The ER's Newest Dad

Who cared what he wanted?

As far as she was concerned, Cassidy couldn’t come off maternity leave soon enough so that Ross could pitchfork his way back to the fiery gates that had spat him out.

She closed her eyes, squeezed them tight, hoping he would be gone when she opened them.

No such luck.

She sighed. “Please go away.”

He stared at her for long moments. “Is that what you want? For me to leave and just stay gone?”

Was it?

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “The emergency room would be chaos if you left.”

His lips twisted. “That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it. Go to dinner with me at the end of your shift so we can talk.”

“We’ve already been through this. I don’t want anything to do with you.” She fought back the bile rising up her throat. Had she purposely flung his words back at him? “What would be the point?”

“We could catch up on old times.”

“Aren’t you listening?” She glared up at him as if he wasn’t nearly as bright as she knew him to be. “I don’t want to catch up on old times with you.”

He shrugged. “I’m flexible. Go to dinner with me so we can make new times.”

She started to shoot him down again, but thought of Justice. This was her precious son’s father. A father he’d never met. Didn’t she owe it to Justice to see if Ross was man enough to do right by his son should she tell him of the miracle they’d created?

Was there really any choice a good mother could make other than to see what he had to say and then make any necessary decisions regarding her son’s future?

* * *

Ross watched the play of emotions dance across Brielle’s face. She’d never been good at hiding her thoughts. Time hadn’t changed that.

She was considering saying yes. He wanted her to say yes. More than any sane man should, he wanted her to go to dinner with him, to spend time with him, regardless of what they were doing.

“Please, Brielle. Say yes.” He didn’t like pleading with her, but with their past he figured he owed her that much. Hell, he probably owed her a lot more than that, but he wasn’t quite ready to grovel yet. “I want to spend time with you. Outside work.”

Emotions

continued to battle for dominance across her face. She didn’t want to say yes. Not really. But he wasn’t blind. There was still something between them, a heat, an inner connection that time, or his foolishness, hadn’t eradicated.

“Let me take you to dinner. No pressure for anything more, I promise. I’ll grovel if necessary.”

Okay, so maybe he was ready to grovel. Groveling would be a new experience, but he’d learn to grovel with the best of them if it won him the chance of getting back in her good graces.

Her brown gaze lowered then lifted to his. “Okay, fine, I will go to dinner with you. But this means nothing, Ross. Nothing at all. I am not interested in rekindling a relationship with you or making new memories or anything of the sort. I’m focused on my future. You are part of my past that I would have preferred stayed part of my past.”

Ouch. She wasn’t mincing her words, but he didn’t deserve any sugar-coating. Still, if she’d give him a chance he’d get there, would remind her how sweet their lovemaking had been. Sweet seemed too tame a word for what they’d shared.

As simple a thing as it was, she’d called him Ross again rather than Dr. Lane. Hearing his name on her lips pleased him way too much.

“Tonight? After your shift?” A wise man would get a commitment on a date and time. Ross was no fool.

“Tonight is as good a time as any,” she sighed, her face pale as if she was battling nausea. “I want to get this over with.”

Her tone made going to dinner with him sound worse than having root-canal treatment. Did she dislike him so much?

“Not that I’m not grateful you said yes, albeit with less enthusiasm than one would hope for, but why did you?”