The Doctor’s Secret Baby Read online

  “Good for him.” He glanced at the TAG Heuer watch on his wrist and frowned. “I have to get going. A meeting—”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to talk your ear off.”

  “I’m glad I ran into you and cleared the air. There are two sides to every story.” He took a step forward and gave her a hug. “I’ll look forward to seeing you—”

  “Seeing her when?”

  Em disengaged from Jake and turned toward the familiar deep voice. “Cal, I was—”

  “Saying hi to my partner,” he said.

  Em wasn’t sure why the hostility in his tone should make her feel guilty, but it did and the explanation came pouring out. “I was in the E.R. talking to some clients and ran into Jake on the way back to my office.”

  “Really?” Cal crossed his arms over his chest, and the sleeves of his scrubs pulled tight around the muscles in his upper arms.

  The attitude and posture made her heart sing, which was crazy. But true.

  “Yeah,” Jake said. “Em was just telling me about your daughter.”

  “Was she?” He glanced down at her.

  “And I was telling Jake what a terrific father you are,” she said.

  “I see.” The tone said he didn’t see at all.

  Jake frowned. “Someone’s having a bad day. People aren’t playing nice?”

  “Maybe too nice,” Cal muttered, glaring at his friend.

  “If you’d gone into surgery instead of the medical end, the people you interact with would be anesthetized,” Jake pointed out.

  “So you’ve mentioned more than once.”

  “My advice is an attitude adjustment,” Jake said, grinning at his friend. Apparently he was accustomed to Cal’s rotten moods. “Call me if surgery is required, but right now I’m late for a meeting with the hospital board. Bye, Em.”

  “Good to see you, Jake.” She watched him walk down the hallway and turn right at the next corridor. Then she looked up at Cal and tried to think of something innocuous to say. “Annie had a good time at your house on Sunday.”

  “I’m glad.” He ran his fingers through his hair, then met her gaze. “My folks are pretty happy about being grandparents.”

  “They’re really great with her.” Which must be where their son acquired the skill. “She really likes the toy tea cart they gave her.”

  “Oh?”

  Em smiled up at him. “She loves pushing the thing around. It helps with her balance and walking. Just a little girly girl.”

  He hadn’t smiled once since seeing her with Jake and in fact frowned harder. “Where is Annie, by the way?”

  “Nooks and Nannies, the day-care center.”

  “What do you know about that place?”

  “I already told you.” She stared at him, wondering what set of circumstances had inoculated him against trusting.

  “Are there security cameras on premises?”

  She blinked at him. “What? For a hidden-camera investigation? Breaking news on Channel three?”

  “Better safe than sorry.”

  “As a matter of fact, better than a camera, I have Lucy and Patty. I already told you they work there in exchange for child care while they’re in classes.”

  “Busy girls.”

  “Busy moms,” she said pointedly. “For your information, I found the place through my friend Sophia Green who also works there. We’ve been through this already. I thought you were convinced that I’d never put Annie anywhere that I wasn’t absolutely certain is a safe environment.”

  She didn’t know whether to strangle him for being unreasonable, or kiss him for caring so much about his child.

  The angry expression on his face didn’t budge. “Did Jake ask you out?”

  “What?”

  “When I walked up I heard him say that he was looking forward to seeing you. Did he ask you out?”

  “You’re jealous?”

  “Of course not,” he said, just a little too forcefully. “But I know him. So many women, so little time.”

  He was jealous, Em realized, understanding why her heart had started to sing. But what did it mean? Surely jealousy was a good thing given that she couldn’t seem to get him out of her mind.

  But this wasn’t the time or place.

  “Look, Cal, I have to go. I have an appointment.”

  “The same one Jake has?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Mine is personal. I’ll tell you about it later.”

  He had that stubborn look. “Em—”

  She held up a hand to stop the questions. “Are you coming by to see Annie after work?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll tell you about it then.”

  She turned away before he could interrogate her further and found that distance didn’t snuff out the sparklers going off inside her.

  She’d struggled not to let hope in. She’d fretted about setting herself up for a fall. But herself had seen the evidence that Cal was jealous and no warning in the world could douse the radiance shining inside her.

  Chapter Seven

  Cal couldn’t believe his partner had hit on Emily. What was up with that? One minute he was moaning about the axis of attraction falling apart, the next he was flexing those axis muscles in the hospital hallway. Every time he got a mental picture of her in Jake’s arms, he wanted to deck Dr. GQ.

  He pulled “the princess” to a stop in front of the empty field across from Em’s apartment. He said when he got off work he’d see her later. Not her. Annie. And here he was to see his daughter. The only other car parked there was an old SUV that he knew belonged to Patty’s boyfriend. Jake Andrews’s expensive Lexus sedan was nowhere in sight.

  Not that Cal was checking up. Em had a right to see whoever she wanted. But damn it to hell, he hated that the thought of her with another man tied him in knots.

  He walked across the street and knocked on the door instead of ringing the bell in case Annie was asleep. Funny how such a little person could make so big a change in his life. Make him feel responsible and not care that he did. Make him feel protective—about his daughter’s mother, too. But he preferred to believe his over-the-top reaction about Em dating had more to do with another guy being around his little girl. Part of him actually believed that. The other part recognized the lie because he’d never been able to get Em out of his system.

