“That’s one way to do it,” Mom said.
I set Sophia back down, putting my hands on her shoulders. “Now, do you remember the agreement we had?”
She scrunched up her adorable face, thinking it over. “Pizza!”
Negotiating with two-year-olds mostly involved bribing them with food. “If you want pizza, you need to get ready now, okay?”
“OK!”
“Go to your room and put on your shoes, alright?”
This got a thumbs-up, then she hurried off. I let out a sigh, dropping onto the couch next to Sam. I put my hand on his head, watching him sleep peacefully.
“He’s sleeping now,” Mom observed. “But you know what that means.”
“More energy for later when it’s time for Mom to sleep,” I admitted. “But I’ll take a sleeping toddler when I can get him.”
“Need help getting them to the appointment?” Mom asked.
I shook my head. “Thanks, but you take a break. Where’s Dad, by the way?”
“Doing some repairs on the guest house. Might want to sneak out before he gets back and starts talking your ear off about the new siding he’s installing.”
I laughed. “Good call.”
After a little wrangling, we got the kids into the car. The clinic was only a few minutes away – one of Duncan’s newest locations. And the staff had been amazing. The clinic was small and intimate, with much more of a personal touch than some giant hospital. It was easy to see why Duncan and Gavin and the rest of Pitt Medical had been doing so well.
I parked and got the twins inside. Inside, they didn’t waste any time hurrying over to the kids’ play area, joining some fun with a couple other toddlers who were already there. I stepped over to the front desk to check in with the receptionist.
“I see you’re with Dr. Peters today,” she said, her eyes on the computer screen. “Did one of our staff get in touch with you about his change in schedule?”
“Shoot,” I said. “You might’ve. I’m terrible with checking my voicemails.”
“No problem,” she said with a smile. “He’s going to be out for the next few weeks – twisted his ankle bad on the slopes.”
“On no!” I exclaimed. “Will he be alright?”
“He’s fine, just needs a little time off his feet. In the meantime, Dr. O’Conner will be taking over for him. If you want, we can reschedule. But you can trust that Dr. O’Connor’s as skilled as they come.”
There was something more to the receptionist’s expression as she talked about this Dr. O’Conner – a dreamy expression, as if she had a little bit of a crush on him.
“No, it’s fine. If Dr. Pitt hired him, I’m sure he’s just fine.”
I plopped into one of the chairs, craning my neck to check on the kids before settling in.
“You hear about the new doctor?”
“Huh?” I glanced up to see the woman two seats down regarding me with an eager-eyed, conspiratorial expression.
“The new doctor. The one who’s filling in for Dr. Peters. He’s supposed to be…um, really sexy.”
I chuckled at her boldness in striking up a conversation like this with a stranger. “Is that right?”
She nodded. “My friend came in for a check-up yesterday, said her doctor was this hot Irish guy, had the sexiest accent she’d ever heard.”
Irish? I frowned; a bit more interested in the conversation. “Is that right?”
“You’re up first,” she said. “You’ll have to let me know on your way out.”
The receptionist called my children’s names, and I said goodbye to the woman before gathering Sophia and Sam. We were led to a small examination room, and I encouraged the kids to sit on the table while I took a seat in one of the chairs.
“Now,” I said. “Pizza if you’re good. And if you’re not good…squid.”
That got both of their attention, their eyes widening before they both sat up straight. We didn’t need to wait long before the door opened.
“Now,” he said, his brogue entering the room before he did. A very familiar brogue indeed. “Who do we have here?” He entered and glanced up from his tablet. He laid eyes on me, and his mouth dropped. “Kenna?”
“Finn?” I replied.
This sexy Irish doctor wasn’t just any Irish doctor.
He was the sexy Irish doctor – the one who happened to be the father of my twins.
Chapter 3
FINN
No. Fuckin’. Way.
