The Doctor's Secret Son

Savannah shrugged. “Better than me showing up at your house with him there and wanting to know all the juicy details.”

“Agreed. Then again, if you wanted to pop by unexpectedly and check on him and Joss after you leave here, that would be fine by me.”

Not that she didn’t think they’d be fine. They would be. So why was she so nervous?

“You have to give him credit for being willing to watch Joss. Not all men would have volunteered for that so soon. That he wants to be an active part of Joss’s life is a good thing.”

“Joss isn’t used to him, though.”

“Joss is going to have to spend time with him to get used to him, Chrissie. Maybe it’s better if you aren’t there to run interference so they can get to know each other on their own terms. I hope your mom gives them some space.”

“He’s leaving the country in a matter of days.” Chrissie frowned. “Besides, whose side are you on?”

Savannah’s brow rose. “Is this a matter of choosing sides? You should want Joss to be close to his dad.”

A dart of guilt pierced her. “He’ll be leaving again soon,” she repeated. “But, you’re right. They need to spend as much time together as possible. I do want that, but...”

She did.

“But you’re scared and feel your relationship with your son is threatened by his very presence?”

“If I agreed, that would make me a terrible person and mother, wouldn’t it?”

“Or maybe it just means you’re human with normal fears and worries?”

Chrissie’s head felt heavy and she let her chin fall toward her chest. “He hates me.”

“Trace?”

She nodded, wishing she hadn’t eaten the yogurt as it felt thick and putrid in her stomach.

“He told you that?”

“No, but I see it in how he looks at me sometimes.” How he’d teased her that morning flashed through her mind and her cheeks flushed. That hadn’t been hate, but the chemistry between them didn’t make anything better. If anything it just added to the confusion.

“That blush tells me that’s not the only way he looks at you.”

“We have always had phenomenal chemistry,” she admitted, not for the first time.

“You’re sleeping with him?” Savannah sounded hopeful.

Chrissie shook her head. “He’s not so much as kissed me since showing up at my house.”

“But you want him to do much more than that?”

She sighed. “It’s no secret I find him attractive.” Remembering how he’d looked stretching that morning without his shirt made her think she was way underplaying how Trace affected her. She’d not been able to look at him because looking made her want.

“Then why aren’t you kissing him?”

Chrissie met her friend’s gaze. “What?”

“You said he hadn’t so much as kissed you. What about you? Have you kissed him?”

“No, of course not.”

Savannah’s gaze was piercing. “My question is why not?”

“Everything is so complicated. Sex would just make it more so.”