Harlequin Special Edition November 2014 - Box Set 2 of 2: The Maverick's Thanksgiving Baby\A Celebration Christmas\Dr. Daddy's Perfect Christmas (32 page)

“You did the right thing. How high is her fever?”

Lily told him and Cullen gave her instructions and said he would be home as soon as he could.

“I'm so sorry to ruin your night. You really don't have to come home now. I'm sure she'll be fine.”

“It's okay. We were just wrapping things up anyway.”

He took care of the check before he returned to the table, wanting to avoid an awkward struggle over Brenda's insistence on splitting the bill.

Once he got back to the table, he said, “I'm so sorry to do this, but I have to go. That was Lily, and one of the girls is sick. I really should go and check in on her.”

Something flashed in Brenda's eyes.

“Since we'll virtually pass your house on the way to my hotel, why don't I go with you and look in on the child? After all, I am a pediatrician. Usually I don't make house calls, but for you I'll make an exception.”

Chapter Eleven

L
ily was surprised that Cullen had been so eager to come home. She had warred with herself over whether to call but finally gave in to good sense.

This was about Bridget, not about them. Her concern was for the girl. If he wanted to take it upon himself to come home, that was his decision.

As she sat in the chair next to Bridget's bed, she refused to let herself be nervous about seeing him. She also refused to let her mind wander over the reasons that he might have been willing to cut this date short. Sure, she had told him she needed to leave by ten o'clock, but she hadn't expected him to sound eager to be home early.

When she heard footsteps in the hallway she decided to stay seated.

Bridget was dozing, the ibuprofen finally kicking in, and the children were in the family room watching television. George and Hannah hadn't balked when Lily put Megan in charge. Of course, the big bowl of popcorn and the movie of their choice put them in a cooperative mood, but they'd also been subdued by the fact that their sister was under the weather.

After they'd lost their parents, it had to be scary when anything was wrong with one of the four of them. How Lily wished she could promise them with 100 percent certainty that everything from this point out would be okay. But she couldn't read the future. It broke her heart, but she had no idea where the sweet kids would end up after the first of the year. The only thing she could do now was to be there for them and give them the best Christmas they could hope for.

When Cullen entered the room, Lily was ready to apologize again for taking him away from his dinner, but then she realized he wasn't alone.

Her heart plummeted when she saw the beautiful woman at his side. She knew it was Brenda before the woman introduced yourself.

“You must be Lily. I've heard so much about you.”

Maybe Lily was imagining it, but Brenda's smile didn't seem completely sincere. It made Lily wonder—had they been talking about her?

Reruns of yesterday's conversation with Cullen played through her head. While she didn't think he was the type to talk badly about someone, she couldn't help worrying about what he might have told Brenda. Still, since she didn't have any control over that, she couldn't let herself focus on it.

If she tallied up all of her inadequacies—because Josh had given her a laundry list of every single one of her shortcomings when he broke up with her and they were still very fresh in her mind—she could very well let them get the best of her.

She wasn't going to do that. So what if Brenda was intimidatingly beautiful and a doctor to boot? Lily was who she was and she wasn't going to make any apologies for that.

“You must be Brenda.” Lily mustered her most genuine smile. “It's so nice to meet you.”

“Brenda is a pediatrician,” Cullen said. “She's going to look in on Bridget.”

“That's wonderful of you,” she said. Although, she hated for her to wake up Bridget. There was no telling how long it would take the girl to get back to sleep. But Brenda was the pediatrician. She knew what was best. With a heavy heart for the sick girl and, yes, she had to admit, a little for herself, too, Lily knew it would be best to say good-night.

“Now that I know Bridget's in good hands, I'll say good-night and go home. Cullen, why don't I take Megan, George and Hannah home with me? You'll have your hands full with Bridget tonight.”

And if Dr. Perfect decided to stay the night—to look in on the sick girl, of course—it would definitely be a full house with all of them there. Lily just hoped to God that the woman was gone before she dropped the kids off in the morning.

Or would she be dropping them off in the morning? Things had been so hectic and strange that she and Cullen hadn't even had a chance to discuss the weekend schedule. Maybe he was expecting her to take the kids to the holiday market. She planned on being there to help out anyway. She might as well take the kids directly there.

