His Best Mistake by Kristi Gold

Leah quietly opened the door so she wouldn’t startle her. Carly picked that moment to let out an irritable howl, as if she sensed her mother was about to foist her off on a woman who didn’t possess one solitary maternal bone in her body.
    A sliver of light fell across the bed, illuminating Macy’s closed eyes. “I really could use some help,” Leah whispered.
    Macy groaned, lifted her head and muttered, “What time is it?”
    “Almost four. Carly’s been up most of the night and I haven’t had any sleep. Could you watch her for an hour or so while I take a nap?”
    Macy rolled onto her back and sighed. “I’m scrubbing in on an open heart in less than five hours.”
    Leah wasn’t in the mood for a schedule competition, but she’d do whatever she had to do to earn Macy’s assistance. “And I have to see the first of thirty or so kids in less than four hours.”
    “Sorry. My mitral valve trumps your rug rats. If I’m not on my game, Brannigan will find some way to punish me for at least a month. Isn’t that right, Dr. Lattimer?”
    “Damn straight,” came from beside Macy in a decidedly low, masculine tone.
    Only then did Leah realize that Macy had a bed buddy. A playboy anesthesiologist, to be exact. Somehow Macy had sneaked him into the apartment. Probably when Carly was screaming at the top of her lungs.
    Leah murmured, “Sorry to bother you,” as she closed the door on the scene. And Carly smiled up at her, as if she found the situation very amusing.
    Leah wasn’t amused. She was weary and tired and a little jealous of Macy. Not that she would trade her child for a casual fling. Not that she wanted to have a life without Carly, no matter how difficult raising a baby alone could be.
    Yet as she returned to the tiny room and began to rock her daughter again, she fought back tears. The urge to cry strengthened when she considered her former relationship with Kevin and how she had hoped for a future with him.
    Leah might have been wrong about that, but she wasn’t wrong about one thing—Kevin did care for theirchild. He’d proven that the moment he’d held Carly. He’d affirmed that when he’d set up a trust fund and then offered his home to them. And remarkably, he hadn’t pressured her into making a decision about the move since he’d made that offer six days ago.
    The longer Leah weighed Kevin’s proposition, the more she believed that it could be best for both her and the baby. She would actually have some help on nights like these, when she felt as if she were failing as a parent. When she felt so alone.
    With Kevin, she might find some stability for the time being, or at least until she moved to Mississippi. And when that time came, she would be the one to leave, instead of the other way around. That should give her some satisfaction, yet Leah only felt sad, and that’s when the tears began to fall in earnest, soft and quiet like the bundle in her arms.
    Leah listened to the sound of Carly’s steady breathing and realized she’d finally fallen asleep. But she didn’t dare try to put the baby down for fear she’d awaken again. Instead, she leaned her head back against the rocker and closed her eyes. Yet, before fatigue completely overtook her, she came to a decision. For the sake of her mental health, her career and, most important, her daughter, she was going to move in with Kevin. And now that she’d made up her mind, she only had one more decision to make—exactly how and when to tell him.

CHAPTER FOUR
    “O KAY , I’ll do it.”
    Kevin’s sleep-induced stupor prompted the only logical response to the woman’s abrupt declaration. “You’ll do what?”
    “Move in with you.”
    When the mental fog cleared, Kevin scooted up against the headboard and swiped a hand over his face. “Leah?”
    “Yes. How many women have you invited to move in with you?”
    Oh, hell. “None. I’m just surprised to hear from you after midnight.” Or at all, for that matter.
    “You used to