by Hope Stone
Doctor’s Orders
A Curvy Woman Medical Romance
Hope Stone
Copyright © 2020 by Hope Stone
In no way is it legal to produce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless written permission from the publisher. All rights are reserved. Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Special Invitation
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Contents
Special Invitation
1. Libby
2. James
3. Libby
4. James
5. Libby
6. James
7. Libby
8. James
9. Libby
10. James
11. Libby
12. James
13. Libby
Epilogue
Other Books By Hope Stone
1
Libby
Being new in town is always strange. A simple act like going to the doctor’s office can bring with it a whole lot of questions. And that’s just the form you have to fill in before the doctor will even see you.
I’d just moved to town a week ago and was about to start work the next day. I decided it was a good idea to get a check-up before all the craziness of work started. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t missing anything with my health. I hadn’t been to a doctor in a while and with all the changes of moving across the country, I wanted to make sure that there was nothing wrong with me. I’d been gaining quite a bit of weight in the past few months and I hadn’t really been doing anything differently. I knew there were a whole bunch of issues that could cause weight gain and I didn’t want to ignore any warning signs.
I was sitting in Dr. Aven’s office waiting for the man himself to appear and feeling a little nervous and self-conscious. I wondered what he’d be like. I’d seen the same doctor for most of my adult life and I’d found her quite strict, but easy to get along with. I always hated making doctor appointments, so it made a big difference to me if the doctor was a nice person.
“Hi, Libby Ranger?” said a voice from the door.
“Yep,” I said, looking up from my phone. I almost gasped a little. The doctor wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting. I guess part of me thought he’d be a lot older, perhaps in his fifties or sixties, with gray hair and a jolly laugh. I definitely wasn’t expecting him to be extremely handsome and in his late thirties or early forties, with salt and pepper hair and a chiseled jawline that belonged in Hollywood.
“I’m Doctor Aven, but you can call me James. I’m not really a stickler for formalities,” he chuckled. “Nurse Joyce tells me you’re new in town?”
“Yeah, I arrived last week,” I said, a little nervous in front of the gorgeous doctor.
“You move here for work or play?” he asked simply.
“Work… I start a new job tomorrow and I really just wanted to get checked out before I started. I’ve gained a bit of weight lately and I’m worried because I don’t really know the reason. I’ve been eating the same amount and exercising the usual amount,” I rambled on without meaning to. It was a little embarrassing talking about my weight gain to a guy who looked like an advertisement for a gym.
“Okay, well, have you had any other symptoms? Feeling a little more tired than usual? Finding it difficult to do things you used to do easily? Any problems with your energy levels, basically?” he asked as he listened to my chest.
“No, not really. It’s just the weight gain,” I said, trying to think if things had been any different over the past few months.
“Ah, I see... any additional stress over the past few months?”
“Well, yes. I was having a hard time at my previous job and then I got this job and I had to move across the country in the space of two weeks. So, yeah, I’d say things have been quite a bit more stressful than usual.” I knew that I was underplaying the pressure I’d been under lately.
“And you just turned 30 at the beginning of the year?” he asked, checking the information on the clipboard that the nurse had given him.
“Yeah.” I didn’t really know what that had to do with anything.
“Look, I think you’re perfectly healthy. I’m going to run some blood tests just to make sure that I’m not missing anything. But honestly, I think it’s just stress and if you aren’t experiencing any other symptoms, you’re good to go. It’s good that you notice things like weight gain and loss, but in this case, I think you’re just dealing with a bit of stress and body changes after a certain age. And I don’t think your body is taking on any additional stress. You look great… I mean, healthy.” He sort of stumbled over that last part. It was cute.
He took out a kit with needles for blood tests and I think the fear was pretty obvious on my face because he chuckled and said, “I’ll be gentle, I promise.”
He was quite gentle and got the needle in on the first try. In the past, I’d had nurses and doctors struggle to find a vein the first time.
“What do you do for exercise?” he asked, obviously trying to distract me from the fact that he was removing blood from my arm.
“Well, back home I used to do yoga once a week and go the gym around two to three times a week. Sometimes I’d add a dance class, nothing too strenuous. But I haven’t found any classes or a gym to join around here yet,” I said, feeling myself go pale from the sight of blood.
“Don’t look at the blood, keep your eyes on me. I can tell you’re a bit squeamish.” He smiled. “There’s a gym about a block from here, really great place run by good people. Steve runs the gym and cardio, and his wife Sarah teaches yoga and a few other classes. It’s family-owned so it’s not too hectic and everyone is really nice and welcoming. I’d suggest it’s a great place to get started… and not just because I was best man at Steve and Sarah’s wedding,” he laughed.
