The Look of Love

by Chris Keniston

  “Your mother’s right. Everything will work out,” he reassured.

  And wasn’t it nice of him to realize she needed reassuring. Maddie nodded again, and, lifting feet that felt shoed in concrete, she walked beside him. “You were wonderful back there. When the rest of us were running like chickens with our heads cut off, you kept your cool.”

  He chuckled softly. “Comes with the territory. Besides, we undergo an enormous amount of training for EOD, including emergency medicine.”

  “So the navy expects you guys to deliver babies while disarming bombs?”

  “Not exactly. But we like to be prepared.” He flashed her a broad smile. “Just in case.”

  “Well, you were certainly prepared. You had everything down, from the towels to the shoelace.”

  “Oh, the navy didn’t teach me that.” He opened the front door for her. “I learned it from a Doris Day movie.”

  Maddie walked past him into the house. She had no idea if he was serious or not, but the way his eyes twinkled with laughter, she had no choice but to smile back.

  Rubbing her hands together with glee, Maile surveyed the living area. “I just love babies. Emily, help me put in the fridge a few of these things that will spoil.”

  “Can I help?” Carolyn asked.

  “Absolutely.” Maile waved toward the door. “You can start bringing in the food from outside.”

  “I’ll give you a hand,” Angela said to Carolyn.

  “And since you know most everyone, Angela, start suggesting folks either go on home or head over to the hospital if they want to see the new baby.”

  “Shouldn’t we just send them all home?” Carolyn asked.

  “Nah. Around here a new baby is bigger news than a tsunami. Folks who know Nick and Kara will show up at the hospital no matter what we say, and, when the baby comes, Nick will be strutting around like a young rooster who figured out how to crow.”

  “I can help a minute.” Yvette picked up a platter of deviled eggs.

  “Nonsense. Grammas, grampas, aunts and uncles don’t clean the kitchen. They get their keisters to the hospital. Now scoot.”

  “But—”

  Maile made shooing motions with her hands. “No buts. Out you go, all of you. And I’ll make sure Margaret takes Bradley home with her. The boys can play until Bradley’s brother or sister gets here. Then Margaret or Sara can bring them to meet the new addition to the family.”

  From a chair in the corner, Maddie retrieved her purse. “I’ll dri…” Crud. “We came with Nick. He’s got the car keys.”

  Emily looked up. “I can take you. Just let me stash this in the fridge, and we—”

  “I’ll take them.” Dan held up a set of keys. “You stay. The more folks helping here, the sooner your mom can get to the hospital.”

  Maile’s face bloomed into a broad smile worthy of a vacation poster. “Thank you, Carolyn’s nice father.”

  “Do you know where we’re going?” Maddie slung her purse over her shoulder.

  “Nope, but James the GPS does.” Dan gave her a full-blown smile that almost made her forget how anxious she was.

  “If you don’t mind”—her hands filled with two trays from outside, Carolyn paused in front of her dad—“I’ll catch a ride later with someone else.”

  Only a few steps behind Carolyn, Angela spoke up. “Billy and I will take you.”

  “We can too,” Emily offered.

  This was what Maddie was lacking in San Diego. When she’d left Texas, she’d been thrilled to escape the claustrophobic feeling of everyone in her life and her business. Not until now did she realize how much she had missed the support system that came with it.

  Dan nodded at everyone, smiled at his daughter and, twenty minutes later, he and the remaining Harpers all piled out of his rental and into the hospital.

  “I’m looking for my daughter-in-law, Kara Harper.”

  The nurse behind the large emergency room reception desk clacked away at the keyboard.

  “They couldn’t have been too far ahead of us. The ambulance just brought her in.”

  “Oh.” The woman looked up from the screen. “Here she is. They’ve just now taken her upstairs to maternity. Third floor. Elevators are down the hall to your left.”

  “Thank you.”

