Her Christmas Baby Bump

by Robin Gianna

  “I don’t want to be in the army,” the boy said, his lip quivering as tears filled his eyes again.

  Well, damn. That strategy hadn’t worked too well. Aaron looked to Hope. Maybe she had a better idea.

  “What kinds of toys do you like to play with?” she asked.

  “I don’t know.” Ethan sniffed back the tears. “Dinosaurs. Cars.”

  “Do you play with those cars that transform into giant robots? Maybe when we put the splint on your arm, we can pretend you’re a car that’s out of gas and can’t move and the bad guys are after you. But after the splint’s on, you’ll transform into the giant robot to fight off the bad guys.”

  “O... Okay.” He gave her a smile and looked a little starstruck.

  Aaron figured that was probably the way he always looked at Hope, too. He leaned close to her ear. “Did I say smart? Brilliant’s more like it.”

  “You’re just now realizing this?”

  “As you’ve already learned, I’m not too bright.” Her eyes were on his again, and he hoped she knew what he was saying. Giving her an apology before he was able to apologize for real.

  “Got this from the hotel,” the helpful man said, handing him what looked like thick kitchen twine.

  “This is perfect. Thank you. Robot time, Ethan. Remember, you can’t move at all until I’ve transformed you, okay?” He turned to Hope. “I’m going to slide the cardboard under his arm, and with any luck I’ll barely move it from where it’s resting on his belly. Why don’t you try to gently hold his arm as steady as possible while I do?”

  She nodded. “Got it.”

  Hope held Ethan’s hand with hers, and cupped the boy’s elbow with her other hand. Aaron carefully slid the cardboard between his arm and stomach, glad the child wasn’t shrieking again, just giving the occasional little gasp of pain. “You’re doing great, Ethan. Only a little more and I’ll have it all the way under your arm.”

  Sweating a little now, Aaron finally got it in place, sucking in a relieved breath. “Okay. I’m going to fold this sort of tube around his arm and you tie it in place, Hope.”

  “Already have some pieces cut. I hope they’re the right size.”

  He held the cardboard curved around the boy’s arm and watched Hope tie it on with the string loops about an inch apart. As he watched her work he found himself looking at her, the picture of avid concentration. Her lashes were lowered, as she watched herself work. Her brows were knit, and her white teeth sank into her bottom lip.

  He could look at her for hours and never tire of the view.

  “That’s it, I think. Have a look, Dr. Cartwright.”

  “Perfect.” He turned to smile at the boy. “Your transformation is complete, Ethan.”

  “You know, if you weren’t a robot, I’d say you look an awful lot like a trussed roast, Ethan,” Hope said with a grin, giving his nose a gentle flick.

  The child actually managed a little laugh. “A roasted robot, that’s what I am.”

  Hope looked at Aaron as their eyes met and held, and they both chuckled. The woman was downright magical with kids.

  And to think that instead of admiring that about her, he’d insulted her, saying she might not be able to handle being a single mother.

  What a damned idiot.

  Just as Aaron was trying to figure out what to say or do next the EMTs came in with a cart and equipment.

  “Well, you’ve battled off the bad guys, and now the good guys have arrived, Ethan,” he said. “They’re going to get you all fixed up and take good care of you, okay?” Ethan nodded, and Aaron stood, reaching for Hope’s hand to help her to her feet. They moved out of the way to give the emergency medical team a chance to work, checking Ethan’s vital signs and getting him ready to transfer.

  He studied Hope’s elegant profile as she watched the EMTs, trying to decide if he should dive into his apology right then, in case he didn’t have a chance later. But first, he had to make a point of something else. “You were great with Ethan tonight, Hope. Don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “You were wonderful, too, Aaron. And all the others who helped, as well. I guess it took a bit of a village, didn’t it?” She waved her hand around the room, and he captured it in his again, because he wanted to hold it. Wanted to see if she’d pull it away. Realized, when she didn’t, that he’d never in his life cared so much about something as simple as holding a woman’s hand.

