Page 75 of Doctor Daddy

“I did some thinking last night,” he started. “I’ve been pretty angry the past several months. Angry with you, angry with myself. Just to be clear, I think I may have figured out why you were so angry with me.”

“You did?” I hadn’t expected that.

“I wasn’t seeing anyone else when we were together.”

“But I saw the way you were with Mom’s friend. You went out on a date after the lake. She told me.”

“I don’t know what Mimi told you. But I had zero interest in her. The entire time at the lake I kept talking Howard up. She was like a tick that would not let go.”

“You weren’t dating her?”

He shook his head and closed his eyes. “Why would I date anyone else when I had you?”

“But you insisted we keep it a secret. I thought you were playing me.” I wiped at my eyes as tears started to form. The baby hormones that were still taking over my body had me crying at the drop of a hat.

“Have you told your parents about this?” He lifted the baby slightly, emphasizing what he meant by ’this.’

I snorted. “Are you serious? They would disown me. The disappointment alone would be the end of me.”

“How do you think they would take you dating an older man?”

“So much disappointment,” I chuckled derisively.

“And how do you think your father would take knowing I was that older man?”

“He’d have your balls.”

Mark raised his brows at me. Right, we had been sneaking around because my parents would somehow find a way to make our lives completely miserable for simply looking at each other inappropriately.

“And how are they going to take it when they find out we’ve had children together?”

He had figured it out. I could tell by his expression he wasn’t one hundred percent certain. This was my chance. I could possibly fix what was going on between us and have a shot at a life with him, or I could tell him I didn’t know who the father was and it wasn’t him, and be complicit in dooming myself to the life of a single mother.

I closed my eyes and let out a big breath. “Mom is going to be torn. I mean she’s going to be so mad at me for having hidden this. But grand babies. When did you figure it out?”

He looked more shocked than I had expected. He sat heavily and cradled Summer a little tighter.

“Last night. I did the math. I figured you got mad because that’s about when you found out you were pregnant, and you thought I was seeing other women. Yeah, I’d be mad too. I’m sorry about whatever went wrong between us. I’m sorry you felt you needed to run away and hide this from me…”

He looked up at me. I saw the red rim of his lids.

“I don’t think I ever stopped loving you, and now, twins.”

“You love me?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“I love you,” he said. “I was in love with you so much. I wanted us to find a way to tell your parents, but, well, things changed, didn’t they?”

“Mark,” I could barely talk around the lump in my throat. “I want you to meet your daughters. That one is Summer. I think. I mean I know she’s the one I want to name Summer. Baby B.”

“Summer is a good name. Hello little Summer.”

His gaze was so soft as he took her in. When he looked up at me, he had the same expression. It made my heart skip. Could I remember the last time he looked at me like that? Did I even realize that look was love?

“And Baby A, what’s her name?”

I bit my lip. “I call her Strawberry. But that’s not a name.” I shrugged.

“Strawberry is a delightful name.”

---