Scarlet Wilson - Resisting The Single Dad - Resisting the Single Dad / Reunited by Their Secret Son

Rory had just told Cordelia Greenway something he hadn’t shared with his dad. That made Gene’s skin prickle. Was he failing his child? Wasn’t he being the best dad that he could be?

His mouth felt dry.

He kept listening, watching through the gap in the door.

It felt like prowling. And he certainly wasn’t doing that. Rory was safe.

And right now he was seeing a side of Cordelia he hadn’t noticed before.

He could see she was dedicated to her work. The staff at the institute appeared to both like and respect her.

It almost made him want to push what had happened the other day out of his head. But he couldn’t. It sat there, churning away in his mind, making him wonder what he was missing.

He could hear Cordelia still talking softly to Rory. Occasionally there was a little tremor in her voice. But she also sounded reassuring.

He closed his eyes for a second. Could he imagine Karen ever doing something like this? The truth was, no. He’d been hurt when she’d walked away. She’d been clear that she couldn’t see herself taking on someone else’s child. And that had hurt. Because Rory had been like a bolt out of the blue to him too. But he couldn’t walk away. He would never have dreamed of it.

But here was sometimes prickly Cordelia being sweet to his son in a way he would never have expected.

When Rory asked about getting a new mommy and if she would love him, Gene’s stomach clenched so hard it felt like it was made of lead.

Cordelia’s answer seemed so simple. And completely and utterly true. He would never be with someone who couldn’t love his son as much as he did. They were a package deal.

His heart squeezed in his chest. The woman he’d been angry with a few days ago got that. She had got that about him straight away. And as he watched she settled Rory under her arm and started reading him his favourite story book.

Now his heart gave an unsteady flutter. Rory looked so comfortable there. His little body had adopted the slumped position it normally did just before he fell asleep. Sure enough, like clockwork, only a few pages into the book Rory’s eyelids started to droop.

Gene took a deep breath and collected himself, willing that he’d look as if he’d just appeared this second.

He stuck his head around the door and whispered, ‘Cordelia?’

She looked up and stopped reading. Her eyes widened as he realised he still hadn’t put a shirt on.

He almost hesitated, then dismissed it. She was a doctor, she’d seen more than enough naked torsos in her line of work. He walked over to the bed. ‘Apologies,’ he whispered. ‘I was in the shower. Rory hasn’t really grasped the concept of patience.’

She looked down at the mop of blond hair and ruffled it with her fingers. His head was completely sagging now. He was fast asleep.

‘I’m not too good at the whole patience thing myself.’ She looked up and met his gaze. The sincerity in her green eyes made him catch his breath.

‘I’m sorry. I was in the shower,’ he repeated. Crazy. He’d already said that. What was wrong with him?

‘So I can see.’ A smile danced across her lips as her eyes fixed on his bare chest.

He held out his hands and smiled back. ‘What can I say? I didn’t have time to put all my clothes on. I came out of the shower and realised I was missing a child.’

She shook her head. ‘Poor excuse. You never got paged when you were in the shower when you were working as a resident?’

The hours and workload of resident doctors were notorious. By the time every doctor had finished training they had dozens of stories to tell.

She tutted and shook her head. ‘I can’t believe you don’t know how to do the ten-second soaked-to-fully-clothed dance.’

There was a gleam in her eyes. She was teasing. Of course she was.

He shook his head and slid his arms under Rory’s body. ‘I can assure you I’m a professional.’ He winked. ‘I can do it in eight. Give me a sec, let me put Rory to bed.’

He kissed Rory on top of his head and walked back through to their room, putting him into the double bed and pulling the cover over him. He grabbed a grey T-shirt and tugged it over his head. She was standing at the door with her arms folded over her chest. She tilted her head to the side. ‘If you can do it in eight, then how come you didn’t manage?’

He stepped closer. He hadn’t even realised she was wearing a pair of cute pink pyjamas. Now she was standing up, even though every part of her was covered, he could see the way the jersey hugged her curves.

He gave a shake of his head and held up his hands as he kept his voice low. ‘Clothes aren’t really required when you’re missing a four-year-old.’ He rubbed his hands on his jeans. ‘Just be glad I put on these.’

She started to laugh then put her hand up to her mouth and stepped back. ‘Sorry, don’t want to wake Rory.’

‘Oh, don’t worry. You won’t wake Rory. Once he goes to sleep, that’s it. Nothing—not even a freight train—could wake him.’

She smiled again. ‘Sleep’s a funny thing. I could sleep within a few seconds when I was resident, but I was always on alert, waiting for the next page. But as soon as I got home? That’s it. I was out like a light—just like Rory. I once slept through guys drilling on the road outside.’

Gene felt something wash over him. Completely unexpected.

‘I used to do that.’ The words came out almost on autopilot.

She met his gaze. ‘And you don’t any more?’

He glanced at the sleeping figure on the bed. Rory’s head was resting on the pillow and he was curled into a ball. When Gene sucked in a breath he almost juddered. ‘I haven’t slept like that since Rory arrived.’

She blinked. And for a second he thought he’d made her feel uncomfortable. But she just gave a gentle shake of her head. ‘I can’t imagine how it must be to hear out of the blue that you’ve got a child. And that his mom was so sick. But whatever you’ve done over the last few years, it’s worked. He’s a gorgeous kid. Bright, articulate, intelligent and...’ she smiled ‘...very, very sweet.’

For a second he thought there was a flash of sadness across her face. But as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished again.

She pulled up one of legs behind her, catching her foot by the ankle and letting it click loudly. ‘Sorry, aches and pains. I get that way sometimes. Must be my old dance injuries—or my age.’

He put his hand at the back of his neck. ‘Mine too. But it’s an old football injury.’

She gave a smile. ‘Well, I can’t claim any kind of sport injuries. My biggest sport these days is how quickly I can read a book.’

He didn’t quite believe her. She was only wearing thin pyjamas and although she had a few curves, there was no hint of heaviness in her frame.

‘Did you recognise that book that Rory made you read? You seemed to relate easily.’

She laughed. ‘It’s a book. I always relate to books. When I was a kid you were only allowed four books with your library card. I tried to pretend to be another kid and get an extra card so I could check out eight books at a time.’

‘Did your plan work?’

‘Are you joking? My disguise was very flawed. I only took my outdoor jacket off.’

He couldn’t help but laugh out loud too. He was watching the easy, casual way Cordelia was chatting—as if it were completely normal to be chatting to someone she didn’t know that well in her pyjamas.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.