Doctor Daddy Page 18
“Your Uncle Quent.”
“Oh.” She seemed disappointed. “Is it time to go to the party?”
“Almost.” Out the window, he caught sight of Jane. “Look who’s here.”
As she came in, Luke drank in the sight of her. Had a future bride ever looked more radiant? It wasn’t just his imagination, either.
It occurred to him that he was beaming right back. And that he’d probably continue to do so for the next, oh, fifty years.
“I missed you!” Zoey cried by way of greeting. “Where’s Stopgap?”
Jane chuckled. “He’s staying home today. You can play with him later.”
“I’ve hardly seen you all week. Did you and Daddy fight?” Zoey demanded as Jane entered.
“We’ve just been busy.” She and Luke moved toward each other. She cast him a questioning look, and he nodded. “But we have some very special news. We’re going to…” She waited for him to finish the sentence.
“Get married,” Luke concluded for her.
“I hope that’s okay,” Jane asked Zoey.
“Yay!”
“We’ll be moving into Jane’s house,” Luke added.
His daughter gave an excited hop. “With Stopgap?”
“You bet,” Jane said. “And would you mind if I asked you to be my flower girl?”
“Oh, thank you! Yes, yes, please!” She raced into Jane’s arms, and they hugged until tears ran down their faces and Luke embraced them both.
They dressed the baby, grabbed the champagne and walked to the Lorenzes’ house. Zoey trotted gleefully between her father and future stepmother.
Puffy pink and blue bells festooned the front of Number 18. Neighbors spilled onto the porch and, when someone spotted them, cheers went up. Obviously, Brooke had spread the word.
“It’s the happy couple!”
“Congratulations!”
“Can I take photographs at the wedding?” Carly called, and they nodded, laughing.
Others swarmed around with warm wishes, including Bart. As the two men shook hands, Luke was glad they could stay on good terms.
Tess, the attorney, offered to help with Tina’s adoption as her wedding present, while Cynthia Lieberman congratulated them, too. After the initial burst of greetings died down, Sherry took Jane and Luke aside.
“Wendy Clark approached me about the Annie Raft Memorial Clinic,” she told them over a glass of champagne. “I’m going to talk to some of my old friends who’re darn good fund-raisers. We should adopt this as a project.”
“That’s tremendous,” Luke said.
“She told me about the MRI and the nanobots project, too,” Sherry enthused. “That could really save lives.”
“What project?” Jane glanced between them. Maybe she should have asked more questions when he mentioned the MRI.
Luke filled her in. “I discussed it with Wendy yesterday and she jumped right on it. Nothing’s certain yet, of course, but she’s very eager to have us participate.”
Carly and Brittany intervened, urging them to admire the new Web pages. Since he’d already seen them, Luke stood back and let the others get a good view.
The cheery hum of voices filled a house perfumed with chocolate and raspberry. In the living room, he spotted Zoey telling Suzy of her plans to be a flower girl. In a portable playpen, Tina chewed on her new bunny and leaned against Marlene.
A sense of euphoria enveloped Luke, as if the champagne was a little stronger than usual. The feeling grew as he navigated through the crowd toward his wife-to-be.
This, he realized, was what happiness felt like.
Slipping his arm around Jane’s waist, he couldn’t believe that he’d been too obtuse to notice what was right under his nose. For a doctor, he’d come perilously close to missing the most important diagnosis of his life.
Which was, of course, an incurable case of love.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3953-5
DOCTOR DADDY
Copyright © 2009 by Jackie Hyman.
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