  The door opened and there she was, wearing white shorts that made her shapely, tanned legs look amazing. Her hot pink cropped top revealed a line of skin that winked in and out when she moved. Pulling his self-control into place with an effort, he forced his gaze away from her tempting bare skin and up to her eyes.

  “Hi.” His voice sounded as rusty as an ancient garden gate and he hoped she didn’t notice.

  She lifted a hand, then put a finger to her lips for quiet. “Annie just fell asleep,” she whispered, an erotic sound to his pent-up sexual frustration.

  The pitch shouldn’t have been seductive, but it made his hands tingle and the blood roared in his ears. Fortunately it wasn’t a sound that would wake his daughter. “Is she okay?”

  “Yeah. A day at day care always wears her out.”

  “I’m sorry I missed seeing her.” In part because now there was no reason to stay. No cover story for hanging out with Em. And every cell in his body was begging him to hang out with her because he was aching to get her naked. “I’ll just go—”

  “Wait—There’s something I need to talk to you about. It’s serious and I’m glad she’s asleep so we won’t be interrupted.”

  “Okay.” He swallowed hard as he walked in and she shut the door behind him. “What’s up?”

  “I wanted to tell you not to be jealous of Jake.”

  “I’m not jealous,” he lied. And her words didn’t begin to unknot the knot in his gut. “But okay.”

  “He’s just a friend,” she explained.

  Not the time for him to mention Jake saying he’d always liked her. “Got it.”

  “Even if he was interested i
n me, which he’s not, I could never think of him as anything but a friend.”

  “Good to know. And the thought never crossed my mind.”

  “I know that’s a lie. Mostly because of your question about whether or not he’d asked me out. I’d never cause a problem between you and Jake. Just wanted you to know that there’s absolutely no reason for you to be jealous of him.”

  “Okay, then.” This conversation wasn’t helping his frame of mind. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll just hit the road—” He cocked his thumb in the general direction of the front door behind him.

  “Actually, that isn’t all I wanted to say.” She looked up at him and ran her tongue over her full, plump lips.

  Cal held in a groan. Just barely. But there wasn’t a guy on the planet who wouldn’t be turned on. That was the sexiest damn thing he’d ever seen.

  “What else is on your mind?” he managed to ask.

  “About my appointment today?”

  She’d told him about that, and he’d accused her of meeting Jake. He’d made an ass of himself earlier and she was going to make him regret it. “What about it?”

  “I went to see an attorney.”

  That’s not what he’d expected her to say. “Why? Is there a problem?”

  “No. I just wanted you to know that I’m taking legal steps to ensure that you’re recognized as her father and guardian. When the DNA test is back, we’ll make sure he has the results.”

  “It’s not necessary. No one has any doubt anymore that she’s mine.”

  “I know. But I want to be certain that there are no loopholes. I want every I dotted and every T crossed.” She twisted her fingers together. “He’s going to handle the paperwork necessary to put your name on her birth certificate. We’ll have to go to court and appear before a judge to finalize our joint custody of Annie.”

  “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “It’s true.” She lifted one slender shoulder in a shrug. “I misjudged you. It doesn’t matter that I was scared and seriously hormonal. No excuses. I’m just trying to make it right. For our daughter.”

  Cal had been wondering how to bring up the legalities of all this with her and was surprised, in a good way, that she’d acted without pressure from him. And so quickly. He was really happy.

  For a couple of seconds, he grinned like a fool, then put his arms around her, lifted and swung her around. “That’s pretty awesome,” he said.

  They laughed together and the thought crossed his mind that he might have reacted like this at the news that she was having his baby. But probably not. A woman had once told him that and it was a lie.

  But wanting Em wasn’t.

  With her arms around his neck and her curves pressed against him, he couldn’t deny that she felt good and right, like she belonged there. And always had. He’d missed her and having her back in his arms made him realize just how much.

  He slowed the circling and stopped, staring into her dark eyes. Their mouths were too close and hers looked soft and sexy with her full lips slightly parted, as if she were waiting for him to taste her. The small, firm breasts that he’d loved loving a lifetime ago were burning into his chest. His breathing grew labored, but not from turning with the weight of her in his arms. The weight of her was a turn on, plain and simple.

  He swallowed, the ache for her growing into a black hole inside him. A ripple of need fueled by electricity shocked him and he felt a shudder go through her, too, a shivery current that bounced back and forth between them.

  And just like that the lonely months of being without her disappeared and it was like second nature to touch his lips to hers. Warm didn’t begin to describe the sensation. Hot. It was hot and wet and…Wow. Then he heard her moan, a sound of pure pleasure that crushed out rational thought and he knew the waiting was done.

  He couldn’t fight the want and need any longer knowing she wanted and needed him, too.

  He let her slide down his front until her feet touched the floor, then turned and pressed her against the wall, holding her there with his lower body as she arched her hips into his. He threaded his fingers in her hair as he kissed her over and over, chest pounding, her breathy moans pumping through him.