  “I have a feeling if not another soul had been here, you would have done just fine all by yourself.” In fact, he was sure that statement was absolutely true. The woman was softness and steel. A gentle nurse and a fearless warrior. He drew her closer, and, when she didn’t step back or pull away, the discomfort he’d been feeling since their last, ill-fated meeting eased just a little. He leaned closer. “Can it be our secret again that I haven’t seen a broken arm since med school?”

  “No. Makes you all the more heroic.” She cutely tilted her head. “Just think. When the story hits the local papers about this happening at the wonderful party designed to help children find parents, and the founder of the program who happens to be an OB managed to help a child with a seriously broken arm, people will be impressed. And donations will pour in. The end.”

  “Well, if that’s the angle, I guess I have to go along with it.” He had to grin. “What did I say before about you being a PR genius?”

  “Did you say that? I don’t remember.” The way her kissable mouth and beautiful eyes were smiling at him took away a few more of the bruises from the self-bashing he’d given himself after lambasting her, and that he well deserved. “But I do remember other things you said to me just recently that were not so nice.”

  Her smile completely disappeared and her eyes got all serious. Damn it. But who could blame her? Calling his words “not nice” was an understatement. Seeing the change in her brought the ache about what he’d said surging back into his chest, but that wasn’t important. What was important was that he’d hurt her. Had shocked and wounded her with his autocratic attitude and judgment, and now was the time to tell her how bad he felt about it. “Listen, I—”

  “Is there a parent or guardian who can sign for the patient? And who wants to come to the hospital with us?”

  Aaron realized the social worker who had brought a number of children to the party was looking to him with a question in her eyes. Damn. He hesitated for a split second, then gave her a quick nod before he turned back to Hope. “I really need to talk with you, but I have to take care of this first. Can I call you later?”

  “All right.” Her eyes were still oh-so-serious when he turned to the EMTs.

  Aaron wished like hell he could apologize and somehow try to explain a little to Hope right now, but this had to be his top priority. “I’ll come.” He looked at the social worker. “I know you have to stay here with the other kids and get them back after the party’s over. I’ll take care of Ethan and keep you posted on whether or not they want to keep him overnight.”

  “I’m sorry this had to happen to take you from the party, but the rest of the children are having a lot of fun,” she said.

  “It’s fine.” He stepped to the gurney and placed his hand on the boy’s leg, giving him a smile, hoping he felt at least a little reassured. “I’m coming with you to the hospital. The doctors and nurses will take good care of you, and I will, too, until we can get hold of your foster parents. Okay?”

  Ethan nodded, looking grave but thankfully not too afraid. Aaron turned to look at Hope, glad to see she was still standing there. He couldn’t tell exactly what expression was on her face, but at least it seemed she wasn’t furious with him anymore. He gave her a twisted smile, hoping she’d interpret it the way he wanted her to. Which was that he knew he’d been an ass and owed her an apology.

  He turned to the EMTs. “I’ll sign ever
ything on the way.”

  “Wait!” A woman rushed toward them with a man following behind. “Wait, please. We want to come to the hospital with Ethan. To...to get to know him better.” She reached for the child’s hand with a tender smile, and Aaron was surprised but happy to see Ethan smile back. “Would that be okay with you, Ethan?”

  The boy nodded, still smiling, and the man turned to Aaron. “Would we be allowed to do that? We’re very interested in spending more time with him now and over Christmas and all.”

  Well, how about that? Maybe Ethan’s mishap would end up being a good thing in the end, giving them all more time to spend together. “Looks like he’d like that. I’ll have to sign the medical release papers, and one of the social workers will catch up with you at the hospital to make various arrangements, but otherwise it sounds like a good plan.”

