Free Needed: Full-Time Father (Medical Romance) by Carol Marinelli Page A

just a baby.’ Urgent eyes turned to his. ‘I haven’t been to a funeral since. I’m terrified how I’m going to be. I feel awful because since yesterday, instead of mourning Gerard, I’ve been worrying about me…’
    ‘Madison.’ Guy’s voice was firm. ‘You don’t have to go. I was talking through my hat before.’
    ‘You’re not wearing one.’
    ‘No.’ Guy smiled softly. ‘Would you rather I said I was talking through my backside?’
    ‘No.’ Only then did she realize he was still holding her hand. His was dry and warm, hers cold and horribly, embarrassingly clammy, and she pulled it away. But even if they were talking about nothing, it helped more than she could believe, his vague, gentle teasing enoughto bring her back to earth, a tiny interlude as everything settled, if not quite as it had been before, at least back into some sort of order.
    ‘I’ve got to get back out there,’ Guy said, gesturing to the door but clearly reluctant to leave without offering some sort of solution. ‘Look, it’s impossible to talk properly here. Why don’t we go out for a drink tonight, grab some dinner?’
    ‘There’s nothing to talk about,’ Madison answered coolly, but inside she was horribly flustered. The thought of facing him socially, away from the safety of the hospital, terrified her.
    ‘I think there is,’ Guy answered, looking directly at her. And something in his eyes, his voice, his stance told her he wasn’t referring to Gerard, or funerals, or work, but to them—to the chemistry that had sparked between them, to the irrefutable tension that crackled whenever they were together. ‘I’d like to get to know you, Madison, away from here. It’s only dinner…’
    But it wasn’t only dinner, Madison knew that, knew that despite the casual offer, despite his attempt to soften the offer with an only, it had all the hallmarks of a date. A real-life grown-up date. Staring back at him, watching his soft blond hair falling over his forehead, those gorgeous hazel eyes taking in every flicker of her reaction, the delicious male scent of him filling the room, for a frighteningly long moment she was tempted to accept, to throw caution to the winds and just move with her feelings. But as the reason she would have to decline popped into her mind, it was as if a bucket of icywater had been poured over her—feelings, emotion that had struggled towards the surface firmly quashed as common sense took over, as the practicalities of being a mother, a widow, a working woman mocked her temporary moment of recklessness.
    ‘In case it slipped your mind, I’ve got a daughter, Guy. I think I used up all my babysitting tokens long ago.’
    ‘Tokens?’
    ‘Favours,’ Madison briskly corrected. ‘I can’t just pull a childminder out of thin air.’ Satisfied she’d given a dignified no, Madison picked up her pen, effectively ending the conversation, but still Guy remained.
    ‘Bring her along,’ Guy offered.
    Madison’s pen froze mid-signature, internally damning him through gritted teeth, but forcing a smile instead.
    ‘I don’t think so.’
    ‘You don’t think so?’ Guy smiled, ever the optimist. ‘Is that a maybe?’
    ‘It’s a no,’ Madison said firmly.
    ‘So you’re just going to sit home alone tonight and mull things over, work yourself into a tizz about the funeral—’
    ‘Again,’ Madison broke in, ‘you exemplify how little you know about my life, Guy. After I’ve collected Emily, made her dinner, helped her with her homework, bathed her, set out both our uniforms for tomorrow, listened to her read, then read to her, maybe, just maybe, I’ll have half an hour to myself before collapsing into bed, only to get up a few hours later and do it all over again!’
    She was painting a picture, trying to show him the impossibility of her situation, to scare him off perhaps, but infuriatingly he still stood there, still smiled that lazy smile at her.
    ‘Anyway,’ Madison carried on, ‘I’ve