Page 48 of Doctor’s Surprise Twins

CHAPTERTHIRTY-SEVEN

Derek

I felt complete.

After months of searching for her, I couldn’t have imagined a better reunion. Maggie lay beneath me as I rose up, pulling out of her and letting her readjust. She rolled to the side, and I slid behind her and held her. The small throw blanket she’d been covered with when I walked in had fallen to the floor, and she picked it up and covered our naked bodies with it. Holding her had never felt so right. I didn’t remember a time when we lay like this after sex, and I kicked myself for never offering.

I kissed the back of her shoulder and waited for her to speak, but she lay quietly.

“Maggie, I want you to move in with me.” She stiffened, turning to her back to look up at me. “I mean it. We love each other. It’s obvious we have been in love a while, and I just couldn’t admit that.”

I watched her face. She didn’t seem angry or upset about it, but she also didn’t smile. The thoughtful expression lingered there as she looked at the baby monitor, then back to my face.

“Derek, I love you, but I think maybe we should take it a bit slower.” Maggie readjusted the covers, pulling them up higher across her chest. It was chilly, so I held her closer. It made me sad to hear that was her answer, but I understood.

“I spoke to Curt, obviously.” She had a strand of hair across her face that I pushed away as I spoke. “He was hurt that we kept things from him, but he knows I’m not backing down this time. We’ve had a thing since we were kids. He has to have seen that. Anyway, I told him I loved you and that I knew those babies were mine.”

“Oh, yeah? How did that go?” She shivered, and I kissed her forehead.

“Well, I have a nice bruise on my jaw you just can’t see because of the beard.” I chuckled and shifted, reaching for her clothes. “You need to get dressed. You’re cold.”

Maggie sat up and took the clothes from me, dressing slowly as I extricated myself from the couch, untangling my legs from the blanket. She looked melancholy, and I wondered if I had said something wrong. I slid my legs into my jeans and stood, pulling them up and fastening them. She didn’t speak, and I didn’t press her. I figured this was all a bit overwhelming to her. But when she looked up at me with a sad expression as I pulled my polo on, I sat by her and put an arm around her.

“He really hit you?” Her lip quivered, and she hugged her arms over her stomach.

“He did.”

She looked away from me, like she was hurting.

“He thought I’d somehow hurt you. Which I did.” Pinching her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I turned her face so she would look at me. “I’m sorry. I was a jerk.”

Her soft smile drew me in, and I kissed her softly. “I love you. You are not a jerk. you were just hurting.” Her hand splayed across my chest, and I looked down at it, realizing that her bare ring finger needed something on it. It was the first time I thought of marrying her, but I didn’t even have to think long about it. I wanted that more than anything.

“Maggie, it’s going to be fine.” I kissed her again then turned to put my shoes on.

“Will it, though? When everyone at the office finds out you broke your own rule? When the board finds out you slept with an employee? Derek, I left town so you wouldn’t ruin your career for me, not just because you told me you wanted nothing to do with a relationship.”

I could see the apprehension in her eyes. I hated myself at that moment for making her feel that way. That rule had been to protect the integrity of my office and my career, yes, but it had also been a standard practice for most businesses. But lighting only strikes once in a man’s life, and I would have been stupid to let the opportunity to connect with her pass by without grabbing onto it.

“Maggie, before you even came on to me at that party, I’d had thoughts of you. The day Barb interviewed you, I had thoughts. The minute I heard the name Magnolia, I knew it was you. I remembered kissing you under those bleachers, sneaking around behind Curt’s back, the way your father lectured us about what is proper. Hell, my dad grounded me after I was already eighteen because I was a sinner who needed to repent.” I laughed. “Curt told him we were making out, and you should have seen the rage.”

Maggie smiled. “So it won’t matter if we’re dating? I mean, the hospital board, the ethics committee? What about Gypsy and Barb? Tammy?”

“They’re going to have words, yes. I don’t care. I’m in love. You haven’t worked for me for six months, and I don’t want you to work until these guys are a little older.” I gestured at the baby monitor, realizing that I sounded controlling. “I mean, unless you want to. In which case, you have your job. We never hired anyone to replace you.”

“And Curt and Dad?” She snuggled up next to me, and I held her.

“Well, they don’t really get a say in what you do. You’re a grown woman.” I saw the change of expression and added, “But I can understand how you might respect their opinions. Maggie, we are adults now. I’m not a twenty-year-old going after an underage teen. And we are in love. And we have children together now.” Just saying that made my heart feel full. “They will come around if we give them time.”

“We’re really doing this? Like, it’s actually happening?” I heard the emotion in her voice and knew if I looked down at her face, I’d see tears.

“Yes. We are. And I’m not running away or pushing you away this time. Because I want you in my life, every day, as long as I live. Mags, will you go to dinner with me on Valentine’s Day?”

She smiled at me. “Of course I will. You’ll just have to convince Gypsy to babysit.”

The monitor whined, and one of the babies started crying. It was the tiniest cry of a newborn, and I smiled. “You want me to get them?”

She shook her head and sat up. “No, but you can come with me.” She rose and took my hand, so I stood and followed her. She led me to the bedroom at the end of the hallway. Warm air rushed out as she opened the door, the room kept much warmer than the rest of the house, probably for the babies’ sake. They lay in a single crib, swaddled up and touching each other, just like we taught new moms to do with their twins.

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