Baby Experts 02 by The Midwife’s Glass Slipper

figure out what went wrong, why we couldn’t stick it out through…” She stopped, then finished with “the hard times.”
    He looked as if he might want to question her about what those times were, but he didn’t and she was glad. This wasn’t the time or place to go into what she was hiding from him.
    “Chloie told me you used to play together when you were kids, but then you were out of touch for a long time.”
    “Yes, we were. We reconnected at my stepfather’s funeral. She was his brother’s daughter. We aren’t blood cousins.”
    As they walked farther away from the hospital, the quiet night surrounded them. The wind picked up, whipping by them. That morning Emily had fastened her recalcitrant curls into a bun. Now the longer they walked, the more strands the breeze pulled free. She stopped for a moment to refasten a few.
    Jared stopped, too, watching her. “Don’t. Just let it free.” He turned toward her just as she looked up at him.
    “Damn,” he muttered but reached down anyway and fingered a loose tendril. “Your hair is so touchable.”
    The compliment reached down inside her and warmed all of the cold places where Richard’s put-downs had hurt most. She hadn’t been admired for being a woman for a long time. And Jared’s words felt good, but they also warned her that chemistry between them couldn’t be stifled easily, maybe couldn’t be stifled at all.
    He proved that when he slowly ran his thumb over her cheek. She could have stood there all night letting him touch her and he looked as if he wouldn’t mind doing it.
    “Maybe we’d better get back,” she said softly, knowing that was the safer thing to do.
    “Maybe we should,” he agreed almost reluctantly.
    “I want to stop in and see Leanne and her baby,” she reminded him.
    He nodded and they turned around to return the same way they’d come. This time they walked in silence, the current that Jared’s touch had created zinging back and forth between them.
    What was it about this man that made her feel wild and passionate and free? How long had it been since she really felt free? Yet it was more than the sexual current between them she was attracted to. There was a gentleness about him when he dealt with his daughters. That was as sexy as his tall Texan look, his broad shoulders and his hungry kisses. Yet she could tell by his restraint when he’d ended them that he didn’t intend to get more involved with her.
    Why was she so drawn toward him when her marriage had turned out badly? Didn’t she remember Richard’s concern for his own reputation rather than what she was going through? She’d felt so raw when he hadn’t comforted her. She’d felt so separate when he’d gone to cocktail parties and left her with the stress of the lawsuit. She’d felt so alone during much of her marriage. When her divorce had been finalized, she knew she’d rather be alone than risk being abandoned again.
    But then she’d met Jared. He’d awakened every sensation she’d thought she’d put to sleep.
    As they rose in the elevator to the maternity and nursery floor, he admitted, “Courtney and Amy miss you.”
    “I miss them.” Amy’s smile, Courtney’s hug had made her feel as if her heart was expanding. Before her interaction with them, she hadn’t realized how much she wanted to be a mom.
    “Any luck with the nanny search?”
    “I don’t want just anyone. I want someone who can take care of the twins as if they were her own.”
    Emily knew exactly what he meant. It was obvious when adults were pretending to like children and when they really liked them. She and Francesca and Tessa really liked kids. They could all spend an afternoon with Vince and Tessa’s little boy, Sean, and their little girl, Natalie, and have a roaring good time. And Emily loved stopping by the toy store to buy them gifts.
    Jared led her to the nursery, first checking in with the chief nurse at the desk. They used their security cards to access the