Triplets for The Millionaire : A Secret Baby Romance (Doctors of Denver Book 4)

by K. C. Crowne

  I parked in the small lot next to the clinic and stepped out into the cold, pulling my coat tight against the chill wind. Seconds later I was in the lobby of the clinic, the place abuzz with activity. However, there was no one at the front desk.

  “Shit,” I hissed under my breath. The reason no one was at the front was simple – we relied on volunteers to run this place. Volunteers had their own lives that took priority over putting in pro-bono time at a clinic in the bad part of town.

  A dozen or so people were in the waiting room, all of them noticing my white doctor’s coat under my jacket and looking to me with expectant eyes. Before any of them could say a word to me, the door leading to the back rooms opened. The man who appeared was a familiar face – Dr. Ryan Anderson. He looked as good as ever, tall and handsome and clean-cut, not a hair out of place.

  “Alright,” he said, glancing down at a tablet in his hands. “Mr. Gutierrez?”

  On the far side of the room a man stood up, an adorable little girl with dark hair and pig tails and a Dora the Explorer T-shirt on her tiny frame. The father said something to the girl, who nodded, followed by a dry, hacking cough. The sight of the sick little girl was enough to break my heart. But as they headed toward Dr. Anderson, relief took hold knowing she was going to get the care she needed.

  Ryan led them through the door, leaning over and saying something to the girl that made her laugh. Then he put his hand on her shoulder and pointed down the hall. The father shook Ryan’s hand, and the pair headed down to whatever doctor they had an appointment with.

  “Didn’t know receptionist work was part of being an OB/GYN,” I teased as I approached him.

  He chuckled wryly before glancing down at the tablet. “Tara called thirty minutes before open today, said her five-year-old wasn’t feeling well. I happened to be in the area, which means…”

  “You got pressed into desk duty.”

  “Hey, it needs to get done.”

  Ryan was a good guy through and through. I’d met more than my share of arrogant doctors over the years, men and women who would’ve scoffed at the mere suggestion of doing reception work. Not Ryan, he, like the other doctors who volunteered at the clinic, did what needed to be done to make the place work.

  “I appreciate it.”

  “Think nothing of it,” he said. “And it’s good you’re here – I’ve cleared your morning to meet with the investor.”

  “Investor? As in singular?”

  He nodded. “The others needed to reschedule, but one of them still wanted to come in.”

  Please don’t be Patrick, please don’t be Patrick.

  The door behind me opened with a chime. I turned to see none other than the man himself. And he was all smiles. He strode into the place, his camera messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He wore a slate gray suit with a blue tie, his shoes snazzy-looking ink-black loafers. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of Wayfarers.

  Of course, he had to look good as hell.

  “Gooood mornin’,” he said as he stepped into the lobby.

  “Mr. O’Conner,” Ryan greeted him with a smile. “Good to see you again.”

  I was momentarily stuck between two extremely good-looking men with panty-dropping accents.

  “Likewise, Dr. Anderson. And please – just Patrick.”

  I wasn’t prepared in the slightest for what he did next. Instead of shaking my hand, or even just greeting me, Patrick leaned close and planted a kiss on my cheek. And not a polite kiss, either. This kiss was one you’d give your girlfriend after not seeing her all day.

  I was stunned, my eyes widening, my body frozen in place. And judging by the look on Ryan’s face, he felt the same way.

  “Good to see you, love,” Patrick said, keeping the too-casual attitude going. “Pleased as hell to know you’ll be my guide today.”

  I didn’t know what to say. Ryan, thankfully, cleared his throat and spoke up. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.” Before I had a chance to respond, Ryan turned his attention to his tablet and called out another name.

  “Ready to do this?” Patrick asked, his eyebrows flicked up expectantly.

  I was furious. So furious, in fact, that it took all the restraint I had to not chew him out right there in the middle of the waiting room. “Come with me.”

  “You got it.”

  I grabbed his hand and led him through the waiting room door. A few other doctors were in the halls, but I was so mad I couldn’t even say hello to them. We reached one of the exam rooms, and I pulled him inside, shutting the door behind us.

  “We startin’ the tour here?” he asked, looking around the small room. “I mean, sure. Guess it’s got to start somewhere.”

  I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep, slow breath. When I was calmer, I spoke. “What…the fuck was that?” I jutted my thumb in the direction of the waiting room, my words carrying tightly controlled anger.

  “Huh?” he asked. “What’re you talkin’ about?”

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about,” I hissed. “Patrick, you kissed me in front of my patients and one of my colleagues. What were you thinking?”

  He shrugged, clearly not bothered in the slightest. If anything, he seemed confused. “I was thinking you’d enjoy it. I mean, we’re seeing each other, yes?”

  Now I was the one who was confused. I sat back on the examination table, trying to wrap my head around what was happening. “You think we’re dating? You can’t be serious. Patrick, I haven’t responded to any of your calls or texts since Sunday.”

  Another shrug. “That’s fine. You need some time, then take some time. But we’ve already seen one another naked and been on two dates, so that’s more than enough to say we’re dating, don’t you think?”

