Diagnosis: Daddy

by Gina Wilkins

  Chapter Ten

  “You have to meet this guy, Mia. He’s so cute. Wait till you see his eyes. They’re so dark a girl could get lost in them. And his eyelashes—well, let’s just say I’m very jealous of his eyelashes.”

  “He sounds very attractive.”

  Natalie made a rude sound and pointed at Mia with half a peanut butter sandwich. They sat at a small, round table in the otherwise empty teachers’ lounge, both being blessedly free from lunchroom duty that day. Although a welcome retreat from students, the lounge was hardly luxurious. It was furnished with a couple of worn couches, this little table and four chairs, a soda machine, a fridge, and a long counter that held a sink, a small microwave and a coffeepot that someone always drained without refilling.

  “Have you not been listening to me? He’s not just attractive. He’s gorgeous. I’m telling you, if I weren’t seeing Donnie, I’d jump this guy in a New York minute. His name is Cliff, by the way. Cliff Duffie. Isn’t that the cutest name?”

  “Adorable. But, seriously, Nat, I’m just not in the mood to meet anyone new right now. There’s just too much going on here at school and at home and…well, you know. Bad time.”

  Natalie made a sound that was suspiciously like a growl. “That’s what you always say these days. Do you know how long it’s been since we’ve been out after school?”

  Feeling a bit guilty, Mia shifted in her seat. “It’s not that I don’t want to hang out with you. I just don’t really want to go on a blind date. Why don’t you and I plan to do something, just the two of us? Dinner or a movie or something? Or we could drive out to that new shopping center. You’ve been wanting to see what’s there, haven’t you?”

  Eyeing her speculatively, Natalie took another bite of her sandwich, chewed and swallowed before speaking again. “What’s going on, Mia? You’ve been acting differently for a couple of weeks. Ever since that ice storm, really. Are you and Connor having problems? I warned you it would be difficult with all of you living in that little house. Starting to wear on each other’s nerves?”

  Glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation in the tiny lounge, Mia shook her head. “No, it isn’t like that. I’ve hardly even seen Connor for the past weeks. He’s always with his study group or in the lab or the library. Ever since he started these two new classes, he’s busier than ever.”

  “So that’s the problem? You’re feeling neglected? Taken for granted, maybe?”

  “There’s no problem,” Mia insisted with a shake of her head, pushing away her own barely touched lunch. “It’s just…I guess a touch of winter blues. I’m ready for spring.”

  “What about summer break? You’ll have more time for yourself then, won’t you? Medical school isn’t in session in summer, right?”

  “Connor has a couple of months off school. He told me he’s doing something called a preceptorship. Basically, shadowing in a family practice clinic.”

  “That’s what he wants to do? Family practice?”

  “Last I heard.” Not that she’d talked to him much lately, she thought glumly. “There’s a huge demand for family practice doctors as opposed to specialists. They don’t make as much money, but that isn’t why Connor is going into this, as we’ve already discussed.”

  “I still think he should have stuck with teaching,” Natalie murmured. “That’s another field with huge demand. And because money supposedly doesn’t matter to him, he shouldn’t mind living on a teacher’s salary.”

  “He wants to be a doctor.”

  “Hmm. Wants it badly enough to sacrifice a lot for it, apparently.”

  Mia frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Come on, Mia. Look at the hours he’s already put into this. His old friends here at the school never see him anymore. Coach Johnson told me the other day that he felt as though Connor had dropped off the face of the earth, and they were pretty tight when Connor worked here. And I know his other old buddies feel the same way.”

  “He just doesn’t have time.”

  “He’s got a kid he hardly sees, leaving you completely responsible for her. You’re trying to do your work, prepare for your future and take care of his daughter all at the same time, and the strain is showing on you. You never go out, you don’t seem as happy as you used to be, you’re blowing off chances to meet guys who could have something to offer you other than an unpaid housekeeping position, you know?”

