Marrying the Playboy Doctor (7 page)

“What? Are you sure?” Kylie looked shocked.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He finished drying the dishes and
tossed the damp towel on the counter. “And I don’t like being angry at my mother, especially when she’s not here to defend herself, but I am.”

“How do you know he wasn’t your father?”

“Because I found a wedding picture and a marriage certificate for my mom and an Air Force pilot named Shane Andre. He died a few weeks after I was born.”

Her mouth formed a small O. “And you never knew?”

“No. I never knew. Throughout my whole life I believed Gregory Taylor was my father.” He struggled to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

“My gosh. Your stepfather must have adopted you, since your last name is Taylor, but I wonder why your mother chose to keep it a secret?” Kylie asked, her brows puckering together in a slight frown.

“I don’t know.” He stared at her for a moment. “You’re a single mother, like my mom was. What have you told Ben about
his
father? Does he know the truth?”

She paled and took a step back, looking distressed. “No, he doesn’t know the truth. Not really. But it isn’t the same situation at all.”

He couldn’t help looking grim, because to him it felt the same. “You mean you’re not ever going to tell Ben the truth?”

Her gaze narrowed, and her voice practically shimmered with anger. “Don’t you dare pass judgment on me,” she hissed in a low voice. “Will I tell him the truth? Probably not. But it’s not as if Ben’s father died in a plane crash—a situation clearly beyond his control. Ben’s father walked out, abandoning his own son before he was born. Do you really expect me to tell a six-year-
old that his father left the moment I went into labor, leaving me all alone without a birthing coach?”

Her tone rose in agitation and he sent a worried glance toward the kitchen door, hoping Ben wouldn’t come in.

“Those hours of labor were awful, and then the doctor told me Ben was breech and would need to be delivered via C-section. Which only worried me more. But I didn’t have anyone to talk to. No one to comfort me as I went through surgery, praying my baby would be all right.”

Her voice was literally shaking, and he felt like a jerk for upsetting her. He reached for her, but she hastily stepped away, wincing as she bumped her hip hard against the kitchen counter. “Kylie, I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s not the same thing at all.”

“No, it’s not.” She wrapped her arms over her stomach, as if she were cold. As if it weren’t a nice, breezy seventy-five degrees outside.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, trying to ease closer, anxious to offer comfort. “I had no idea what he did to you.”

“Yeah, well. Now you do.” Kylie bravely lifted her chin and met his gaze head-on. “And now you understand why this isn’t going to work. I’m not in a position to forget all my troubles, go out and have a little fun. I can’t depend on anyone but myself. Not when it comes to Ben.”

He disagreed. She shouldn’t have to do everything alone. But this wasn’t the time to argue. She was hurt, and he longed to make her feel better. He took another step closer and lightly reached for her, keeping his touch gentle and nonthreatening. “I think you’re a wonderful mother to Ben.”

She relaxed a bit and gave a tiny nod. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you so upset.” He lightly stroked his hands up and down her arms. “Ben is very lucky to have you.”

“And you were lucky to have your parents, too. Remember that whatever reason your mother had for not telling you the truth she loved you. And so did the man who adopted you as his own.”

Gregory Taylor
had
adopted him. All three of them. He had raised them as his own.

Kylie was right. Being angry was stupid.

Especially when he was close enough to breathe in her sultry scent, her soft skin warming beneath his hands. He didn’t want to hurt her, yet at the same time he couldn’t stop himself from leaning down to brush another kiss across her luscious mouth.

“Seth…” she whispered.

“Shh,” he soothed, drawing her closer. “Just a kiss, Kylie. Please?”

She lifted her head, stared into his eyes, and then raised up on her tiptoes to press her mouth against his.

U
NABLE
to deny something she wanted so desperately, Kylie fitted her mouth to his, kissing Seth even though she knew she was playing with fire.

But she hadn’t been held by a man in a really long time. She’d been so cold and lonely. There was no way she could voluntarily tear herself away from Seth’s welcoming heat.