“I’ll check it out,” I said and I meant it. I’d always been curvy and sometimes even a little chubby, but I took my health seriously. I enjoyed the gym and taking classes. It kept my energy levels up and my head clear, which was important for me.
2
James
I hoped that she didn’t feel offended that I suggested a gym to her. I didn’t think she had anything to worry about in regard to her weight. In fact, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d seen in years and I had to stop myself from flirting with her. It was unprofessional. But there was something about her smile that I couldn’t let go of.
I guess one of the reasons that I’d mentioned my gym to her was that maybe I’d get to see her away from work. There was something effortlessly pretty about her that I couldn’t get over. And even though it was incredibly unprofessional, I couldn’t help thinking about ways I could bump into her outside of the walls of my office.
Ga
be’s Point wasn’t exactly a huge metropolis, but it wasn’t a tiny town. I had patients who I’d been seeing for years that I’d never bumped into outside of the office. And something about Libby made me want to see her somewhere where it wasn’t unethical for me to ask her out.
I was actually kind of sad when our appointment was over. At least I knew that I had to call her to give her the results of the blood test. I hated making those calls, but for once I was looking forward to it.
“Well, we’ll have the results shortly. There isn’t usually too much of a wait here.” I smiled.
“Thanks. I know I’m probably being silly, but I just want to make sure that everything is in working order.” She laughed a little nervously.
“Don’t worry about it. Always better safe than sorry… plus, it helps me pay off my mortgage,” I joked. I was relieved when she laughed. For a second I thought maybe I should stay away from lame jokes around beautiful redheads.
She hopped off the examination table, but the quick movement coupled with seeing the blood must have made her a little lightheaded because she almost fell over. I caught her in my arms before she fainted and steadied her.
“You all right?” I asked as I kept my hand on the small of her back.
“Sorry, I’m not good around blood.” She tried to laugh it off.
I handed her a lollipop from the bowl on my desk. “I usually reserve these for the little ones, but I think you handled that blood test like a champ.” I winked. I didn’t want to say that I thought she looked a little pale and could use the sugar bump.
“Thanks,” she said, unwrapping the candy with shaky hands. “Is everyone in Gabe’s Point so accommodating?” She smiled as she put the lollipop in her mouth.
“No… most of the people here are awful. Real monsters for the most part,” I joked. “Nah, everyone here is pretty nice. I think you’ll like it here.”
“I hope so,” she said as she thanked me and left my office.
I stood around my office for a minute or two, not quite knowing what to do with myself. Then I remembered that I had people in the waiting room and I couldn’t quite ignore them. Soon, Nurse Joyce was bringing in Andrew Galbrin and I prepared myself for a lengthy explanation of why he needed a doctor’s note this week. He was a regular, trying to get time off college so he could play games. I don’t know why he kept coming back to me; I never gave him the note he so badly wanted unless there was a real reason for it.
After that, I saw the Halbert children, who were both down with a tummy bug. Their poor mother looked like she could use a break.
Soon, my office hours were done for the day. But even through the work I’d been doing, I couldn’t get Libby out of my head. There was something about her that I couldn’t put my finger on. Maybe it was her smile or her gorgeous green eyes.
I finished off my paperwork and sent out the blood samples I’d collected for testing. As I was leaving the office, I received a text.
Hey, doc, we still on for dinner tonight? It was from my old friend Sean. He and his wife Alice regularly had me over for dinner when he wasn’t working night shift as a firefighter. I knew that the dinner was likely a set-up. They didn’t usually check on the day that I was coming and Alice had been dead-set on introducing me to someone for months. And being six months pregnant was making her more determined than ever before because Sean wouldn’t let her do anything else. He was so overprotective, even though all their scans had been perfect.
Yes… it’s not just us having dinner, is it? I asked, knowing the answer already.
How did you guess? Alice invited a friend from her art class over to join us. Three is a crowd, four is a party, anyway.
I sighed. I liked Alice and I couldn’t think of any person better for my old friend than her, but she was persistent. And the last three set-ups hadn’t gone too well. I couldn’t figure out how two people who were so right for each other kept picking women who were so incredibly wrong for me.
I don’t have a choice in this, do I? I replied to the text.
Nope, he shot back.
I laughed. Sean was as helpless against his wife’s determination to find me a girlfriend as I was.
I went home, took a shower and got dressed for the evening. I guess it couldn’t hurt. I’d been pretty unlucky in love in the past and it wasn’t like I was meeting new women every day.
