Harlequin Special Edition November 2014 - Box Set 2 of 2: The Maverick's Thanksgiving BabyA Celebration ChristmasDr. Daddy's Perfect Christmas

by Brenda Harlen

  Most of all, she wasn’t going to let him rob her of her belief that even at a size twelve, she was perfectly deserving of marriage and a family. Because if she ever wanted that happiness, that sense of belonging, she’d have to find it in her own family. Someday when she met the right man she would have that. Until then, she would keep doing the best she could.

  “What’s the matter?” Sydney asked as she came back into the room. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  In many ways Lily had. It was the ghost of her old relationship come back to haunt her. Just when she thought she’d exorcised it once and for all.

  It wasn’t that she wanted him back; that ship had sailed long ago. But seeing him in the paper with a woman who was everything he’d wanted her to be cut a little bit. It shouldn’t, but it did.

  “I wish I had brought my Spanx,” Lily said as she handed the paper to Sydney, who glanced at her askance as she accepted it.

  “Engagement announcements,” Lily said. “Second picture in the top row.”

  Sydney’s eyes grew wide when she obviously realized what she was looking at. “Oh! Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”

  “He finally found his perfect woman.”

  “Well, I’m sorry for her,” Sydney said, in a show of solidarity that Lily simultaneously loved and hated.

  Lily wasn’t sorry. Or at least if she told herself that enough, she might believe it.

  If the truth be told, perhaps she was sorry for herself. Sorry that everything she’d thought was real with Josh had been nothing but a mirage. How could she be with someone for that long and not see the handwriting on the wall?

  They’d been together since they were teenagers and had been broken up nineteen months. Now the guy she thought was the love of her life would be married to someone else by the spring. That fast.

  Badda-boom, badda-bing.

  Sydney was still glowering at the paper when Lily said, “He’s getting everything he ever wanted. She seems to come from a good family. She’s what? A size two?”

  Sydney snorted. “On a bloated day.”

  “I was born bigger than a size two,” Lily said. She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Oh, well, I wish them nothing but the best.”

  “She’s a sorority girl,” Sydney read. “Says so right here. Tri Delta. What in the world does she want with a guy like Josh?”

  “He always was ambitious,” Lily said. “I guess we can’t fault him for that.”

  “But we don’t have to forgive him, either.”

  Lily wasn’t sure if Sydney’s venom stemmed from Josh’s breaking Lily’s heart or because he’d put Sydney in the hot seat. Her job had been in jeopardy when he’d backed out of the wedding. Sydney had pushed so hard for Lily to win the Celebration’s Bride contest. Josh’s decision to break the engagement had thrown the show’s production into a real bind. Then, when one of the producers had wanted to use the footage of Josh breaking up with Lily in place of the wedding footage, Sydney had gone to bat to save Lily’s dignity.

  She was such a good friend. The source of her rancor didn’t really matter.

  “I’m glad you seem to be over him,” Sydney said, tossing the paper aside.

  “It’s amazing how much a little time and distance will heal,” Lily answered. If she said it out loud enough, surely she’d start to believe it. Wouldn’t she?

  Sydney held up a gorgeous emerald-green ball gown and cocked an eyebrow. “Of course, going to the ball with Dr. Studly does help, I’m sure.”

  Lily couldn’t help smiling. “I think a woman would have to be dead to resist Cullen’s charms.”

  Sydney squinted at her. “You’re falling for him, aren’t you?”

  Lily raised her shoulders and let them fall. “Would that be such a bad thing?”

  “A bad thing?” Sydney repeated. “I don’t know if I’d go so far to call it a bad thing. Risky, maybe. I mean Cullen Dunlevy does have a reputation for dating beautiful, one-dimensional women. You certainly can hold your own in the looks category—especially in this dress.” She held up the green number again and gave it a little shimmy.

  “I haven’t seen that side of him,” Lily said. “Except for one text that he received from a woman named Giselle. He was supposed to see her that night, but he didn’t. He came home and he’s been home every night since I’ve been working for him.”

  “From what I understand about Cullen, he’s involved with a lot of women and none of them are interested in a relationship.”

  “What makes you think I’m interested in having a relationship with him?”

  “Really?” Sydney gave Lily a look that said she didn’t completely believe her. “You’re not?”

  Lily’s gaze found the newspaper that Sydney had discarded. Her heart squeezed. Maybe it was just her pride. She and Josh had been together for so many years. She’d been on a few dates since they’d broken up, but she hadn’t found anyone that she wanted to get serious with. Still, she knew herself well enough to know that not wanting a second date with Mr. One-Date-Wonder was a far cry from being one of many in the dating pool of a guy she wanted to see again. She couldn’t deny the chemistry she felt with Cullen. Was the chemistry mutual or was that how he worked? His M.O.?

  “I don’t know what I want,” she finally admitted.

  “I don’t mean to discourage you,” Sydney said. “If that were the case, I wouldn’t be so happy about getting Cinderella ready for the ball. I don’t know Cullen well, but from what I do know, he seems different with you.”

