His Texas Christmas Bride

“Nick, think about it,” she said. “What would happen if there was an emergency? Couldn’t they just put me in an ambulance and send me to Southwestern Medical Center?”

He was quiet on the other end of the line, and for a moment she thought they’d been disconnected.

“Nick?”

“Yep.”

She was beginning to see a pattern: when he got stressed, he became very uncommunicative.

“Look,” she said, “I understand that you’re busy, but taking this tour seems like a lot today with your dad coming in. Let’s make him our priority and reschedule.”

“My children are my priority—”

“They’re mine, too, Nick. I hope you’re not questioning that. I’m just trying to keep things in perspective.”

“The tour was arranged as a professional courtesy,” he said, as if he hadn’t heard her. “I’m not going to ask for a reschedule at this late date.”

Fine. Got it.

His children were his priority. He’d made that exceedingly clear. Good grief, this guy could run hot and cold. One minute he was talking about introducing her to his father—and she thought that just maybe he might feel something for her, too. And the next minute there were reality checks like this that shifted everything into perspective and reminded her that she shouldn’t let her heart get carried away. Even though it already had.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll meet you at Southwestern at four o’clock.”

Five minutes later, as Becca was waiting at the elevator to leave the office, Kate appeared with her purse on her arm.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Kate said. “Is Nick here to pick you up for the appointment?”

Becca took a deep breath. “No. I’m meeting him there. Some things came up at the hospital, and if he picks me up, we’ll be late. Where are you off to?”

“I have an appointment with the superintendent of schools to talk about the foundation funding Get Lost In A Book Week. Are you okay? You seem a little rattled.”

Becca shrugged. “Nick’s father is arriving tonight. I’m sensing that he might be a little nervous about that, though he won’t admit it.”

It was either nerves, or Nick was pulling away. Or maybe she was superimposing her own anxiety onto Nick. The only thing she knew for sure was that she would be glad when the hospital tour was over. Maybe then she’d have more clarity about whether or not she was comfortable delivering at Southwestern Medical Center. Nick was a doctor. She knew she should trust him, but not at the expense of going against her own instincts. And for some reason her instincts were telling her she wanted to have the babies closer to home.

“He said it’s been a long time since he and his father have communicated, right?”

Becca nodded. Nick had been increasingly hot and cold since Thanksgiving and the string of festivities in between.

“Sometimes he’s hard to read, and other times I worry that I am reading too much into our relationship.”

Kate’s brows knit together. “He acted fine at the tree lighting, and he was attentive at the wedding. From my perspective, you two looked like a couple. A cute couple, as a matter of fact. And now he’s introducing you to his father. Of course, I’m not you, but it looks to me like you have yourself a boyfriend.”

Becca rolled her eyes at her friend. “A boyfriend. What does that even mean?”

What did it mean? She would certainly like to know.

“I never took you for somebody who needed to slap a label on a relationship,” Kate said.

“I’m not looking for a label. But I am looking for answers.”

She gazed at her friend. If there was anyone in the world Becca could confide in, it was Kate. The elevator arrived, and the two stepped inside.

As soon as the doors shut, Becca said, “I could really fall for this guy, Kate. I guess I’m just protecting my heart.”

Kate’s expression turned tender. “Could fall for the guy or have fallen for the guy? I’m guessing the latter.”

Becca shrugged, not ready to say the words out loud. Maybe she wasn’t even ready to admit it to herself. So she changed the subject.

“Maybe it would be a good idea for me to let him meet with his father alone tonight. I mean, they haven’t seen each other in years. Maybe I should give them a little time? What would you do?”

They stepped off the interior elevator and walked together across the lobby toward the lift that would take them to the parking garage.