Susannah walked out of her studio. Pulling a drink out of the fridge, she asked, “Where?”
Gabe sat back in his chair. In painting attire consisting of a loose-fitting button-up and shorts, with her chin-length hair held back in barrettes, her face and lips bare, she was still as gorgeous as could be.
Aware she was still waiting for his reply, but not about to tell her what had really changed his mind about accepting the position...aka the college savings accounts...and the wish to put even more money in them, he said, “The hospital. They need an infectious disease person on their diagnostic team and offered me a temporary contract position until they find someone with the kind of international health experience that’s required. Hopefully, they’ll have a permanent person by the time I head back overseas at summer’s end.”
Susannah paused, her uncapped bottle of water halfway to her lips. “So does this mean no more helping me out?” she asked, a little panicked.
Not about to let her down, Gabe shook his head. “I’m only working mornings, from six until noon. Mostly, I’ll be reviewing cases that have the rest of the staff stumped. I’ll still be here every afternoon you want me,” he said.
“Yay!” the kids chorused in unison.
“We like you, Dr. Gabe!” the boys yelled.
“And we love you, too!” the girls enthused.
Susannah blushed in a way that reminded Gabe it had been far too long since they’d had a date. And they needed one if they were ever going to make love again. Although he enjoyed spending time with her and the kids an awful lot, too.
Composed again, she looked at Gabe. “Can I get you anything?”
How about your lips on mine? “Not right now,” he said, saving his private request for later, when they were alone.
She smiled shyly. “I’m really in the middle of something, so if it’s okay with you, we’ll delay dinner a bit this evening?”
“Sure.”
“In the meantime...” Susannah set out an afternoon snack for everyone, including Gabe. “Back to the studio...”
As she headed into her multi-windowed art space, he couldn’t help but note how happy she looked when she painted.
The kids went back to alternately coloring their pictures and eating their afternoon snack. And with it came a whole new slew of questions. “Dr. Gabe, how come you don’t have kids?”
Because I’ve been a fool. Because had he been as adventurous as Susannah in this regard, Gabe knew he could have had what she had now—a lively, loving family of his own. Wondering if Susannah was still half listening to everything they were talking about, he directed his attention to the kids and said, “I don’t know the answer to that.”
Levi paused. “Couldn’t you find any?”
Gabe blinked. “Ah...what?”
Abigail gestured importantly. “Mommy says babies are born at the hospital. And you work at the hospital now. You just said so. So, why don’t you have babies? Couldn’t you find some there and bring them home?”
The door to the studio opened yet again. The chagrined look on Susannah’s face indicated she had indeed heard everything the quints had said. “Hey, kiddos! I forgot to mention it’s not too hot to be outside today. So...when you finish your snacks and your drawings, you can go outside and play for a little while.”
“Okay, Mommy,” her children chorused happily.
“Sorry,” Susannah mouthed to Gabe and slipped back into her studio.
“How come you’re not married, Dr. Gabe?” Gretchen asked.
“Mommy isn’t married because things are too complicated,” Connor reported.
“Are things too complicated for you, too?” Gretchen asked.
Out of the corner of his eye, Gabe saw Susannah press the heel of her hand against her forehead.
Meanwhile, the kids were waiting. Gabe tried to come up with a reply that would satisfy them while not giving their mom any wrong ideas about him. “That’s sort of why,” he said eventually. Although in many ways his life was getting simpler. In ways he really liked.
“I’m done!” Levi shouted happily, waving his colorful picture of a truck.
“Me, too!” His siblings followed his lead. Chairs pushed back. Pictures were left out for their mommy to see. Crayons put back in the caddy. Trash thrown away. Abigail took the lead as group spokesperson. “We cleaned up, so can we go swing now?”
“Yes,” Gabe said, holding the back door open for them. “I’ll watch you out the window and be out in a second.” They filed out and, her fluffy golden tail wagging happily, Daisy headed out with them.
Gabe moved to the window. Before he could decide his next move, Susannah was at his side again. Her soft hand curved over his bicep. “Had enough questions for one day?” she teased. “Or should I ask you a few more?”
Gabe turned toward her, realizing all over again how glad he was that she was now in his life. He looked down at her, caressing the curve of her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I’ve got one for you. When are you going to make time to go out with me again?”
Susannah smiled. “If I can get a couple of sitters last minute, we could go out tonight after the kids are asleep.”
* * *
“We can do this another evening,” Susannah said five hours later, as what was supposed to have been a simple night out had turned into the Murphy’s law of whatever can go wrong will go wrong type of evening.
Sensing something was up, they’d been uncooperative during dinner and bath time. And now, a little before nine o’clock, the quintuplets were still not asleep. And she knew if she and Gabe left the house before her children drifted off, they’d give their two babysitters nonstop problems and still be up when she got home at midnight.
The problem was, she’d forgotten to tell Gabe not to arrive until after she had given him the all-clear signal. So he had arrived, right on time, at eight o’clock, which had, in turn, made the kids go wild with excitement to be seeing him twice in one day.
“Are we going to play games, Dr. Gabe?” Connor had asked.