His mouth hungrily slanted over hers, and she met his caress with an eager response of her own. The passion between them sizzled, like water droplets dancing in hot oil. The only difference between this kiss and the one during the baseball game was that it was Seth who ended the embrace.

“Kylie,” he whispered in a hoarse tone as he rested his forehead against hers. “This is starting to feel complicated.”

Complicated? Was that a good thing or a bad thing? The haze of desire clouding her senses made it difficult to think. Probably a bad thing. “Uh, okay.”

He sighed and muttered a curse. “No, it’s not okay. But it doesn’t matter. Can I see you tomorrow?”

Tomorrow? Sunday? She knew she probably should say no, but her mouth answered before her brain could protest. “Sure.”

“Good. That’s good. I’ll teach you about football as we watch the game.” His tone was casual, but his gaze was intense. He might have been the one to step back, remembering better than she how Ben was just in the other room, but his dark brown eyes were almost black with banked desire.

“Great.” She gathered her scattered thoughts, stifling a flash of disappointment that he hadn’t asked her out for a proper date. Although hadn’t she just told him she wasn’t in the market for fun? The heat of his kiss had confused everything.

With Ben here, she wouldn’t have to worry about any more toe-curling kisses. “I’ll think of something to throw together for dinner.”

“I was thinking we could go out for dinner—if you can find a babysitter for Ben? If not, he’s welcome to join us.”

She sucked in a breath. Did she dare go out with Seth on a real date? Maybe she was wrong to react so harshly? Would a little fun hurt? After everything she’d been through in the past year, she probably needed some fun.

“It’s just a date, Kylie,” Seth said when she hesitated.

She slowly nodded. “All right. I’m sure I can find a babysitter.” There was a young girl who lived not far away who’d tucked a flyer in her mailbox shortly after they’d moved in, offering “reasonable rates” for babysitting services. Missy Clairmont had used the teenager a few times, and when she’d come over to apologize
again after Ben’s accident, she’d highly recommended Elise Eberson as a babysitter.

“Excellent,” Seth murmured. He stepped back with a reluctant smile. “I’d better say good-night to Ben.”

She wished she could ask him to stay, but that was one line she didn’t dare cross, so she held her tongue as she followed him into the living room.

“Hey, Ben, I need to get going. But I’ll stop by and watch the game with you tomorrow,” he said in a cheerful tone.

“Cool!” Ben tore his gaze away from the game to grin widely up at Seth.

“You know we’ll have to watch the Packers game, not necessarily the Chicago Bears game,” Seth pointed out. “Depending on if the Bears play later, it might be broadcast on TV. But the bigger question is, are you sure you can handle the pressure if the Packers win?”

“I can handle it,” Ben said with confidence. “Go Bears!”

Seth chuckled and lightly ruffled Ben’s hair. “Go Packers. See you tomorrow, Ben.”

“Bye, Dr. Seth.”

Ben’s easy acceptance of Seth’s plan to return the next day caused a tiny niggle of worry to work its way under her skin. She ignored the sensation as she walked Seth to the front door.

He caught her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. “See you tomorrow, Kylie.”

She tried to smile. “Good night, Seth.”

When he left, she was keenly aware of his absence.

Maybe it wasn’t Ben’s easy acceptance of Seth’s
plan to return the next day she should worry about but her own. She leaned against the closed door for a moment, fighting the sudden doubts.

Why was she doing this? Hadn’t she decided Seth couldn’t be anything more than a friend? Why had she agreed to see him again?

Yet instinctively she trusted that Seth would never hurt Ben. Not the way Tristan had, walking away when her baby’s life had literally been in danger.

Shaking her head at her own foolishness, and her inability to keep her distance from Seth, she pushed away from the door and headed back toward the kitchen. Where had she put that babysitter’s phone number?

The next day, Seth arrived at a quarter to twelve, just fifteen minutes before the game was scheduled to start. He wore a bright green Packers jersey and tossed Ben a small bag. “This is for you. I hope you like it.”

