LITMIR.BIZ

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decide to see if you can fly. I think you should leave that to birds and airplanes.”

      “Okay,” she agreed readily, making Marco chuckle. The child was a good-natured imp. She was also, according to her mother, somewhat of a daredevil. Add inquisitive and extremely bright to the mix, and it was a given that this wouldn’t be her last trip to the pit, as everyone who worked there called the emergency room.

      Still smiling, Marco turned to Taylor’s mother. “How are you doing?”

      The woman gave a wan smile. “Honestly? She scared me half to death.”

      “Well, you have my word that Taylor will be just fine.”

      Once again, as Marco gave cleaning instructions and soothed the worried mother’s fears, thoughts of Gretchen Montgomery invaded his consciousness. They continued to bedevil him as he moved on to his next patient and throughout the remainder of his shift.

      “I have to stop thinking about her,” he said out loud, hours later, as he stared unseeingly at a television drama. He’d been watching for twenty minutes, and he hadn’t the faintest idea what the story line was.

      He couldn’t figure out his sudden fixation on a woman he barely knew. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had his share of relationships. According to Brian, he’d had more than his fair share. And when they’d ended, he’d never looked back. So why, when he hadn’t had so much as a date with his landlady, let alone a relationship with her, was she all he could think about?

      Maybe that was the problem. Maybe if he had a brief affair with her, he would be able to get her out of his mind. After all, she had offered. Maybe this was his subconscious’s way of telling him that he’d been a fool to turn her down.

      Fool or not, he knew his decision had been a wise one. Something just hadn’t seemed right about her unexpected proposition. Heaven forbid he should become entangled with her, only to discover she was some sort of psycho stalker, the way it often happened in movies where men were propositioned by women they didn’t know.

      To show just how addled he’d become over her, his first thought when his doorbell rang at ten o’clock was that it was his landlady, coming to repeat her offer. Which was ridiculous. Other than to bring him a casserole the day he moved in, Gretchen Montgomery had never come to his door. If she needed to communicate with him, she left a note in his mailbox or a message on his answering machine.

      But then, he reminded himself, prior to three days ago she’d never taken him for a car ride, either. Or propositioned him. She had been acting out of character lately. Was it so far-fetched to think she might be standing on his doorstep?

      “This is getting ridiculous,” he muttered, climbing to his feet and walking out into the hallway. Mentally he vowed to put her out of his mind once and for all. Enough was enough.

      “Hey, buddy,” Brian said when he opened the door.

      Marco stood stock-still while he took in the sight of his best friend with a baby tucked in one arm and a diaper bag hanging from the other. Thoughts of Gretchen Montgomery fled as a sense of foreboding filled him.

      “What’s wrong?” he asked urgently. “Is Kristen sick?”

      Brian’s smile seemed forced. “Kristen’s fine. Can’t a guy drop in on his best friend, without his motives being suspect?”

      “Not when he has his baby in tow. It’s ten o’clock, Bri. Rather late for the two of you to be out for an evening stroll. Isn’t it past her bedtime?”

      “A little,” Brian agreed.

      “Where’s Val?”

      Brian looked over his shoulder to where a late model SUV idled at the curb. “Getting some things from the car. She’ll join us in a minute.”

      Marco expelled an impatient breath. “Do you plan on keeping me in suspense forever, or are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

      “You going to invite me inside?”

      He stood aside while his friend filed past him into the hallway. “Okay, spill it,” he demanded.

      Brian avoided eye contact. “In a minute. First, I need you to answer a couple of questions. Are you on your off stretch?”

      One of the perks of working in the pit, other than not being tied to a patient list, was that he worked for three weeks straight, then had one week off. Yes, the nineteen days in a row he did work were grueling, but the nine days that he had free gave him ample time to recover. It also gave him time to spend with his family.

      “As of four hours ago.”

      “That’s what I thought.” Brian peered into the living room, where the television blared to an absent audience. “No date?”

      “No date,” Marco replied with exaggerated patience.

      “Okay, I’ll get to the point.” Brian drew a deep breath. “Since you’re free, I was wondering if you could do me a favor. A huge favor, actually. I was wondering if you could watch Kristen for Val and me.”

      Marco felt his eyebrows climb. “Kristen? As in the baby in your arms? As in six months old?”

      “Seven.”

      “What?”

      “She’s seven months old.”

      Marco couldn’t quite grasp the importance of that distinction, but he supposed he could humor his friend. “I could watch her for an hour or two.”

      Brian bit his lip. “Well, see, that’s the problem. I need you to keep her for the weekend. Actually, I kind of already told Val you would.”

      The shock momentarily robbed Marco of speech. “The entire weekend?”

      “My back’s to the wall here, buddy. Val and I have plans to spend the weekend together at a bed and breakfast in Maryland. We need the time alone to try and patch up our marriage. We had a baby-sitter all lined up, but a family emergency forced her to cancel at the last minute. I’ve called everyone on my Rolodex. No one is available.”

      “But me.”

      “But you,” Brian confirmed.

      “I don’t know anything about taking care of babies, Bri.”

      “You’re a doctor, Marco.”

      Marco spread his arms. “So?”

      “So, you should know all about babies.”

      “And you of all people should know that what my being a doctor means is that, in medical school, they taught me how to deliver a baby. They taught me how to examine one medically. They never touched on day-to-day care. Perhaps, being a pediatrician yourself, you’ve forgotten all that.”

      “You’re an uncle,” Brian said. “Surely you’ve been around babies.”

      “I am, and I have. But my brother Roberto had his kids when I was in medical school, so I didn’t pay all that much attention. And the only time I hold my sister, Kate’s, baby is when she’s happy and gurgling. The minute she starts crying, I hand her back.”

      “There’s nothing to it,” Brian assured him. “Kristen’s a good baby. All you have to do is feed her, change her diaper and keep an eye on her when she’s crawling around, so she doesn’t get into trouble.”

      Marco felt his lips twist. “Really? Is that all?”

      Brian tossed a quick glance over Marco’s shoulder, and his voice took on a new urgency. “Val’s coming. Please, Marco. I’m begging you. This might be the last chance I have to convince her that we can make our marriage work.”

      Marco heaved a weary sigh. Brian was his best friend. And he truly did seem desperate.

      “Okay. I’ll watch her. But only if you think I can really do the job.”

      Relief

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