3
Libby
After my appointment with the hot doctor, I went back to my new apartment and got everything ready for my first day of work the next day. After pacing around my living room for a while, I decided I needed to get out. I grabbed a book and my bag and went to the pub around the corner. My landlady had mentioned that it was the best place to grab a bite to eat if I didn’t feel like cooking. And to be honest, I never felt like cooking.
It was quite late, but the kitchen was still open. I ordered the lasagna and a glass of red wine. There were a few people but not too many. I quite liked being out by myself. Many people hate going anywhere alone, but I always enjoyed it. Up until two months ago, I’d never been left alone long. My boyfriend at the time had always kept tabs on where I was and when. It was stifling. For the three years we’d been together, I could count the times I’d been alone on one hand. That’s why we’d broken up and I’d taken a job in Gabe’s Point.
I couldn’t just break up with him. I knew that. I needed to get away, far away, so that he couldn’t follow me. He was a detective with the FBI and he used it to his advantage. I knew that the only way I’d be able to leave him was to find a job far away. I’d tried to leave him a few times and it hadn’t worked.
Now I enjoyed eating alone and being on my own. I was a little lonely, but it was better than feeling like I couldn’t breathe without him watching me. I ate in peace and thought about how lucky I was that I could do this, enjoy a meal out without anyone calling me, following me, or coming to find me. He’d never been violent, but he didn’t need to be. He could manipulate an Eskimo into buying ice.
I finished eating and ordered another glass of wine. Suddenly, someone was standing behind me. And for a moment I was scared, until a vaguely familiar voice said, “Hi, um, Libby, right?”
I turned toward the voice and relaxed. “Hi, Dr. Aven.” I smiled, hoping that he didn’t see the fear I’d felt only seconds before.
“Please call me James. I hate formalities.” He smiled back. “Is it okay if I take a seat?” he asked, pulling out the chair beside me at the bar.
“Of course,” I replied, meaning it. “Just so you know, I don’t make a habit of this.” I gestured toward the wine glass in front of me.
“Oh don’t worry about it, I’m about to order a neat whiskey and drink it really fast,” he laughed. “Sorry, I’ve had a bit of a long night,” he added.
“Sorry to hear that. Work?”
“No, I would rather have been performing complicated heart surgery on a Tuesday night than have had the awkward dinner my friend just forced me into.” He chuckled. “He’s a good guy, but his wife is on a mission to set me up with every single woman in this town.”
“So I take it that it didn’t go well,” I giggled.
“Oh, it was terrible. She had definite crazy eyes and asked me for my star sign before insisting on reading my palm. I’m not entirely a cynic, but I’m pretty sure she wasn’t even looking at my hand when she told me I’d just met my soulmate. She also has seven cats and collects miniature clothing for them.” He sighed. “And that was just the first 15 minutes.”
“You don’t need to say anymore.” I laughed as I got the bartender’s attention for him.
“Double Jack, neat. And a glass of red wine for the lady,” he said. “At least I’m not drinking alone. I always tell people they’re fine as long as they aren’t drinking alone.”
I accepted the drink and was suddenly glad for the company. Even though I enjoyed being alone, I wasn’t about to turn down spending time with the smart, funny and absolutely gorgeous doctor.
“So
, Libby, tell me about yourself. What job got you to decide to move to Gabe’s Point?” he asked, apparently genuinely interested in what I had to say.
“Well, I work in advertising. I’m an account director, so I’m pretty much the person who charms the clients so the creatives can focus on, well, being creative.” I laughed. I was usually better at talking up my job, but I was aware that I was speaking to a man who saved lives for a living.
“That sounds pretty cool. Have you been doing it for long?”
“Yeah, well, um, only for seven years. I started out as a junior and worked my way up to director so I have a team to manage now. I feel kind of weird about it, like I was promoted too early and soon someone is going to figure that out,” I said. I blushed a little. I didn’t mean to be so honest, but something about the handsome doctor made me want to tell him my whole life story. “Sorry, I feel like I’m saying too much. Must be the wine.”
“No, you’re not saying too much. I’m enjoying listening… Tell me more about yourself.” Something about the way he said it made me really believe him.
We kept talking for quite a while and he was really interesting. Before I knew it, it was almost midnight and I had work at 6 am.
“I hate to cut this short, but it’s really late and I have my first day tomorrow,” I said.
“No worries, I fully understand. And, to be honest, I’m not used to being out this late. You’re not driving, are you?” he asked.
“No,” I laughed. “I live just up the road so I’ll walk.”