murmured. In a single instant, his attraction to Becky Averill had gone from a physical spark to something more, something deeper.
“Sleep deprivation has robbed me of too many brain cells to be considered insightful.” She pulled a key fob out of her bag and used it to open the minivan’s side doors and cargo hold. “But I do feel for Laurel. I hope she and her baby flourish wherever she ends up.”
Callum wanted to offer to do something to help with the twins and their stroller, but he felt like he needed to keep his distance. He’d been totally astounded by this woman today, but he had no place in her life and nothing to offer her. If his ex-wife had accused him of working too much, what would a single mother think of his crazy hours?
It didn’t matter, he reminded himself as Becky turned to him with a tentative smile. “Are you sure there’s no way I can thank you for today?” she asked. “I’m a pretty good cook and—”
“It’s fine,” he said, realizing how harsh he sounded only when her brows furrowed. “It was nice to meet you, Becky.” He made his tone friendly but neutral. “You have cute kids.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away.
Becky finished with her final patient of the day, a three-year-old with double ear infections, and glanced at her watch as she walked toward the nursing station.
“Girl, you’ve been holding out on us.” Sharla, one of the medical assistants in the primary care wing of the pediatric center, wagged a finger in Becky’s direction. “We just heard Callum Fortune was your babysitter when that pregnant lady came in during the ribbon-cutting shindig.”
Becky willed her face not to heat, but felt a blush rising to her cheeks anyway. This was her third shift at the center, and so far she’d loved every minute of it. Dr. Green, or Parker, as he insisted she call him when they weren’t with patients, was an intelligent and caring physician. He had a rapport with both children and their parents, and Becky could see he took the utmost care with every patient.
Sharla and the other two nurses, Kristen and Samantha, were friendly and easy to talk to, and they all had good things to say about the doctors at the center. Becky had worked in enough different offices to appreciate the setup here.
“He offered to help,” she said with what she hoped was a casual shrug. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Are you blind?” Kristen asked. “That man is ten kinds of a big deal.”
“His brothers are just as hot,” Samantha added.
“They aren’t as handsome as Callum.” Becky couldn’t help the comment. Yes, the Fortune family had won the genetic lottery, but only Callum made her heart race. Every time she thought of the intensity of his dark gaze, her body seemed to heat from the inside out.
Sharla let out a peal of laughter. “I knew you had to notice.”
“I’m a single mom,” Becky muttered. “Not dead.”
“So what are you going to do about it?” Kristen asked.
“There’s nothing to be done.” Becky placed the digital device she used for electronically entering patient data on the charging station. She wasn’t going to admit to these three women that she’d offered to repay him for his kindness and he’d all but bolted from her.
Maybe it had been the minivan or her silly musings about the pregnant stranger or the reality of a woman with two toddlers in tow. Any one of those would have been a turnoff to a man. Add to that her reputation in town as the grieving widow and it was no wonder Callum had made a quick exit.
She’d obviously mistaken the intriguing thread of attraction between them or it had been all one-sided. No one would blame her for harboring a few harmless fantasies about a man like Callum, but that’s all they were.
“My brother’s insulation company is working on all of the Fortune Brothers Construction projects.” Kristen tapped a finger to her chin, her green eyes sparkling. “I could get him to tell me when Callum is at one of the job sites and you could make an appearance there. He said all three Fortune brothers are really hands-on.”
Sharla laughed again. “I’d like some Fortune hands on me.”
Becky shook her head while the other two women joined in the joke. “I can’t just show up at some construction site. What am I going to say? Remember me and will you hold one of my babies while I change the other one’s dirty diaper?”
“Not the best pickup line I’ve heard,” Samantha admitted.
Becky hadn’t ever used a line on a man. Rick had been her first boyfriend. They’d met at freshmen orientation and dated through college, waiting to get married until after graduation because that’s what her family wanted. He’d been an only child and not really close to his parents, who lived on the East Coast. Her mom and dad had expected her to hold off on marriage even longer, and their constant reminder that she and Rick had their whole lives to settle down had irritated Becky from the start. If she knew then what she did now, she would have married him right away so that they could have had more time together as a family.
No one could have predicted the car accident that had killed him, and Becky would always be grateful for the years he’d been a part of her life. But often she stayed busy, gave everything she had and more, because she was afraid if she ever stopped moving it might be too difficult to get up again.
“I’m not interested anyway,” Becky lied. “I have too much going on to think about—”
“He’s here,” Sharla whispered.
All three of Becky’s coworkers glanced at a place directly behind her, then quickly busied themselves.
As the fine hairs along the back of her neck stood on end, Becky turned around and came face-to-face with Callum Fortune.
“Hello,” he said, running a hand through his thick mane of wavy dark hair. “I hope I’m not interrupting.” He was dressed more casually today in a blue button-down shirt, dark jeans and cowboy boots. Callum looked perfect and she was painfully aware of her messy bun and the shapeless scrubs that were her work uniform. She glanced down to see some sort of crusty stain—probably baby spit-up—on her shoulder. Great. He looked like he owned the place, which he sort of did, and she was a scattered mess.
“Nope.” Becky cleared her throat when the word came out a squeak. “I’m just finishing my shift and about to pick up the girls from day care.”
She gave herself a mental head slap. Like he needed a reminder that she was a single mom with two young daughters.
“I’ll walk with you,” he offered.
“Oh.” She stood there for a moment, trying to remember how to pull air in and out of her lungs.
“You remember where the day care’s located, Becky?” Sharla asked from behind her. “Far end of the building and to the right.”
She narrowed her eyes as she glanced at the other woman. “I remember. Thanks.”
Callum offered a friendly smile as they started down the hall. “How’s work going?”
“It’s great,” she said. “The facility is really great. The staff has been—”
“Great?” he asked with a wink.
“Sorry,” she said automatically. “I’m always a little brain dead at the end of the day.”
“Understandable. I can’t imagine balancing everything you handle.”
“It’s not a big deal.” She hated drawing attention to her situation. Becky found that the best way to stave off being overwhelmed was not to think about it. “I like to stay busy. What brings you to the center?”
She frowned as Callum seemed