The Christmas Bouquet by Sherryl Woods

blue, said ‘let’s get married?’”
    “I think I’d just be relieved that you finally changed your mind and wanted to make a commitment,” Noah told her.
    Cait regarded him with disbelief, then rubbed her temples. “All of this well-meant advice and interference is giving me a headache.”
    “Then let’s go away,” he suggested at once. It was something he’d been thinking about all day. With a little encouragement from Trace, he’d almost gone ahead and made reservations, but then he’d thought better of it. Cait didn’t need a decision about anything being taken out of her hands right now. Every bit of the control she prized most had been ripped out of her hands the instant she’d seen that positive pregnancy test. But if she did want to go away, he’d make it happen.
    He held her gaze. “Come on, Cait. Just you and me. We can sit on a beach down in Florida and maybe start to hear ourselves think.”
    Caitlyn’s expression turned wistful. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” She sighed. “You know we can’t do it, though. We can’t get away from the hospital for more than a day at a time and generally it’s not even the same day. We’re lucky to sit across the table from each other at dinner one night a week.”
    “I know you’re right,” he said, resigned to accepting reality. “Maybe after my residency ends in June.”
    “I’ll still be working, more than ever, in fact,” she reminded him. She poured herself a glass of milk, wrinkling her nose when she took the first sip. Milk might be great for the baby, but he knew she’d never been a big fan unless, of course, it came with a pile of home-baked cookies. Since her cookie jar was perpetually empty unless Nell sent up a care package, she was stuck with just milk.
    “I’m glad you finally brought up the end of your residency,” she began. “I’ve been wondering what you intend to do next. It is a decision that affects both of us under the circumstances. Have you been looking into communities where physicians might be needed?”
    “I made a list a few months ago and sent out some feelers,” he said. “But things have changed. Any decision I make now depends on you.”
    He was increasingly enthusiastic about opening a practice in Chesapeake Shores, but would that work if he and Cait didn’t agree to marry? He’d want to be wherever his child was, though. Staying here in Baltimore was an option. Or Annapolis. But neither was the fit he’d always envisioned. A place like Chesapeake Shores was, a small community that had been unable to find a full-time family-practice doctor. Many physicians who’d been approached assumed that residents would want to head to the city for their care, according to Mick.
    Cait regarded him with a troubled expression. “You’re considering sticking close to Baltimore, aren’t you?” she said, not with any hint of anxiety that he might be leaving, but more as if the idea horrified her.
    “I won’t be far from the baby,” he declared, prepared for an argument.
    “But you’ve never wanted to practice in a big city,” she protested. “Your dream is to set up a practice in an underserved area, a place where you can be a real part of the community. That’s been your priority ever since I’ve known you. I thought you wanted to go to Appalachia or maybe out west someplace.”
    Now was the time he should mention his thoughts about Chesapeake Shores, but he held back. “Priorities evolve,” he told her.
    “Meaning mine should, too,” she said, bristling at what she had clearly inferred as a criticism.
    He held up his hand. “Don’t, Cait. Nobody’s made any decisions yet. Let’s not argue over maybes.”
    “So what? You want to just drift along?”
    “Not indefinitely, no. But I’d rather we take our time and get it right than have either of us dig in our heels and take a position from which we can’t back down. That’s why I’ve been pushing to sit down and get all of the possible options