21

“I hope you and Sean were able to straighten things out, Elizabeth.”

Liz glanced across the breakfast table at her father. Just as she’d figured, he and Ruth had spent the night at the hotel. Leaving Ruth sleeping, he had arrived at her place at the crack of dawn to pick up a change of clothing. The girls were still asleep.

She and her dad were sharing a cup of coffee, something they’d always enjoyed doing together even when she’d been a teen. “We talked, for all the good it did. I needed to know why he’d started avoiding me after our night together.”

“And?”

Liz shrugged. “He wants me to believe that he was ashamed, that I would think he used me as Asia’s replacement that night.”

Phillip leaned back in his chair. “And is that what you thought?”

“Yes, but it didn’t matter to me. I loved him and I wanted him to know he was making love to me, not Asia.” She released a deep sigh. “He claims he knew and that’s the main problem.”

Phillip lifted a brow. “I don’t understand.”

Liz took a sip of her coffee. “According to Sean, that night, he realized it was me he loved and not Asia Fowler. He’d loved her, but hadn’t been in love with her, and he’d become engaged to her mainly to protect her from his brother.”

Phillip didn’t say anything for a minute. “I take it you don’t believe he loved you.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I was his best friend. He loved Asia, I know that. Even if what he said was true, how could a man be in love with a woman and not know it?”

Phillip stared into his coffee cup for a long moment and then glanced over at his daughter. “It’s possible, Elizabeth. Ruth and I worked together for years. At the time, I only thought of her as a brilliant colleague. At least, that’s what I believed.”

Liz studied her father. She’d often wondered how he and Ruth had met. She’d been away at college and when she went home one weekend, he had taken her to dinner to meet Ruth. “When did you discover differently?”

“When she put in a transfer to relocate to another hospital in California. I freaked out, trying to convince myself I was only upset because I didn’t want to lose such a gifted neurosurgeon. Then I had to take the time to analyze just what the real reason was. And when I did, I think I even shocked myself with the conclusion. I had fallen in love. Your father, who, after your mother, had sworn that I would never get serious about a woman, had fallen in love…and had fallen hard.”

A smile spread across Liz’s lips. She knew her father loved Ruth. Anyone in their company for any period of time could see that. His confession was so endearing to her. “Well, Dad, if you feel the way you do, why haven’t you and Ruth tied the knot. What are the two of you waiting for?” Liz knew Ruth was a divorcee and she and her father had been dating for close to ten years now.

Phillip studied the contents in his coffee cup again before glancing up at his daughter, a serious expression on his face. “Ruth’s last marriage was a bad one. She wants to make sure the next one is right. Her ex was abusive, both physically and mentally. She loves me and knows I love her. And because I love her, I can wait until she’s ready. Even if it takes another ten years.”

Liz reached across the table and patted her father’s hand. “Well, I hope by the time Haylee and Kaylee’s weddings roll around that the two of you are married.”

Phillip laughed. “I believe I can safely say we will be by then. In fact, we’ve been talking about it a lot lately. I think she’s coming around. Keep your fingers crossed.”

She winked at her father. “I will.”

“Now back to you and Sean, Elizabeth. Hear him out. I know you love him. Why is it so hard to believe he could love you? Remember, I saw him after you left. He was frantically looking for you. He’d traveled all the way from Boston to Memphis. In the end, he went so far as to hire a PI. To find you! Not the girls. He hadn’t even known about them then.”

“Yes, but how can I believe he truly loves me, that he’s not just saying it for the girls.”

“You think he would do that?”

She shrugged. “He wouldn’t be the first man who married a woman he didn’t love because of his kids.”

Phillip shook his head. “No wonder you and Ruth get along so well. You’re both stubborn.”

“Would you like something to drink, Sean?”

He glanced over at Liz. She had opened the door looking both comfortable and sexy in a pair of leggings and a pullover sweater. “Just water. Where are the girls?”

“Dad and Ruth took them to the park. It’s within walking distance and is one of Haylee and Kaylee’s favorite places to play. They’ll be back in an hour or so.” Liz smiled as she led him to the kitchen. “By then, Kaylee will be ready to eat and will be driving everyone crazy until she does.”