  With the paperwork signed and Ethan and crew gone, the party resumed, slightly subdued but still festive and fun for the kids. People kept coming up to talk to him and pump his hand, and, while their praise felt a little uncomfortable, maybe Hope was right. Maybe an unfortunate event like Ethan’s could turn out to be a good thing. The child might have a new family, and the foundation might get some new donors.

  Between conversations, Aaron’s attention kept going straight to Hope. To see her sitting at a table with rambunctious children, smashing and squeezing modeling clay to make some kind of creatures. Laughing as she dove toward a chair when the music stopped, pretending to get bumped out of it by a giggling child. Helping little ones, too small to reach everything on the table, fill their plates with goodies.

  Accomplished at her job, great with kids, warm, stable, caring and beautiful beyond belief—was there a woman on the planet more perfect than Hope Sanders?

  He turned to shake hands with someone else who’d approached him, wondering why thinking about Hope and how amazing she was brought a stab of something uncomfortable to his chest. Probably because he hadn’t had the chance to say he was sorry.

  Past time for that to happen, and when he was done with his conversation he scanned the room. His gut tightened when he didn’t see her. Surely she hadn’t left without saying goodbye? Then again, just because they’d helped little Ethan together didn’t mean she had any interest in further interaction.

  It was clear she was no longer around all the games the children were playing. He had to talk to her. Had to apologize. If she’d just left, maybe he could still catch her in the parking lot. He was about to ask one of the midwives accompanying Hope, but he somehow felt her presence a moment before her golden hair appeared at his shoulder.

  Mussed golden hair, with glitter sparkling in it he didn’t think was an intentional festive accessory. “All partied out?” he asked, feeling stupidly happy that she was still here, and wondering how any woman could look sweet and adorable and sinfully sexy all at the same time.

  “It’s been exhausting, I admit, but fun. How about you?”

  “Definitely partied out.” He grasped a strand of her hair and slid his thumb and forefinger slowly down it. “I like the fashion statement. Though I wouldn’t have thought you were a glitter kind of girl.”

  She laughed softly. “Maybe you don’t know the real me.”

  “Maybe I don’t.” Which was a good segue to his overdue apology. Except he hated to see the relaxed, happy look she was giving him turn into anger, disgust or dislike or whatever she’d been feeling toward him before tonight. He steeled himself, knowing he had to take whatever lumps were coming regardless. “Hope, I want to apologize for all the things I said to you about your IVF plans. How upset I got about it. I have no right to judge you or lecture you. I was totally out of line.”

  “Yes, you were.”

  He waited silently, thinking there must be more coming, like her berating him right back. But she just kept looking at him, and for once her face didn’t reveal anything of what she was thinking or feeling. “So.” His planned-out apology and explanation seemed to have disappeared from his brain, leaving him floundering a little. “I hope you’ll accept my apology. I’ve seen how smart and competent you are at your job, and now I’ve seen how great you are with children. If you’re sure IVF is what you want, I wish you the best of luck.”

  He still felt pinned by that blue, impassive gaze of hers and started sweating almost as much as he had getting Ethan’s splint on. “You know, you’re making me nervous,” he said. “Is this your payback for me being rude? You aren’t rude back, just an expert at making people feel uncomfortable?”

  “I don’t try to make people feel uncomfortable. Maybe there’s some other reason you do. Maybe it’s because you owe me a little more of an explanation for why you went off on me like you did.”

  Maybe he did. But he wasn’t going to go there. “I’ve just seen a lot of families, and particularly single parents, struggle with multiple births and the problems that can come with that. Preterm and low-birthweight babies, and infants with birth defects, all of which have special needs on top of the normal stress of parenting multiples. That’s all. But I know you feel you have support and you’re prepared, and I apologize again for saying otherwise.”

  Those blue eyes still seemed to be looking right through him, seeing things he didn’t want her to see, when she finally spoke. “You want to come to the Mill Road Winter Fair with me this weekend?”

