Doctor's Orders [The Martinis and Chocolate Book Club 1] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) by Lara Valentine Page B

awesome way to wake up, Doc.”

Chapter 5
     
    As usual, Nate didn’t have a morsel of food in his house. They decided to head to Brianne’s so they could both shower and eat breakfast while they waited for Rick to bring Kade home.
    It should have felt strange having Nate in her kitchen that morning. She was kind of dreading the whole “morning after” thing, but it didn’t feel strange at all. It pretty much felt like all the other times he had been in her kitchen, albeit this time he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He teased her as she cooked his scrambled eggs and toast, making her giggle and almost drop the orange juice. She let him make the coffee. She knew better than to ask Nate to help much in the kitchen. He could repair a torn ACL in an elite athlete but could barely fix a sandwich without something bad happening. He was truly a terrible cook.
    She thought he might try to boss her around this morning, too, after the night they had. She was all set to tell him where he could stick his Master-and-slave stuff and had been a little deflated when he completely deferred to her. She ordered him around like a galley slave, and he cheerfully followed her directions, never questioning her once. After they ate, he even waved her off with thanks for a lovely breakfast and offered to load the dishes into the dishwasher. She sat at her laptop to catch up on e-mails, while he cleaned. She could definitely get used to this.
    The ring of the doorbell interrupted her reading, and she couldn’t help the knot of dread in her stomach as she crossed the living room to answer the door. She knew it was Rick bringing home Kade from their weekend. So far, she and Nate had been wrapped in their own private cocoon. It was about to be ripped away like a Band-Aid off a skinned knee.
    She opened the door, and Kade blew into the room, dropping his bag on the floor and running into the kitchen.
    “Hey, Mom! I’m hungry!”
    Brianne turned to face her ex-husband and his new wife. She couldn’t help the annoyance that seeped into her tone.
    “You didn’t bother to feed him this morning, Rick?”
    “Now, Annie, we got busy this morning and didn’t have a chance to eat. Tami and I haven’t eaten either, you know.”
    It was all she could do not to roll her eyes. Of course, he would bring the conversation around to himself somehow. As she looked at him, she couldn’t tell what she had ever seen in him. He had seemed handsome and charming when they had started dating in college. He was handsome in a pretty boy sort of way, with his wavy blond hair and pale blue eyes. But his chin was weak and lacked character, where Nate’s was strong and spoke of integrity. She couldn’t understand how he had ever married her either, if Tami was really his type. Of course, basically all women, except Brianne, were Rick’s type. She had learned that the hard way in their ten years of marriage.
    Tami clung to Rick’s arm as if she was drowning. Her brassy blonde hair and heavy makeup made her look older than her twenty-something years. They obviously hadn’t been at church this Sunday morning, by the looks of Tami’s clothes. She was dressed in denim cutoffs so short Brianne could see the crease where her ass met her thighs. Her lack of bra was obvious under the light pink tank top at least one size too small. You could practically still see the price tags on those tits, Brianne thought.
    “I gave Kade a cereal bar to tide him over, Bri. I hope that was okay.” Nate walked into the living room with a cup of coffee in his hand. Shirtless.
    She almost laughed at Rick doing a double take. She had never seen anyone actually do that and had thought it was just a figure of speech. Apparently not. Rick nodded curtly to Nate.
    “Nate, haven’t seen you in a while. I don’t think you have met my new wife, Tami. Tami, this is Dr. Nate Hart.”
    Brianne didn’t imagine the emphasis Rick placed on the word “new.” Tami smiled brilliantly at Nate. Apparently,