  The silence in the elevator spoke volumes for how concerned everyone was. Normally Maddie’s bubbly mother would be prattling on with excitement over the new grandbaby, but instead the weight of a premature birth stilled her and the others’ tongues. The moment the doors opened, Yvette flew to the nurses’ station. “My daughter-in-law was just brought up. Kara Harper.”

  “Let me see.” The older nurse glanced at a white erase board behind her. “I don’t see…”

  “She’s having a baby,” Yvette said so simply, without recognition of how blatantly unnecessary the comment was in the maternity ward that, for the first time in what seemed like hours, Maddie had to smother a smile.

  When the nurse turned slowly, looking over the rim of her glasses at Yvette, Maddie had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

  “Everyone gets a little nervous when a baby is coming.” Dan bit back a grin, his lips turned slightly upward at the corners.

  Another bank of elevator doors opened, and a handful of people Maddie recognized from the party came out and huddled behind her mother, asking about Kara and the baby.

  “Mrs. Harper has been moved to a delivery room. If you will all take a seat in the visitors’ lounge, I’m sure someone will be out shortly to give you an update.”

  Obediently everyone marched down the hall to the waiting area. Holding hands, her parents chose to walk back and forth. Maddie commandeered a spot in the back corner. Dan took a seat beside her. Every few minutes another person or two showed up, and soon the chatter in the room had grown as loud and happy as the atmosphere at the party had been.

  All Maddie wanted was for Nick and Kara to have a healthy baby. And an update.

  “I’m sure someone will be out soon.”

  For a moment she asked herself if Dan could possibly read her mind. “I was just thinking I wished someone would give us an update.”

  “I know.” She must have looked totally bewildered because he added, “You keep casting furtive glances down the hall.”

  Was her brother that observant? This man seemed to be aware of everything around him. And totally capable of handling any sudden change. Not many people could read each other with just one look. “You really are something. Or do women tell you that all the time?”

  Dan chuckled lightly. “I’ve been called a something or two.”

  “So how have you stayed out of some woman’s snare all this time?”

  “You overestimate my appeal.”

  “Nonsense. My brother was in the navy too. Remember? I am fully aware of the effect a nice summer white uniform has on the ladies. And the not-so-ladylike.”

  He chuckled again. “I’m well past the age of impressing women with my uniform.”

  “What is it with you and age? You make it sound like you’ve got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. But reaching eligibility for retirement after twenty years of service reminds a man that not being able to eat as much as he used to without adding an extra set of reps to his workout routine has more to do with his age than the additives in his diet. Then finding yourself at the same time no longer a steadfast bachelor but the father of a full-grown daughter can certainly make you take a long look at yourself. And that long look can be painful.”

  “First of all there is a lot of crap in our foods making us fat. Second, I would think being eligible to retire at only forty-two-years young is a good thing. And lastly, it’s not like Carolyn showed up with a bunch of grandchildren in tow. She’s barely out of school. That’s still pretty young.”

  “Says the pot to the kettle.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “You’ve got a coupl
e of decades before you’ve got to deal with a slowing metabolism, strained muscles and fading eyesight.”

  “Not hardly.”

  Rubber soles squeaking on the tile floor announced the nurse scampering down the hall and headed for the waiting area. The petite woman grew closer, and Maddie found herself pushing to her feet. Dan stood as well, and, all of a sudden, as the woman stood at the doorway looking around the crowded room, Maddie felt the warmth of a strong hand enfold hers. She hadn’t noticed when she’d done it, but she must have extended her hand to him, and, without fuss or fanfare, he’d taken it in his.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Harper?”

  Maddie’s parents moved in closer. “That’s us.”

  “If you’ll come with me, your son has someone to introduce you to.”

  The room exploded in a raucous cheer. High fives, hoots, hollers, hugs and kisses were exchanged with gusto. Maddie spun about and flung her arms around Dan. She veered north, and he leaned south. Intending to kiss him on the cheek, their lips met, and the world stopped.

