Formula: Father. Jolie Kramer
falling asleep from sheer exhaustion.
But before that final lights-out, she’d at least been able to see that her emotional upheaval hadn’t been about Mitchell per se, but about what he represented. With him, life had been innocent and enchanting, and the world had held nothing but promise. That’s why she wanted her child to be born here. And why she’d gone to Mitch. If he helped her have this baby, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Maitlands would keep an eye on the child. Just as they’d kept an eye on her when she’d had so much trouble at home.
The question that kept nagging at her was whether she was being fair to them. Maybe she should just come right out and ask.
She heard a soft knock at the door, and she sat up straighter. It was Mitch. Her chest constricted at the sight of him, and she felt as though she couldn’t get enough air. She tried to read his decision in his expression, but she got lost somewhere in those dark green eyes.
He had his hand on the door, but he didn’t push it closed behind him. His hesitance was mirrored in his gaze. Should he or shouldn’t he? Would he be part of her future or her past?
When he exhaled, she realized she’d been holding her breath, too. When he smiled at her, she realized she’d been holding her heart at bay for longer than she cared to remember.
“Thanks for coming in at the last minute,” he said, his voice warming her like a blanket.
She nodded, wanting to prod him along, afraid to speak in case it sidetracked him.
He looked at her carefully, and this time his gaze was more clinical. This was Dr. Maitland, the man with the diplomas on the wall, and he was examining her with all the earnestness he’d had as a student.
Please say yes, she prayed. Say yes, and give my unborn baby the kind of childhood I’ve always dreamed of.
He cocked his head. “Darcy?”
“Yes?”
“Know what I thought of this morning?”
“What?”
“Twenty-two, fourteen, twenty-seven.”
She grinned, knowing immediately what the numbers meant. “My locker.”
He nodded. “That unholy mess you called a locker.”
“It had character.”
“It had mold.”
She laughed. She had her answer. And maybe she had her friend back.
He grinned, too, as he approached her. After he put her chart on the shelf to his right, he took her hands in his. “Are you sure you want me to help you with this inception?”
She nodded.
“You realize I’m going to have to examine you. Often.”
“Yeah, I know. Believe me. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, but now… I know you’ll be completely professional. And frankly, I lost my modesty a long time ago. It’s hard to be prudish when a photographer is adjusting your boobs in front of hundreds of people.”
She saw that he still wasn’t convinced. Well, neither was she. Not one hundred percent. “Here’s the deal. I think once we get through the first exam, everything will be okay. But if it’s not, I’ll make other arrangements.”
“Fair enough.”
She looked at her jeans and T-shirt. “Do you want to do it now?”
“Nope. Not today. Today is blood tests and paperwork.”
“Good.”
He let go of her hands. “I’m going to send in Tracy, who does a terrific job of not hurting people. Then I’ll come back to ask you some questions.”
“Like Jeopardy?”
His chuckle made her tummy tighten. “If you like. But I think it will go faster if I just ask them the normal way.”
“Spoilsport.”
He turned to leave, but she wasn’t ready for him to go yet. “Hey, Maitland.”
“Yeah?”
“You still eat peanut butter every day?”
“Not every day. But I confess, there are times—”
“When you get out the tablespoon?”
“It’s a perfectly harmless fetish.”
“Bologna and peanut butter sandwiches are not harmless. They’ve been proven to blind laboratory rats.”
“You forgot. Bologna, peanut butter and mayonnaise.”
She shuddered dramatically. Then she caught his gaze again, and the temperature in the room shot up about ten degrees. “Do you have someone?” she asked, just as surprised as he was at the abrupt segue.
“Someone?”
She needed to know. Now. Whatever the answer was, it would be okay. In fact, it might be better all around if he was taken. “You know,” she elaborated, keeping her tone light as a feather, “a wife.”
He swallowed hard enough for her to notice his Adam’s apple. “No. I did have, once.”
“Oh.” She waited for him to go on, but he didn’t. She thought about prodding him, but it wouldn’t be right. He was her doctor. She hoped he’d be her friend. Neither of which gave her any right to ask him about his private life.
Anxious to change the subject, she jumped from the table. “Do I have a minute before the vampire comes?”
“Of course.”
“Good. I need to make a quick phone call.”
“Use the phone here. Just dial nine to get out.”
To get to the wall phone, she would have to pass him. Fully expecting him to leave, she went forward, but he stayed right where he was. So close that she had to turn sideways. So close that their bodies touched.
A memory came over her, so strong it was as if it had happened only yesterday. They’d won at the science fair. She’d wrapped her arms around his neck, and he’d touched her bare back. Her breasts, so new and so sensitive, had pressed against his chest. She’d felt the first flush of what it was like to be a woman that day. She’d felt it, and it had scared the hell out of her.
She’d jumped away from him, and sure enough, he hadn’t been able to leave fast enough. She knew she’d embarrassed him, and the knowledge had kept her up nights. But along with the shame there was excitement, too. A secret thrill that had changed the way she felt about Mitchell Maitland forever.
Now the thrill was back. Back, and sixteen years stronger. The urge to wrap her arms around his neck was incredibly strong. They’d never kissed. Not really. Not a grown-up, set-your-hair-on-fire kiss.
His eyes darkened and then his mouth opened, and she felt sure that kiss was about to happen. She waited for his touch. Closed her eyes. Leaned forward until her breasts touched his chest.
He touched her back with his fingers. But only for a second. Even with her eyes closed she could sense his recoil. He almost tripped over a chair in his hurry to get away from her.
“I’ll go get Tracy,” he said, making it to the door in record time.
“Great,” she said, as if nothing at all had happened.
After he closed the door behind him, she slumped against the table. Nothing at all had happened. Except for the realization that this wasn’t going to be easy. The feelings she had for Mitch were more complicated than she’d imagined. She had a hell of a lot to think about.
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