  “It might be the kids,” Lily said, but instantly remembered the feel of his lips on hers and the way he’d told her without mincing words that he wanted to kiss her again. Her girl parts hummed to life at the thought.

  Oh, this was bad.

  As if reading her mind, Sydney said, “I say go for it, but just be careful. I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

  * * *

  Early the next morning, Lily was pulling fresh cinnamon rolls out of the oven when Cullen, who was freshly shaven, smelling like a god and all dressed and ready for work, entered the kitchen.

  She’d never known simple black pants and a white button-down that was open at the collar to be quite so sexy.

  “It smells like heaven in here,” he said as he took a mug from the cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee. “You do know how to tempt me, don’t you?”

  There was a gleam in his eye that made her stomach tingle. Maybe that was what was sexy about him. Maybe the black pants and white shirt were a blank canvas for those eyes.

  “You know me,” she said, holding his gaze and quirking an eyebrow. “I aim to please.”

  There it was.

  He just made it so darn easy to flirt and she couldn’t help herself. It was as if he coaxed it out of her. Yeah, but after all, he was a professional flirt. Should she expect anything else?

  Full-time doctor; part-time flirt.

  Or was it full-time for both? she pondered as she used a spatula to serve a steaming iced cinnamon roll.

  She’d gotten to work earlier than usual, letting herself in with her door key. She’d spent a restless night tossing and turning, thinking about her conversation with Sydney. Finally she’d given in. Rather than lying there while the squirrels of doubt ran rampant in her head, she got up and went into her grandmother’s kitchen that was now her kitchen and started mixing up dough for cinnamon rolls. She wasn’t going to figure out anything by overthinking it. So she vowed to press on, business as usual. The rolls would have just enough time to rise and she could pop them in the oven once she got to Cullen’s place. Her job was to care for the kids...and him, since he was letting her...and that was exactly what she intended to do.

  Cullen was seated on the edge of a bar stool at the island, sipping his coffee and reading the paper, which Lily h
ad brought in when she’d let herself in this morning.

  That was when she noticed that he’d poured her a cup of coffee, too. It was waiting for her at the space next to him.

  An invitation?

  It would seem so.

  Without giving it too much more thought, she set the plate in front of him and sat down on the stool next to him. She sat sideways so that she faced him.

  The kids were still sleeping. The house was quiet except for the sounds of Franklin the dog, who was snoring in his bed in the corner near the window, the oven that was clicking as it cooled down and the freezer dumping a batch of freshly minted ice.

  Fire and ice, she thought.

  Just like the two of them: he with his hot blood; she with her cool reserve.

  Little did he know that there was another side of her behind the front of capable cook and nanny.

  For a moment, it felt as if they were the only two people in the world.

  As he took a bite of the cinnamon roll, she sipped her coffee, holding the mug with both hands, letting the warmth seep into her palms and fingers.

  “God, this is good,” he said. “You made these from scratch?”

  She nodded as if it were nothing.

  “Do you not eat these?” he asked. “How can you not make these every day and eat them?”

  “Because I’d weigh five hundred pounds if I did.”

  “You look perfect just the way you are,” he said before he took another bite.

  Perfect?

  Just the way I am?

  She took another sip of her coffee before she could protest. Or at least until she could think of something else to say.

  “I wanted to remind you that today is a longer day at the holiday market,” she said. “Do you mind if I leave the girls at the booth with Sydney and A.J. while I go pick up George from camp?”

  “That’s all the way on the other side of town,” Cullen said. “The hospital is closer to the community center than you’ll be. Why don’t I just get him and bring him to you?”

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “You don’t mind picking him up?”

  He leaned in closer, resting his arm on the back of her chair, and for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. And she was going to let him if he did.

  But he hesitated for a moment, as if he were trying to read her or give her the chance to object. But she didn’t. “I’m absolutely sure.” He reached up and ran the pad of his thumb along her jawline. “In fact, I don’t know when I’ve ever been quite so sure of anything.”

  Ooh. She inhaled sharply at the sensation of his touch.

  Suddenly she knew he wasn’t just planning on a laid-back, friendly peck, like the one they’d shared under the mistletoe at the tree lot. This was going to be the real deal, and her insides began to melt.

  “Yeah?” she murmured. Her voice was barely a whisper and it sounded husky. “You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

  “You have no idea.”

  He shifted again. Their bodies were closer. Then his hand was caressing her back.... His breath was hot on her temple.... His lips skimmed her cheekbone.... She looked up at him and his eyes were hazy and hooded, and the next thing she knew, his lips were on hers, tasting like cinnamon-laced butter, black coffee and just a hint of mint...probably from his toothpaste.

  He smelled so good—like soap and shave gel and something green. Lordy, she was a goner. She curled her fingers into his hair, and her senses reeled. She wanted to inhale him...devour him.

  She had no idea how long they kissed, holding on to each other, lost in this moment that had been such a long time in coming. Common sense screamed that they should stop, that she should stop. She should pull away, but another part, a deeper, hungrier part, wanted to disappear into the shelter of his arms, into this place where fantasy lived and there was no such thing as mistakes or women like Giselle.

