Page 35 of Healed Hearts

There’s a soft snore, and I smile as I turn to see that Wren is asleep and Holden is staring down at her in what looks like awe.

His eyes lift slowly until they lock with mine, and I watch as he swallows hard, his throat bobbing with the motion. Yeah, I feel that, Holden. On a spiritual level. At least you’re only worried about falling in love with my daughter. You could be like me and be worried about falling in love with the man falling in love with my daughter.

He smiles at me as he gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “She’s something else,” he says softly, like he’s trying not to wake her up. Nothing would wake that kid up from a nap, though.

“She is. You’re great with her,” I say, smiling at them.

He shrugs. “I’ve always liked kids. It’s why I made the switch from working in the ER to peds.”

“Oh really? How long did you work in the ER?”

“A bit over five years. Basically, right after I finished nursing school. I started in the ER and didn’t leave until this past month.”

My eyes widen. “Wait, you’ve only been in pediatrics for a month?”

He nods. “Yeah, I had my first day the morning after we…” His voice trails off.

My stomach tightens at the reminder of the night we shared. Not that I need much to remember it, since it’s almost always on my mind. Especially while he’s staring at me with those eyes. “I would never have guessed. You’re so good at it.”

He shrugs, but he has a pleased smile on his lips. “It’s not much different. Tiny humans instead of big ones. But I’m really enjoying it. Especially when I get to meet cuties like this one,” he says, nodding his head in Wren’s direction.

“I’m pretty thankful you made the switch. I’d be missing out if you hadn’t,” I say, smiling softly at him. I rub the top of his hand with my thumb, and his eyes drop to the connection. He pulls in a shaky breath, but doesn’t respond to me otherwise. “If you’dlike, I can carry her to her room to finish her nap and we can talk.”

He’s quiet for a moment, like he’s considering, but then he nods slowly. “Okay, yeah, that would be okay.”

He looks nervous, but I can’t imagine why. Surely he knows I’m not going to hurt him, right? But then I remember the way he thanked me before he left that first night. And yeah, maybe hedoesn’tknow I won’t hurt him.

I pull my hand from his, the loss of his touch hitting me harder than I thought it would. He flexes his fingers and frowns at his hand, like he’s having the same thought. I stand and lean down to lift Wren into my arms. She’s so tightly snugged into his side that I have to slide my hand between their bodies to lift her. I feel his sharp intake of breath when the back of my hand brushes his side. I pick Wren up and carry her to her room and tuck her into bed. She doesn’t even stir. Not in the terrifying way she didn’t wake up before, but her normal dead to the world type of nap.

When I head back into the living room and sit down, I sit closer to Holden than I was before, only leaving a couple of inches of space between us. Holden glances down and for a second, I worry that I’ve overstepped, but he smiles, lifts his sock covered feet up, and tucks them under my thigh.

It feels… domestic, and it makes my heart thud heavily in my chest. I can almost picture a future like this—Holden and I sitting together on the couch, Wren sleeping. Or maybe more kids, if that’s something he would want. I give myself a mental shake. I do not need my thoughts taking a left turn right now. I almost laugh at myself.Whyam I even thinking about that?

Holden sighs, relaxing into the couch beside me. The movie is still playing in the background, and he’s lost in it, like he’s genuinely enjoying watching it, but I only have eyes for him. His profile is breathtaking—his button nose, his sky-high lashes, thesoft angle of his jaw, his full lips as he silently mouths the words to the song the trolls are singing. “Hey, Holden?”

“Yeah?” he asks, turning his attention to me.

“You’re stunning.” His cheeks pink up and his eyes widen, almost comically.

“Thank you,” he whispers, vulnerability written all over his face. Almost as quickly as it shows, he wipes it away, an overly cocky smirk lighting up his expression. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

I want him to be real with me. And now that I’ve seen the switch from real to facade, I’ll never be able to unsee it. I know getting him to open up will take time, and I have nothing but that.

“Wanna turn on a grown up movie?” I ask.

He giggles. “Nah, I actually love Frozen, so unless you really can’t stand it, I’m fine with it staying on. I’d rather talk anyway.”

“Okay, what would you like to talk about?”

He shrugs, a grin playing on his lips. “How old are you?”

“I just turned twenty-seven. What about you?”

Holden brings a hand to his chest, gasping loudly. “Old man!” Ensue rising panic. I thought he was close to my age. Is he not? He takes in my expression and laughs. “I’m twenty-six. I’ll be twenty-seven in a couple of months.”

“You’re a bit of a shit-stirrer, huh?” I ask, chuckling along with him.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he says, winking at me.

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