Great. And leave the day wide-open with the two to rekindle the romance. Of course, someone would need to stay with the sick girl—

“I can't ask you to do that,” he said. “You've already had a long day.”

Brenda threw them a look over her shoulder as she was checking Bridget's vitals.

“Let's go out in the hall so that we don't disturb Brenda,” Lily suggested.

Cullen shut the bedroom door behind him and the two of them were alone in the hall. Lily could hear the faint sound of the movie the kids were watching. One of the girls, probably Hannah, giggled at something funny. Lily wished she were down there with them. Actually she wished she were any place other than where she was right now—standing face-to-face with this man who had broken her heart.

“You seem upset,” Cullen said.

Well, yes...

“I'm just worried about Bridget. Like you said, it's been a long day.”

“Please stay,” he said. His face looked anguished.

Lily blinked. Just a moment ago he had been acknowledging how tired she must be. Now he was asking her to stay?

Her chest felt tight and her words were having a hard time getting past the lump in her throat. Oh, dear God, please let her keep her composure. The last thing she needed to do right now was lose it in front of this man who had made her place in his life perfectly clear yesterday. What made it even worse was that his ex-wife was in the next room.

No. Just no.

He'd set his boundaries yesterday. Tonight she would set hers.

“Cullen, I'm happy for the kids to come home with me, but I need to leave. I'm going to go tell them to get their stuff ready. Maybe Brenda will stay and help you with Bridget.”

She turned toward the stairs.

“She's going to be leaving in a few minutes. Please stay.... I need you.”

Lily paused at the top of the stairs. She turned and looked at him. The way he was looking at her made her want to believe he really did
need
her. But she had to keep it in context. He had made himself perfectly clear yesterday.

Still, she couldn't stop herself from saying, “Don't. Cullen, please. Don't.”

“I made a mistake yesterday.”

Oh, no. She felt the tears welling in her eyes. She reached up to swipe them away before they could take on a life of their own. “How was your date?”

“Let's just say that it was a dinner between old friends.”

Lily gave him a look.

“That's all we are. All she and I will ever be.”

A hiccuping sob escaped Lily as a tear crested and rolled down her cheek. Cullen reached up and brushed it away.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I'm so sorry.”

Brenda cleared her throat. She was standing in the hallway watching them. “Well, it appears to be a virus. She should be fine in a day or so. I think my work here is done. I guess I'll go wash my hands.”

* * *

“Brenda, please let me drive you back to your hotel,” Cullen said as he and his ex-wife stood face-to-face in the upstairs hall. Before Brenda had emerged from the bathroom after washing her hands, Lily had excused herself to go downstairs with the other three kids. Bridget was sound asleep and they were both visibly relieved that her prognosis was good.

“Don't be ridiculous.” Her voice was eerily calm. “I've already called a cab. It should be here any minute. But please do come wait with me outside until it arrives.”

It was the least he could do. He wasn't going to let her stand out there alone or awkwardly in the foyer waiting for her ride.

She buttoned up her coat and twisted her scarf into place. Cullen shrugged into his jacket and they stepped into the cold night air.

They stood a respectable distance apart and were silent for a moment. He could virtually hear the wheels turning in her mind.

“Lily is a beautiful woman. She seems to genuinely care for the children.”

“She's a second-grade teacher. She's great with kids. I was lucky to find her.”

Brenda made a skeptical noise, half laugh, half derision.

“To care for the children, I mean,” he clarified.

Brenda sighed and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “Some women are cut out for motherhood. I'm not. That's just how I'm wired. I can deal with sick children, but I'm always happy to give them back to the parents.”

Cullen shoved his hands deeper into his coat pockets. It was so cold he wouldn't be surprised if it snowed tonight. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure. Ask me anything.”

There was a note of resignation in her voice, as if she were willing to play along but didn't expect much.

“Why did you become a pediatrician if you're not fond of children? Never could figure that out about you.”

She snorted. “One of the many mysteries of me. Let me say this—I don't think it's strange that you don't necessarily want to live with your patients.”

“Touché.”

The cab pulled into the driveway. Brenda paused before she got into the car. “You know she's in love with you. It's written all over her face. I think you're in love with her, too. Am I right?”