  He blinked. Of all the things she might possibly have said just then, inviting him on a date wouldn’t have crossed his mind as one of them. He wanted to shout, Hell, yes, but had to wonder why she’d asked. “Aren’t you the woman who said our fling was over and done with?”

  “It is. But now you know why, which also means you understand and accept that we’re just friends. Plus I have an ulterior motive.”

  “I’m guessing this could be some kind of payback for my being unpleasant to you?” Her eyes were gleaming with mischief, and he wondered what she had up her sleeve.

  “You would guess right. I’m volunteering at one of the food stalls selling smoothies. Proceeds go to a literacy foundation, and we’re shorthanded. Seeing you do emergency surgery the other day tells me you’ll be excellent at cutting various fruits to make the smoothies.”

  That surprised a laugh out of him. The little smirk on her face told him she knew full well he couldn’t say no, that he owed her after his prior idiocy. Funny thing was, standing in some food stall all day slicing fruit with her somehow sounded pretty good to him, just as friends or more than that.

  More than that couldn’t happen now anyway, though, remember? Even if she wasn’t planning on IVF, she was obviously a woman who wanted a forever after with kids and a homestead with a picket fence, and he just wasn’t that kind of guy.

  Being just friends, though? He wasn’t sure he could handle that, either, since his thoughts turned to kissing that beautiful mouth and touching her soft skin every time he was anywhere near her. Had to admit, too, that being friends with her while she was pregnant probably would be difficult for him to deal with for all kinds of reasons. Not the least of which had been the extent of his surprising reaction, and his complete inability to control it, when he’d first learned her baby plans.

  Her blue eyes were looking at him expectantly, and the smile in them had him feeling good for the first time all day. And that feeling had him wanting to join Hope for one more, no-strings-attached encounter before she moved on with her life, even though it was a bad idea.

  “Slicing fruit with you sounds like the best offer I’ve had all week.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  HOPE DUMPED WHAT seemed like the hundredth batch of cut fruit into the electric blender to join the yogurt, milk and juice and gave it good long zap before pouring it into a cup. “A Mill Road smoothie, made just for you,” she said, handing it to the young man who’d ordered it.

  “That sounds like an advertising slogan,” Aaron
said, standing next to her chopping away as he had been for two hours without a complaint. She’d never have guessed when she’d admired him from afar at the hospital how multifaceted the man was, chopping fruit like a trained chef. Devoting all kinds of time to charity causes. “I still think you’re fibbing about not moonlighting in the advertising business when you’re not working at the hospital.”

  “Ah, you have no idea what I moonlight at. Maybe I’m a punt-boat operator.” She sent him a glance meant to be teasing, since he knew from experience she was not at all adept at punting.

  But the brown eyes that met hers weren’t laughing, they were...heated? Maybe even hungry, but not in a let’s-eat-some-of-this-fruit kind of way. Instantly, she realized her words had sent his mind back to their time on the punt, to all that kissing and touching and maybe even to what came after they were back on dry land, snug in his apartment.

  And then her mind went there as well, which made her notice all over again the width of his shoulders, the rippling muscles in his forearms as he chopped, the handsome planes of his face. How he looked far more deliciously edible than any fruit ever could.

  He leaned close, his lips inches from her cheek. “If the moonlighting punt-boat operator doesn’t stop looking at me like that, I might have to pull you into my arms and kiss you, forgetting we’re just friends and that I have fruit and juice all over my hands.” His voice was low and sexy, and the eyes meeting hers shined dark and hot.

  “I’m not looking at you any way, except to wonder why you’re so slow at chopping,” she said, quickly turning her face to dump more stuff in the blender. “Don’t you see the line we have here?”

  “Mmm-hmm. If you say so.”

  Okay, it was true, darn it. Her heart had fluttered and her breathing went a little haywire just from admiring him. The question was, why? Yes, they’d steamed up the sheets together, which had been admittedly very, very nice. Incredible, really.