Harlequin Medical Romance Online Read
Single Doctor, Single Dad!
by
Janice Lynn
Returning to her hometown to care for her ailing mother has Dr. Jennifer Castillo reliving tragic memories—she can’t wait for her mother to recover so she can leave town, throw herself back into her private practice and forget the past. The last thing she needs is the complication of an intense attraction to her mother’s doctor! After all, nothing could convince her to move back to
Dr. Garrett Wright needs a mother for his twins—stat! And fellow workaholic Dr. Jennifer Castillo, daughter of one of his patients, is the least likely candidate for the job. So why can’t this single dad stop himself from falling for her anyway?
Chapter One
"Dr. Castillo?"
Jennifer spun toward the masculine voice and almost swooned with the drama of a 19th century Southern belle. Moss green eyes fringed with inky black lashes stared from a sharply angled face. A black T-shirt stretched across broad shoulders. Dark jeans hung on lean hips. Surely she was hallucinating because hunks like him didn't wander emergency department waiting rooms.
"Yes?" Phew, does one have hot flushes during hallucinations? Because she was. Right down to her fingertips, burning to touch the forearms sprinkled with wiry hair. She fanned her face.
"I'm Dr. Garrett Wright," he eyed her curiously, as if he thought she might be on the verge of syncope. Like any mirage worth his salt, he'd catch her if she fainted. "I've been with your mother."
Dr. Wright? Jennifer blinked. This was her mother's primary care doctor? No wonder she no longer balked at routine health care. No doubt women of all ages lined up at this man's door. Jennifer could think of a few personal ailments that would benefit from his attention.
"She said you'd taken temporary leave from your
Jennifer nodded, mutely. Her tongue refused to cooperate.
Probably because the traitorous appendage wanted to lick him all over.
Which shocked her. She wasn't the kind of woman given to such intense, immediate fantasies. Ever.
"You were right to insist she be transferred from the rehab center. She has a deep vein thrombus."
The news snapped Jennifer out of her hormone induced haze. Her mother had a blood clot.
Trying to sound professional and not like the worried little girl she suddenly felt, she gulped and said, "Are her lungs clear?"
Shortness of breath had been why Jennifer insisted on the emergency room visit. Only then had her mother admitted to leg pain.
Dr. Wright raked long fingers through thick black hair. "Unfortunately, no."
Panic gripped Jennifer's chest, shortening her own breath. "No?"
Please, God. She couldn't lose her mother.
"She has a pulmonary embolism."
A blood clot had traveled to her mother's lungs and cut off blood flow to a pulmonary artery.
Weak-kneed at the seriousness of her mother's condition, Jennifer sank onto a waiting room sofa.
"She was given routine preventative anti-coagulation therapy after her surgery." He sat down next to her. "She formed a clot anyway."
Jennifer knew what happened when a patient threw a clot. But this was her mother! Logic played no role in her emotions, her thoughts.
"Tell me everything." Closing her eyes, she crossed her arms over her stomach, rocked forward. "Please."
"Her x-ray showed normal," he explained, "but with her hip replacement three days ago, I had a D-dimer drawn and proceeded with a CT angiogram that revealed the embolism."
Jennifer's blood drained, leaving her body cold, numb, as if her own arteries were blocked.
Hadn't she known? Wasn't that why she'd insisted her mother be taken to the hospital?
"Ninety-five percent of people who are alive at time of diagnosis recover."
She blinked back the moisture blurring her vision. Ninety-five percent. Good odds. Unless you were speaking about your mother. Then only a hundred percent was acceptable.
"I gave her a low molecular weight heparin to keep the clot from enlarging." He took her hand and gave a gentle squeeze in what was probably supposed to be comfort, but instead sky-rocketed her pulse.
Startled by the gesture and the flutter low in her belly, Jennifer's gaze shot to him. Too many wild emotions stampeded her troubled soul. Her mother. Thoughts of Carrie. Her suddenly revived hormones after years of nothing. "Any sign of respiratory failure?"
"Not at the moment, but given her risk factors that's a concern. With oxygen, her O2 sats are holding at around ninety percent." His finger stroked over hers. "She's having tachycardia."
Did he have any idea his touch was increasing Jennifer's heart rate too?
Numbly, Jennifer nodded. A blood clot to the lungs. He was right. Her mother was past the worst. Everything would be okay.
Everything had to be okay.
Tears prickled her eyes. "May I see her?"
Chapter Two
Garrett stared at the gorgeous brunette sitting on the waiting room sofa. Dr. Jennifer Castillo's shapely legs, outlined beneath figure-hugging black pants, had caught his attention the moment he stepped out of the emergency room.
He'd always been a legs man.
Not that he should be noticing. Not when his patient had a clot. Not even if said patient had talked up her daughter, declaring her available and only slightly used.
Slightly used: Jennifer's mother's description of a messy divorce that left her daughter devoted only to her patients and numb to the opposite sex.
Had Bridget talked him up to her daughter? Had she described him as available and actively seeking?
Actively seeking: His description of his desperate search for a mother for his four-year-old twin sons.
An embittered, career-minded divorcee wasn't what he'd had in mind. But damn if his libido recognized that.
Without letting go of Jennifer's hand, Garrett glanced at his watch.
"She should be in her room by now," he said, trying to keep his brain on the real issues rather than on his unexpected reaction to the curvy brunette.
"Thanks. Will the orthopedic surgeon be notified?" Jennifer's soft, vulnerable smile sucked him further under her spell, making him feel more a man than he'd felt in eons.
"He has been, but I'll handle her hospital stay."
She took in his pedestrian clothes, shock registering in her soulful brown eyes. "You're on duty?"
"No," he said, grinning. "I was checking on a patient when your mother arrived. Since I was here, I examined her." Garrett stood and pulled Jennifer to her feet. "Come on. I'll take you to her."
Reluctantly, he let go of Jennifer's hand, but he doubted the fire scorching him from the contact of their skin would burn out any time soon.
Think of the boys, he reminded himself. A woman who is as dedicated to her career as you are is not someone you need to get involved with. The boys need a mother. Someone like Emma had been.
Not another parent who knew how to deal with sick patients better than two little boys.
Chapter Three
The following morning Jennifer reminded herself she was there in the capacity of a patient's daughter. She sat on her hands to keep from assisting to change her mother's surgical dressing.
As if sensing her need, Dr. Wright glanced up. His green eyes sparkled with an understanding only another provider could have. "Want to help?"
"Can I?" She'd felt helpless through much of her mother's care. Doing nothing was driving her mad—as witnessed by her reaction to Garrett.
"Sure." His gaze lowered to her mouth and darkened prior to returning to her mother. He cleared his throat. "Her surgical site is healing well with no infection."
Fighting the urge to say his name, to have his mesmerizing eyes skim over her again, Jennifer examined the excision site on her mother's hip. Staples held the puckered skin together in a neat line.