“Yay! How about Father May I?” Levi had shouted.
“Or Farmer in the Dell!” Gretchen had suggested.
“How about we all say good-night and go back upstairs to bed?” Susannah had asked, while Cindy and Susan, her sitters, stood by, looking a little overwhelmed.
“I don’t want to stay with the babysitters, Mommy! I want to go out with you and Gabe!” Gretchen stomped her foot.
“Me, either!” her sisters said in unison, beginning to cry.
The next thing they knew, all three girls were weeping, while the two boys were hooting and hollering, “Watch this!” and running up the stairs and attempting to slide down the banister.
It was Vintage Kiddie Chaos 101. And then some.
“Whoa, there, fellas.” Gabe plucked them off, settling one little boy on each hip.
“How come Dr. Gabe gets to carry them!” Abigail wailed, jealous and upset.
“Giddy-up!” Connor and Levi yelled.
Exasperated, Susannah looked at Gabe. “I’m serious. You don’t have to stay and wait around for things to calm down.” Which she knew very well they might not, at least not for a good while. Especially while he was still there. “We can try this again another evening.”
He shook his head at her as if to say, No way am I giving up on us. Then looked down at the boys in his arms. “Tell you what, little wranglers. I will go upstairs with you if you promise to play the quiet game with me.”
Levi snorted in derision. “Nah. You just want us to go to sleep!”
“Noooo,” Gabe disagreed immediately, his expression serious. “The whole point of nighttime quiet game is not to fall asleep. You just close your eyes and pretend you are getting really sleepy, but then you don’t fall asleep after all. When I was growing up, my brothers and sisters and I used to play it all
the time. And guess who won?”
“You!” they shouted in unison.
“So,” Gabe drawled, grinning encouragingly, “do you want to play it or not?”
“We’ll play!” an overstimulated Levi shouted at the top of his lungs, while still hanging on to Gabe’s wide shoulder with all his might.
“But I am not falling asleep!” Connor declared with an impish grin.
“Me neither!” Gretchen said.
And they didn’t. Not for a good half an hour, anyway. Finally, though, the giggles stopped. Gabe’s breathing was so deep and even, Susannah thought he might have fallen asleep. She looked over at him where he was sitting in the bedroom opposite the one she and the girls were in, his back to the wall.
All five of the children slumbered on.
Soundlessly, she slipped off her shoes and rose.
Just that suddenly, he opened his eyes. Smiled.
And they were free.
* * *
They practically danced out to his truck, they were so excited to finally be starting their date. Trying not to notice how wonderfully cozy it felt to be in such close proximity with him again, she settled into the passenger seat. As their gazes met, Susannah felt a shiver run through her.
He caught her hand, then flashed her a sexy grin. “So, what next?”
Good question, Susannah thought, watching her fingers mingle with his. Aware he was going to be very hard to resist, Susannah tried to slow her pounding heart and said, “Well, it’s nine-thirty. Which means, since it’s a weeknight, all the sit-down restaurants in town are getting ready to close.”
He frowned. “Including the Wagon Wheel, where we had dinner reservations.”
“So, what now?”
He shrugged and let her go to start the engine so they could be on their way. “The Dairy Barn is open until eleven...”
She grinned at the G-rated nature of their date. It wasn’t exactly what she had been expecting. “Then the Dairy Barn it is.”
Luckily, there was no line this late at night, so they got their burgers, fries and shakes and carried them to one of the outdoor picnic tables. “So, when do you start at the hospital?” Susannah asked conversationally as they began to eat.
He opened a ketchup packet and poured the sauce into a corner of the paper tray. “Tomorrow, 6:00 a.m.”
She paused, aware she might have been inadvertently inconsiderate to him. “You want to make an early night of it, then?”
He laughed, the sound warm and throaty. “Actually, I’d like to make it an exciting night,” he teased. “What time do you have to be back for your sitters?”
It was Susannah’s turn to frown. “Midnight.”
Gabe waggled his brows as he spread his napkin onto his lap. “I guess we’re going to find out, then,” he told her mysteriously.
Susannah paused, her cheeseburger halfway to her mouth. “Find out what?”
His whiskey-colored eyes twinkled. “Just how much fun we can pack in two and a half hours.”
Quite a lot, as it happened. They talked as they ate, simultaneously watching the teenagers having a blast at the Putt-Putt course next door. When they finished, Gabe asked, “Want to play a game?”
Another time, the answer would have been a resounding yes. That evening? “I’d rather...” Feeling a little wicked and a lot adventurous, Susannah leaned over to whisper in his ear.
And this time, when Gabe laughed in response, it was with lusty anticipation.
* * *
The passion in his voice stole her breath. “We don’t have much time,” he told her when they got to his brother’s home.
They kicked off their shoes and kissed their way through the living room, down the hall, toward the bedrooms. “You’d be surprised what can happen in an hour and a half, Doc—if you’re determined, that is,” she promised, guiding his face down to hers.
“And are you?” he asked, melding his lips with hers, evoking a wealth of lust and complex emotions she didn’t want to admit existed.