I stood in the doorway for several moments with what had to be the dumbest look on my face imaginable. But how the hell could I not? It was Kenna – the woman I’d had one of the hottest nights of my life with, the woman who’d been appearing in my mind unbidden the last few years. She was sitting in the exam room, those hazel eyes on mine, her sexy, full lips hanging open in total shock.
And if there were any doubts whether she remembered me, that look answered the question.
“Kenna,” I said dumbly.
She didn’t say a thing, instead blinking hard a few times followed by a rapid headshake, as if part of her thought she might be in some strange dream.
She cleared her throat and glanced down, as if not wanting to meet my eyes.
“Dr. O’Conner,” I said, shutting the door behind me as I tried to regain some semblance of professionalism to the appointment.
“Kenna Jameson.”
Kenna Jameson. I’d seen I had an appointment with a Kenna, and while the name had reminded me of her, I didn’t think in a million damn years it’d be my Kenna. And damn, did she look beautiful. Kenna’s face with her high cheekbones and big brown eyes and full lips was as stunning as it’d been that night we’d met. She was different, too – giving birth had turned her body from waifish and slender to full and curvy. Even dressed in her business-casual blouse and jeans and flats she looked like something out of a dream.
And hell, she was something out of a dream – my dreams.
I needed to get back into professional doctor mode, and fast. “So,” I said, clasping my hands together and turning my attention to the kids. “What’re we here for?”
“Med’sin,” boy answered adorably.
The children were a whole other matter. They were both cute as hell, the boy with a freckled face and deep auburn hair, the girl looking like a mini version of Kenna. My eyes lingered on the boy’s face specifically, noting how similar his dusting of freckles looked to mine.
“Yeah,” the girl chimed in
“That’s right, wee ones. But first, we ought to get to know each other. You can call me Dr. Finn. What’re your names?”
The girl, eager to introduce herself, placed her finger on her chest. “I Sophia!”
“Why, a right pleasure to meet you, little Sophia.” I reached out my hand and she took it, giving mine a shake.
“You talk funny.”
I laughed, but Kenna didn’t think it was so amusing. “Soph!” she said. “That’s not a nice thing to say!”
Sophie’s eyes widened and her mouth formed into a flat line – she could tell she’d said something wrong.
“Hey,” I said. “No offense taken – bet I’m the first Irishman she’s met.” I turned my attention back to Sophie. “I talk like this because I’m from this country really far away called Ireland.”
She nodded; her eyes wide as she listened to me talk.
“It’s a gorgeous place, so green they call it The Emerald Isle. I’d bet you’d like it.”
This brought a smile to her face, and I could tell she was more at ease. The boy, on the other hand, was much shyer. While I’d been speaking with Sophie, he’d hopped off the bench and gone over to Kenna, taking her hand.
“Now,” I said, stepping over to him and squatting down to get at eye level. “What’s your name, big man?”
He said nothing, inching closer to his mother. She smiled down at him and said, “You’ll have to forgive him. He’s a little shy around new people.”
“I get it,” I said,
keeping my eyes on him. “Meeting new people is hard, I get it. What about meeting new monkeys?”
“Monkey?” he asked quietly.
“That’s right.” I reached into my white doctor’s coat and slipped out the little plastic monkey I kept in my pocket. His face lit up. “I want you to meet ol’ Seamus – he’s the monkey who lives in my pocket. Don’t know how he got there. I just put on my coat one day and there he was. Told me it’s his coat, but I told him it has my name on it.”
The boy laughed, his expression brightening.
“You don’t have to introduce yourself to me, big guy – I’m just a grown-up. But maybe you and Seamus could be friends, yeah? Why don’t you start by telling him your name?”
“Sam.”
I lifted the monkey to my ear, furrowing my brow and nodding as if he were talking to me. “He says it’s very nice to meet you, Sam.” Then I slipped him back in my pocket, Sam gasping in surprise when Seamus disappeared. “Thing about Seamus, he only likes to hang out with good boys. So, if you want to see him again, you’re gonna have to be on your best behavior. Think you can handle it?”
