Page 28 of Her Christmas Wish

A father being present for a birth? Not his cup of tea. Or anywhere close to his normal train of thought.

“Leigh what?”

She frowned. “Leigh Marie.”

Okay, still not what he’d been asking. And he couldn’t come up with a viable explanation for wanting to know the child’s last name. Had to get himself off the wrong turn.

“You mind sharing any pointers, just in case she happens down my way, and you aren’t immediately on her heels? Do I ignore her unless she calls out to me? If she starts to come up her uncle’s steps, do I tell her she can’t?”

She stared at him, more like a deer in the headlights than the confident lawyer he knew her to be.

He didn’t blame her.

He was halfway being facetious. The whole topic was over-the-top. A kid comes down the beach, of course he’d be kind.

He liked kids. Enjoyed having conversations with them.

He just couldn’t bear the weight of the day-to-day being responsible for one. The overall daily shaping of one.

None of which he shared. Wasn’t information necessary to their current status.

He awaited Sage’s response mainly because he wanted to understand and abide by her wishes.

Or at least understand so that he had the ability to abide by them, even if he didn’t want to do so.

Ultimately, at that stage of life’s game, she called the shots.

And didn’t seem to be coming up with any feasible plan.

Gray sat forward, rubbing his hands together lightly. “Look,” he told her. “I’m great at being kind. You could ask any of the thousands of patients I’ve tended to over the years—they just won’t be able to answer in English, of course. But if you saw me around animals, saw how I treat them and how they respond to me, maybe you’d feel more comfortable.”

She was still staring. Her chin trembled a bit.

“I swear to you,” he continued, feeling like he was on a good roll. “If she, or you, or she and Scott, or the three of you come down the beach, I’ll be fine, Sage, I promise. I didn’t break things off because I didn’t care about you. Or like you. To the contrary. I want the best for you. I always have.”

He tried to stop there, but the words just kept coming. “I’m glad you have Leigh. You got what you most needed out of life. I didn’t want to be responsible for depriving you of that.”

Her lips tilted upward a bit. Not quite a smile but going in that direction.

“I actually like kids.” He let go of the thoughts he’d just determined to keep to himself. “They’re honest to the core, say what’s on their minds and have a very refreshing way of viewing life in the moment. They also say some of the funniest things...”

He stopped as she shook her head.

And figured, when he noticed the moisture that she blinked from her eyes, and his gut wrenched for her, that he’d just lost the hope of a quick launch back into his own world.

Chapter Nine

He liked kids. This man, who’d crushed her heart because he couldn’t bear the idea of fathering a child with her, sat there blithely telling her he’d grown a fondness for children?

As though he didn’t know...

Of course he liked kids. Blinking, Sage shut down the overload of emotion being dumped on her by being with Gray again. She was better than that.

Just seeing him again...

He looked so good. Was as...warm...as she’d remembered. Still had that tone to his voice, the look in his eye.

Why in the hell couldn’t she get beyond the man?