Heaven's Kiss by Lois Richer

Author:Lois Richer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2004-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Four hours later, as they cleaned up the remains of balloons blown apart during a popping game Dani had devised, Luc figured they’d be asking him to do this again next year. Success didn’t begin to cover the kids’ enthusiasm this afternoon.

Wait a minute—next year? Would he even be here next year?

“If I’d known you were so good at entertaining, Nicole and I would have asked you to watch the girls before.” Joshua Darling stood five feet away, arms akimbo, eyes twinkling with fun. “Your games were the hit of the whole picnic.”

“Hey, maybe he should consider renting himself out for birthday parties.” Gray pulled out his wallet. “Cody’s got one coming up in the fall. How much would it cost me to have you take over the whole thing?”

“What a good idea, boys. And of course there’s the Christmas party. We always need someone to handle the games there.” Miss Winifred stood behind Gray, grinning. “I do believe you could make a good living, Luc. That is, if you’re staying?”

He frowned, scanned her face and found the telltale glimmer in her eyes that told him she was up to something.

“What do you mean, if?” Gray accepted his young son from his wife, then swung the boy up to perch on his shoulders. Cody giggled in delight.

Luc clutched the garbage bag he was using a little tighter, conscious of all eyes on him. At the edge of the group Dani stood as if frozen in place, her green eyes swirling with emotion. He couldn’t seem to look away from them.

“I never said I wasn’t leaving,” he said slowly.

Her voice was soft, condemning. “You never said you were.”

“You can’t leave now.” Joshua’s insistent declaration drew everyone’s stare. “I mean—”

“What he means is that we’re going to have a baby.” Nicole looped her arm through her husband’s, gazed up at him adoringly. After a moment, she turned to Luc. “We’re going to need a partner, Lucas. Someone who can fill in for me in seven months, while I take some time off to get to know my baby.”

The rush of congratulations saved Luc from having to answer the questions he saw on Dani’s face, and knew she wondered why he hadn’t accepted. He didn’t know how to explain nor what he could say the next time someone asked about his future. Who would understand that something held him back from making a commitment. The Darlings had approached him before about the possibility of a partnership and he’d put them off. How much longer could he do that and stay in Blessing, enjoy the camaraderie he’d found here?

He watched Dani congratulate the couple while his mind dispassionately sorted through the facts. Nicole’s pregnancy meant they’d be looking for a permanent solution in the office, and if he wasn’t going to accept their offer, someone else would. If they found their partner, he would be redundant, both in the practice and in Blessing. He would have to leave.

He glanced around, searching for Dani. But she’d disappeared.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.