Lifting her gaze to Garrett's, she swallowed a surprised whimper. That wasn't professional admiration reflected in his eyes. Desire burned there.
Desire she felt just as strongly.
Which was all wrong. No way should her libido be so cruel as to rear its ugly head in
"Physical therapy will be by later. Keeping her mobile is important."
"I agree." Was she agreeing with his treatment plan for her mother or the temptation dancing in his eyes?
"I am awake, you know," Bridget reminded them from the head of the bed. "You two don't have to talk about me as if I'm not here."
"Did you hear something?" Garrett asked, winking conspiratorially.
Jennifer shook her head. "Not a thing."
After a lingering look that held a world of sin, he broke eye contact and applied a fresh bandage to her mother's wound.
Bridget sighed. "Dr. Wright, can you talk to her about being nicer? Perhaps you could write a prescription or something? One that says she has to move back to
Jennifer inwardly groaned. From the moment she'd moved, her mother complained Jennifer didn't visit enough. Did her mother realize every time she stepped foot in
No, she didn't want to forget her sweet baby girl.
But she'd had to move on. She couldn't do that in
Chapter Four
"Yesterday I had to listen to her fuss until I got up and used that darned walker." Bridget paused for breath, readjusting her oxygen tubing. "Now I'm back in the hospital."
Garrett ran his hands over Jennifer's mother's leg, checking pulses and the level of edema.
"Maybe if you'd gotten up more frequently you wouldn't have the clot," she wryly informed her mother, trying to clear images of Garrett's hands caressing her legs, stroking his fingers over her calves, up her thighs, higher. It had been so long since she'd been touched, since she'd wanted to be touched.
"I swear you and that physical therapist were trying to kill me." Bridget crossed her arms, a stubborn look on her face. "About did."
Garrett finished his exam. "Following hip surgery, you need to walk as much as possible as soon as possible."
"Easy for you to say," Bridget harrumphed. "You aren't the one they cut."
"True," he agreed, his gaze locked with Jennifer's.
Her breath caught at the silent message. He was attracted to her.
"But I agree with Jennifer. You need to ambulate every chance you have someone to assist you."
Sweat coated Jennifer's skin. Just hearing her name roll off his tongue should not send her into hot flushes or inner thigh meltdowns. Nonetheless, her core temperature could thaw the polar ice caps.
"I should have known you doctors would stick together." Although her tone sounded disapproving, Bridget's eyes held a gleam that made Jennifer nervous. Or, more likely, Garrett was the one who made her nervous.
"I have your best interest at heart," Jennifer reminded her, stepping back from the hospital bed. Perhaps a little distance between her and the yummy doctor would restore internal circuits and cut down on global warming. Surely this crazy roller coaster of emotions was a result of worry over her mother and being in
"Uh-huh. That's why you moved to the other side of the state," her mother accused.
"I offered to move you with me." She'd had to get away, bury herself in work. She couldn't have survived otherwise.
"Where do you practice?" Garret asked.
"
"My only family, and she moves." Bridget drew in a pitiful breath.
Jennifer sent an apologetic look to Garrett and changed the subject. "How were her labs?"
"I'm still here, you know," Bridget reminded.
"We know," Jennifer and Garrett answered simultaneously.
Their eyes met.
Being attracted to her mother's doctor was a complication Jennifer didn't need.
Being attracted to a
But she was.
She hadn't wanted a man's touch since before Carrie's death. Hadn't even realized she'd shut that part of her mind and body down.
With her mother seriously ill and while staying in a town that held only pain, now was not the time to remember she was a woman beneath the lab coat and stethoscope she hid behind.
Chapter Five
Garrett held the hospital room door, allowing Jennifer to leave the room before him. Would she slap him if he pulled her into a supply closet and kissed her until they were both breathless?
She wasn't right for him. But there was something vulnerable in her expression, something that appealed in a way he couldn't resist.
"Have dinner with me," he said the moment her mother's room door closed. He hadn't known he was going to ask, but couldn't take the words back, couldn't even draw in his next breath as he waited for her answer.
Never had he felt such a consuming desire.
Surprise and something more, fear perhaps, shone in her big, brown eyes. She hesitated, then nodded. "I'd like that."
He'd like to find the supply closet.
"Should I pick you up here?" An image of picking her up, literally, flashed through his mind.
More hesitation lit her face. She shook her head.
"Under the circumstance it would be better if you pick me up at my mother's." She prattled off an address.
"What circumstances?"
"You're my mother's doctor. I'm leaving as soon as she's recovered. She'd view our going to dinner as complicated."
Those circumstances.
Asking Jennifer to dinner was a lot more complicated than his being her mother's doctor. There was also the fact that he needed a mother for his boys and she was the least likely candidate for the role. Her mother had talked about Jennifer's long work hours—that she worked seven days a week, weeks on end. He'd been surprised to hear Bridget's daughter had taken off the next month. Surprised as hell.
So why had he just asked Miss Workaholic to dinner when he should be home with his boys? Or trying to find them a mother who could bake cookies and shower them with love?
Logically, he knew he should cancel. Unfortunately, logic had nothing to do with his asking Jennifer to dinner.
"You're right. I'll pick you up at her place."
***
Despite Jennifer's reservations about saying yes, dinner went well. Garrett was a great conversationalist and, in addition to medicine, they shared many likes and dislikes. He even let her eat more than half of his chocolate obsession cake when she refrained from ordering dessert.
"That's good, isn't it?" he asked, smiling at her sigh of pleasure.
"Very." She glanced at his empty plate and winced. "I shouldn't have eaten so much, though. You barely got a bite. Sorry."
His eyes darkened with temptation much sweeter than the chocolate. "I enjoyed watching you enjoy it."
Heat burned her cheeks.
Tension had buzzed between them all evening. Tension that plucked at every cell in her body, strumming the electrons into a frenzied jitter.
Feeling self-conscious, Jennifer picked up her napkin and brushed the starched material across her mouth. "I should get back so I can check on Mother."
"If there had been any changes, the nurse would have contacted me."
Jennifer nodded. He was right. But she needed the excuse to end their date. Needed time to analyze why her body had suddenly recalled that she was a woman since meeting Garrett.
And why that recollection scared her so much.
Chapter Six
Feeling like a school boy on his first date, Garrett walked Jennifer to her mother's front door, watched as she fumbled with the keys.
They were both nervous as hell. He'd seen it in her eyes, heard it in her voice while he'd driven her home. The closer they'd gotten to her mother's, the more chatty she'd become.
He should tell her goodnight and go.
The door pushed open and Jennifer stepped inside. "Do you want to come in for a drink?"
The
Garrett followed her inside, taking in the homey feel of the mismatched furniture, the wall full of photos, mostly of Jennifer at various ages, the knick-knacks cluttering every surface.
Behind him, Jennifer closed the front door. Garrett turned.
They gazes met. His heart leapt in his chest, thudding wildly, capturing his breath and leaving him lightheaded.
