Falling for Him 4 (Rachel and Peter in Love) Read Free Page B

again. 
    Preparing himself for the usual pushback, he replied, "Lara, that all depends on your progress. I am not able to make any predictions right now. It can be weeks or months. It's up to you."
    He watched as she sighed again. That was not what she wanted to hear. He expected if he asked he’d hear the usual excuses. Family. Appearances. Work. Boyfriend. All of them would seem important to her previous lifestyle, but none of them would help her recover!
    It took a few moments, before she answered him with a carefully crafted statement. He gave her marks for looking him in the eye as she stated firmly, "I need to be out soon. I have responsibilities."
    David had been on duty the last 24 hours and it had been a very long night. The last thing he needed was another irresponsible patient causing trouble.
    This woman was incredibly attractive, and he could already tell she was used to getting everything she wanted. Studying her file, he hadn’t been surprised to see that she came from a wealthy background, or that she’d been an only child.
    Even though he’d never admit it , he felt an immense attraction to her. She was gorgeous and when she gave him a tentative smile, he could see how she was used to having everyone jump to appease her wishes. But there was something else, something that made him want to protect her, to take her into his arms and tell her everything would be fine.
    David immediately slammed the door on those thoughts and mentally chided himself for letting his baser thoughts override his professionalism. He was her doctor and any thoughts that put her in the category of desirable woman, rather than needy patient, were completely off limits!
    In a harsh to ne, he said "Did you think about those responsibilities when you wanted to jump from the top of that building? Fifteen stories, wasn’t it?"
    He immediately regretted his hasty reaction. He needed to contain his anger in a better way. Pushing his left hand through his hair, he looked at her and cringed as she prepared to respond to his statement.
    David wasn’t about to apologize to her. While he felt sorry for the harshness of his tone, he intended to start as he meant to continue – by making her face reality!
    ***
    Lara couldn’t believe he had just spoken to her in such a way. He was a doctor for crying out loud! He was supposed to be supportive and helpful, not judgmental and sarcastic. She fumed as she struggled to control her voice, "How dare you talk like this to me? Do you know who I am?"
    Lara watched him through narrowed eyes, waiting for him to realize his error and apologize. She would not be treated like this! When David just sat in his seat, calmly observing her, her ire grew even more.  Why wasn’t he intimidated by her? Everyone else she knew would have been scrambling all over themselves to apologize.
    His voice was calmer and he appeared to be trying to recover his professional manner when he responded to her. "Lara, I have read your file and I do know who you are. But, those facts are not important in our house. It’s one of the main reasons why we use first names here. You are just a normal person here. No preferences are given to anyone. And let me tell you, there are even richer and more famous people in our house than you are.”
    She silently processed that information; unaware that her expressive face was giving away the fact that she really wanted to curse him. Gaining control of herself, she prepared herself for his next, pushing aside the anger she knew was most likely showing on her face. She narrowed her eyes at him briefly when he forced a cough. Was he laughing at her? She’d show him who was the boss here!
    More determined than ever to gain the upper hand, she placed her sweetest smile on her face. She used her softest and most melodic voice, batted her eyes for effect, and then told him, "I understand the need for anonymity, I really do. And I'm thankful for all your help, but I really do need to get out of