The moment Ethan threw his teasing comment in the air, Lydia felt her cheeks burning up with embarrassment and annoyance, glaring at him, "Zip it, will you?"
"Grandma, look at her, all fierce and fiery. I'm too scared to even offer these flowers now," Ethan lamented with a look of injured innocence to the elderly lady sitting nearby.
His tone, coupled with that puppy-dog expression, was dangerously close to being too cute to handle.
Grandma Sybil couldn't help but burst into laughter, charmed by Ethan's boyish antics. She had a grandson about Ethan's age who never acted so playfully around her.
Who could resist a handsome man's charm, especially when it's wrapped in a playful complaint?
Grandma Sybil, still chuckling, gently tried to make peace. "Lydia, dear, you're always so kind and gentle with us. Why so harsh on him? Loosen up a bit, my dear. You're not getting any younger; it might be time to think about love."
Lydia's face turned a shade redder, if possible, as she quickly interjected, "Grandma Sybil, you've got it all wrong. He's not courting me; he's my patient."
The thought of dating Ethan seemed utterly absurd to her.
"Oh, my dear, don't be so rigid about these things. A doctor and a patient can very well end up falling for each other," Grandma Sybil said with a twinkle in her eye.
"Grandma Sybil, you're really mistaken," Lydia tried to clarify.
Ethan couldn't resist jumping back into the conversation. "See, Grandma Sybil is more open-minded than you. I think you've spent too much time in the military; it's made your thinking a bit old-fashioned."
Lydia shot Ethan a glare that could have curdled milk, her annoyance with him reaching new heights.
If it weren't for the presence of other patients in the clinic, some of whom were elderly and might get startled, she might have actually taken a swing at him.
Grandma Sybil, unable to stand the awkward standoff any longer, spoke earnestly, "Lydia, just take the flowers, dear. Look at this young man, all dressed up and handsome, just to bring you these flowers. He wouldn't have gone through all this effort if he wasn't sincere."
He dressed up for her?
As if she could forget how Ethan had stripped off his shirt upon arriving at the clinic yesterday, flaunting his muscles and physique!
Before Lydia could expose Ethan's true colors, another elderly lady chimed in, "Yes, Lydia, the clinic is always filled with the smell of medicine. The fresh flowers could help mask that with their fragrance."
"Lydia, please accept them."
"Yes, yes, take them."
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