Ben eagerly opened the bag, letting out a whoop of joy. “A Bears jersey!” he said excitedly. He pulled out the navy blue football shirt with the bright orange numbers on the front and yanked it over his head, grinning from ear to ear even though the jersey almost hung to his knees. “Thanks, Seth.”

“
Dr.
Seth,” Kylie corrected with a smile. It was nice of Seth to bring something for Ben. The idea of buying Ben a football jersey had never occurred to her. Trust Seth to think like a young boy.

She carried out some snacks, chips and dip for them to munch on during the game, and when Seth patted the seat on the sofa next to him sank down beside him.

He was close enough to touch, but she left a good six inches of space between them, trying not to start every time he lightly brushed against her. He flashed her that sexy grin as he began outlining the basic instructions of the game. She listened intently, watching as the play unfolded on the television. Soon she realized the game wasn’t nearly as complicated as she’d originally thought.

Each team had four chances to gain ten yards, with the ultimate goal being to get the football inside the other team’s end zone.

Simple, really.

But as the game progressed she discovered there were lots of confusing rules. Why they had to make such picky rules was beyond her. From what she could tell, the men on the front line were
always
holding, not just those few times the referee threw a yellow flag to penalize the team. And why did all the guys on the line rush toward the kicker if they couldn’t hit him? Some rules just didn’t make sense.

Her gaze landed on Ben, and she frowned when she noticed he was watching the game holding his head at an odd angle.

“Ben, what’s wrong with your neck?” she asked.

“Nothing.” He didn’t turn to look at her, but took another chip doused with shrimp dip.

“Then why are you sitting with your head tilted like that?” she persisted, exchanging a worried glance with Seth.

“So I can see better.”

Seth frowned. “Is the television blurry?”

“A little,” he admitted.

Seth got off the sofa and crossed over to where Ben was sitting on the floor. “Look at me,” he commanded.

Ben obediently turned, so he was facing Seth.

“Hold up your hand to cover your left eye,” Seth instructed. Ben’s left eye was the one with the stitches. “How blurry am I now?”

“You’re not blurry at all,” Ben said.

Seth nodded. “Okay, cover up your right eye instead. Now how blurry am I?”

“Really blurry. There’s, like, two of you.”

Kylie sucked in a breath, trying not to panic when Seth’s concerned gaze met hers.

“I think you’d better give that ophthalmologist a call.”

“I will.” Kylie rose to her feet and headed for the kitchen where she’d kept her appointment book. Ben had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Greenley on Tuesday, but she suspected her son needed to be seen sooner.

She dialed the number listed on Geoff Greenley’s card, but as it was a Sunday she was routed through to his answering service. She left a message, including her home phone number and her cell phone number, before hanging up.

After taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. There was nothing more she could do right now except wait.

She turned back toward the living room, then paused and glanced back at the phone. If Ben was having trouble with his vision she’d need to cancel Elise, the babysitter, too.

Stifling a pang of regret, Kylie reached for the phone. It was probably for the best anyway, because after two
sizzling kisses her emotions were already too tangled up in Seth for her own good.

Seth wanted to have fun. He hadn’t made any promises. She never should have agreed to go out with him. She knew it was all too possible he’d eventually get bored and move on to the next woman, like he always did.

Potentially leaving her heart shattered in a million broken pieces once he was gone.

Seth drove Kylie and Ben to the hospital, irked to realize that as the afternoon wore on, while they’d waited for Dr. Greenley to call back, Kylie had once again distanced herself from him.

He understood she was worried about Ben. After everything she’d been through with Ben’s father she was clearly used to handling crises alone, and with the ominous changes in her son’s vision she had a right to be concerned.

Still, he didn’t think Ben was the only reason she was practically ignoring him. Something else had happened to make her retreat, and darned if he could pinpoint what he’d done.

He hadn’t even kissed her—even though he’d thought of little else during the afternoon. The football game hadn’t held his attention like Kylie.

They’d arranged to meet Dr. Greenley in the ED. It was odd coming into the department as a patient’s family member rather than as part of the staff.

“Hey, Seth.” Simon Carter, the ED physician he’d covered for the previous weekend greeted him when they
walked in. His curious gaze rested on Kylie and Ben. “Hi, Kylie. What’s wrong? Is there something you need?”