“How did you come up with their names?” he asked, sitting down at the table and looking out her kitchen window. One thing he noticed about this town was that there were lakes everywhere. Liz’s home sat on a huge one, but the yard was contained by a wrought iron fence. He figured it was safer for the girls. But still, the view of the lake from where he sat was breathtaking.

“I let Ruth put together a list of options for me to choose from. I liked Haylee and Kaylee the best.”

Sean nodded as she placed the bottle of water in front of him. “How soon into your pregnancy did you find out you were having twins?”

He knew there were a lot of pressing issues they needed to discuss, like just what these future plans of hers were. Bergman hadn’t been able to find any serious love interest, but that didn’t mean Liz didn’t have one. Not wanting to think about that yet, he focused on the pregnancy he’d missed being a part of.

“I was in my third month. The doctors asked me if twins ran in my family and I told him no, but that they ran in yours. I remember you telling me that your grandmother was a twin and her grandmother before her. I’m glad you’d shared that with me. Otherwise, I would not have known.”

He only wished he could have been there for her. But he had no one to blame but himself. “The private investigator I hired obtained a copy of the girls’ birth certificates. Thank you for listing me as their father.”

She sat down at the table with him, a cup of coffee in hand. “There was no way I would have done anything else, Sean, regardless of how things were between us. As doctors, you and I both know how difficult things are when trying to obtain a patient’s family history and they don’t know enough to tell us. I didn’t want that. If anything happened to me, you deserved to know about your daughters.”

“Yet you didn’t try to contact me.” There, he’d said it and unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

“No, I didn’t,” she said softly, and he saw genuine regret in her eyes. “I was hurt, Sean. We had always been there for each other, but that one night changed everything. And it shouldn’t have.”

She was right. But she did not know how it felt to suddenly realize you were in love with your best friend. He’d tried to explain it to her last night, but she hadn’t believed him. When he’d gotten back to the B&B, he’d had time to think; something he’d done a lot of lately.

If she wouldn’t believe him, then he had no choice. He was a firm believer that actions spoke louder than words. So, he would spend the next two weeks in Belfort and would use that time to get to know his daughters…and hopefully to wiggle his way into Liz’s heart. Just being her friend wasn’t enough anymore.

“I’m sorry I hurt you, Liz. It’s something I will regret for the rest of my life.”

“Thank you,” she said, “For the girls’ sake, it’s important that we get along.”

He took a swallow of water. “How did they know who I was yesterday?”

She hesitated a moment and then admitted, “I have a picture of you in their room, on the wall in plain view. They know it’s a picture of their daddy. You haven’t changed in looks, so when they saw you, they knew exactly who you were.”

“Thank you. It definitely made things easier for me. And you were right, they are friendly.”

She chuckled. “Yes, they definitely have my personality.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at that because she used to tease him about being moody at times. “If you say so.”

It felt good to share laughter with her, like old times. Last night, their conversation hadn’t gotten off to a good start, but today they both seemed to be in a better frame of mind. It was as if they’d decided it wasn’t about them—it was about the girls. That might be the way she was thinking, but as far as he was concerned, it was about them as well.

“When are you returning to Boston?”

Under the circumstances her question was a reasonable one to ask. “I took two weeks off. Once I found out about my daughters, it was important for me to spend some time with them. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all.”

He was glad she wasn’t putting any roadblocks in his path. “Good,” he said, smiling. “I’m even willing to keep them all day while you’re at work, if you like.”

Liz chuckled. “I’m not sure you really want to do that; especially all day. I think part of the day would work, though. We can work out the details later.” She paused a moment, then said, “I was going to call you Monday. To tell you about my plans.”

He recalled that she had mentioned something about her plans last night. “Which are?”

She sat up straight in her chair and he could tell from the look of excitement on her face that whatever she was about to share was something pretty major to her. “I was asked to return to Boston Harbor MC, as Chief of Surgery in the Cardiac division.”

Sean’s face split into a huge smile. “Liz, that’s wonderful. I’d heard they were looking for someone to replace Dr. Oretal when he decided to retire. You’d be perfect for the position. I hope you accepted.”

“I did. I start work in two weeks. The reason I was going to call you Monday was because I thought you should know. I wasn’t sure if David had told you about the girls or if you’d gotten married. But I didn’t want you to think I was returning to Boston to cause problems for you.”