Like a doe in headlights, Jennifer stared, wordlessly, nervous. Her pulse hammered at her throat. Swallowing, she moistened her lips.
Garrett groaned.
He had to kiss her.
Just one little kiss. Then he'd go home.
***
Jennifer sighed in pleasure.
Dear sweet heaven, the man could kiss. Her lips, her face, her throat, her breasts.
His hands were just as talented, gliding over her skin in blissful strokes. Where had her shirt gone? Her bra? How had her skirt become bunched at her waist?
What was she doing?
She didn't do this. Didn't have sex with men she'd just met. She'd never been with anyone except Jeff. She needed to stop this. She wasn't looking for a relationship, didn't want a relationship. Jeff had cured her of that.
"Have I told you how amazing you are?"
Garrett had told her. Several times.
Which surprised her. Jeff had always complained about her body, about her lack of enthusiasm for sex, about the way she touched him. Garrett was consumed with desire, couldn't seem to not touch her, kiss her, taste her.
She pulled his T-shirt over his head, wanting to touch him the way he was touching her, wanting to taste every delicious inch of him. She fumbled at his waistband, unzipping his pants, grasping him.
He groaned, praising her touch. Not just with his words, but with his eyes, his hands, his body's reactions.
His desire was a heady aphrodisiac. Perhaps that explained why enthusiasm wasn't an issue. Not with Garrett.
She wanted him. Enthusiastically.
Enough that even though her brain kept telling her to stop, she didn't. Not when he slid her panties off and put on a condom, not when he lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist. Not when she clung to him, her fingers digging into his taut shoulders.
He kissed her hard, his body tense with the control he exerted. "You're sure?" he breathed, staring into her eyes, his chest heaving, his heart racing next to hers.
Jennifer couldn't speak, couldn't do more than nod.
His eyes never leaving hers, Garrett pinned her against the solid wood front door and thrust inside her.
With every thrust he whispered praise into her ears, telling her how good she felt, how amazing her body was, how much he wanted her.
Her belly twisted, her thighs quivered, her head rolled back and forth and her insides melted, wave after spasmodic wave.
Hallelujah, praise Jehovah!
Chapter Seven
What had she done? Jennifer bit the inside of her cheeks.
When she'd nodded yes to Garrett, she hadn't considered the consequences.
Like how she'd face him the next day.
He'd left much earlier than she'd wanted. He hadn't wanted to go, but said he'd had to. He'd probably had a patient at the hospital.
That left her the entire night to relive the hot coupling against the door, to relive the much slower yet no less intense love-making in her bedroom.
"You've barely said a word," her mother said. "You look tired. Didn't you sleep well?"
"Not particularly." Thoughts of Garrett haunted her. Not for the first time since her divorce, Jennifer had found sleeping alone a desolate prospect. Last night's loneliness had been different. Only one man could have eased the ache inside her. The man who'd awakened bits of her she hadn't known existed until he'd stroked every living cell within her to a heightened sexual frenzy.
Was that it?
The explanation for her mixture of happiness and anxiety? She couldn't have a relationship. How could she when no man would want her after he discovered what she'd done? That her sweet baby had died. That she'd never have more children. Never again would she put some innocent child in that position.
"Maybe you should set up an appointment with Dr. Wright."
Speaking of the devil.
A knock sounded on her mother's open door. Garrett walked in, looking wonderful in khaki slacks and a green polo that matched his eyes. A black stethoscope was draped around his neck.
"How are you feeling today, Bridget?" he asked, briefly smiling at his patient before making eye contact with Jennifer. His smile dug dimples into his cheeks, put a sparkle in his eyes. A sparkle that said he'd thought about her non-stop.
A thousand butterflies emerged from their cocoons at once and fluttered to life in her belly.
She'd had the hottest sex of her life with this man. Two times.
She wanted number three. Right now. On the floor. Against the wall. Whatever. She wanted Garrett with all her being.
Whatever qualms she'd battled paled next to the fire blazing through her veins. She burned. From the inside out.
"Good morning." Innocent enough words, but his confident look dripped with innuendo. He knew what she was thinking. He was thinking the same thing. Wanting the same thing.
Against the wall. On the floor. Whatever.
She whimpered, causing her mother's head to whip toward her.
"See," Bridget huffed. "You sound as if you're catching a cold. You should make an appointment. I'm sure Dr. Wright could make you feel better."
"I'm sure I could." Garrett's lips twitched as he examined her mother's leg. "Are you feeling poorly, Dr. Castillo?"
"No," Jennifer began, knowing Dr. Delicious really could make her feel better. Lots better. Actually, just seeing him accomplished that. She hadn't dreamed how much he'd wanted her or how good it had been between them. Garrett had been as affected by what they'd done as she had.
"Look at those shadows beneath her eyes," Bridget pointed out. "Apparently she didn't sleep a wink."
Bedevilment flickered in Garrett's eyes. "Jennifer?"
"I'm fine," she mouthed, glaring at her mother. Fine, except for her mother's delighted smile when Garrett called her Jennifer instead of Dr. Castillo.
Chapter Eight
His gaze never leaving Jennifer, Garrett slipped on his stethoscope and listened to Bridget's heart and lungs. Although she still had a few crackles, her lungs were much improved.
Thank goodness. Garrett was unbelievably distracted by his patient's sexy daughter.
In her black pants and silk button down blouse, she looked amazing. Simply, irrevocably amazing.
She had been the most amazing experience of his life.
"What's the verdict?" Bridget asked.
Garrett cleared his throat and explained what he'd heard through the stethoscope before returning his attention to the woman quietly watching him.
He pulled out his wallet, withdrew a business card and scribbled a message on the back. "Here. Just in case your mother is right and you need me."
Taking the card, Jennifer's eyes widened at what he'd written. Swallowing, she nodded. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Should I need you."
Knowing her mother was watching, Garrett didn't push for a response to his written request.
But that didn't keep him from pacing like a damned fool an hour later. Asking Jennifer to meet him at his office was pushy. Pushy as hell. Something he'd never been.
He never mixed business with pleasure.
"Garrett?"
His heart tip-toed a funny beat in his chest. She'd come.
He turned, soaked in her lovely appearance. Uncertainty shone in her eyes.
"Are we going to lunch?" she asked, her tongue darting out to moisten her pretty pink lips.
Lunch? There was only one thing he was hungry for. Starved for. Her.
***
A week later, Garrett smiled at the woman curled in his arms.
Each day that passed, her mother grew healthier, stronger. He'd transferred Bridget back to the rehabilitation center. In a week or two she'd return home. Soon thereafter Jennifer would leave.
He didn't want her to go.
Ever.
But there were so many things they didn't know about each other. Like the fact that he'd been married and had twin sons. Why hadn't he told her about the most important part of his life?
Because he'd never believed Jennifer and he had a future. That no matter how good they were together, they were destined to be lovers, but nothing more.
