Free The Doctor's Baby Secret by Scarlet Wilson Page B

breath and tried to bring some normality back to the situation. ‘I’m not used to being kissed by guys I hardly know. Why don’t we try and remedy that situation?’ She gulped. That had come out a little more direct than intended. It was almost an invitation to tell her a little about him and see what could happen next.
    She twisted her feet under the table. He couldn’t see her squirm there.
    Austin sat back a little. He just looked amused by everything she said. ‘You’ve read my file. What else do you want to know?’
    She shook her head. ‘I’ve read your medical file. I haven’t read your general file. I had no need to. So, unless we want to discuss your blood work, eye tests or chest X-ray, I really don’t know much about you at all.’
    He leaned back against the leather seat. ‘You know I was a Top Gun instructor.’
    â€˜And that’s all that defines you? A Top Gun instructor?’
    â€˜It’s enough for most women.’
    She shook her head. ‘Why did you join the navy? Why be a pilot?’
    He looked a little more thoughtful, and his answers were more measured. He spoke slowly. ‘Let’s just say it’s a family tradition.’
    Now, she was finding out a bit more. ‘Your dad was a pilot?’
    He nodded. ‘My father, my grandfather and my great-grandfather.’
    â€˜Wow.’ She paused for a second. There was something a little strange about the way he said it. ‘So, Top Gun wasn’t your dream?’
    His eyes darted off to the side. She smiled. He was formulating an answer.
    â€˜Yes...and no.’
    She tapped her fingers on the table. ‘Now, what does that mean?’
    He met her gaze with such an intensity she caught her breath. ‘Space. Space has always been the dream. I knew that one of the best ways in was to be a pilot. That’s why I was happy to follow the family tradition.’ He paused for a second. ‘My father was on the shortlist for astronaut training thirty-five years ago. Then along came a baby that gave him scarlet fever and then measles and those plans went out the window.’
    â€˜Wow, talk about a guilt trip.’
    He shrugged. ‘What can I say? My father was never a baby kind of guy. First proper conversation we had was when I told him I was joining the navy and planned on being a pilot.’
    â€˜He approved?’
    â€˜You could say that. He spends his life telling the world how well his son is doing. As for this?’ He held up his hands. ‘On the one hand he can’t wait to tell folks his son is an astronaut candidate, and on the other...’ His voice tailed off a little. ‘I think he still feels a little bitter about missing out on the opportunity himself. He asks detailed questions about some of the assignments, then proceeds to tell me how he could have completed it easier and faster than me.’
    She sucked in some air. ‘So, you’re treading a fine line between fatherly approval and fatherly jealousy?’
    He gave a wry smile. ‘Maybe. But some things I get to keep to myself.’ He met her gaze. ‘If it’s not astronaut or Top Gun he’s really not interested.’
    But she was.
    She leaned across the table towards him. Austin Mitchell was getting a whole lot more interesting.
    â€˜So what are you keeping to yourself, Lieutenant Commander Mitchell?’
    She wanted to laugh out loud. She was blatantly flirting with the guy. But he made it so easy.
    He raised his eyebrows, then leaned across the table towards her too, their faces only inches apart, and waved his hand. ‘Space has always been the goal. But there’s more than one way to get there. I loved science at school. If I wanted to go to space, I should really have focused on physics. But it was biology I loved—microbiology. Things down at a cellular level. Plants, animals and humans, but mainly just the science.’
    She smiled.