  “Oh, come on, Natalie, that isn’t—”

  Some sixth sense made Mia aware that they weren’t alone. She turned to see Connor standing in the doorway.

  At first, she thought her eyes might be deceiving her. Surely he wasn’t really there, at that most inconvenient moment, his face looking as though it had been carved from granite.

  But then he gave a big, bright smile and moved forward, greeting Natalie warmly. “Hey, Nat. It’s good to see you. Been a long time, hasn’t it? How’s everything with you?”

  “Connor!” Sharing a quick, oh-hell look with Mia, Natalie stood to exchange air kisses with her former coworker. “Great to see you. How’s medical school? What brings you here today?”

  “Medical school is going well, and I just stopped by to give this to Mia.” He pulled an envelope from the inside pocket of his battered leather jacket. Because it wasn’t an ICM day and he hadn’t been required to wear a tie or his white coat, he’d dressed casually in a pullover, jeans and the jacket.

  He looked very handsome, of course, as he always did. But his eyes…

  Mia swallowed as she reached out for the envelope. If she’d had any optimism that he hadn’t heard at least part of what Natalie had said before he’d entered the room, that hope died when she saw the turbulent expression in his unsmiling eyes. “What is this?”

  “I was supposed to send this paperwork with Alexis to school today, but I forgot all about it this morning. It’s a permission slip and some insurance information they need before the museum field trip on Friday. I wondered if you’d mind dropping it off when you pick her up today. I’d have run it by myself, but I’m on my way to James’s place to study and the school is out of my way. Still, if it’s too much trouble…”

  “Of course it’s no trouble,” she assured him quickly. “Like you said, I’ll be there, anyway.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Absolutely.” She tucked the envelope in her purse. “Have you had a chance to see anyone else here? I know Coach Johnson would like to see you.”

  “Tell him hello for me if you see him, okay? I’ll try to stop by soon and catch up. But right now, I’m running late for the study session.”

  He turned to Natalie. “Great to see you, Nat. You and Mia should have a night out soon. Mia knows that I’m always available to watch Alexis when Mia has other plans.”

  “Yeah. We were just talking about that. Uh, see you around, Connor.”

  He nodded once and was gone.

  Groaning loudly, Natalie sank back into her chair. “Can you believe he showed up here, out of the blue, at that very moment? Man, what were the odds? And why does that sort of thing always happen to me? At least he didn’t act as though he heard what I said. That’s a relief.”

  “Yeah. A relief,” Mia muttered, though she knew very well that they hadn’t been so fortunate.

  What were the odds that he’d have walked in at that very minute? And how should she handle the fact that he had? Things had already been strained between them since those kisses in the power outage. They’d both pulled back again, expressing their tumultuous emotions only in occasional searching glances. They’d been careful not to touch, but when their hands had brushed by accident, they’d both jerked back as if they’d been shocked. The strain of pretending nothing had changed was beginning to show on them both.

  It wasn’t going to help things between them that he’d walked in on a conversation he never should have overheard. Should she act as though she was unaware that he’d heard anything at all? Try to explain, perhaps, or to assure him tha
t Natalie had spoken out of turn, and risk making everything worse? Or should she simply accept that what Natalie had said struck much too close to the truth?

  At that moment, Mia couldn’t say with total confidence that her friend’s accusations had been unjustified.

  Still seething over the things he had heard Natalie say to Mia, Connor hoped he could put all his worries aside for a few hours to concentrate on his studies. The gross anatomy final was just over a week away and the thought of it filled him with apprehension. It would be an intense, comprehensive exam and it was going to require every bit of his concentration for him to do well. He couldn’t help but resent that his relationship with Mia was becoming so complicated, so intrusive on his school work.

  It wasn’t her fault, he told himself as he rapped quickly on the door to James’s apartment. She was obviously no happier about the developments than he was. He just wished he understood better what was going through her head.