Quelling his frustration, he kissed the top of her head. She was the sexiest woman he'd ever met. Sensual, giving, but she was a dedicated physician. He heard it in her voice when she talked about
But what about the boys? They needed a mother. Their well-being was his number one priority, even if he'd left them in his mother's care too often as of late so he could spend time with Jennifer.
He should have told her about them. That very first night they'd gone to dinner. He should have told her.
He hugged her to him, breathed in her warm vanilla scent. How had she so quickly come to mean so much to him? Was it even possible that she wanted a family? That she'd find room in her heart for him and two lost little boys?
"How do you feel about kids?"
She tensed.
"Kids?" Panic turned her brown eyes a fearful shade of black. "Don't you think that question is too personal when I'm leaving in a few weeks?"
They were in bed, naked, and he'd tasted every inch of her delectable body, knew every curve, every indention by heart. Asking her how she felt about kids was too personal?
"Haven't you figured out the truth?" He just had. He wanted to see what the future would hold if they were given a real shot.
"I don't want you to leave." He laced their fingers, pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her. "Stay with me."
Chapter Nine
Stay with him? What was he asking?
Tears threatened to rain down, flooding Jennifer's heart, drowning her in deeply embedded sorrow. "Asking me if I want kids isn't the kind of question a man asks a fling."
Kids were the one thing she'd never have.
"I'm asking you to stay because you're more than a fling."
She took a deep breath. "No, Garrett, I'm not."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" His brows furrowed angrily.
"As soon as my mother can look after herself, I'll return to
He pulled back. "You're really going to leave? Just like that? As if we never happened?"
"I don't understand. You've known that's what would happen all along. Nothing could convince me to move back to
Hadn't she only earlier today run into one of Jeff's cousins? Did she know that Jeff's new wife had given birth to their second child? A perfect little girl to go with the perfect son Jeff had conceived while still married to Jennifer. Did she know what a great mother Jeff's new wife was?
"I like my life," she assured. Sharp pain zig-zagged across her chest. "I'm a career girl."
Maybe if she said it often enough she'd seal the cracks in her heart.
According to the OB-GYN who'd delivered Carrie, Jennifer had as much chance of getting pregnant again as she did of winning the lottery. Until Garrett she hadn't even been buying tickets.
Jennifer was so caught up in her own misery, she didn't notice how stiff Garrett had gone. Not until she saw the disappointment in his eyes.
Hating the tension, she touched his cheek.
He flexed his jaw beneath her fingers. "You don't want children? To someday have a family?"
Her heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Unable to speak, she shook her head, eyes closed, chest gaping. "Medicine is my life."
***
Garrett should go. Jennifer didn't want children.
He had two.
Not that she'd said she'd stay. She'd said nothing could convince her to stay in
That included him.
He blew out a long breath.
He needed to go home.
He wanted to be a family with his boys. To see them laughing and smiling like the rambunctious four-year-olds they were.
That's where he should have been the past week. Not burning up the bed sheets with a woman who planned to leave and never look back.
"Garrett, this is crazy." Jennifer rolled on top of him, staring down. "You're acting as if you wanted more than an affair."
He did. Lots more. But what was the point in telling Jennifer? She'd made her views clear. He was someone to pass the time with while she was in
He'd find someone who'd be a good mother to his boys, a good wife to him, and he'd forget about the woman who set him on fire.
At least, he hoped he'd forget Jennifer. No way did he want to measure every woman to the standard she'd set.
It wasn't just sex.
He liked her. Really, really liked her. She made him smile, made him feel alive.
"Garrett?"
"I know you're leaving." He smiled up at her, knowing he should end things. Knowing he couldn't. "But we still have a few weeks before you go."
Chapter Ten
In preparation for her discharge the following day, Bridget had an appointment with the orthopedist and physical therapist, leaving Jennifer free. She was meeting Garret for lunch.
His SUV was parked in her mother's driveway when she pulled in.
"Hey you," he called, grinning.
"Hey yourself." She wanted to throw her arms around him and hold on tight, but they were in her mother's driveway in broad daylight. So she restrained herself.
As did Garrett.
Until the moment the front door closed.
He pushed her against the wood, kissing her hard. "I've missed you."
She refused to acknowledge that his words meant anything. "You saw me last night."
He didn't answer, just ran his hands beneath her blouse, cupping her breasts, grinding his hips against her. "Too damned long."
She laughed at his husky response, but her laughs quickly turned to moans as his fingers worked their magic.
"You like that?"
"You know I do." She wiggled, pressing against his straining fly. Wet heat dampened her panties. Panties she'd gone shopping for yesterday. She'd wanted something more tantalizing than her usual dull granny whites.
He tugged her shirt over her head, trailing kisses along the flesh he exposed. "You smell so sweet, like fresh-baked cookies."
His brows rose in appreciation of her silky black push-up bra that really did work miracles. When he revealed the high cut black triangles covering her femininity he smiled. God, he had a scrumptious smile.
"You're beautiful."
Had she said it or had he?
Their touches grew in fervor, each more heated. He thrust inside her, deep and possessive.
They clung to each other, determined to make the moment last, determined to hang on to the illusion of the past few weeks as long as possible.
Her fingers clung to him, clawing into his back, his neck, pulling him closer, closer still.
His lips claimed hers in a feral kiss, a kiss so potent she slipped over the edge.
"Jennifer," he cried, her response toppling him over with her. With a mighty series of thrusts, he came deep, dropped his head to her shoulder. "You're fantastic."
She brushed a kiss against his dark hair. "So are you."
He lifted his head, stared into her eyes, and grinned in that heart-stopping way he had. In a way that left her powerless to keep from grinning back.
So, goofy grin in place, she gazed at the man she was still connected to at the hips. The man she was connected to in ways that went way beyond physical.
They'd both known today would change everything since her mother was coming home tomorrow.
Of course they could always go to his place.
Except he'd never invited her.
Did he live in an apartment? A house? Did he live alone or with a roommate? Why didn't she know these things when she felt so in sync with him?
"Why haven't we gone to your place?"
Chapter Eleven
Oh hell. The time of reckoning had come. It wasn't as if Garrett hadn't prepared for this moment. He'd planned to tell her everything. Today.
Not with them barely inside the front door, his pants missing and his body spent inside her. But he had planned to tell her about the boys and to ask her to meet them. He'd even told his mother about Jennifer, admitted to having strong feelings for the lovely doctor. But she did funny things to his willpower, made him go a bit crazy. Plus, her new underwear had undone him. Literally.
"About that," he began.
Scooping up her clothes, she shook her head. When she bent to retrieve the scrap of black silk, desire punched him and he was right back to Horny 101 and eager to prove he could ace the class.
But he wanted more than just hot sex from Jennifer.
He wanted her heart.
She straightened, turned, caught sight of his quick rebound. She glanced away, but her unsteady breaths told him she'd liked what she'd seen, that his reaction turned her on.
