Dr. Daddy by Elizabeth Bevarly Read Free Book Online Page A

had let her hair down. It hung loose and cascaded over one shoulder in a shimmer of copper that seemed to catch fire as it reflected the rays of the setting sun streaming in through the window behind her. Never before had he realized just how long and straight, how silky and rich, her hair was.
    And in that moment, Jonas knew he was in serious trouble. Because instead of stirring up the anger and resentment he normally felt when he encountered her, Zoey was stirring up something else entirely. Something he hadn’t experienced for a long, long time. Something that felt dangerously like desire. Hot, heavy, urgent desire.
    “Hi,” she said with a smile when she looked up at him.
    Jonas wasn’t sure, but he didn’t think Zoey had ever smiled at him before. And the knowledge that she was doing so now, that the inviting, welcome-home expression on her face was meant for him and him alone, was staggering to say the least. As if to illustrate, he took a step backward, nearly reeling. Then she looked back down at the baby and, with the distraction of her beauty gone, he was finally able to catch his breath.
    “How...how did it go with Juliana today?” he asked, hoping his voice revealed none of the troubling thoughts parading through his brain.
    “Great,” Zoey told him.
    He eyed her suspiciously. “Really?”
    She nodded. “Really.”
    “No fitfulness?”
    “No, nothing unusual for a baby this age.”
    “No crying jags?”
    “Only when she was hungry.”
    “No screaming fits?”
    “Not a one.”
    She continued to look at Juliana, and her next words were expressed in the high-pitched, breathy voice people normally adopted when addressing an infant. “We did very well today, didn’t we, sweetie? We ate well, and we played on our quilt, and we watched some birds at the feeder outside, and we read Curious George, and we listened to some reggae music, and—”
    “Reggae music?” Jonas repeated. “Where did you find reggae music? I don’t have any reggae music.”
    Zoey looked up at him and smiled that mind-numbing smile again. “I brought some tapes in from my car. It’s been my experience that babies love reggae music.”
    “They do?”
    She nodded. “Evidently. At least, the limited study group I’ve used for experimentation has.”
    “How limited?”
    “Three. Well, four now, if you include Jules.”
    “Jules?”
    She nodded again. “I think it fits her much better than ‘Juliana’. Don’t you think she’s more of a Jules?”
    Jonas shook his head, feeling more and more bizarre with every passing moment. Zoey Holland was in his home, speaking to him quite civilly, rocking a child in her arms upon whom she had bestowed an affectionate nickname and behaving as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
    “I—I don’t know,” he stammered. “I never really thought about it.”
    Zoey dipped her head toward the baby, who stared back at her with frank adoration. “Well, I think she’s definitely more of a Jules.”
    As if voicing her agreement, Juliana smiled and cooed with much contentment. Zoey laughed and rose from the chair, lifting the baby to her shoulder.
    “I wasn’t sure what you planned to do for dinner,” she said, “so I took the liberty of fixing some seafood stew and a tossed salad.”
    Dinner, too? Jonas marveled. On top of everything else, Zoey was actually cooking for him? “Where did you find the ingredients?” he asked. “I always order something in or eat out on my way home. There’s never any food in this house.”
    “Well, there is now. Jules and I went to the grocery store and stocked up for you. You can pay me back before I leave tonight.”
    “You took Juliana to the grocery store?” he asked incredulously.
    “Didn’t I just say that I did?”
    “You took her out? In this weather? To a public place?”
    Zoey laughed as she approached him. “It was a beautiful day today, and—”
    “It was thirty degrees!”
    “—and Jules had a great time. She’s