  Was Natalie right? Was Mia unhappy living with him? Did she really think he viewed her as an “unpaid housekeeper”?

  “Hey, Connor. Come on in.” James moved out of the doorway with an inviting wave of his hand.

  Something about James’s expression caught Connor’s attention. “What’s going on?”

  “Just a minor meltdown,” James replied in a murmur. “Haley’s handling it.”

  Glancing toward the kitchen table where they usually studied, Connor saw that Anne was sniffling into a tissue while Haley hovered over her and Ron stood helplessly nearby, wringing his hands.

  Connor groaned. Now what? “Is she okay?”

  “She’s worried about the test. She hasn’t been getting enough sleep or eating right or giving herself any time to relax and unwind, and it all just caught up with her.”

  “What should we do?”

  As clueless as Connor, James shrugged. “We follow Haley’s lead, I guess. I think it takes another woman to understand this sort of thing.”

  His life had been so easy a year ago, Connor thought wearily, pushing a hand through his hair. He’d been surrounded by teenage athletes who responded, for the most part, to praise and threats and occasional bribes. His weekends had been filled with pickup basketball games and sports on TV.

  He’d eaten when he felt like it, slept when he was tired, thought of tests only as something he administered to his own students. He’d had a group of casual friends to hang out with for fun and games. He and Mia had been the best of pals, able to ignore any simmering attraction and just enjoy being together, returning to their own safe quarters before any of those banked emotions could flare out of control. His future had been his own and any choices he’d made had affected no one other than himself.

  Everything was different now. His life no longer felt like his own. He was tired, stressed, worried, frustrated, dejected and hopelessly in love with a woman who quite possibly viewed him and his sweet, needy daughter as obstacles to her own future plans.

  And if he kept this up, he thought in self-disgust, he was going to sit next to Anne and burst into tears himself.

  “Okay,” he said loudly, moving forward in determination. “Let’s make some coffee and break out the sweets. I know you’ve got cookies or cake or something around here, James. That housekeeper of yours always keeps your pantries stocked.”

  Everyone was looking at him in surprise now, even Anne, who’d lowered her tissue with one last sniffle.

  “We’re going to spend the next few hours guzzling caffeine and sugar and filling our heads with so many gross anatomy facts that there won’t be any room left for thoughts of anything else,” he stated firmly. “Anne, you know this information as well as anyone in this room. You’re going to do fine. We all are. Now, let’s get at it, okay?”

  Anne drew a deep breath and tossed aside her tissue. “I need chocolate.”

  Connor smiled encouragingly. “That’s the spirit. You got chocolate, James?”

  Nodding in approval, James moved toward the fridge. “As a matter of fact, I do. Several kinds.”

  “Bring it on,” Ron said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Let’s kick some gross anatomy butt.”

  Haley laughed and moved toward the coffeepot. “Works for me.”

  Rather pleased with himself, Connor tossed his backpack on the floor beside his usual seat at the table.

  He just wished all his problems were so easily tackled.

  That Saturday was Valentine’s Day. No big deal, Mia assured herself as she served heart-shaped pancakes to Alexis. She’d declined another invitation for a double date with Natalie and Donnie and one of Donnie’s many single buddies, preferring, instead, to spend the day taking Alexis for that long-promised outing at the zoo.

  It was predicted to be a chilly but sunny afternoon, and they both needed the fresh air after the bad weather they’d been having lately had kept them cooped up in the house when they weren’t at school. Mia figured they could bundle up in coats, scarves, hats and gloves and they’d be fine for a few hours outside. She would take her camera and she expected to get lots of cute shots of a pink-cheeked Alexis admiring the animals.

  Connor wasn’t up yet, but that didn’t surprise her. She’d gotten up for a glass of water at three that morning and had noticed the light still on beneath his bedroom door. He needed every hour of sleep he would allow himself before the big exam, she thought with a disapproving shake of her head.