"Never mind," she said, staring at a collage of school photos of herself. "I have no right to ask."
"You have every right."
Her clothing clutched protectively in front of her, she smiled derisively. "That's sweet of you to say."
Garrett touched her face, stroking his fingers across her smooth skin. "I'm not being sweet, Jennifer. You have every right to ask me anything. I want you to ask."
Her lips parted. Her eyes searched his.
"I don't want you to go back to
"You are," she denied, but her eyes told a different tale. She loved him.
As sure as he was of his feelings for her, he knew Jennifer felt the same.
How would she feel about his children, though?
Could she find a way to love his kids? To be the mother they needed?
If she couldn't, then what?
He lifted her fingers to his lips. "Then this fling doesn't plan to let you go without a fight, because he's fallen in love with you."
He'd meant to tell her about the boys before telling her how he felt. But Jennifer was in his heart alongside his boys. He wanted her in his life always.
As if on cue, his phone buzzed with the programmed ringtone from his home number. His mother or one of the boys. Not taking his gaze from Jennifer, Garrett grabbed his pants off the floor to retrieve his phone. "Hello."
***
Jennifer began slipping on her clothes.
How could a man look sexy while taking a phone call naked? There should be rules about that level of attractiveness.
Even as she thought it, she recognized that she was focusing on the physical to keep from dealing with the emotional.
Garrett wanted her to stay.
He'd said he loved her.
They had no future, weren't supposed to be anything beyond a fling.
A fling. His words about fighting for her struck a mushy spot in her heart. Part of her wanted to believe him, but hadn't Jeff once said the same thing? He'd promised undying love and to fight for her always. 'Til death do they part.
It had been Carrie's death that parted them.
Garrett might think he loved her. He might even love her enough to want a long term relationship. But eventually his instinct to procreate would kick in and he'd want children.
Children she couldn't give him. Then what?
"No, it's fine." His cell phone cradled between his ear and his shoulder, Garrett pulled his pants over his hips. He fished his shirt off the floor, dragged the material over his head. "Tell the boys I love them and will be home soon."
The boys? Who was he talking to?
He snapped his phone shut and gave Jennifer an apologetic look. "Sorry about that."
An apologetic look filled with guilt.
Oh God. Invisible hands gripped her throat. God, could she have been any more blind?
No wonder he never took her to his place.
Fully dressed, hands on hips, she confronted him. "Are you married?"
Her mother had said he was single. Jennifer had never asked, never considered her mother might have been wrong. Panic pounded in her heart.
"Married?" Confusion darkened his eyes. "Why would you think that?" He moved toward her, his gaze narrowed. "Do you think I'd be here if I was married?"
"It wouldn't be the first time a man's cheated on his wife." God, she felt dirty. Dirty and used. She'd wanted Garrett so much she'd refused to see he'd been hiding something. Now that the blinders had been lifted it was so obvious.
His lips tightened into a fine white line. "He really did a number on you, didn't he?"
"Who?"
"Your ex."
"We're not talking about Jeff."
"Maybe we should. He's why you left
"Jeff has nothing to do with this conversation." Her ex-husband hadn't been why she'd left. Memories of Carrie had been why she'd run. Memories of what a failure she'd been as a mother. "Who was on the phone?"
Chapter Twelve
Jennifer crossed her arms over her chest. Hurt mixed with betrayal glimmered in her eyes.
Garrett stepped toward her. She scampered back, maintaining distance between them. She didn't trust him. After all they'd shared, she thought he was married? That she meant no more than an extramarital affair? That he was the kind of man who would cheat on his wife?
Disgust washed up to the back of his throat. Could he have been that wrong?
"The call was from my mother."
"Your mother?"
"As far as your other question," he said shrugging, battling his hurt, "I'm divorced."
Her eyes widened. "You were married?"
"For five years."
"What happened?"
What happened? Good question and one he'd asked himself a thousand times prior to Emma's death. "She didn't like being a doctor's wife."
Jennifer's lower lip disappeared between her teeth.
"She died in an automobile accident earlier this year. Fortunately, the boys weren't with her."
"Boys?" She blinked. "As in your boys?"
Jennifer's shocked expression sucker-punched him.
"I should've told you." He sighed. "But, we started out as a fling, so our personal lives didn't seem to matter. When I realized how I felt about you, telling you about the boys had become complicated for the mere reason that I hadn't already told you."
"You have kids?" she repeated, looking pale, shocked and like she might pass out.
Great. This wasn't going as expected. Or maybe it was. She'd said she didn't want kids. He was telling her he had two. Just what had he expected? That she'd suddenly change her mind because they were talking about his kids?
This was why he hadn't told her. Because he'd known the moment he did, nothing would ever be the same. But God, he'd hoped their feelings for each other would be enough for her to give being a part of his life a chance.
"Two boys," he repeated, trying not to sound defensive. "Twins. Ethan and Ian. They're four."
Jennifer sank onto the sofa and dropped her head into her hands. Her entire body shook. She laughed, almost hysterically. "You're a father. Of twins."
Laughter? He'd expected her to be angry that he hadn't told her. Or angry that he wasn't the uber-sexy single guy he'd let on to be over the past few weeks.
"I'm a father," he admitted as if to reinforce the reality of who he was. No matter how much he loved Jennifer, if she couldn't accept his children, they had no future.
"I had planned on taking them to the space center this afternoon. Come with us," he said suddenly. "I want you to meet my children. They'll love you, Jennifer, and as full of energy as they are, I wouldn't trade them for the world. Give them a chance." He moved to stand in front of her. "Give us a chance."
Her laughter silenced, she glanced up, met his gaze. Tears ran down her cheeks.
Garrett's chest tightened around his heart, squeezing the flopping organ until he worried it might burst from the pressure.
"Don't cry." He knelt in front of her, wiped her tears. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the twins. Surely it's not that bad, my being a father. The boys are good kids. I can't imagine you not liking them once you've met them."
Chapter Thirteen
Jennifer eyed the miniature versions of Garrett and wanted to run far away. Equally, they eyed her as if she was the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
Although his smile stayed in place, Garrett's glances toward her weren't much better.
Did he expect her to stuff them into an oven and gobble them up like the wicked witch in some fairy tale?
She'd never hurt his children, or any child for that matter.
Not on purpose.
"Can we have some dots, Daddy?" Ian asked, tugging on his father's hand.
"Puh-leeze," Ethan added, his big green eyes beseeching his father to agree.
Jennifer knew right then and there that if Garrett said no, she'd buy the boys ice cream. And anything else they wanted. How could she not when they were so like their father whom she found totally irresistible?
Garrett had children.
Her mind reeled. Garrett had twin sons.
No matter how much she loved him or that he claimed to love her, she couldn't be a mother again. Every hateful word Jeff had thrown at her following Carrie's death came crashing back, washing over her in waves of torturous memories.