“We’re actually meeting Dr. Greenley here, to check out Ben’s left eye.” He quickly introduced Kylie’s son. “Do you have an empty room for us?”

“Sure thing. Although I think you bypassed Registration.” Simon grinned as he gestured for them to follow him into a room. “But that’s okay. I’ll ask the registration clerk to come in to see you, to get everything rolling.”

“Sorry,” he murmured to Kylie. “I guess I didn’t go through proper procedures by bringing you directly in.”

Despite her obvious concern for Ben, she smiled. “You doctors are all the same, thinking you’re above following the rules.”

“Hey, I was hoping we wouldn’t have to get charged an ED fee, that’s all,” Seth defended himself.

Kylie’s smile faded. “We have insurance, so it’s no problem. I’m sure this visit will be covered.”

If not, he’d darn well pay it himself. But he didn’t voice the thought as Maggie, the registration clerk, arrived. Maggie greeted him briefly, and then entered all the pertinent information from Kylie about Ben into her laptop computer.

“Will someone let us know when Dr. Greenley arrives?” Kylie asked, glancing at her watch. It had taken a while for the doctor to get back to her once she’d left the message with his answering service.

“I’m sure they will.” Seth poked his head out of the room, noticing the ED wasn’t too busy. There was only
a handful of rooms with patients in them. Perhaps coming in during the middle of a Packers game was actually a good strategy. “I’ll watch for him.”

Kylie clung to Ben’s hand, trying to put on a brave front although he could tell she was tense.

He pulled his gaze away, sweeping the ED area, and noticed a tall man in his midthirties talking to Simon. In a few minutes he headed in their direction.

Dr. Greenley? Having never met the man, he’d expected him to be older. He’d imagined a Santa Claus type of guy, a little rotund, with white hair and a beard. Not someone about his age, who seemed to appeal to the women—at least from what he could tell from a few of the nurses’ reactions to him.

And, since he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, he had to assume Greenley wasn’t married, either.

“Kylie? Ben?” Dr. Greenley barely spared Seth a glance as he came into the room, going directly to Ben’s side. “So, your vision seems to be getting worse, hmm?” he asked, addressing Ben.

“Yeah, it’s blurry,” Ben said.

“Along with some double vision,” Kylie added.

“We need to examine you again, young man.” Dr. Greenley glanced around. “They have a special eye exam room here. I’ll just go find out if it’s open.”

“I’ll get it,” Seth offered, knowing exactly where the eye exam room was. He should have taken Kylie and Ben there right away.

Seth stepped out into the area and immediately Alyssa, the charge nurse on duty, crossed over. “Hey, Seth, what do you need?”

“Would you unlock the eye exam room for us?” The charge nurse always carried the keys.

“Sure.” He and Alyssa led the way, with Kylie, Ben and Dr. Greenley following close behind as they made their way through the ED to the exam room. Alyssa opened the door and stepped back. The eye exam room was small, barely large enough for all four of them to fit inside, but just when he’d considered stepping out, too, to give Kylie and Ben more room, Kylie slipped her hand into his, hanging on tight.

Dr. Greenley lifted Ben up into the chair and began using the complicated set of eye exam equipment to peer into Ben’s eyes.

Surprised by the way she’d reached out for him, Seth drew Kylie closer and lowered his mouth to her ear. “Are you all right?”

“A little nervous,” she confessed.

He gently squeezed her hand, wishing he could offer more than mere hand-holding for support. But he was pleased she’d accepted even that much from him. “It’ll be all right. No matter what happens, I’ll be here for you.” He was a bit surprised at how much he meant it. But parenting was a tough job. He didn’t like the idea of her dealing with Ben all alone.

Had that been partially why his own father had been so great with him and his siblings?

“I need to give you a couple of eye drops, Ben.”

Seth glanced at Kylie, half expecting Ben to put up a fuss, but he had to hand it to Greenley—the guy had expertly put the drops in so fast Ben had barely noticed.