Resisting The Single Dad: Resisting the Single Dad / Reunited by Their Secret Son. Scarlet Wilson

held out his hands and smiled back. ‘What can I say? I didn’t have time to put all my clothes on. I came out of the shower and realised I was missing a child.’

      She shook her head. ‘Poor excuse. You never got paged when you were in the shower when you were working as a resident?’

      The hours and workload of resident doctors were notorious. By the time every doctor had finished training they had dozens of stories to tell.

      She tutted and shook her head. ‘I can’t believe you don’t know how to do the ten-second soaked-to-fully-clothed dance.’

      There was a gleam in her eyes. She was teasing. Of course she was.

      He shook his head and slid his arms under Rory’s body. ‘I can assure you I’m a professional.’ He winked. ‘I can do it in eight. Give me a sec, let me put Rory to bed.’

      He kissed Rory on top of his head and walked back through to their room, putting him into the double bed and pulling the cover over him. He grabbed a grey T-shirt and tugged it over his head. She was standing at the door with her arms folded over her chest. She tilted her head to the side. ‘If you can do it in eight, then how come you didn’t manage?’

      He stepped closer. He hadn’t even realised she was wearing a pair of cute pink pyjamas. Now she was standing up, even though every part of her was covered, he could see the way the jersey hugged her curves.

      He gave a shake of his head and held up his hands as he kept his voice low. ‘Clothes aren’t really required when you’re missing a four-year-old.’ He rubbed his hands on his jeans. ‘Just be glad I put on these.’

      She started to laugh then put her hand up to her mouth and stepped back. ‘Sorry, don’t want to wake Rory.’

      ‘Oh, don’t worry. You won’t wake Rory. Once he goes to sleep, that’s it. Nothing—not even a freight train—could wake him.’

      She smiled again. ‘Sleep’s a funny thing. I could sleep within a few seconds when I was resident, but I was always on alert, waiting for the next page. But as soon as I got home? That’s it. I was out like a light—just like Rory. I once slept through guys drilling on the road outside.’

      Gene felt something wash over him. Completely unexpected.

      ‘I used to do that.’ The words came out almost on autopilot.

      She met his gaze. ‘And you don’t any more?’

      He glanced at the sleeping figure on the bed. Rory’s head was resting on the pillow and he was curled into a ball. When Gene sucked in a breath he almost juddered. ‘I haven’t slept like that since Rory arrived.’

      She blinked. And for a second he thought he’d made her feel uncomfortable. But she just gave a gentle shake of her head. ‘I can’t imagine how it must be to hear out of the blue that you’ve got a child. And that his mom was so sick. But whatever you’ve done over the last few years, it’s worked. He’s a gorgeous kid. Bright, articulate, intelligent and...’ she smiled ‘...very, very sweet.’

      For a second he thought there was a flash of sadness across her face. But as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished again.

      She pulled up one of legs behind her, catching her foot by the ankle and letting it click loudly. ‘Sorry, aches and pains. I get that way sometimes. Must be my old dance injuries—or my age.’

      He put his hand at the back of his neck. ‘Mine too. But it’s an old football injury.’

      She gave a smile. ‘Well, I can’t claim any kind of sport injuries. My biggest sport these days is how quickly I can read a book.’

      He didn’t quite believe her. She was only wearing thin pyjamas and although she had a few curves, there was no hint of heaviness in her frame.

      ‘Did you recognise that book that Rory made you read? You seemed to relate easily.’

      She laughed. ‘It’s a book. I always relate to books. When I was a kid you were only allowed four books with your library card. I tried to pretend to be another kid and get an extra card so I could check out eight books at a time.’

      ‘Did your plan work?’

      ‘Are you joking? My disguise was very flawed. I only took my outdoor jacket off.’

      He couldn’t help but laugh out loud too. He was watching the easy, casual way Cordelia was chatting—as if it were completely normal to be chatting to someone she didn’t know that well in her pyjamas.