No, she couldn't deceive Garrett, couldn't pretend they had any hope of a future. Her mother would be home tomorrow. In a couple of weeks Jennifer would be back in
In a few million years she'd forget Garrett. Maybe.
Oh, who was she kidding? She'd never forget him.
She loved him.
Loving him didn't mean she could be a mother to his children. Not that Garrett had specifically asked, but wasn't that the direction they were moving towards?
"Sure, you can have dots," Garrett agreed, ruffling the boys' dark hair. "Maybe Jennifer wants some space ice cream, too. Should we ask?"
The boys glanced from their father to Jennifer, looking at her expectantly, as if it were a given that she'd want space ice cream, Grinch or not.
"I've never had space ice cream," she admitted. "Do I get to pick flavors?"
"Its chocolate covered dots," Ian explained with a very grown-up expression. "Space ice cream is dots."
"I won't go shooting into outer space, will I?"
Shaking his head, Ethan giggled. "No, silly. Astro-nots eat them." His expression changed to uncertainty, as if he were considering the possibility. "Just in case, maybe you should hold my hand."
Before Jennifer could stop him, Ethan slipped his hand into hers.
***
"You're sure you don't need to go?" Garrett asked Ian for the third time.
The little boy shook his head, clasping on to Jennifer's hand. Since Ethan had broken the ice, the boys had clamored for her attention. "I'll wait with Jennifer."
Panic gurgled up Jennifer's throat. She didn't want to be left alone with the little boy.
What if something happened?
Garrett frowned, looking confused by her frantic head-shaking. "Ian, you should go."
"I don't have to go, Daddy."
"I do." Ethan wiggled back and forth, his legs squeezed together dramatically. "I can't hold it."
Garrett looked torn. In the end, Ethan's urgency won out. He rushed his son to the bathroom.
Oh God. Garrett had left her alone with his son. She had no business being responsible for a child. Her own daughter died because she wasn't a good mother.
"Are you my daddy's girlfriend?" Ian looked at Jennifer with eyes the exact shade of Garrett's, with the same thick black lashes.
"I'm your Dad's friend and I'm a girl," she hedged, not sure what she was to Garrett. He'd said he loved her. She wasn't over the fact that he'd not told her about the boys, but she could forgive him, could even understand. Sort of.
That didn't mean she could deal with this. The moment he told her she should have ended things. Why hadn't she? If she had she wouldn't be alone with a four-year-old.
"My daddy has lots of girlfriends."
Lots of girlfriends. Jennifer didn't say anything. Oblivious to how his words wrenched her heart, Ian went on. "Mommy said that's why Daddy didn't live with us anymore."
"Because he had lots of girlfriends?" Was it wrong to question a child about his father? It must be, with the amount of guilt filling her stomach.
Then again, didn't she already know she was the wrong person to be left alone with a child?
Ian nodded, his legs swinging back and forth. "My mommy is in heaven. 'Cause she's an angel." The little boy's gaze went to the rocket towering above them. "I bet that rocket ship could take us to see her."
Jennifer didn't know what to say. Her mind was racing in a thousand directions at the boy's revelation about Garrett's 'girlfriends'. Her heart was breaking at the loss in Ian's eyes. He'd loved his mother very much.
Despite her misgiving about being alone with him, she couldn't help herself. She hugged him to her. "I'm sorry about your mommy, Ian. I wish that rocket ship could take us to heaven."
"To see my mommy?"
"And to see Carrie," she whispered, feeling hot tears trail down her cheeks.
"Who's Carrie?"
"My little girl."
"She's in heaven with my Mommy?"
Eyes watering, Jennifer nodded.
Ian gave her a quizzical look, then patted her hand. "It's okay. I bet my Mommy is watching her the way you're watching me."
Chapter Fourteen
Jennifer stood in the doorway watching Garrett tuck his children into bed. Ian asked a question each time Garrett started to rise. In the top bunk, Ethan's eyes had already closed.
After fielding a few dozen questions about everything from where the moon came from to how yo-yos worked, Garrett kissed the boy's cheek. He turned off the overhead light, leaving only a night-light to illuminate the room.
Wordlessly, they made their way to the living room.
"I should go."
He shook his head. "Don't."
"I can't stay."
"Because of the kids?"
She swallowed. She had to tell him. Before they got any closer, before he got ideas about her and his children. She couldn't do that to his children, to him.
"With Mom coming home from the rehab center tomorrow, I don't think we should see each other anymore. Our avoiding each other shouldn't be a problem."
"I don't want to avoid you, Jennifer. I want to share my life with you."
"That's not going to happen."
"Because of the boys?"
She nodded. "Perhaps if you didn't have children we could have worked, but—" her voice broke. "I can't do this."
She turned, determined to leave before she completely broke down.
She'd barely taken two steps when Garrett spun her toward him. "That's it? You don't want kids, I have two, and so you just shut off the way you feel about me?"
She couldn't meet his gaze.
"Answer me, damn it! You care so little about me that you'd walk away rather than attempt to know my boys?"
It was because she cared that she pulled loose and rushed out of his house.
Chapter Fifteen
A week later, Jennifer's mother was home and growing bored with her confinement. She'd invited neighbors over for a Saturday barbecue. With all the hinting she'd done, Jennifer should have known she'd invite Garrett too.
Jennifer stared out the back window at where he stood, talking with her mother. His sons ran around in the back yard playing with the neighbor's chocolate lab.
That settled it. If her mother was well enough to play matchmaker, she was well enough for Jennifer to go home.
Only the thought of returning to
She loved her job in
But leaving
The back door opened. Garrett walked in. "Your mother sent me to fetch a glass of iced tea."
Right. Her mother was playing matchmaker. Again.
"I'll take her one." Jennifer took a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with ice.
Garrett leaned against the counter. "I miss you."
Jennifer didn't respond. For the past week she'd kept a smile pasted on her face for her mother's benefit, but alone in her old room, tears swamped her heart. Tears over Garrett, over Carrie, over her lack of parenting skills. If only…
"The boys liked you. They've asked about you and were excited to see you today."
"They barely know me."
"Something I wanted to remedy, but you shut me out."
"I don't do children, Garrett."
"Damn it, Jennifer, I know you love me. I see it in your eyes even now. Do you hate children that much?"
A sob broke free from her lips.
"I don't hate children. You're boys are wonderful, but…" How did one explain that she'd failed as a mother, that she didn't want to risk hurting another child?
"They've not had an easy go since Emma died. I want to fight to keep you in my life, but I have this overwhelming need to protect them too."
"You think they need protection from me?" She reeled from his words. Words that sounded so reminiscent of something Jeff might have said. It's your fault Carrie died. If you'd been a better mother. If you'd been home more often. If you'd not been so focused on medicine.
"No, that would be me."
Jennifer blinked back tears. "You need protection from me?"
"Oh, yes, because my heart is exposed to whatever fate you place upon it." Groaning in frustration, he pulled her to him. "I love you, Jennifer. I know I'm a package deal when you weren't even in the market for a deal at all, but don't shut me and the boys out of your life. Not without giving us a chance."
