The Single Dad Finds a Wife by Felicia Mason Page A

doctor,” he said, still keeping his voice low so Jeremy wouldn’t be disturbed.
    â€œAll right, dear,” his mother said. “I’ll be right here.”
    David leaned over the bed rail and kissed the top of his son’s head. Then, after sending a smile his mother’s way, he returned to the hall, missing Charlotte’s speculative glance at him.
    Spring Darling was still there, not that he’d expected her to disappear. Her head was lowered in the position that he’d starting calling “Americans and their best friends” as she tapped on her phone. She must have sensed him standing there because she looked up. And when she smiled, David’s breath caught.
    Her beauty was refined and classic, putting him in mind of pearls and calla lilies, rather than, say, daisies and bare feet, though no flowers or jewelry save a watch and small gold posts adorned her. No gold band was on her left hand, and he had the impression she would be the type of woman who would display her union with that symbol. He realized that he was interested in getting to know her...and that interest had nothing at all to do with the fact that she’d come to his son’s aid last night even though the clinic was officially closed.
    â€œWe can talk in the atrium,” she said again.
    With that comment, David realized that Dr. Spring Darling was a pediatrician and her business was medicine. She was just doing her job, seeing to patients and ready to answer any questions parents had about care.
    Then what was the teddy bear all about, he wondered to himself.
    * * *
    Spring wasn’t quite sure how it happened. One minute they were headed to the atrium, and the next she was suggesting the patio terrace of a coffeehouse near the hospital instead. She told herself that the atrium was crowded with patients and their families getting a bit of morning sun, but knew that wasn’t the full reason behind her decision.
    Like a moth to a flame, something about David Camden called to her, beckoned her. And instead of activating the emotional shields she erected whenever a man got too close or seemed interested in her, she opened herself to the possibilities. If she wasn’t mistaken, she’d seen a spark in his eyes that mirrored her own when it came to him.
    It was an intriguing and unique situation for her. And she was a grown woman. As her youngest sister, Autumn, would say, “Life’s too short to miss the game. Play ball!”
    So she and David Camden settled on the patio terrace of the coffee shop that was a gravel pathway away from Cedar Springs General Hospital. The spot, frequented by hospital staff and employees from the nearby medical office complex, buzzed with the midmorning chatter of people taking quick breaks or grabbing an early lunch before dashing back to cubicles, labs and patients.
    â€œThank you,” David said. “For the teddy bear you gave Jeremy.”
    Spring felt her cheeks grow warm and knew she couldn’t attribute it to the skinny chai latte she sipped. “I saw it and thought of him. He seemed to like it.”
    Silence fell between them then, as though they both searched for words to fill the space. Instead of being awkward, the shared contemplation seemed comfortable to Spring. It even, she dared think, felt right. As if they’d done this many times before. And before she knew it, she’d voiced just that idea.
    He smiled. “I thought it was just me.”
    Well
, Spring surmised.
Well, well, well.
    After taking another sip of her latte, she nodded toward the papers from Adam Emmanuel that David had placed on the table. “Dr. Emmanuel’s instructions are spot-on,” she told him. “After discharge tomorrow, Jeremy will need bed rest. You’ll know he’s ready to resume his normal schedule when he’s fidgeting to get out of bed or says he’s hungry.”
    He smiled. “That would be always,” he said. “And