  “But two dates is only two dates. And sleeping together…that only has as much seriousness as you decide it does.”

  “Let me ask you this – when’s the last time you’ve been on more than one date with a man over the last few years? Not countin’ your ex.”

  I opened my mouth, ready to give a confident and clear answer. But try as I might, I couldn’t think of a single guy I’d been on more than one date with. And I didn’t even want to think about how long it had been since I’d slept with one.

  “It’s been a while. But that doesn’t matter.”

  “It doesn’t matter? You met a man and you go further with him than you have in years, and you think that’s nothing?”

  I stood up, crossing my arms over my chest and shifting my weigh from one foot to the other. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, he had a point. “I just got caught up.”

  He grinned as if that were the exact answer he’d been wanting to hear. “That’s what happens in the best romances – you just get caught up in it. Listen, love, if you don’t want to consider us as an item, that’s fine. But you and I both know there’s something happenin’ between us. And if you want to take your time gettin’ used to, that’s fine with me. I’m a very patient man.”

  I narrowed my eyes and grit my teeth. He was so confident, so sure of himself, that it pushed me to the edge of total frustration. And more than that, he was right.

  I stepped forward, sticking my finger out at him. “Listen, Patrick. If you think you’re going to—”

  But he didn’t give me a chance to finish; he leaned forward and kissed the end of my finger, waggling his eyebrows as it did it. The sensation of his lips on my skin made me weak in the knees instantly. More than that, it made me wet. There I was, right in the middle of a tiny examination room, turned on more than I could stand. What the hell was happening to me?

  At that moment, I wasn’t sure I could say no to him. However, instead of trying to fuck me right there in the examination room, he stood up, dusted his hands, and gestured toward the door.

  “Alright, let’s see about that tour, yeah?” Without waiting for me, he opened the exam room door and strolled out.

  Once more, Patrick had left me aroused and wanting.

  I’
d been desperate not to play his game. However, not only was I already in the middle of it, I was losing.

  Chapter 15

  PATRICK

  As happy as I was to see the lovely Dr. Bridges, I was there to check out a potential investment. So, for the rest of the tour I behaved myself.

  “This place is bigger than it looks,” I commented as we reached the second floor of the clinic.

  “Isn’t it? You’d never guess by how small the staff is.”

  “Or how many patients are here. There were only about ten in the lobby waiting, yeah?”

  She nodded. “Yep. There’s another waiting room on the second floor you can get to from the other side of the block. But no point in opening it, since it’s not like we can actually use the space.”

  We passed room after room, all of them long empty. Most of them were dirty and run-down, the equipment long-gone, the paint peeling from the walls, dust thick in the air.

  “This used to be a real hospital,” she told me. “Closed about a decade ago due to city budget cuts. One of the founders of the clinic got the idea to open the bottom floor and use it as a free clinic, a place where other doctors in the city could drop in and offer care to those who didn’t have the means to afford it.”

  I looked around as she spoke, imagining what this place would look like with a little TLC. “Fresh coat of paint, some deep-cleaning, new supplies…this clinic could be one of the best facilities in the city. And it could do some real good, too.”

  She nodded. “And it needs staff. All the fresh paint and fancy gear won’t do us a bit of good if we can’t staff the place. You saw what was going on downstairs.”

  “You mean with the doctor running reception?”

  She nodded as we continued. “Right. Someone doesn’t show up, or someone calls in last-minute, there’s nothing we can do other than fill in the gaps on the spot. And if we need a doctor fill in for the receptionist…”

  “Then that means they can’t treat patients.”

  “Exactly.” She leaned against the nearest wall, letting out a sigh. “I love working here – I really do. But sometimes coming here just reminds me of how much more we could do.”

  “Well,” I said, clasping my hands together, “that’s what I’m here for.”

  She flicked her eyes up to me. “You’re really on board with our clinic?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve got more cash than I know what to do with, and if the rest of the staff here is as half as good as you, then I’d be an idiot to not take a chance like this to do some real good. Granted, I’ll want to see a business plan and all that. But I’m assuming you and the staff have one already.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that,” she assured me. “The rest of the team and I have been putting together our dream budget, where every dollar would go if we ever managed to get the money we needed.”

  “And it looks like you might get your chance. If I get on board, and it’s looking like I’m going to, and the rest of Pitt Medical does too…”

  She shook her head, as if she didn’t even want to set herself up for disappointment by entertaining the idea. “God, it would be amazing. With some investor capital and Pitt Medical’s resources, this place would change the neighborhood.”

  A mischievous expression flashed on her face. “Let me show you something.”

  Without waiting for me, Lola started down the hallway. I followed her, stepping around the trash and debris that littered the floor. We reached a metal door, and she pushed the bar to open it. The door led to a staircase that went up. We trotted up the stairs, eventually reaching the top. Another door was there, and she opened that, too.

  We stepped out onto the roof of the clinic, the view looking out over the neighborhood. The mountains loomed in the distance beyond the tops of the townhomes and apartments. The multi-story buildings to the left and right provided some privacy. Despite the din of the streets below, it was strangely peaceful.