She gulped. "A chance at what?"
"To see if what we have can last a lifetime."
Emotion welled inside her, threatening to explode.
"Garrett, I can't have children," she blurted out. "You should know that before you say anything further."
Disappointment shone on his face just as she'd known it would. Hadn't Jeff told her she wasn't even a real woman anymore?
"Your career means that much to you?"
"You don't understand," she clarified, deep-seated pain and insecurities bubbling to the surface. "I can't physically have any more children."
Chapter Sixteen
"I don't care if you can't have children, Jennifer. I love you," Garrett assured.
Jennifer's words sunk in. Any more. Bridget had never mentioned grandchildren.
"You have children?"
Her eyes closed. "I had a daughter."
Again, her word choice struck him. "Had?"
"She died. When she was two."
"Oh, honey." Garrett wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close to him. "I'm sorry."
"It's my fault she died."
"How did she die?"
"She drowned," she whispered, shriveling against him as if she wanted to curl up into a tight ball.
Garrett couldn't imagine what she was going through, couldn't imagine the pain of losing a child, much less if her death had somehow been Jennifer's fault.
Garrett held her, letting her cry.
Ethan burst into the kitchen, coming to a halt. "Daddy, what's wrong with Jennifer?"
Jennifer swiped at her eyes, smiling weakly at his son when she'd semi-composed herself. "I'm fine. What's up?"
"Ian wants to know if we can jump on Benji's trampoline."
"Who's Benji?"
"My mother's neighbor," Jennifer answered. "The redheaded kid they've been playing with. He lives next door."
Garrett considered his son's pleading face. "Ian wants to know, huh?"
Ethan grinned. "Me too, Daddy. We'll be super careful and only jump in the middle."
"Fine." Garrett grabbed Jennifer's hand. "Come on. We'll take the tea to your mom and watch the boys."
They sat on Benji's back porch steps, silently watching the three boys jump and giggle.
Garrett's cellular phone buzzed. Sighing, he flipped it open. "Hello. Uh-huh. I'll be there as quick as I can."
He turned to Jennifer.
She smiled softly, not needing an explanation. "I understand."
"Can I come back later tonight?"
"I—" she hesitated. "If you want to."
He wanted to kiss her, but her mother and guests could see them. Instead, he told her with his eyes everything that was in his heart, hoping she'd understand.
"I want to," he assured her, then called to the boys: "Come on, guys. We've got to go. Quick."
The boys moaned, begging to stay.
"I've got to get to the hospital. STAT. Get your shoes on."
Grumbling, the boys climbed off the trampoline.
Ian glanced toward Jennifer. "She can watch us."
"Jennifer doesn't want to watch two mischievous little boys. Get your shoes on."
"It's okay, Daddy. Mommy watches Jennifer's girl in heaven and Jennifer watches us." Ian lifted trusting eyes to Jennifer. "Isn't that right?"
Chapter Seventeen
Jennifer didn't know what to say. What could she say?
Garrett stared at her in confusion. The boys stared at her in expectation. Her heart pounded at the sheer terror at being made responsible for Garrett's children.
But did Garrett trust her with his children? After all, she'd told him about Carrie.
As if he sensed her thoughts, Garrett took her hand. "I'll let them stay, Jennifer, if that's what you want, but you don't have to say yes. They can go with me and wait in the doctor's lounge. We have the routine down pat."
"Please," Ethan pleaded. "We'll be good. We promise."
No matter how much she wanted to say no, she didn't have the heart to do it.
"They can stay."
The boys cheered, high-fiving each other.
Garrett squeezed her hand. "You're sure?"
Not really, but she nodded. "Hurry back."
Leaning in, Garrett pecked her on the cheek. "Thank you. I'll be as quick as I can. Call me if you need me." He turned to the boys. "I expect your best behavior."
"Yes sir," they said in unison, grinning at each other.
Jennifer sat on the porch steps, watching as Ian, Ethan and Benji hopped around until they fell back in giggles to stare up at the sky.
"Will you jump with us, Jennifer?" Ian called.
The last thing Jennifer planned was to jump on the trampoline, but she climbed up and crawled over to where the boys laid.
"I'm not much of a jumper, Ian," she told him.
"That's okay. Sit there. We'll jump and make you bounce."
Nodding in agreement, the boys began to jump. Higher and higher. Keeping her legs crossed Indian-style, Jennifer bounced from the aftershocks.
The boys' giggles lightened her heart and she soon found herself laughing along with them, feeling lighter than she had in years.
Until Ian landed at an odd angle, falling onto Jennifer. She grabbed hold, steadying him, but Benji and Ethan both lost balance at the change of bounce dynamics.
Benji fell forward, smacking into Jennifer's shoulder, throwing her back. Ethan landed on Ian, mouth smashing into head.
Eyes round, Ethan sat up, blood covering his face.
Chapter Eighteen
Oh God.
What had she done? She'd known better than to watch Garrett's children.
Reeling from the pain shooting through her shoulder, she did a quick assessment. Other than turning pale at the sight of blood, Benji seemed fine. Ian, however, took one look at his bloody twin and burst into tears.
Trying to be brave, Ethan patted his brother's arm, his hand leaving crimson stains. "I'm okay," he assured, blood sputtering from his nose and mouth.
"Ethan, sweetheart, let me check you."
Definitely a bloody nose and busted lip. Any damage beyond that was obscured by blood.
"We need to get ice. Pinch your nose."
Unconcerned about her shoes, Jennifer lifted Ethan off the trampoline and ran toward her mother's kitchen. "Put your shoes on and follow me," she called to the other two boys.
"Good Lord, what happened?" her mother called from where she sat in a lawn chair next to her remaining guests.
"He bumped his head."
Rushing the boy inside, she set him on the counter, grabbed a clean dishtowel and soaked it in cold water. "Here. Pinch your nose with this while I get an ice pack."
Ethan covered his face with the cloth. Ian and Benji rushed into the kitchen. "Is he okay?"
Jennifer placed the ice inside a clean cloth, then took the bloodsoaked one from Ethan. "Hold this to your lip while I check your nose."
Jennifer examined the boy's nose. It wasn't broken. Thank God. Still, blood poured from both nostrils. She pinched the nares together, hoping the pressure would stop the bleeding while she checked his lip.
Ethan's upper lip was huge and split. His lower lip was swollen. But his bleeding upper gums concerned her most.
And the missing tooth.
"His tooth is gone!" Ian exclaimed from where he watched.
Wide-eyed, Ethan poked his tongue into the vacant spot. "Cool," he said, his voice slurring.
Not cool, Jennifer thought, but was grateful Ethan wasn't panicking. Unlike her.
She called Garrett to tell him what had happened. That she'd let his son get hurt.
"I'll be right there," he promised.
And he was—Garrett burst into the kitchen.
