“It is. Be nice to her.”
“When am I not?” She leered. “Lover boy.”
“Cherry is more than just my girlfriend, Donna. I mean it. Be nice to her.”
“You’re engaged? Boy, is Mum going to be pissed at you for not telling her. She—”
“No, I’m not engaged.” The doorbell rang again and he pointed at her. “And we’ll talk about this later, not now. Cherry gets a bit freaked. So keep your mouth closed and be nice.”
“Kinda hard to keep my mouth closed and be nice!” His irrepressible sister yelled out after him as he strode down the hallway.
Opening the door, he grinned down at Cherry. “Hello, love.” Sweeping her into his arms, he yanked her close and kissed her long and deep.
Oh yeah, he could kiss her all day long. She tasted like Cherry, all fresh and sweet. She smelled like Cherry, all fresh and sweet. She felt like Cherry, soft and curvy. Her arms crept around his neck and she kissed him back, and he delighted in her response. Oh yeah, he could hold her and kiss her and make love to her all day long.
Damn shame his sister had decided to sulk at his house this weekend instead of their parent’s. He’d have to think of something, anything. He wanted to be alone with Cherry. Alone and naked. Hoo boy, the image that thought brought to mind.
Lifting his head, he gazed down into Cherry’s smiling face. Those adorable apple cheeks were pink, and those big blue eyes were sparkling. “Glad you got the weekend off, love.”
“I usually get two off a month.” She shrugged, and his libido perked up as those big breasts pushed against his chest with her movement. “And you got the weekend off, too.”
“I share the on-call.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed.” Her eyes twinkled.
“Cheeky chit.” He swatted her generous bottom then decided it wasn’t enough and grabbed a handful. “Mmmm, better.”
“Going to introduce me to your guest?” Donna said from behind him. “Or are you just going to keep her on the veranda and grope her in full view of the neighbours?”
Blushing, Cherry shoved against Rick’s chest. “You’ve got visitors! Let go.”
He sighed. Slipping his arm around her waist, he turned to face his sister. “Cherry, this inconsiderate brat is my sister, Donna. Inconsiderate brat, this is Cherry.”
Donna stepped forward and held out her hand, her gaze sweeping across Cherry. “Hi.”
“Hello.” Cherry shook her hand. “It’s good to meet you.”
“Mmmm. Polite, too. How did Rick manage to catch you?”
“I...um…I was lucky, I guess,” Cherry stammered uncertainly.
“I was the lucky one,” he immediately corrected her. “Cherry is a nurse at the hospital.”
“She knows you’re a doctor? Hells bells, Cherry, what on earth possessed you to date a doctor?” Grabbing Cherry’s arm, Donna drew her away from Rick and towards the kitchen. “You of all people know how demanding doctors can be.”
Uncertain, Cherry glanced at Rick over her shoulder.
Grinning, he shrugged, closed the door, and followed them down the passage. In the kitchen he watched as Donna deposited Cherry in a chair and crossed to the ‘fridge. Glancing in, she began, “Do you want a cold drink? We have – oh. Now I understand the load of Diet Coke on the bottom shelf.”
Puzzled, Cherry looked at him. “But you don’t drink it.”
“You like it,” he replied simply.
“You didn’t have to buy some especially for me,” she protested, but he could see the little light in her eyes, the pleasure in her tone.
As usual, her pleasure touched him. Crossing to her chair, he leaned down and kissed her upturned mouth. “When you’re happy, I’m happy.”
She didn’t pull away but smiled up at him. It was the first time she’d simply accepted what he’d done, and he felt that victory clear down to his toes. He’d have pushed his luck further –such as making love to her in board daylight – but his damned sister was present in the kitchen, so he could only give Cherry another kiss and straighten up to lay his hands on her shoulders, kneading gently and enjoying her closeness. Her scent wafted up to him and he inhaled.
“So.” Donna placed an open can of Diet Coke in front of Cherry and studied her shrewdly. “You’re a nurse.”
Cherry’s attention returned to Donna and Rick could feel the slight tension in her body at the knowledge that someone else had seen them kissing. He really was going to have to work on making her less self-conscious. But it was cute, especially in this day and age.