  * * *

  This was so not what Dan had in mind when her arms flew around his neck. A quick peck on the cheek. A felicitation for the safe arrival of her brother’s child. Not the heat of pliable soft lips against his.

  Inching away and looking into her eyes, the same startled reaction he’d had now stared back at him. But more dangerous, and more enticing, was the yearning in those eyes. The smoky haze of desire cut through him as clearly as if she’d held a knife to his gut. Her lips barely parted, maybe to speak, maybe to breathe, it didn’t matter. He had to taste more. Soft, sweet, warm.

  Perfection creating a unique dance that somehow seemed so familiar.

  The deep rumble of a man laughing nearby penetrated the haze in Dan’s mind, and, as quickly as the kiss had come to be, they pulled apart. Now he’d done it. Dragging his gaze away from Maddie’s, he glanced quickly around the room. It didn’t appear anyone had noticed his misstep. Carolyn was engrossed in conversation with Angela. Maile, her friend Margaret and a few others were literally bouncing with excitement. And all he wanted was to kiss Madeleine Harper again.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Look who we have here,” Yvette Harper announced.

  All heads turned in her direction. Nick stood by the entryway, cradling a bundle in a yellow blanket, his mother beaming at his side. “I would like to introduce you to Catherine Grace Harper. Six pounds, five ounces and nineteen inches of beautiful healthy baby girl.”

  Like bees returning to the hive, every breathing person in the room swarmed around him, doing what all normal people did with new babies—they made silly noises and even sillier faces and all-around fools of themselves. And no one cared.

  And while Maddie knew she should be front and center, making the biggest fool over her new niece, she couldn’t get over the sensations zinging through her body from one very brief and very thorough kiss from retired US Navy Captain Daniel O’Neil.

  Fingertips to her lips, she managed to move her feet, taking a step back. “I have to go.”

  Smoky green eyes remained fixed on her. Eyes that seemed to be swimming in the same sensation overload as her. Only the sound of his voice had her dragging her gaze away from his.

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.” Whether she meant for the comment or the kiss, even she wasn’t sure. Finally managing to spin about, she almost smacked into her brother. So consumed by the heat of the moment, she hadn’t heard him walk up behind her.

  A smile as wide and big as the island covered his face, but rather than his gaze gleaming with the high of the moment, his eyes drilled into Dan—a conversation she wasn’t able to decipher. But when Dan took a step back, she guessed he understood her brother perfectly.

  “Catherine, I’d like you to meet your aunt Madeleine.” He passed off the tiny baby.

  “I have handbags that weigh more than you do.” Catherine Grace lifted an arm and snuggled into the embrace. “Oh, God, she’s beautiful.”

  “Looks like her mama.” Yvette ran one finger along the tiny girl’s jaw, and little Catherine Grace immediately opened her mouth. “I think we need to get this angel back to her mother.”

  “Good idea.” Nick nodded. “Why don’t you do that?”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice to hold my grandbaby.” With an ease that would have led anyone watching to believe Yvette was a seasoned grandmother, she swooped the baby out of Maddie’s arms and made her way back to Kara’s hospital room, cooing and chatting, and promising her first granddaughter everything from cooking lessons to tiaras.

  “Here you go.” Billy slapped Nick on the back and handed him a small box with a wide painted bow and the words It’s a Girl across the top. “Picked these up downstairs. Thought they might come in handy.”

  Her brother opened the lid and barked out a laugh. Chocolate cigars. “How’d you know she would be a girl? None of us knew.”

  Shoulders straight and smiling like everyone else on the floor, Billy tipped his head toward his wife coming his way. “The boy box is in her handbag.”

  That made Nick laugh even louder. That was Billy, always prepared.

  Dan stuck his hand out to her brother. “Congratulations. She’s beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” Nick took his hand, and it looked to Maddie like the handshake and the eye contact lasted much longer than normal. They were communicating again.