"Ethan lost a tooth, Daddy!" Ian exclaimed, wanting to be the first to tell his father, what he considered, the exciting news.
In the ten minutes it had taken Garrett to get there, Jennifer had packed Ethan's nose and the bleeding had stopped. His lips had stopped as well thanks to the constant ice.
The little boy looked horrible. His face swollen, busted and bloody. His clothes blood-stained.
"I'm sorry." The reality of everything that had happened hit Jennifer, overwhelmed her.
Knowing that Garrett was there to take care of his children, she ran from the kitchen, locking herself in her bedroom.
Chapter Nineteen
Garrett hated using the television as a babysitter, but he had to talk to Jennifer. Alone.
With her company gone, Bridget was ensconced in her lift chair and he left the boys watching cartoons.
"Jennifer?" He knocked on her door, but got no answer. Reaching above the door-facing, he retrieved the key Bridget had told him he'd find.
He opened the door, startled to see a swollen-faced Jennifer sitting on the bed, staring at photos.
"Jennifer?"
She didn't look up. He sat beside her on the bed and stared at the pictures.
Clearly the child was Jennifer's. Same dark eyes. Same dark hair.
"That's Carrie?"
"My mother told you?"
"A few minutes ago."
"I let her die."
Garrett wrapped his arms around her. "That's not what your mother said."
"She wasn't there. She doesn't know."
"You weren't there, Jennifer."
"I should have been. Jeff was right. I should have been with our daughter. If I'd been there, she wouldn't have died."
"Her death was an accident. Not because of your negligence, but because of your ex-husband's. He was there, Jennifer, supposedly watching her while you were at work. If anyone is to blame, it's him."
"I wasn't a fit parent. I'd suffered postpartum depression after she was born and…" Fresh tears ran down her cheeks. "I didn't treasure her every day like I should have."
He hated her pain, wished he could take it away, but hated the jerk who'd planted these doubts in her mind even more.
"Look at this photo." He picked up a picture of a smiling Jennifer with her arms wrapped around the laughing little girl. "Your love is obvious."
"Don't you see? Love wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to save Carrie. It isn't enough to justify putting your boys in my care. I'm not mother material."
"There's no one else I'd trust more with my children," he said softly, knowing his words were true. "There's no one else I'd share them with, Jennifer. Just you."
"You can say that after what I did?"
He stared at her, wondering what her nut job of an ex-husband had said to her. Bridget had told him Jeff blamed Jennifer and, in her grief, Jennifer had accepted that blame and never forgiven herself.
"After what you did? Jennifer, you took charge, packed Ethan's nose to stop the bleeding and kept ice on his lips and gums. What more could anyone have done?"
She looked at him in confusion. "I shouldn't have let him get hurt. Jeff told me I shouldn't ever be left alone with kids. He was right. Look what happens."
"You can't predict the future. Nor can you stop kids from being kids. No matter how closely we watch our children, accidents happen."
"Ethan is hurt because of me." She winced, almost as if in fear of being hit. "Aren't you mad?"
If he ever had the displeasure of meeting her ex, he'd slug the bastard.
"Mad?" He stroked her cheek. "You deserve a medal for getting his bleeding to stop so quickly."
She burst into fresh tears. Garrett held her, letting her sob against his chest, not knowing how to ease the pain inside her, knowing her ex had a lot to answer for.
Garrett caressed her hair, kissed her and told her how much he loved her, how much he trusted her with his children, with his heart.
Chapter Twenty
Jennifer sat up, collecting her emotions and hating that she'd slobbered all over Garrett. He must think her such a fool.
"Carrie's death is what split you and Jeff?" he asked, softly.
"For a long time, I thought so." She'd blamed herself for the demise of her marriage. "If our marriage had been what it should have been, if we'd loved each other, Carrie's death wouldn't have driven us apart."
"What happened after she died?"
"He told me it was my fault she'd died, that I was too busy being a doctor to take care of my own child and husband. He got another woman pregnant and divorced me to marry her."
Her pain was palpable, filling the room and his heart.
"He was a jerk. Do you hear me? Your ex was a fool." Just like Garrett had been a fool in many ways. "I had this idea of what the perfect woman for me was going to be like. I was looking for a cross between Martha Stewart and Mary Poppins."
"I can't cook and never could say that Supercalifracha word."
"There's always take-out," he said, grinning. "There are two little boys downstairs who need a mother."
"Is that why you're here? Because your boys need a mother? I failed my own daughter, Garrett. You don't want me mothering your children."
"No, the boys aren't why I'm with you." He laced his fingers with hers. "I'm with you because I need you, Jennifer. I can't imagine my life without you in it."
Jennifer stared at him in disbelief. When his gaze didn't waver, her mouth dropped. "You're serious."
"I love you, Jennifer. I want you to be in my life and in the boys' life. Always." Garrett knelt on the floor, took her hand in his. "What I want is to marry you and spend every day of my life loving you."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure." Her career was important to her. He understood that. "If moving back to
"You'd do that?"
He shrugged. "The boys would miss their grandmother, but they'd like living near the beach. We'd make it work."
"But—"
"But nothing. I want to be with you. I'll do whatever it takes for that to happen."
"You love me that much?"
"I do."
"Me, too." A smile spread across Jennifer's face. "Garrett, you're sure you're not doing this just to give the boys a mother?"
"I'm positive. For a short while I told myself I shouldn't be doing this because the boys deserved a mother who wasn't so dedicated to a career. Now I know that what they deserve is parents who love each other and them as well."
"They've been through so much," she mused. "With losing their mother." Ian's words from earlier in the day hit her. "Did you cheat on your wife?"
"I never cheated on Emma, although she considered medicine my mistress." He sighed. "We married because she was pregnant. I thought we could make it work. I was wrong. She never forgave me for loving medicine more than her, but I don't regret the choices we made because God gave us two beautiful sons."
Jennifer digested what he said, knew he was telling her the truth. "We'd have to take things slow, Garrett. Give the boys time to get to know me, to make sure our being together is what's right for them."
"I'm not sure how slow I can go when you're involved. I want to wake up next you, to sleep holding you."
"My mother would be ecstatic if I moved back to
"She would." He waited, giving her the opportunity to expound.
"The boys shouldn't be uprooted. They've had enough changes. Leaving their grandmother and their home shouldn't be thrown in."
Garrett smiled. Already Jennifer was putting the boys before her own life. Like a mother did. Did she even realize that's what she was doing?
Jennifer's gaze met his. "I love you, Garrett. With all my heart. If you still want to marry me after we've given the boys time, my answer is yes."
"Yes, you'll be my wife?"
She closed her eyes. "I won't be able to give you more children."
Garrett cupped her cheek. "Jennifer, even if we didn't have the boys, I'd still want to spend my life with you. Never doubt that."
Staring into his eyes, seeing the love shining there, Jennifer's heart blossomed. Garrett loved her. Deep down real last a lifetime loved her.
The End