Sean didn’t say anything. Just the thought that she could have considered such a thing bothered him. And it made him realize just how unsure she was of him and the deep friendship they’d once shared. He would have like to believe she knew him better than that. But the sad thing was that she had known him once…and it was time she got to know him again.

Liz moving back to Boston was a stroke of good luck for him. Even if he didn’t win her over in the next two weeks, she would soon be in the same town and working at the same hospital. And he had no intention of giving up on her.

“Although I’m moving back to Boston in two weeks, I don’t start work at the hospital for another month. They are giving me time to find a place to live and get the girls situated in a good daycare center.”

He beamed inside, knowing his family would be within reach in Boston. And yes, he considered them his family, though he bit back an offer to have them move in with him. He knew she would turn him down flat. But maybe later… “This calls for a celebration.”

“What does?”

“Your moving back to Boston and your promotion. I’d like to take you and the girls out to dinner tonight. What do you say?”

Liz wasn’t sure what to say. First of all, she hadn’t known how he would feel about her moving back to Boston. At first, she’d been concerned because she’d thought he was married. Now she discovered that was not the case. Still, she had to know for certain.

“And you don’t have a problem with me and the girls moving back to Boston, knowing there will possibly be talk at the hospital that you are the twins’ father?”

He stared at her, and she was aware he knew why she was asking. Like any place, the hospital was a breeding ground for gossip. When he’d begun dating Asia, his brother’s ex-girlfriend, talk around the water cooler had been that he didn’t mind settling for his brother’s leftovers. There was no doubt in Liz’s mind that it wouldn’t take long for others to find out about the twins…and put two and two together.

“Of course, I don’t have a problem with it. You of all people should know gossip doesn’t bother me. I guess my question is…will it bother you, Liz? Most people know we were friends, but will likely find it surprising to learn we had babies together. How will you feel about that?”

Liz knew there were those who’d suspected her feelings for Sean went beyond mere friendship, although Sean had never figured it out. “I’m not ashamed that you’re my girls’ father, Sean.”

“So then, let’s celebrate. Let me take you and the girls to dinner.”

She met his gaze. “Dad and Ruth are leaving tomorrow, so I had planned to prepare a special dinner for them tonight. But you are welcome to join us, if you like.”

He smiled. “I’d love to join you. Thanks for the invite.”

Sean was still there an hour later when her father and Ruth returned from the park with the girls. Like the day before, Haylee and Kaylee remembered Sean immediately and had raced across the room to give him huge hugs. Then they began chattering away, telling him everything they’d done at the park and about the ducks they’d seen in the lake. Liz watched his interaction with them and could tell he was just as fascinated with them as they were with him.

“He’s good with them,” her father said when he wandered into the kitchen just as she was taking the roasted chicken out of the oven.

She had to agree. “He plans to stay in town for a couple of weeks to get to know them. He even volunteered to keep the girls while I’m working.”

“I hope you didn’t discourage him.”

“No, but I did suggest he start off with shorter days. You know the girls can be a handful, Dad.”

“Good idea. Did you get the chance to tell him about your upcoming move back to Boston?”

“Yes, and he seemed fine with the idea. I think he figures he’ll be closer to the girls that way. I just don’t want him to keep foolishly believing that he’s in love with me.”

“And what if he isn’t being foolish, Liz? I told you how it was for me and Ruth. A man can be in love with a woman without realizing it.”

She nodded. “I know that’s what you said, Dad. But I’ve loved Sean forever, and I’ve always known I’ve loved him, even while dating others. That’s why I never got serious about anyone. So, I’m sure you can understand why it’s hard for me to understand how he could love me and not know it.”

Sean backed away from the doorway. He’d been about to enter the kitchen to tell Liz that Kaylee was hungry when he’d overheard the conversation she’d been having with her father.

Had Liz just admitted to loving him for a long time? How had he not detected such a thing? Not only had he not been fully aware of his feelings for her, but he hadn’t had a clue about her feelings for him. If what he’d just heard was true--and there was no reason to believe it wasn’t--that meant he’d made a royal mess of things.

But he was going to make things right. Now, not only did he have to win over his daughters, but he had to win the heart of their mother, as well. And he intended to put his entire heart and soul into making that happen.