LITMIR.BIZ

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did you wind up with this crew?” She nodded at the doll in Kaleb’s hands.

      “They were coming into the hospital at the same time I was. Your sister wasn’t sure she could find your office.”

      “Oh, she wasn’t, was she?” One brow went up. “Exactly how many times have you been here, Roxy?”

      Roxy peppered Chloe’s cheek with kisses. “It’s a huge building. I always get lost.”

      Somehow he got the idea that Maddy’s sister had arrived at her destination just fine in the past. So he’d been hoodwinked. And Maddy evidently wasn’t thrilled about it. Well, if Roxy had ideas about doing some matchmaking, she was out of luck. Neither he nor the pulmonologist needed her help. For one thing, he didn’t want a steady relationship. For another, Maddy hadn’t fared too well either in the love department. And Kaleb wasn’t exactly the greatest catch on the planet. There was that baggage—lots of it. His eyes went back to Chloe. Especially when it came to little girls who reminded him of Grace.

      “Is it time for lunch, Mommy?”

      “Yes, it is, sweetheart. Let’s find Patsy something to wear before she embarrasses Dr. McBride.”

      Roxy sent him a sideways glance. “I bet he’s held a naked doll in his arms a time or two, haven’t you, Doctor?”

      Heat seeped into his face, a sensation he didn’t like. Nor was he going to touch that comment. Instead, he handed the doll to Maddy.

      Chloe pointed at him. “I think he should help us find clothes for her.”

      “Honey, I’m sure Dr. McBride has more important things to do than help us dress Patsy.”

      “This is important.”

      Her sister shifted the girl on her hip. “Yes, it’s very important to get a man’s opinion on this one. ‘Does this tutu make my...er...trunk look too spacious?’”

      “Roxy.” Maddy’s tone held a distinct warning.

      “Oh, and I saw the sign-up sheet for the kite-making contest out front and added our names to it.”

      “Whose names?”

      “Yours and mine. It’s for a good cause. The funds will go to fight childhood cancer.”

      Kaleb’s eyes suddenly felt as if they were on fire in his head.

      “Let’s discuss this in my office.” Maddy motioned toward the open door, mouth tight, ushering her sister and daughter through it.

      Kaleb hesitated in the doorway, until he heard Chloe’s plea. “Can the doctor please come too?”

      Maddy stared at him. “I don’t know. That’s up to him.”

      Was it his imagination or was there a hint of pleading exasperation in her voice. Or maybe she just wanted to be rescued from her sister. Whatever it was, he found himself inching past Maddy, unable to resist tweaking that strand of hair as he went by. “You look like you could use a helping hand.”

      “Is it that obvious?”

      “From where I stand? Yes.”

      Then they were all inside, and Roxy unceremoniously dumped the bag of doll clothes onto Maddy’s pristine desk. He noticed the frame and laptop had been replaced with new ones.

      Maddy simply shook her head. “We need to hurry, honey, or we’ll be late for lunch.”

      It took a few minutes, but Chloe finally decided on a bikini for her doll with slide-on sandals and sunglasses. Everything was soon folded and tucked back into the bag for safekeeping. Roxy glanced at her watch. “Darn. I forgot I have a waxing appointment. I need to get going.”

      Maddy remained silent. The more outrageous Roxy’s comments, the harder her sister seemed to try to ignore them. Maybe Roxy was trying to keep Maddy’s mind off what had happened with Matthew. Or maybe she did it to goad a response from her sister. Whatever it was, there were some things one simply couldn’t unhear.

      Chloe hugged her aunt goodbye and Roxy offered her hand to Kaleb, which he shook. “Nice meeting you.”

      “I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other. ’Bye!”

      The second the door closed behind her, Maddy sank into her chair with a sigh. “Sorry about that. Roxy has had a... Never mind. She’s had a hard life.”

      Harder than Maddy’s? Than his? That he couldn’t imagine. Maybe she saw the doubt on his face, because she motioned him to a chair. “She was attacked in her home five years ago. The result was an unplanned pregnancy, which ended in a stillbirth. She uses the shock factor to keep people at a distance. It works.”

      Yes, it did. Kaleb did the same thing. Not through his words, but his actions. Like not sleeping at a woman’s house. Like making sure he didn’t sleep with the same woman more than once. In fact, it had been a while since he’d been with anyone. It was just too hard and complicated. So he didn’t even try anymore.

      “I’m sorry.”

      “Don’t you dare tell her I said anything to you. She would kill me.” Maddy smiled, although it looked slightly wan. “And maybe even you.”

      “Did they find the man who did it?”

      “Yes. He’s in jail.” She glanced at her daughter, who was in the far corner, playing with her doll. “I think that’s what’s behind her fascination with costume design. She can become invisible. No one ever sees the true Roxy.”

      Kaleb had a couple of masks like that, but they weren’t the kind that could be stitched together.

      He had to ask. “Is that why you decided to wear one of her creations?”

      “No. That was all my sister. I think she thought it would help me with my...with the problems I’d had with my ex in the past. But after what he did at the hospital...” Her jaw tightened. “Let’s just say I’ve had enough secrets and hiding to last a lifetime.”

      Kaleb could understand that. Unfortunately, he had no desire to splay his life out for all to see. Some things were better off remaining out of sight, even if they were never really out of mind.

      Glancing at her watch, Maddy sighed. “Well, I don’t have that much time left for lunch. How do you feel about hospital food?”

      “You mean as a patient or as a doctor?”

      “I don’t think there’s much difference, do you?”

      “No. And that sounds good to me. Do you have to take Chloe back to school?”

      “She only goes half a day. Roxy will come back and get her. She normally watches her in the afternoons for me.”

      A few minutes later, they managed to find a table for two and squeeze another chair in for Chloe. He waited with the little girl while Maddy went up and got them something to eat. Luckily she kept up a stream of nonstop chatter, which meant Kaleb didn’t have to think of anything to say. She was very excited about the whole kite-festival thing, from what he gathered. He’d never actually been back to the hospital’s childhood-cancer wing since Grace’s death. He’d spent enough time there to last him a lifetime.

      He wasn’t even sure how he’d found himself in the cafeteria with Maddy and her daughter. He’d had the perfect opportunity to leave when Roxy had. But he’d stuck around anyway. And learned something about Maddy in the process. As exasperated as she might get with her sister, she loved her fiercely. And Roxy loved her back. To the point of trying to help Maddy cope with her own heartaches. Only no two people had the same way of dealing with those kinds of situations.

      “I’m hungry.”

      Chloe’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. He shifted to look at the serving line. “Your mom is almost done, it looks like. What do you think she’s going to bring you to eat?”

      “Fruit

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