He smiled and nodded.
“Perfect.” I stood up and put my hands on my hips.
Kenna had said nothing during the introductions, but I could tell by the smile on her face that she was happy with my techniques.
“Monkey in the pocket,” I said to her. “Works a charm every time.”
This got a laugh out of Kenna, followed by a smile so warm and charming that it felt like no time at all had passed since we’d last seen each other. But time had passed. So much time, in fact, that she had children. No doubt she had some lucky man at home, a man who called her his wife. My eyes flicked down to her ring finger, which was bare, to my surprise.
“Now,” I said, opening my tablet and checking the family’s information. “Looks like you two are here for some boosters.”
“Right,” Kenna said, finally speaking. “And I’m sure they’re not exceptions here, but they hate shots.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that – no kids like ‘em, but they usually forget about ‘em as soon as they’re out of here.” I turned to the kids and clapped my hands together. “But first thing’s first – let’s see how good of health you both are in.”
I examined the children, talking to them as I did so they weren’t scared. Sophia babbled, half of her words incoherent, as two-year-olds are, while Sam was quiet, more observant. Whenever he seemed like he was getting overwhelmed by the process, I’d slip ol’ Seamus out to say hello – that never failed to put a smile on his face.
I did their reflex check, acting surprised when their little legs kicked out – that got some more laughs. But when it came time for the shots, I knew it’d be a different story. Shots were usually the jobs of the nurses, but I liked to do them myself whenever I could –going through bad things together helped form a good relationship with my patients.
“Alright,” I said. “Gonna grab the stuff and I’ll be back in a second.”
Kenna nodded, what looked to be relief forming on her face. I hurried out of the room, leaning against wall and letting out a sigh as soon as the door was shut.
Holy hell. Ho-ly hell!
It was her – it was really Kenna. The whole thing was bizarre to me, but I could only imagine what it was like for her, coming to see the doctor for a shot and checkup for the kiddos only to have some one-night stand from years back sauntering into the room.
What a hell of a thing. But that was life, right?
I took the tablet out of my pocket, giving it a few swipes and pulling up Kenna’s profile. Under marital status was not married or even divorced, but single. Did she really have two children and no man in the picture? I didn’t pass judgement on something like that, of course. If anything, it made me respect her – being a single mom was hard work.
More like it was a hell of a shock that some man hadn’t realized what a catch she was and slammed a ring on her finger.
I tucked the tablet away, getting my head back in the game. I fetched the proper vaccines from the medical supply area and returned to the room.
“Alright, kiddos,” I said, turning my back to prepare the shots so the kids couldn’t see what I was doing. “Time for the main event.”
“This is only going to take a second,” Kenna said. “And when it’s over we’ll go get some pizza for tonight, alright?”
The kids were silent, and I could sense they were both aware that something they might not like was about to happen. I got the first one ready and stepped closer, their eyes locking onto the strange tool in my hand. The needle was covered, but I could sense they knew what it was.
“Now, you’re both going to have to be brave for this one, okay? Who wants to go first?”
To my surprise, shy little Sam’s hand shot up. He sat up straight and looked to his mother, who was smiling at him.
“You ready, big man?” I asked, leaning in.
He nodded, not saying a word, but there was fear in his eyes. I took off the cap and got the needle in position.
“Now,” I said. “I have a question for you – what’s your favorite kind of pizza?”
“Hamburg—”
In the middle of the word, I poked his arm. It was only in for a second, but long enough for him to realize something was wrong.
“There you go,” I said, dabbing the area with a cotton ball. “Not so bad, yeah? Look how tough this little man is.” I reached into my pocket and slipped out Seamus. “And cool thing about Seamus is that he likes to hang out with brave boys.” I handed him to the boy, and he eagerly accepted him, no tears.
“Now, Sophie’s turn.”
