The doctor’s cell phone beeped a few times and he snatched it from his belt, opening it. “Excuse me,” he said to Emily. “It’s Dr. Garcia from the hospital. I asked him to call me as soon as my mother had X-rays.”
When he stepped outside the room, Emily stepped inside, but she was still aware of his cologne, still aware of his tall, lean physique, still aware of everything about the man whom she’d admired since he’d hired her.
She sank down to the floor beside the girls. “Tell me about your pictures.”
Courtney explained the boxy vehicle she’d drawn had come to their house with lights flashing. Amy’s picture, on the other hand, was a stick figure of a man with a stetho-scope around his neck. Anyone else examining the picture could have mistaken it for a necklace, but Emily guessed the girls had seen their father wearing it.
When Emily saw Jared had finished his call, she stood and went out to the hall again.
He was frowning, looking troubled. “My mother’s hip is broken,” he said gruffly. “After discussing it with her, they’ve decided to do surgery.” He sighed and raked his hand through his hair. “That means she’ll be in the hospital for a week, rehab for two. I have to get hold of my cousin to see if she’ll be willing to help out. She’s a free spirit, doesn’t like to be tied down, so I don’t know how this will play into her plans.”
“Dr. Madison, I’m so sorry.”
Their gazes met again and Emily felt a shiver of male-female awareness.
“You’ve been here long enough to call me Jared.”
“I didn’t think time had anything to do with it. You’re my boss.”
He gave her a half smile. “I am. But I think those stringent barriers have blurred a bit this morning. Is it all right if I call you Emily?”
She felt her cheeks start to flush. “Yes, that’s fine.”
“You could take the girls into the lounge,” he suggested.
In the very small room with a table and chairs and refrigerator, employees came and went. There wasn’t really enough room to gather, even if they had time.
“I think I’ll take them to my office. It’s bigger. Can they have juice? I know there’s some in the refrigerator.”
“Juice, but nothing else that’s sweet. I’m hoping the morning goes smoothly and I can buy them lunch at the deli.”
The Family Tree Health Center really was a center for specialty practices. Conveniently, there was a café on the first floor and a deli cart sandwich station on the second.
“If you get tied up, I’ll get them something.”
“Emily, do you know what you’re volunteering for? Children can be tiring and cranky.”
“And an absolute joy. We’ll be fine. Really. Trust me.”
A shadow passed over Jared’s face and Emily wondered whether trust was difficult for him. Why?
Trust wasn’t easy for her, either. In fact, except for her housemates, Francesca and Tessa, she usually kept to herself. It had seemed safer, especially in a new place. She had to remind herself Tessa was no longer her housemate. Her friend had gotten married and moved out last week.
“I’ll get the toys,” Jared said, grounding Emily in the here and now.
His gaze locked with hers again and she seemed mesmerized for a moment by the mysterious green of his eyes. Then he broke the spell and strode toward the reception area.
When Jared’s last appointment for the morning canceled, he was almost relieved. He had to see how Emily Diaz and his daughters were faring. He’d looked in on them briefly after their first hour with her, and they hadn’t even noticed he was there! Quite a feat, since after they’d lost their mother, they’d stuck to him like glue. It said something about Emily’s charm. She’d seemed so…robotic since he’d hired her. Maybe because he’d felt sparks he shouldn’t have felt when he’d interviewed her and she’d sensed his masculine interest. Yet, he told himself, there was no interest. With a failed marriage that had been mostly his fault, and his daughters to take care of on his own, he wasn’t about to get involved with anyone, not even a dark-haired, brown-eyed beauty who might ease his restlessness.
When he peeked into Emily’s office, he heard Amy’s awe as she said, “It looks like a swan. There’s a swan in one of my story books.”
“I think I know which one,” Emily offered. “The Ugly Duckling.”
Both girls nodded vigorously. “What else can you make?” they chorused.
Jared noticed the array of toys on the floor, a daily occurrence at his house, too. The August sun streamed in the window as his twins sat together in one chair beside Emily’s desk. She was just around the corner with colored sheets of paper splayed here and there.
When Courtney saw him she scrambled from her chair and hugged him around his legs. “Emily knows how to play with toys. She was a farmer.”
“She took the milk to market,” Amy piped in.
“Well, you have been busy. I happen to have an extra half hour freed up. I brought us lunch.” He opened bags on the desk and produced an array of food from sandwiches to salads to fruit cups.
As he settled the girls with a half sandwich each and some milk, he asked Emily, “Would you consider doing this for the afternoon, too?” Unbelievably, he did trust her with his daughters.
“I have patients.”
“I know you do. But Tom’s OB nurse is free this afternoon and he said he wouldn’t mind lending her to me and she’s willing to help. I know this is a lot to ask, but I’d really like to keep some continuity with the girls, and I still haven’t been able to reach Chloie. Sometimes, when she doesn’t want to feel tied down, she’ll leave her cell phone at home. So I have no idea where she is.”
Jared found himself studying Emily again, wanting to get to know her better. They were across the desk from each other, yet there seemed to be a magnetic pull that shortened the distance between them.
Emily chose a fruit cup from the lunch assortment. “Maybe you’d like to talk to Amy and Courtney and find out if they’ve been having a good time.”
“The smiles on their faces when I came in and their rapt attention to you told me all I need to know.”
She looked surprised by the compliment…as if she didn’t get many. Then she asked, “If I watch them this afternoon, do you mind if I take them for a walk down to the garden to look at the fountain?”
Jared hesitated.
“I promise I’ll hold their hands and never let them out of my sight. I know how precious children are, Jared.”
The sound of his name on her lips made his gut tighten. Damn, but he was attracted to her. “All right. But let me know when you leave and when you return.”
He’d lost people in his life. He needed to know his daughters were safe.
He instinctively felt they were safe with Emily.
Ever since he’d hired her, something about her had intrigued him. But he’d shut down that intrigue. He’d tried to turn off the current of electricity that vibrated whenever he got close to her. He was the boss. He shouldn’t be thinking anything but professional thoughts about her.
At the end of the day, Jared found his daughters with Emily in her office, building