  She had just filled Alexis’s juice glass when Connor walked into the kitchen, almost hidden behind the gifts he carried. He handed Mia a dozen red roses in a beautiful glass vase. Before she could do more than murmur a surprised thank you, he turned to give Alexis a large white teddy bear that held a big red heart between its stuffed paws.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said, looking at Alexis as he spoke, although Mia could tell he spoke to both of them. “Bet you thought I’d forget.”

  Alexis hugged the bear. “He’s so soft. Thank you.”

  Mia buried her nose in the fragrant roses. He’d probably given them to her only because he’d gotten something for Alexis, but she was still pleased by the gesture. She loved fresh flowers, and roses were among her favorites. “They’re beautiful. Thank you, Connor.”

  “I have something, too.” Clutching the bear, Alexis dashed out of the room.

  Mia turned to set the roses on the counter and picked up a small, gold box of chocolates she’d purchased on an impulse when she’d bought a little heart-shaped necklace for Alexis. She’d debated whether to get him anything, not wanting to risk any more mixed signals between them, but it seemed only polite to give him something. She’d figured candies were appropriate without being too ambiguous. And she knew he loved sweets. Eyeing the roses, she was glad she’d given in.

  “I bought these for you,” she said, turning to offer him the little box. “I thought you might like a few treats while you’re studying.”

  His smile was just a little crooked, the expression in his eyes hard to read. “Thanks, Mia. I’ll enjoy these.”

  “Here, Daddy.” Alexis skipped back into the room bearing two large red hearts. “I made one for you and for Mia. We did them at school.”

  Accepting her gift, Mia smiled down at the heart bedecked with glued-on white doily, glitter and Alexis’s carefully written “I love you, Mia.” Her throat tight, she glanced at Connor’s Valentine, which read “I love you, Daddy.”

  Even knowing the project had been directed by Alexis’s perky teacher, Mia was deeply touched. She would treasure this little paper heart for the rest of her life, she thought as she knelt to kiss Alexis’s soft cheek. “Thank you, sweetie. It’s beautiful.”

  Already wearing her necklace with her pajamas, Alexis beamed. “You really like it?”

  “I really do.”

  “And so do I.” Connor’s voice was just a bit husky when he leaned over to thank Alexis with his own cheek kiss. “It’s the best Valentine I’ve ever gotten.”

  Bouncing on her toes, Alexis hugged
her bear. “I like Valentine’s Day.”

  “So do I,” Connor said, straightening. And then his expression turned guilty. “I wish I could spend it with you both, but I’m afraid I have to go. I’m going to be working all day in the lab.”

  “That’s okay,” Mia assured him. “You need to prepare for your final. Alexis and I have plans for this afternoon, so we’ll get along fine.”

  “I’m sure you will,” he murmured, holding her gaze for just a moment. And then he looked at Alexis. “I might be late getting in tonight. You two have a great day, okay? And thanks again for the gifts.”

  Still holding the paper heart from his daughter, Mia watched with a dull ache in her chest as he turned and left the room.

  Connor could feel the pressure building inside him as each day passed that week. His study group had been putting in long, intense hours preparing for the gross anatomy final while trying to keep up with their other classes. He’d studied with them, with his gross anatomy lab partners, on his own in the library and coffee shops and locked in his room late at night. He’d eaten when he’d remembered, slept in exhausted snatches and walked around in a fog of medical and scientific facts, trying to commit them all to memory.

  He didn’t want to question too closely if part of his obsession with schoolwork was to keep him from thinking too much about Mia. If studying at night kept him from thinking about her lying in her own bed only a few yards from his bedroom. Kept him from reliving the feel of heated kisses and soft curves pressed against him.

  He might be focused on his education, but he was still a healthy, relatively young male with needs, he thought irritably. The woman he wanted—the woman he loved—was living in the same house with him, doing everything she could to make his life easier. Yet it only seemed to become more complicated the more time he spent with her.