Christmas Secrets Collection - Laura Iding Mills & Boon e-Book Collections

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are you feeling?” he asked, avoiding Seth’s none-too-subtle glare. “You look much better this morning.”

      “I am better,” Alyssa said. “Dr. Rayborn has written my discharge notice. I’m free to go home.”

      “That’s wonderful news.” He was very glad to realize that Alyssa was stable enough to go home. At least he didn’t have to worry about the twins being born too prematurely.

      “I have to stay on bed rest for a few days,” Alyssa explained, including all of them in her earnest gaze. “But Dr. Rayborn told me to come back to see her on Wednesday. If all goes well, I might be able to return to work after that.”

      He bit back a protest, knowing his opinion on her working this late in her pregnancy wouldn’t be welcome. He wanted to reassure her about how he planned to help her to financially support the babies but at the same time he didn’t want to invite an argument, especially in front of Seth and Kylie.

      “Don’t rush things,” Kylie warned, and he wanted to kiss her in gratitude for saying exactly what he was thinking. “Remember, stay healthy so you can carry those babies to term.”

      “I know. I’ve already heard the same lecture from Dr. Rayborn,” Alyssa protested, holding up a hand with a wry smile. “I won’t rush things, but you know as well as I do that the longer I work before the delivery, the more time I can take off after the twins are born.”

      Again, Jadon had to bite his tongue to keep from interrupting. If he had his way, Alyssa wouldn’t have to work for a long time after the twins were born. He might not know much about being a father, but he refused to let her struggle to make ends meet either.

      Yet he understood they had a long way to go before she’d lean on him. So he’d be patient, taking one day at a time.

      “Do you need a ride home?” Seth asked. “We’re happy to stop by your place since Ben’s officially discharged, too.”

      “That would be great,” Alyssa said gratefully. “The nurses have already done the discharge teaching. All I need is a prescription for the oral terbutaline Dr. Rayborn wants me to continue taking and I’ll be ready to go.”

      Jadon frowned, thinking her condition didn’t sound too stable to him. “I can give you a ride home, Alyssa. That way Kylie and Seth don’t have to wait.”

      Seth flashed a grim smile, crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, it’s no bother. We don’t mind waiting, do we, Kylie? And besides, you worked graveyard last night, didn’t you? I heard the ED was crazy. Might be better for you to hurry home and get some sleep. You look exhausted.”

      The dismissive note in Seth’s tone put Jadon’s teeth on edge. Silently, Jadon glanced at Alyssa, giving her the final word. She hesitated, and then grimaced as she nodded. “Jadon, I didn’t realize you’ve just finished working the night shift. I’ll go home with Kylie and Seth. You do look like you could use some sleep.”

      Her choice to go with her friends, rather than with him, stung. Maybe he’d made mistakes but, dammit, it wasn’t all his fault. He hadn’t left knowing Alyssa was pregnant.

      When the nurse didn’t immediately return with Alyssa’s prescription, he knew he’d lost the battle. Swallowing a heavy sigh, he turned and left, trying to be happy that Alyssa was doing well enough to go home.

      But if she thought she could avoid him forever, she was wrong. Maybe he did need some sleep, but he and Alyssa needed to talk. Soon.

      Preferably without an audience.

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      Alyssa sat on her sofa, staring morosely at her crooked Charlie Brown Christmas tree standing in the livingroom corner of her apartment. She’d thought the ornaments would help fill in the sparse gaps between the branches, but instead the branches slumped beneath the weight of even her smallest ornaments.

      Her apartment manager, Mr. Worthington, had brought her the tree and hauled her ornament boxes out of her storage bin located in the basement. Mr. Worthington was a sweet man; he’d been a devoted fan ever since the night he’d had crushing chest pain and she’d stayed by his side during the ambulance ride to the hospital.

      So she couldn’t complain about the tree. Instead, she should be glad she had at least something Christmassy to look at. Christmas had always been her favorite holiday even while she’d been growing up. It had been the one time of the year when her mother had gone all out, lots of decorations and celebrating to make their time together special. In recent years, though, since her mother had passed away, the holiday spirit had been more difficult to find. Now, with the babies coming, she’d grown excited about Christmas again.

      However, bed rest did not include putting up Christmas decorations, or baking Christmas cookies. Heck, she couldn’t even scrub the floors or really do anything to relieve the boredom of her apartment.

      When the doorbell buzzed, indicating she had a visitor, she crossed over to the intercom system, expecting her coworker from the ED. “Susan? Is that you?”

      “No. It’s Jadon.”

      Alyssa closed her eyes and momentarily rested her forehead on the wall. She’d known Jadon wouldn’t leave her alone for long, especially after she’d turned down a ride with him earlier that morning. She’d seen the flash of hurt in his eyes when she’d agreed to go home with Seth. She’d felt guilty.

      But she wasn’t any more ready to continue their discussion now than she had been earlier in the day.

      Since avoiding him hadn’t worked, she pushed the button to release the door lock of the apartment. In moments he knocked on her door.

      She ran her fingers through her hair and opened it, all too aware of how awful she looked wearing maternity sweats. Not that she should care.

      But she did.

      “Alyssa, are you supposed to be up off the sofa?” he asked, his brow furrowed with concern as he shut the door behind him.

      She suppressed a sigh, telling herself it was natural he was worried about the babies. They were his babies, too.

      “Yes, I can make simple meals for myself, walk to the bathroom and back. I’m to keep a log of any contractions I have and to call Dr. Rayborn if they become at all regular or sustained.”

      Jadon nodded and thrust his hands deep into his pockets. “I’m glad. Kim seems like a great doctor.”

      “Yes, she is.” Alyssa made her way back to the sofa. “Help yourself if you want something to drink.”

      “I’m fine.” Jadon followed her into the living room, taking a seat on the chair across from her. If he noticed her pathetic little Christmas tree, he didn’t say anything. “Alyssa, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left all those months ago without saying anything. Give me a chance to explain.”

      She swallowed hard and shook her head. “Jadon, if this story involves some other woman, like an ex-wife, a fiancée or a girlfriend, I really don’t want to hear the gory details.”

      “What?” His startled expression would have been comical if she hadn’t felt so sick to her stomach to be having this confrontation. “Is that really what you think? That I left you for some other woman?”

      She rubbed a hand over her stomach, hoping she could calm the babies, sheltering them from her tension. “What was I supposed to think? Why else would you leave without a word?”

      “There isn’t another woman, Alyssa. Not now, or during the time we were together.” His low tone and the seriousness in his gaze made it difficult to doubt him. “But you’re right, I haven’t been entirely truthful with you. About my past.”

      She licked suddenly dry lips, suspecting she wasn’t going to like this. “To be fair, Jadon, neither one of us talked much about our pasts.” Their physical attraction had overridden most

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