“Did you adopt them?”
“Yes. My mother’s a pediatrician. There was this young…” She looked away then back to him. “Why am I telling you all this?”
“Because of our connection.”
“Stop saying that.”
Oliver was shocked to see fear in her eyes. Was he bullying her? “I’m sorry if I’m too aggressive. Do you really want me to leave you alone?”
“Even if I don’t, your mother is my patient. Professional ethics and all.”
“Like I said, we can change her to another cardiologist now that she’s out of the woods.”
When she hesitated, he said, “I’m going to leave you alone to think about this. I hate the idea that I’ve scared you. But, please, Anabelle, think about it.” He stood. “Say my name before I go.”
“I’ve said it many times.”
“My first name.”
Their gazes locked. God, he knew there was something here.
“Goodbye, Oliver.”
He grinned and walked away.
Chapter 2
Anabelle splashed with her two daughters in the huge bathtub she’d put in her house. The twins were identical but one sported curly hair and one didn’t. Emily’s blond curls were plastered against her head, making her blue eyes stand out.
Her sister Lucy sat happily plopping her hands in the water repeatedly. The scents of baby soap and baby shampoo were an elixir to her.
When Anabelle finally got them out and into their room, they were sleepy. She’d barely had time to throw on a robe, dry them off and slide them into summer pajamas, pink for Emily, purple for Lucy.
No bedtime stories tonight. They each fell asleep as soon as they hit the mattress in their crib. She’d bought two but they screamed when they were separated so she stored one away. Anabelle lay down on the single bed across the room to summon her energy. Work had been busy today and the twins were active since she brought them home.
She closed her eyes.
And saw Oliver Ricardi. God, he was cute. He was a big man, with steel blond hair cut short and styled kind of spikey on top. It looked coarse. His arms looked like they could carry her easily.
“Arrgh.” She bolted up from the bed and slid off. She took one last look at the girls, turned off the lights and went to her bedroom. Exhausted from a surgery and four appointments today, from being with two energetic toddlers until seven then the tiring task of giving them a bath. She put on silky blue pajamas, propped her pillows up and slid onto the bed. She picked up her tablet and clicked into tomorrow’s schedule. Hmm. Her day off. How had she forgotten?
Again, Oliver Ricardi came to her mind. What would he do on his day off? Did he take days off? Boy, she wanted to see him. Her nanny, Irene, was still coming tomorrow, so she could go to his office. Take him up on his offer for a date.
Nah. It was impossible. Professionally, she was still treating his mother. Her cell phone on the nightstand rang.
“Hello.”
“Anabelle, it’s Curt Langston.” The chief of cardiology.
She hoped he didn’t want her to come in tomorrow. “What can I do for you, Curt?”
“We finally got approval for the new doctor to come on board. I’m lightening the load for the rest of us. You have to transfer two patients to him. Do you know who you’d want to let go?”
Well, if this wasn’t a sign, she didn’t know what would be.
She finished the call with Curt then picked up her phone again and punched in numbers. “Hi, Irene. It’s Anabelle. Would you be able to change your hours tomorrow to 3-10? Something’s come up that I have to do.” She’d planned to work all morning, then let Irene go for the afternoon. But instead, maybe she could go to Oliver’s place of business like he’d come to hers.
“Yeah, that’s even better for me,” Irene told her. “See you then.”