Christmas Babies by Mona Risk Read Free Book Online Page B

followed her. “What can I do to help?”
    “I already set the table. Why
don’t you get the salad out of the fridge and open the bottle of Merlot that’s
on the bar.”
    “Right away.”
    He poured the wine, then carried the
salad and platters to the table.
    “This is the first time I invite
anyone to my place other than the family. My mother always said grace before
dinner. Do you mind—”
    “Please do.” He blinked. Good
God, he was her first guest? The first man she’d invited to her place? He sure needed
a prayer to keep his hands decently occupied and away from her.
    “Lord, bless our food, bless...”
Madelyn recited.
    And help us see clear, cause I
sure don’t understand what’s going on in my head. Or in hers.
    “Amen,” he repeated and raised
his drink. “To your health.”
    Her hand froze half-way. “Oh.”
    Had he said anything wrong?
    “To you, finding a nice apartment
that suits you,” she immediately added and clanked her glass against his. Maybe
he’d imagined her previous reaction. He swallowed a good gulp and abstained
from comments as she hardly sipped.
    “Delicious.” He wolfed down his meat
and nodded when she served him a second helping “Thank you for cooking. I
didn’t realize I’d put you through all this hassle after a whole day at work.”
    “On the contrary, cooking was a
nice distraction. A good way to unwind. I should do it more often.”
    “I won’t complain.” He chuckled
and worked his way through the green beans and potatoes. “I practically never
eat home cooked meals.”
     
    Surprised, Madelyn stared at him.
“Not even when you go back home?” She’d been so proud he appreciated her
cooking.
    “There’s no home to go back to.”
His eyes fixed on his plate and he forgot to eat.
    Poor guy. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
know you lost your parents.” She frowned, stirring her memory. There had been
no gossip about Nick losing his parents in the five years she’d known him. Must
have been before he joined St. Lucy’s Hospital. Or maybe when he was a teenager
or... “Oh God, did they die while you were a small boy?”
    His head jerked up. “No.” His
cold tone surprised her. “They’re not dead. But I stopped existing for them
ages ago.”
    “Excuse me?” She lurched back
against her chair. “I don’t understand.”
    He shrugged. “It’s a sad story
you don’t want to hear.”
    She had the feeling he’d buried a
deep pain. Still, malignant abscesses didn’t disappear on their own. Only a
surgical knife could cut them out and purify the affected area.
    “Yes, I want to hear it.” Needles
pricked her heart. Maybe one day she’d have a sad story of her own to share.
Would he understand hers? “Please, tell me,” she urged and reached across the
table to cover his hand.
    He glanced at their entwined
fingers and then considered her. “You come from a loving family, Madelyn. Why
destroy your illusions?”
    She pulled her hand back and
crossed her arms. “I’m a doctor, too. I’ve heard many sad stories and seen a
lot of miseries. Like our patient today.”
    “That poor Casey Willis and her
twins.” He poured more wine and drank to quench his thirst or maybe to douse
the memory of the teenage mother.
    “I checked on the babies before
coming home.” She wanted to reassure him and lighten the somber mood that had
settled over him. “They are doing well so far.”
    “So far.” He shrugged. “Until
some great parents adopt them.” Derision underlined his bitterness.
    She was afraid to guess. “Nick,
tell me about your parents. I told you all about my family.”
    He emptied his wine glass and
refilled it. “I don’t know my real parents. Never found them. They may have
been druggies, or criminals, or a pair of desperate teenagers.”
    “Like Casey?”
    “Yes. Like Casey.” A deep scowl
etched his forehead as he captured her gaze. “I was adopted by a fantastic
couple who badly wanted a child and had all the money in the world to