  She smelled so good and felt like heaven. She was so soft, so curvy and so much woman that any idea of not touching her bare skin went straight out the window. He settled his hands on the line of skin that had tormented him since the second she’d opened the door. The feel of her flesh was like a shot of adrenaline straight to his heart.

  He slid his hands up higher until he found her breasts in his palms and was pathetically grateful that she wasn’t wearing a bra. He brushed his thumbs over her nipples and felt them pebble and grow hard. The sensation drove him crazy and all he could think about was being inside her.

  After unfastening her shorts, he pushed them down and over her hips until they dropped to the floor. She reached out and unbuckled the belt on his jeans, then fumbled with the button and zipper before he pushed them down. He managed to yank out his wallet and snag the condom he always kept there, then roll it on. The next thing he knew, her legs were locked around his hips and he was buried inside her.

  With his arms around her, he protected her back from the hard wall as he thrust into her over and over. Her breath came in gasps as she met each push until her body stilled and she clung to him while a series of shudders gripped her. With one final thrust, he joined her in release and groaned out his satisfaction.

  For several moments they just held on to each other, struggling to get their breath. Finally he lifted his head and she let her legs slide down.

  He stared at her. “I didn’t come over here for that, but I’d be lying if I said I was sorry.”

  “I know.” She dragged in air. “I’m not quite sure what to say.”

  “Then let’s not—” He wasn’t sure what they shouldn’t do, but she nodded agreement. “I’ll just go and—”

  A cry from down the hall interrupted him and he felt Em’s relaxed muscles go tight as she straightened.

  “Annie—” She looked up at him. “Sometimes when she goes to sleep this early, it’s just a nap and she’s not in for the night.”

  “There’s nothing wrong?” There were so many things wrong right now that he’d lost count, but he meant with his daughter.

  Em shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I’ll go check on her.”

  She scrambled into her panties and shorts and straightened her top. Hot pink. That was prophetic. Hot didn’t begin to describe what he’d felt. Being with Em just now ranked as the best sex of his life, which should make him more relaxed than he’d ever been. Not so much. Instead of taking the edge off, he was even more keyed up. He had more questions than answers. Including why even reminding himself about the woman who’d lied to him in his past hadn’t stopped him from making love with the woman who’d lied in his present.

  Em sat in the glider chair in Annie’s bedroom, giving the baby a bottle while Cal sat on the ottoman in front of them and watched. Twenty minutes ago she’d lost control and made love with him. That was intimacy. But now—father, mother, baby—the three of them together, that was intimate in a solid, normal, family way.

  This was a moment she’d never expected to have, especially because she’d thought he would disappear after getting what he wanted. But maybe he wanted more than that. A jealous man wasn’t indifferent and it was possible that he could want both her and his daughter.

  “So you’re still bringing Annie over to my house for a swim on Saturday?”

  Em nodded. “She loved the water so much on her birthday.”

  “Good. I’ll look forward to it.”

  “Me, too.”

  She looked down and noticed their little water baby had stopped sucking on her bottle and milk dribbled down the side of her mouth. Taking the soft burp diaper she kept handy, Em wiped the moisture away. She started to set the bottle on the dresser beside her but Cal held out his hand.

  “
Thanks,” she whispered, and kept gliding back and forth.

  “Are you going to put her in the crib?”

  “In a few minutes. If I don’t wait until she’s sound asleep, she’ll be wide awake. And after a power nap, it could be a long time before she settles down again.”

  He shook his head. “It’s amazing.”

  “What?”

  “Everything.” His big body made the ottoman look really small, and uncomfortable. He rested his elbows on his widespread knees and held the bottle in his hands.

  She smiled and knew there was a trace of tenderness in it. “Define everything.”

  “Annie’s world. All you know about her. Likes and dislikes. How to handle every situation. Her personality. The fact that she might not go right back to sleep if the stars and planets aren’t perfectly aligned.”

  “That’s just the tiniest bit dramatic.”

  “But you know what I mean.”

  She did. He’d missed out on that part of the parental learning curve. Guilt shot through her even though she’d promised herself to let it go. “Actually I pay attention because I’m selfish and lazy.”

  He looked surprised. “You might want to explain that.”

  “My job is easier if she’s happy. I remember what she likes and doesn’t like so that she eats and sleeps and is healthy.”

  “Ah. So it has nothing to do with loving her a lot.”

  “Of course not,” she teased back. “And that’s a big fat lie. I love her more than I can even put into words. How can you not love your own baby?”

  “Yeah.” He reached out and ran a finger over Annie’s chubby arm. “What happened when she was born?”

  “I went into labor. Twelve hours, by the way. It was uncomfortable, then I pushed and she came out.” She shrugged.

  “Smart aleck.” He gave her a wry look. “I meant was anyone with you?”

  How diplomatic. What he wanted to know was whether or not she was alone. “Sophia.”

  “Who’s she?”

  “Sophia Green, a social worker friend of mine. She manages the Nanny Network child-care center. She drove me to the hospital when my water broke and stuck around through labor and delivery. She was my Lamaze coach and continues to be my friend.”