“Good night, Brenda,” he said.

She laughed again, though it sounded humorless. “Goodbye, Cullen.”

He stood there for a moment watching the cab's taillights grow smaller as it carried her away. As the car disappeared into the night, he felt a weight that he hadn't even realized he'd been carrying vanish with it.

When he got back inside, Lily was in the kitchen finishing up what he guessed were the dinner dishes.

“It's late,” he said. “Don't worry about those.”

“I only have a few more left to do. It's not a problem, really. I got the kids to bed while you were outside.”

He walked over and turned off the water she had running in the sink to rinse the dishes. She looked up at him, a startled expression on her beautiful face.

He looked at her, searched every inch of her face, needing to verify what Brenda saw. He needed to see it for himself, because he knew what he was feeling. He was in love with Lily Palmer, despite how he'd tried to drive her away, hoping that she would take the strange feeling that had been growing in him with her when she went.

His whole life, everybody he'd ever loved had left him. His dad had never wanted to stick around; his mother had died; Brenda had left him—had left their marriage—and when she left she had taken all his feelings, his entire capacity to love, with her. In a strange way, it was as if she returned everything she had taken.

Now, if he hadn't already blown it, he knew exactly who owned his heart. “Will you forgive an idiot?”

She looked at him as if he were crazy. And he was. Crazy for her. Crazy for letting her go. “Can you be more specific?”

“Let's just say it took dinner with my ex-wife to help me realize exactly what I was losing.”

Lily blanched.

For the love of God, could he make this sound any worse?

“Brenda came back to Celebration with her mind set on us reconciling. But we both realized tonight that my heart isn't available.”

Lily frowned at him. He could see her wall going up again, as she opened her mouth to say something.

“It's not available to her because it belongs to you. If you'll have it. Please tell me you will. Or feel free to tell me I'm a fool. And you can walk away. I wouldn't blame you if you did. Yesterday, forgetting George brought up some personal issues that I'll have to tell you about sometime. It triggered some bad memories. That, mixed with Brenda's surprise appearance and realizing that I'm in love with you. I just— I didn't handle it very well.”

Her hand flew to her mouth, and she watched the carefully erected wall she'd built around herself fall, brick by brick.

* * *

The next thing Lily knew, she was in his arms and his lips were on hers. It started as a featherlight kiss and it made her heart pound and her brain fog as reason flew out the window.

It began easy and slow—a brush of lips and hints of tongue, testing the waters. So she slid her arms around his neck, her hands into his hair, and opened her mouth, inviting him in.

Cullen's hands were on her back, and his mouth was on her lips, and all her girl parts sang,
Oooh, yes, please,
as every sense was heightened by his touch.

He deepened the kiss a few layers. Her whirling mind registered her pounding heart and the velvet feel of his lips on hers—skilled lips, capable hands... Losing herself in that kiss, in him, she enjoyed how he made her feel...so alive and...wanton...craving his touch...his lips on her temple, her earlobe, her neck—

The feel of him teased her senses, making her feel hot and sexy and just a little bit reckless—

She pulled back, gasping for air, more than a little bit disoriented. Fearing she was going to wake up from this lovely dream to find herself cold and alone—or worse yet, that they would look over and discover that they had an audience of four, or three, since sweet Bridget was sick. But even if one child caught them—

“Cullen, I'm there. I'm so there,” she said, but she hesitated. She wasn't going to put up with this back-and-forth nonsense. “But maybe we need to talk about exactly where it is we're going. You can see that it takes every ounce of everything I have to resist you.”

A low moan escaped his throat and he looked at her as if he didn't plan on giving her any help in the abstinence department.

And that was fine. She didn't want
abstinence,
but she did want to make sure they wanted the same things and went about them the right way.

“I can't stay with you tonight,” she said. “Not with the kids in the house. How would we explain that? It would be too confusing, and God knows they don't need any more confusion in their lives.”

He nodded. “You're right. You're absolutely right.”

She held up her hand, trying to ignore the way her lips felt swollen and wanting and her intimate parts were ready to mutiny and say to hell with propriety. So she bit down on her bottom lip to help her think straight. “I need to know that what happened yesterday isn't going to happen again—”