  “Nice, huh?” she asked, pulling her coat tight against the breeze. “When the weather’s more accommodating, I like to come up here between patients and have a cup of coffee. I have this fantasy of turning this spot into a break area, like an outdoor garden where doctors can relax on break, or patients can come and catch a breather if they’re feeling overwhelmed.”

  She stepped forward into the center of the space, and I would have bet all the money I was planning to invest that she had a perfect image of it in her head, one she’d likely put together a little bit at a time.

  She turned to me, her breath coming out in steamy puffs. “But we’ve got a million things more important than that to fund before some little garden.”

  “I think that’d be perfect,” I told her. “Medical care isn’t all about tests and charts and all that – it’s about the human touch, about caring for their spirits, and not just their bodies.”

  She smiled as if I’d spoken words that she truly believed. “At first, I wasn’t sure why you were getting involved in a project like this.” She stepped toward me as she spoke. “But now I’m starting to think you actually give a shit.”

  “That a surprise?” I asked with a smile.

  “It is. But a nice one.”

  She stopped inches from me, and we gazed into one another’s eyes for several long moments.

  God, I wanted to kiss her. Before I had a chance to consider it, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She broke eye contact and slipped the phone out, checking the screen.

  “Shit,” she hissed. “That’s Ryan. He needs my help in the lobby.” She looked at me. “But I’m supposed to be talking with our potential new investor.”

  “Think nothing of it.” I checked my watch, seeing that it was a little after ten. “How about I come back around close and we can talk more then?”

  “Sounds great. I’ll see you out.”

  Our eyes lingered again, the sexual tension there as surely as the cold air wrapped around our bodies. But I broke it at the same time she did. I didn’t want to distract Lola from her important work, and I’m sure she wasn’t the type to make patients wait so she could have some fun.

  We hurried back downstairs, finding the lobby full of walk-ins. Lola and Ryan began helping them out. I waved to Lola on the way out, and she did the same.

  I stood outside the clinic for a time, taking in the sights around me. The area near the clinic was rough, to say the least. It reminded me of some of the harder spots in Dublin, the places Da would tell me to stay away from when I went into town.

  The area called to me. I took my camera out of my bag and looked around, trying to figure out where to begin. It didn’t take long. I started with the graffiti, snaping shots of the art and tags on the fronts and sides of the brick buildings. Then I moved on to the garbage, the cracked sidewalks, the broken lights above – all the signs of urban decay. As I captured all that was around me, I tried to imagine what this area had looked like in years past when it was a thriving part of the city.

  And I found myself wondering if, like Lola seemed to think, the clinic could be the key to revitalizing the area. Curious, I moved up and down the blocks methodically, taking pictures of everything that caught my attention. A few times the pedestrians caught my eye, and, like always, I made sure to ask for their permission and offer a little bit of money in exchange for a photo.

  I kept at it until my legs began to ache – the usual sign that I’d let time slip away. A check of my watch revealed that it was already after three. Hours had passed, and a grumble of my belly let me know it was time to get a bite. A diner was nearby. I grabbed a table near the window, ordered a burger, and took out my notebook. I always kept something to write with nearby; no feeling worse than a good idea forgotten.

  My tour through the neighborhood had given me some ideas for another photobook, something to work on between tours for the other. I jotted down ideas, only taking breaks to check out the pictures I’d taken. It was all coming together. The idea was different than the other book, and that’s what ma
de it appealing. The photos were raw and stark, highlighting a part of Denver – a part of America – that most people didn’t see.

  “You want that to go?”

  The waitress snapped me out of me daze. At first, I wasn’t sure what she was referring to. Then I realized that the burger I’d ordered was still next to me, untouched.

  “Sure – I’ll take it to go.”

  I was a man who appreciated the hell out of a good burger, but when I had an idea, working through it was more satisfying than any meal could ever be. I paid my bill and grabbed my to-go container and was on my way to the clinic since it was nearly five. I wasn’t hungry anymore, so I gave my food to the first person on the street to ask for it on my way to the clinic.

  When I arrived, I stepped into the waiting room and found the waiting room empty – empty aside from Lola and a middle-aged woman who looked like she’d seen better days. They were in the middle of a conversation, and I didn’t want to interrupt. I hung back and listened.

  “I-I just need some place to stay – only for a little while.”

  When the woman spoke, I saw black where her teeth should’ve been. Between that and her worn-out clothes and weathered features, I got the impression she was an addict.

  “Well, Melanie,” Lola said, her voice soft and compassionate but also stern. “I wish I could let you stay here, but we just aren’t allowed to use our facilities that way. What I can do is get you some clean clothes from the Goodwill down the street. And we’ve also got shower facilities here if you want to clean up.”

  The woman, Melanie, shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She wanted something – something she wasn’t getting. “It’s…I need some medication.”

  An expression briefly flashed on Lola’s face, as if she’d been waiting.

  “Anything, something to take the pain away. It’s my knees; they’re killing me.”