‘Wait...er...’ He didn’t know what he was going to say, but he had to get it out. ‘You don’t want me to see him, do you?’
Her hesitation made his heart stop. She didn’t want him to meet her son. Their son. He’d really screwed everything up.
You’re an idiot, Harry. What did you expect? The red carpet treatment? Two years of treatment and follow-ups, five years in remission, and almost a year to pack up his old life. All time away from his little family. All for nothing. He’d lost everything all over again. And more.
He held his breath, waiting for her next words.
‘No,’ she said eventually. ‘I didn’t tell you about Aidan expecting anything. You came back, so you needed the facts. That’s it. Nothing more. We have a life, Harry. One that doesn’t involve you. I told myself I would tell you the truth if I ever saw you again.’
* * *
She paused for a minute, trying and failing to keep her voice steady. She couldn’t let him in now; she just couldn’t bear the risk. She wouldn’t survive another Harry heartbreak. ‘You are my past, Harry, and I want you to stay that way. I’ll see you in the morning, ready to work.’
She could feel herself start to cry again, and she ended the call before he could respond. There, she’d done it. She’d been true to her son, and herself.
When Aidan had been born, Tom was her birth partner. Her friends had been there for the whole pregnancy. Abe had been the parent she needed. Her shock about the baby and disappointment at Harry had been tangible, and she’d kept her distance from the deeper conversations. They’d all just circled each other: Annabel broken-hearted, reeling from the news that she was expecting, Abe helping her where he could in practical terms. He’d even told the station that she was in a position to take the job. To their credit, they’d pulled together as a team through her maternity leave, and when she was ready the job was hers to step back into. As hard as that was, with a baby to raise and a career to keep on track.
She’d almost folded and told Abe the truth so many times. Aidan was his grandson after all. He had played the role since Aidan was a baby bump, but she’d never told him they were blood. With her friends and colleagues, it had been slightly easier. She hated pity and that would have been one big party. Annabel herself had never thought that way, not once she’d held Aidan in her arms in that hospital room. Tom had gone home to rest, and he and Lloyd were coming to collect her and the baby later that afternoon. She had the support, the friends, the family.
Abe had scooped her up that day at the airport and had been steadfastly on her side ever since. If he had been speaking to Harry, that would be a different matter. She wouldn’t have put Abe in that position, but they’d fallen out before Aidan left for Dubai. Abe was stubborn in many ways, and he had never hidden the fact that he’d wanted Harry to become a GP, take the practice on after his retirement.
She didn’t know if they’d ever spoken after those first few months of getting radio silence, and she knew never to ask. It wasn’t fair on Abe to do so. That was down to Harry too. He’d walked away from them all without a backwards glance. He’d never even told his friends.
When she’d looked at the newborn child in her arms, the child who looked so much like her now, she’d promised him that he would never be left behind. She’d promised herself that day in the maternity ward that if Harry ever surfaced again she would tell him about his son, but that would be it. He wouldn’t be given any opportunities to wreck the boy’s life as he had theirs. Not a chance. She knew what having a wayward father did to a child, she’d experienced it first-hand, and the toll it had taken on her mother. Aidan knew that his dad wasn’t around, that his mummy loved him very much. All true. Till now.
The questions would get harder as he grew, she knew, and they had, but that was the promise she’d made that day, and even though she’d questioned her decision many times over the years, she’d stuck to it. She wasn’t the one who didn’t know how to treat people, or to honour the promises she made. Aidan knew he had a father. He just didn’t know him. He was an abstract part of his life, and Annabel wasn’t about to confuse him by telling him the truth.
Harry was back to work tomorrow at the station and work they would. Hell, she’d been through worse times lately. Like the night she’d called Harry and begged him to come home, almost confessing her love for him still. He’d ruined that second chance too.
Copyright © 2021 by Rachel Dove
Love Harlequin romance?
DISCOVER.
Be the first to find out about promotions, news and exclusive content!
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Instagram.com/HarlequinBooks
Pinterest.com/HarlequinBooks
ReaderService.com
EXPLORE.
Sign up for the Harlequin e-newsletter and download a free book from any series at
TryHarlequin.com
CONNECT.
Join our Harlequin community to share your thoughts and connect with other romance readers!
Facebook.com/groups/HarlequinConnection
ISBN-13: 9780369711977
Falling for the Brooding Doc
Copyright © 2021 by Annie Claydon
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book, please contact us at [email protected].
Harlequin Enterprises ULC
22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.Harlequin.com
Falling for the Brooding Doc Page 20