She was very used to erecting walls around herself. But, after his initial reaction of ignoring her question about Rory’s mother, he’d told her—in his own time—what had actually happened. Most people probably felt sorry for him. He could easily take on the widower persona. But he didn’t. Not at all. Instead, he’d been straight about his story. There had been no great love between him and Mindy. He hadn’t even really had the chance to be angry with her. Cordelia didn’t have a single doubt that most guys would have been totally blindsided by all of it.
But Gene seemed to have taken the news about his son well. He loved his son. And whilst she was sure he wished he could change his genetic heritage, he seemed to have accepted it for what it was.
She met a lot of patients who hated what their genes meant for them. Something they could never control. Her own were the same. And she’d long since known that accepting what you couldn’t change was the biggest part of the process for some people.
Like her. Like Gene. And, eventually, hopefully like Rory.
She gave him a sideways glance as she led him down towards the offices for the clinics.
‘Maybe I should have recommended that you take a handful of chocolates to get you through the next part of the day.’
He gave her a suspicious glance. ‘What do you mean? Aren’t I just reviewing the patients and taking care of the clinic work and trial?’
She licked her lips and gave a little sigh. ‘You make it sound so simple.’
He stopped walking. ‘Isn’t it?’
She couldn’t help herself. She winked at him as she reached the doors. ‘Oh, Dr Du Bois, you have a lot to learn. Welcome to the Reuben Institute. Now, come and meet your master.’
* * *
Gene was sprawled across the sofa. Rory was also sprawled across him, sleeping, with his mouth open and drool landing on Gene’s shirt. He hadn’t even had a chance to change since they’d got home.
Cordelia appeared and took in the scene, leaning against the doorjamb and crossing her arms. At some point in the day she’d changed back into her red baseball boots. He couldn’t get over quite how quirky and cute she looked with her business-style dress and jacket, coupled with flat red baseball boots.
‘You survived?’ she asked.
He raised his eyebrows and held out his hands. ‘If I could jump off this sofa right now and chase you down, I would.’
She shook her head. ‘That’s fighting talk.’
He nodded. ‘It is. But now I’ve met your lethal weapon—Marie.’
Cordelia couldn’t pretend not to laugh. ‘I did try to warn you.’ Then she shook her head, ‘And, oh, no. She’s not mine. She’s yours. I did tell you might need chocolate to see you through.’
‘But you didn’t tell me why,’ he quipped.
She sighed and shook her head. ‘No, I didn’t. You’d just lulled me into what could be a false sense of security. You’d told me you would stay. I didn’t want to frighten you off.’
‘You just left that to Marie?’
Cordelia laughed again. ‘What can I say? She’s chewed up tougher guys than you.’ She walked over and perched on the edge of the sofa, her eyes on the sleeping figure of Rory. ‘I’m sorry. But Marie has been at the institute since the day it opened. She’s almost like the institute herself. She knows every patient. Every trial. She has the scariest but most brilliant encyclopaedic brain in the world.’
He nodded. ‘She certainly doesn’t let anyone get around her.’
Cordelia nodded. ‘And it’s not worth the energy even trying. And whatever you do—don’t use her mug. It’s the one thing that will absolutely tip her over the edge.’
He wrinkled his brow. ‘Seriously?’
She nodded. ‘Completely.’
‘Then thanks for the warning. What mug is hers?’ She could see him picturing the jam-packed cabinet in the staff kitchen.
‘Why, Dr Du Bois, couldn’t you tell just by looking?’
He narrowed his gaze. ‘I’m going to like this, aren’t I?’
She nodded again. ‘It’s Glinda. The Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz.’
His shoulders started to shake and he lifted his hand to the sleeping Rory on his chest, trying not to disturb him. ‘No way. It should be Darth Vader, or at the very least the Wicked Witch.’
Cordelia smiled. He seemed to have settled. On a few occasions she had actually been worried that Marie might chase some of the visiting doctors away. Her manner was...brusque, to say the least.
‘I agree. Now, what would you like for dinner?’
He placed his hands on Rory’s back and swung his legs around so he was finally sitting up on the sofa. ‘It’s my turn to sort out dinner—you bought pizza last night.’
‘But you’ve got your hands full.’
He shook his head. ‘But that doesn’t mean I can’t take a turn.’ He looked down and gave Rory a little shake. ‘He’s worn out from day care today. But, thankfully, he loved it.’
‘That’s great. I thought he would.’
He nodded again. ‘And you’ll see the hire company dropped off a car for me so you don’t need to ferry us around. I didn’t want to be an extra burden to you this month when you have an institute to run.’
She waved her hand. ‘It was fine. It was no problem.’ But secretly it was. She was glad he’d been thoughtful enough to hire a car. It meant she could head in early to the institute, or stay late if she needed to.
He looked up. ‘Why don’t you let me get changed and I’ll take us all to dinner. I’ll drive. You can suggest somewhere that suits.’
She looked down at her baseball boots. ‘I should change too. Shouldn’t really go anywhere dressed like this.’
‘Don’t. You look great.’ It came just a little too easily and she felt heat rush into her cheeks.
Rory started to wake up. ‘I’m hungry,’ he murmured.
Gene set him down on the floor. ‘Then it’s decided. Let’s go for dinner. And...’ he gave Cordelia a cheeky smile ‘... I may even tell you how I plan to conquer the mountain that is Marie.’
* * *
An hour later he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and sitting in one of the local restaurants that Cordelia had recommended. ‘The staff are great and there’s a good kids’ menu. It always seems to be full of families.’
That was recommendation enough for him and the service was quick.
She hadn’t changed. She’d kept on her red dress and her baseball boots. And even though he noticed a few raised eyebrows, Cordelia seemed immune to them. She was comfortable in her own skin. He liked that about her.
He could tell she was still a little wary around Rory. But that was fine. She didn’t have any kids of her own and some people just weren’t natural around kids. It wasn’t as if she ignored him. Or didn’t bother. It was just he could almost sense her nerves. They almost seemed to jangle when she had to interact with the little boy.
It almost felt as if there was something he just couldn’t put his finger on.
But tonight things were fine. They’d eaten dinner and, as he’d offered to drive, Cordelia had drunk a glass of wine. As they waited for Rory to eat his ice