Playboy Surgeon, Top-Notch Dad. Janice Lynn

care. He had a few questions about his being auctioned off, too.” Blair drew her brows into a vee. “He did really say yes, right?”

      Oz laughed. “Why? Did you think I coerced him into volunteering?”

      “He just sounded a little flustered when he asked me about the auction. I wondered why he’d agreed.” Blair picked up her stethoscope from the nurses’ desk and followed Oz toward the patient rooms. “It’s no secret that he’s involved with the nurse practitioner from his office.”

      “When I mentioned you needed more bachelors for the auction, Will volunteered. Maybe he just wants to help Dr T. Or maybe he’s hoping Leslie will bid on him.” Oz turned, gave Blair an intense look. “Maybe that’s why I’m thinking about agreeing, too.”

      Blair’s heart skipped a beat. “So Will’s girlfriend can bid on you?”

      “So you can bid on me.” Oz’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “You would bid on me if I volunteered, right?”

      “I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.”

      Oz watched Blair review what Mr Duke would need for his pre-surgical workup. She moved in precise, skilled movements, just as she always did. But she was distracted, aware of him watching her.

      Why had he said he’d think about agreeing to the auction? That he wanted Blair to bid on him?

      Hadn’t he decided the night before that the best thing to do was to forget about that massage?

      If only he could.

      Except for following Kanesha’s joke, Blair had purposely kept her gaze averted from Oz’s, sending a strong message. She really planned to pretend nothing had happened between them. Damn it. Why wasn’t he grateful that she wasn’t demanding more of him? That she wasn’t asking what right he’d had to touch her?

      In his dreams last night he’d done much more. He’d made love to Blair, over and over, until their bodies had been slick with sweat and he could no longer tell where he ended and she began.

      He bit back a groan.

      After Blair finished going over needed pre-surgical tests, Mr Duke turned to her. “My son is a little nervous about the auction. He asked me to find out if his date plans were okay or if he needed to come up with something more elaborate.”

      “His date package sounds fine to me.” Blair stepped back so Oz could examine him. “Just so long as he’s a skilled pilot.”

      “He is,” Mr Duke assured in the proud tone he used when discussing his son. “He’s been flying since he was a small boy. The Cessna is mine, but he takes her up more than I do these days.”

      “You should make time in the future.” Oz placed the stethoscope diaphragm against Mr Duke’s hairy chest. “Enjoy life more rather than spending all your time at the bank.”

      “From your mouth to God’s ears.” The man gave a self-derisive smile. “Actually, my wife is pushing me to retire so I can do just that.”

      “Good for her,” Oz praised and meant it. Life was short. Each moment should be lived to the fullest. Something else he’d figured out since Dr T had gotten so ill.

      His gaze went to Blair. She bit her lower lip, staring at him with a confused look.

      Life was short. Too short.

      More than anything, in that moment Oz wanted to touch her face, to feel her heartbeat next to his. He very quickly denied the unfamiliar emotion and buried it deep.