Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 1452

"She's really adorable."

Noticing Harold's dark expression and fearing he might kick the cat out, Lorelei patiently explained, "She's had all her shots and been dewormed. She's perfectly healthy."

"Boy or girl?" Harold demanded.

"Huh?"

Lorelei blinked. "A little girl."

"Fine. If you like it, keep it," he said, his voice raspy. "But it stays out of my room, and it definitely stays away from me."

As a doctor, he was a bit of a germaphobe.

"Thank you."

Lorelei let out a secret sigh of relief, figuring it was only for another two months anyway.

Once the divorce was finalized, she'd take her fur baby and leave.

Harold's lips pressed into a thin line as he watched the faint smile playing on her lips.

She named a cat 'Baby'?

He had honestly thought she was crying over Joel Garner.

...

At the hospital.

Harold parked, opened the passenger door, and leaned in toward Lorelei.

After a brief hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him lift her out.

They had shared more physical contact in the last few days than in their entire three years of marriage.

Harold carried her straight into the consultation room.

The doctor stood up immediately upon seeing him. "Dr. Houston! What brings you here?"

"My wife twisted her ankle. I brought her in for a check-up," Harold replied with a polite smile.

Wife? Hearing him use that title made Lorelei's heart ache with a bittersweet pang.

"Ah, Mrs. Houston!" The doctor caught on quickly, moving in to examine her while laying on the flattery. "Dr. Houston is such a devoted husband. I bet he was worried sick."

Lorelei kept her lips sealed.

"Fair enough." The colleague's eyes darted between them as he teased, "You two have been apart for a while. It's only natural you'd want to hold her close."

Lorelei glanced at Harold, finding him already looking down at her with a slight frown.

Their eyes locked in silence.

Maybe it was her imagination, or just their proximity, but she could swear his heart was pounding fiercely against his chest.

After the minor interruption.

They finally reached the CT room.

Harold set her on the examination table as instructed. Before stepping out, he leaned in, his gaze fixed on her face. "It'll be quick. I'll be right outside."

"Okay."

Lorelei hated hospitals and always felt irrationally anxious inside them, but his gentle reassurance settled her nerves.

The door closed.

Harold stood in the hallway, holding her coat. In his palm rested the wedding ring she had just taken off for the scan.