well, she wasn’t about to get caught.

Even by one Chad-wicked Leopold Fields with the heat in those blue eyes of his that made a girl shiver in all the ways. All the ways. It just wasn’t going to happen.

But the idea of curling up in those arms of his and just forgetting Dr. Hodges for a little while didn’t sound so bad at all…

The world had gone mad. That was the only way she could describe it—mad.

And it was probably all Chad-wicked Fields’s fault.