She nodded, and as I was close to the children, I couldn’t help but notice how damn familiar they looked. Sam’s hair was the same deep auburn as mine, and his chin even had the little cleft mine did. Sophie’s eyes were a similar shade of green to my own, though she looked exactly like her mom.
With lingering questions, I put that out of my head as quickly as I could, focusing on the task at hand.
“Now,” I said. “Sophia, if you listen closely, Seamus might have something to say to you, too.”
“What?” she asked, leaning in toward her brother and the monkey.
As she leaned, I cleaned her arm and inserted the needle quickly. She sat up straight as I took the needle out, her eyes widening and tears trickling down her cheeks. Sam didn’t miss a beat; he leaned over and hugged his sister. As cute as it was, I felt bad knowing I’d made them hurt – even if it was for a good reason.
The whole scene made me think about working with Da, how he was so damn good at distracting the kids that half the time they didn’t even know they were getting the needle.
“Alright,” I said, taking out some Band-Aids. “We got sports, and we got Spongebob.”
“Bob!” Sophia crowed, so eagerly I knew she was over the shot.
“That means baseballs for the little man,” I said. I put one Band-Aid on, then another. “And that’s all there is to it,” I announced. “Not so bad, right? And now you get some pizza! Dang, that sure sounds good…maybe I’ll come with and eat it all before you get a chance.”
Sam gazed at me suspiciously, and he shook his head. Kenna laughed at the exchange.
“They did great,” I said to Kenna. “And as far as I can tell, you’ve got two healthy kids on your hands.”
Kenna bit her lip and glanced away as she rose. “Thanks. You did great with them, by the way – I’ve never seen them handle the doctor’s so well, believe it or not.”
“All in a day’s work.” I stepped back and opened the door. “Anna out front will get you set up for your next check-up.” I stepped over and mussed Sam’s hair as he hopped off the table, marveling once again at how much like my own locks his were. “See you around, kids,” I said with a wave.
Sam seemed stunned by the whole process, but Sophia gave me a smile and a wave as the twins toddled off. Nothing from Kenna, however
, but an unsure smile as she disappeared around the corner and was gone. I waited a few moments before leaving the room, letting one of the nurses know on the way out that it was ready for a once-over.
When I was in my office, I dropped into my desk chair, letting out a long sigh. Kenna. It was her – it was really fucking her.
But so what if it was? She lived in Denver, and now she had kids. Sure, it was a bit of a small-world moment for her to wander into my life, but that was all it was. Kenna had children, probably a career, and no doubt men chasing her all over town.
I was nothing to her, and I was shocked to find that the feeling was an unwelcome one.
I put my feet up on my desk, slipping my phone out of my pocket and opening my photos. I scrolled back, back, until I was years in the past. I found it – the picture I was looking for, the selfie I’d taken of the two of us at the bar however many years ago it had been. She still looked as beautiful as she did in the picture. Beauty like hers only grew with age.
My eyes lingered on the phone for a few more moments before I turned it off with a click and hopped out of my seat. I had a life to get back to. And so did she.
But I was still stuck on one thing. Why did the twins look so familiar?
Chapter 4
KENNA
The woman in the lobby wiggled her eyebrows at me as I emerged from the hall in a daze. “What’d I tell you?” she asked in a low voice as I passed. “Sexy as hell, huh?”
“Uh, yeah. Sexy.” I followed this with a weak smile as I led the kids out of the doctor’s office.
I didn’t even stay to make another appointment – that could be done later, and at that moment, all I wanted was to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.
“Where’s monkey?” Sam asked, looking up at me with an expression of childlike concern, as if Seamus had been the last monkey in the world and he’d used up all his time with him.
“Seamus is with Dr. O’Conner,” I told him, leading the kids into the elevator.
“I want monkey!” Sam cried, proclaiming it for the world.
The Irish Doctor’s Secret Babies: A Secret Baby Romance Page 4