The Accidental Daddy by Meredith Webber

Author:Meredith Webber
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-07-08T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

MAX WOKE AT midnight, confused at first about where he was, until the tumultuous events of the previous twenty-four hours came flooding back to him.

Midnight!

Was Joey sleeping, or would be she sitting by Harry’s crib, talking to him, touching his skin, worrying?

Maybe she was asleep, and he could roll over and go back to sleep himself.

But if she was sitting there—if she was too anxious and concerned to leave the baby—then shouldn’t he, as Harry’s father, do his bit?

Which brought him back to the father thing again.

He slid out of bed, showered and dressed, not in the new T-shirt but in a sober, check, buttons-up-the-front shirt that made him look responsible and trustworthy. A good kind of father for a kid to have.

Closing his mind to his doubts, because the one thing he knew right now was that Joey needed support, he made his way out into the night-dark streets, crossing the river on the pedestrian bridge, striding swiftly through the parklands, reaching the hospital a little after one.

He collected a cup of coffee from a machine, knowing it would probably taste terrible, and headed for the nursery.

Harry was still in the special care unit, but there was no sign of Joey.

Pleased that she must be getting some much-needed rest, he sank into the comfortable armchair beside Harry’s crib and watched the baby sleep.

It took him at least three seconds to realise this was not a good idea. Not if he didn’t intend staying involved with the child.

He knew it was totally ridiculous but he felt a connection to the baby, as if invisible strings stretched between them.

This was his child!

He reached out and let his hand rest against the warm skin of Harry’s arm, and sat, content to be there, not thinking, just accepting, knowing a multitude of huge decisions and difficult arrangements lay ahead, but right now not caring about the future.

This was now and he was here, with his son—the only place on earth he wanted to be.

* * *

Joey woke with a start, unable to believe she’d slept through most of the night. She’d returned to her room to have a shower, eat some dinner, and talk to Meryl, but she’d had every intention of returning to spend the night dozing in the big chair by Harry’s crib.

Now dawn was lightening the sky beyond her windows.

She stripped off the crumpled clothes she’d slept in, showered again, pulled on her tracksuit trousers and a clean shirt, and walked through the quiet corridors to the nursery.

Max was asleep in the chair beside Harry’s crib, and the sight of the sleeping man caused so much chaos in Joey’s still podgy belly, she crept away, needing to think.

Though how to think when she didn’t know what Max was thinking?

She crept in again and checked on Harry, reading his notes to assure herself all was well. But there were no notes on Max, nothing to reassure her or give her a clue about the accidental father of her baby.

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