What the Doctor Didn't Tell Her (5 page)

“
You sacrificed your
career for my daughter,” Sarah marveled.

“
I just dialed it down a
few notches.” Daniel eyed her with infinite gentleness. “Besides,
how could I help it? She’s such an angel.”

“
Yes, she is.”

“
If you want to be sure of
the relationship, you should take a DNA test.”

Unnecessary. “Even if the test was
negative, I love that little girl.”

“
I can tell,” he said.
“When I mentioned that she needs a mother, that was my clumsy way
of working around to this explanation.”

“
I thought you were
looking for someone to bail you out,” she answered
ruefully.

“
Someone I
love.”

Did he mean that? Could she trust the
sincerity in his voice and the yearning in her heart?

“
I didn’t rush things
because you had such a low opinion of me,” Daniel said. “And well
deserved it was, too.”

Embarrassed, Sarah recalled her
remarks to Jane when she’d learned Daniel was joining the staff.
“You heard what I said?”

“
I believe the term
egotistical jerk entered into it.” He slanted a smile at her. “Now
I’m asking you to put all that behind us and give me another
chance.”

“
What kind of chance?” If
he was asking for mere friendship, they’d better clarify that now.
Before I dive into the deep end again.

“
You’re the only woman I’ve ever
loved, Sarah, and I plan to marry you.” Daniel leaned across the
table. “However, I believe that, legally, you do have some say in
the matter.”

Her last reservation dissolved.
“You’ll have to court me properly.”

“
Flowers? Jewelry?” he
asked. “Coming right up.”

“
Kisses and loving words.”
Everything she’d missed.

“
Long walks, laughter,
making love,” Daniel contributed.

“
Playing cards with Nina.”
She couldn’t resist adding, “And making love a few more
times.”

“
A few?”

“
Many.”

They were beaming at each other in
front of the entire cafeteria, Sarah noted. “Maybe we should skip
the courtship part. We’ve wasted long enough.”

“
Is that a yes?” Eagerness
lit Daniel’s face.

“
It is.” Before he could
make a general announcement, she added, “But we have to save the
news until we tell my mom and Nina.”

“
Let’s do it together.” He
picked up his tray.

“
Agreed.”

By the end of the day, Sarah felt as if she
might burst with her news. At six o’clock, when the last patient
had gone and the last report was entered into the computer, she
nearly ran to join Daniel.

Her fiancé. Her soon-to-be husband.
How incredible.

As she rode home with him, Sarah tried
to rehearse her announcement. She was still working on that when
they halted in front of the neighbor’s house. Their own home still
wasn’t quite ready to occupy.

On the porch steps, Nina was playing
with a kitten. Sarah’s mother watched the little girl with an
unguarded expression of pure, aching love, touched with
longing.

When the car pulled up, two faces
turned toward them. Betsy and Nina wore almost identical
expressions of curiosity. Grandmother and granddaughter. How could
Sarah have missed the resemblance?

Hand in hand, she and Daniel strolled
up the walkway. The right words came to her at last.

“
Mom,” Sarah said with a
catch in her throat, “We just found your rainbow.”

Jacqueline Diamond
has sold more than 95 novels, including romantic comedy, romantic
suspense, fantasy, mystery and Regency historical romance, to a
range of publishers.
A two-time finalist
for the Rita Award, Jackie received a Career Achievement Award from
Romantic Times and is a former reporter and TV columnist for the
Associated Press. She also writes the Safe Harbor Medical
miniseries for Harlequin American Romance. To learn more about
Jackie and her monthly ebook specials, sign up for her mailing list
on her website, jacquelinediamond.com.
Say hi to Jackie
on Facebook at JacquelineDiamond Author
and
,
on Twitter, at
@Jacquediamond.

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