She moaned, even as she kissed him back passionately. She hadn’t allowed herself to want anything for herself for such a long time. But she found herself wanting this. Wanting him...
“Resolved?” she breathed, resting her head on the solid curve of his shoulder. Drinking in the scent and feel and warmth of him. “Oh, yes...”
“Good to hear.” He shut the bedroom door and guided her up against the wall, his strong, hard body ensconced in the open vee of her legs. His eyes held hers with the promise of the passionate lovemaking to come. He reached beneath her dress, hooking his fingers in the elastic of her panties, easing them down her legs. She arched, her breasts brushing against his chest, as his lips found the sensitive place behind her ear.
Still driving her mad with sensation, he kissed her again, deeply and rapturously, even as his hands roved even higher. She trembled as he kneaded her breasts, caressing the tender crests through the silky-smooth cotton of her sundress and bra. And then slowly, ardently, his hands moved from her breasts to her thighs to the sweet spot between, and then back again. Overwhelmed by the pleasurable sensations, she returned his embrace with everything she had, easing her hands beneath the waistband of his jeans, finding him hot, hard, ready.
As ready as she.
With a low moan of impatience, she wrapped a leg around his waist, opening herself up to him. And still they kissed, soft and sweet, slow and deep, and all the ways in between.
Until she could stand it no more. With a low, shuddering moan, she felt her body go up in flames. Let him take her to his bed to undress her and wait while she undressed him.
He found a condom. Then tumbled back down onto the bed.
He lifted her overtop of him. She straddled his middle, then stretched her body out languidly over his, her heat cradling his pulsing hardness. Sank lower, tantalizing him, until he rolled her so she was beneath him. Hearts flooding with feeling, triumph rising in their throats, he finally slid home, and she trembled and clenched around him.
Claiming him. Loving him. New sensations spiraling and ricocheting inside her. Until it was all so hot and wild and free, and both of them were soaring in passion and pleasure, tenderness and surrender.
Afterward, they clung together, still trembling with pleasure. Then made love again, more slowly and languidly this time. When their tryst ended, Susannah knew the clock was ticking. That this would have to hold them, and that she was never so content as she was when she was with him.
Reluctantly, she got up, found her clothes and began to dress. He glanced at the clock and did the same. Finished, she sat on the edge of the bed next to him. He pulled her to him for a long, thorough kiss that quickly had her tingling from head to toe. She splayed a hand over his chest, wishing they had more time, that they didn’t have to go. And instead could remain together, sleeping, locked in each other’s arms, only to wake and make love all over again.
But it wasn’t to be.
Not tonight, anyway.
She let out a grateful breath. “You were so sweet with the kids tonight.”
“It’s not like it’s a chore, you know.” He grinned and shifted her onto his lap. “I’ve had more fun this summer with all of you than I’ve had in years.”
“It’s been great for all of us, too,” she admitted contentedly. Then added, even more candidly, before she could stop herself, “The kids really love you, you know.”
Their glances meshed, held for a long, heart-stopping moment. “I love them, too,” he returned huskily.
Now, Susannah thought wistfully, if only he would love her, too. Her life really would be complete.
Chapter Thirteen
To Susannah’s delight, the next few weeks took on even more of a satisfying routine. Mornings she worked, with the help of either Millie and Mike or teenage babysitters, and Gabe went to the hospital. Midday sh
e was on her own while the kids napped. Which usually allowed her to get in a little more time to work on the pet portrait for Robert Lockhart.
Then, late afternoon, Gabe stopped by to help with the kids while she finished up in the studio. Sometimes they cooked dinner together; other times, one cooked and the other supervised the little ones. A few times they even went out to eat, either at the pizza place in town or the Dairy Barn.
One night a week, they managed to go on a date. No matter where it started, it always ended up in the same place—his bed. And that, too, was an event that became more and more satisfying with time.
The only drawback was the short-term nature of their liaison. A fact that did not escape Millie’s notice one morning in mid-July, when she came over to slip into her dress and see if it fit.
“When is Gabe going back overseas again?” Millie asked while the kids watched their daily allotment of Paw Patrol from the living room sofa.
“The beginning of September.”
Millie took a sip of her favorite sassafras tea blend. “The kids are really going to miss him.”
I am, too. So much. “Your point is?”
Millie sighed in concern. “The two of you are getting awfully involved.”
They were. And they weren’t. Susannah did her best to hide her emotions, replying casually, “We know it’s just a summer fling.”
Millie slipped into the bathroom, hanger in hand.
“Are you sure it can’t be more than that?” she asked through the slit in the door.
Actually, no, I’m not sure of that at all, Susannah thought in frustration.
She pushed aside the ache in her throat. “How about we worry about tomorrow, tomorrow?” she said to Millie, who walked out with a very big grin on her face. Then twirled.
Susannah gaped. “It zipped!”
Millie beamed proudly. “It sure did. All this sassafras tea I’ve been drinking is really paying off.”
“I’ll say.”
The older woman slipped back into the bathroom. “Have you tried it?” she called out.
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