  And she was pretty damn sure whatever her brother was telling him, she wasn’t going to like it. “How’s Kara doing?”

  “Great.” Nick let go of Dan’s hand and spun to face his sister. “She’s exhausted. Apparently she’d been in labor since last night and didn’t realize it.”

  Maddie leaned back, her entire face scrunched up. “How could that be?”

  “She thought she couldn’t sleep because of indigestion. She was having mostly back labor, a little heartburn, and here we are.”

  “The important thing is, everyone is healthy and happy,” Dan interjected.

  “There’s no problem that she’s a few weeks early?” Maddie asked.

  Nick shook his head. “She’s perfectly fine. Everything tests within normal range, and six-and-a-half pounds for a first baby is a good size. The doctor said, if Kara had gone to term, she’d have probably delivered an eight-pound butterball.”

  “When can I see your wife?” Maddie asked.

  “Now, if you want, but she was actually dosing off. That’s why Mom and I brought the baby out here.”

  “In that case, give me your keys, and I’ll go get the car so you have wheels to go home in.”

  Patting his pants pocket, Nick looked down, then up. “How did you get here?”

  “I brought her and your parents,” Dan spoke up.

  Nick slanted him another studious glance. “I see.”

  “Hand them over.” Maddie opened her palm.

  “Here you go, but the SUV is new. Let Dad drive.”

  “Are you never going to let me forget?” Maddie grabbed the keys. Dan looked from her to Nick and back.

  “Nope.” Nick flashed a cheesy grin, then turned to Dan. “This is the woman who took too close to heart the old adage bumpers were meant to be bumped. Apparently her driver’s ed teacher failed to explain today’s bumpers aren’t metal barricades but plastic-covered Styrofoam.”

  “One lousy bump.” She rolled her eyes.

  Nick ignored her and looked back to Dan. “She took out the neighbor’s fence.”

  Dan’s eyes widened, amusement flickering.

  “I was learning how to drive, and the phone was ringing.”

  “Not a confidence builder. You’re a Realtor now. Your phone rings all the time. Remember the rear taillight?”

  “There was ice! I can’t be blamed for Mother Nature. Texans aren’t taught how to drive on ice.” Maddie faced Dan. “My senior year of college he let me use his car for a ski vacation over the winter break with some friends near Colorado Springs. We hit a patch of ice.
I fishtailed and saved us from crashing into other cars, but the taillight tapped a light post.”

  Doing a lousy job of hiding his smile, Dan shrugged and addressed Nick. “She has a point. It’s a bitch to drive on ice.”

  “What about the car door at the—”

  “That’s enough.” Maddie lifted her hand in front of her, palm out. “I’ll go get Dad.”

  “If I may make a suggestion?” Dan reached for her arm, and heat immediately shot straight to her core. “If the lieutenant here is serious, why don’t I take you back to the house? You can drive the rental, and I’ll follow you in the SUV, and your father can stay with your mom and the baby.” He turned to Nick. “That is if you trust my driving.”

  “To hell and back, sir.” Another one of those damn long, intense looks that spoke tomes passed between the two men before Nick faced his sister. “You’re too easy to tease. Let the captain give you a lift, then bring me my car. I don’t know how late I’ll be, but at least you guys will have wheels.”

  “Okay.” Except now she was going to be alone with the best kisser she’d ever known and had no idea what the hell to do about it.

  * * *

  The walk from the waiting room to the elevator had been a pitiful example of polite conversation focusing on the arrival of Miss Catherine Grace Harper. Mostly because Dan was too chicken to discuss what was really on his mind. Wanting Madeleine.

  And he wasn’t talking about just in his bed. Or on the sofa. Or in the shower. Sigh. He’d spent a handful of hours with this smart lady, and, with every new thing he learned about her, he wanted to know more. He knew she was smart and sassy and pretty and caring and a little klutzy. “How old are you?”

  There. He’d asked the question. Put the dirty-old-man card on the table.