The Doctor's Baby Dare

Author:Michelle Celmer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-01-08T16:00:00+00:00

Eleven

“Why is that?” Parker asked Clare.

“Forget it,” she said with a shake of her head, as if she were clearing away an unpleasant memory. “It’s a long story.”

Something told him not to push the issue of her family, but eventually they were going to talk about it, and he was going to get to the root of the problem. Even if he had to take drastic measures. The key to her heart was in there somewhere under all the baggage, and he was going to find it.

But for now he would let it slide.

“By the way, I noticed last night that the toilet in your bathroom was running like crazy,” he said.

“I know. I have to call a plumber.”

“You want me to take a look at it?”

“You know how to fix a toilet?”

“Yup.”

“What kind of millionaire are you?”

He laughed. “Not a very good one, I guess.”

“You sure don’t act like a rich guy.”

“Are you forgetting? I drive a luxury import.”

“That you put a Santa hat and antlers on for Christmas.”

He grinned. “I like Christmas.”

“And you are the least pretentious person I know. There’s a rumor going around that you give a lot of your money to charity.”

“My dad’s money,” he said. “And my reasons are not as philanthropic as you might think. I give his money away to charity because I know that’s the last thing he would want me to do with it.”

“Not the charitable type?”

“For him it was all about making more money. It was never enough. He died a very wealthy man, but his money never did anyone much good. Not even him.”

“And now it does.”

“Exactly. I may have to live with the millionaire label, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“So, when did you learn to fix a toilet?”

“My father believed I should know everything about running his business, from the ground up. Including building maintenance. So instead of letting me volunteer for Greenpeace during summer break—which is what I really wanted to do—I was forced to follow George the maintenance guy around for three months. I thought it was all a total waste of time. As a doctor I wouldn’t need to know how to fix a toilet or unclog a drain.”

“Unless your home toilet breaks and the plumber can’t make it over for a week.”

“Exactly. Looking back, I’m thankful for everything I learned. I really have used a lot of that knowledge in my adult life. Not everything he taught me was a total waste of time. His tyrannical way of running his business taught me the best way not to talk to my staff. He thought that he was better than anyone who had less money than him. I was supposed to take over his business. Instead, I sold it all off before the body was cold.”

Her brows rose.

“I know that sounds crass, and probably a little selfish, but the offer was made and I took it. I never wanted his business. From the time I was small I was into nature and conservation.

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