  Because she wasn’t like Giselle, and suddenly it was crystal clear in her heart—as if everything had shifted and snapped into place.

  Lily had fallen.

  And fallen hard.

  Chapter Nine

  “I don’t know what else to tell you, Max,” Cullen said. “We’re on a tight schedule. You’re going to have to figure out a way to make it work. The new surgical wing has to open on time. The board refuses to give me any room for negotiations.”

  For a day that had started out with so much promise, it had gone straight to hell after Cullen got to work. There had been a five-car pileup on the highway that had required all hands in the emergency room, and once they’d gotten everyone stabilized, Max Cabot, the contractor who was building the new pediatric surgical wing at the hospital, had landed in his office saying that they were behind schedule on the construction. He began pushing to see if the hospital board would ease up on the clause in the contract that said the contractor would have to pay a hefty fine for each day he went over the scheduled completion date.

  The board wasn’t having it, and Cullen was the messenger who had to deliver the bad news.

  “Look,” said Max. “I’m going to confide in you. I’ve had a problem getting in touch with one of my subcontractors. He’s MIA. That’s what’s holding me up.”

  “You’re going to have to figure it out, Max. That’s all I can tell you.”

  Before Max could protest, Cullen’s administrative assistant buzzed the intercom.

  “Dr. Dunlevy, Dr. Brenda Byrd is here to see you.”

  Brenda? Now? Great. Just what he needed. Cullen ran a hand over his eyes, trying to scrub away the irritation. This day just kept getting better and better.

  He stood and walked to the office door. “Max, I’m sure you can make it work. I have faith in you.”

  The contractor followed, but didn’t look imbued with the same confidence.

  “I’ll talk to you later,” Max said.

  Cullen gave him a curt nod and turned his attention to Brenda, who stood smiling at him as if she were the surprise guest who had just jumped out of a birthday cake. Only without the cake or the overtly sexy costume, both of which would’ve been much too obvious for Brenda. She’d always had her own simmering under-the-surface seductive style. But there had been so much turbulent water under the bridge that had once joined them that it had finally washed out their connection.

  “Hey, Cullen,” she purred. Seeing her wide smile and hearing her raspy voice took him back to the days when things had been good between them. All he could think was I’m just not up for this right now.

  “Hello,” he said. “I thought you were going to call once you got to town.”

  Brenda looked exactly as she always had, pretty in her sexy-smart-doctor way. Her shiny auburn hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders. She wore a silky white blouse with an expensive-looking black skirt and heels that might have been considered a little too high to be professional, but somehow she always managed to pull it off.

  “I wanted to surprise you,” she said.

  “Mission accomplished,” he said. “You did just that.”

  “Do you have time for coffee?” she asked.

  “I have a board meeting in ten minutes.” He shook his head. “It’s been one of those days. Know what I mean?”

  “I’m only in town for a couple days, Cullen. How about dinner tonight?”

  Tonight wouldn’t be enough notice for Lily.

  Lily. Just the thought of her made making plans with Brenda feel like...a betrayal.

  “Tonight doesn’t work. You should’ve called me. I could’ve put it on my schedule.”

  Although a phone call wouldn’t have preempted the day’s chaos. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but truth be told, he flat out didn’t want to go.

  “Nice to know that with notice you would’ve worked me in.” There was
an edge to her voice. She was always used to getting her way. Obviously, she still didn’t like it when events didn’t turn in her favor. “How about tomorrow night?”

  When Cullen hesitated, she said, “I need to talk to you. I need your advice. Can you help me out? For old times’ sake?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  She let out a breath, looked around. “You have a meeting. I don’t want to get into it now. Dinner tomorrow?”

  When their marriage had ended, they’d prided themselves on remaining friends. Now that she might be moving to Celebration, they might very well be colleagues.

  Friends made time for friends. They gave advice and all that jazz.

  “I need to shuffle some things, but I’ll see what I can do,” he said. “I’ll call you tomorrow and confirm, okay?”

  “Works for me. I’ll walk you to your meeting and you can start catching me up on everything that’s been happening since we last spoke.”

  That wasn’t happening now. There was too much to say to open that line of conversation before his meeting. Despite being a pediatrician, Brenda had never wanted kids of her own. That was one of the reasons their relationship had worked. Or was supposed to have worked. They were both career-focused. Medicine came first. Personal relationships followed at a close second. He thought about Lily and the kids. There was no way Brenda would understand why he’d taken in the Thomas kids. Because that meant living a kid-friendly life. It meant making yourself vulnerable and available. Like when he’d promised Lily he’d pick up George from camp—

  Oh, hell. Oh, no—

  “What time is it?” he asked as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

  Crap. It was nearly five o’clock. He was supposed to have picked up George from basketball camp at four. That was when he saw that he had three missed calls from a number he didn’t recognize on his phone, which had been on silent mode since he’d been working in the emergency room all morning.

  “I have to go,” he said, walking away from Brenda before he could explain.

  “Where are you going? I thought you had a meeting.”