Officer Daddy Read online

  Unable to resist seeing him again, Nora followed his mellow baritone into the living room and joined a cheerful throng of the newlyweds’ family and friends. By the fireplace stood two tall men, both clad in black-and-white formal wear that put her in mind of a classic James Bond movie. Leo wore a tux with more panache than his brother, in her opinion. Something about him seemed especially sexy to Nora. At least, it did after three glasses of champagne.

  “I wasn’t too crazy about my first sister-in-law,” Leo went on, draping one arm around his brother. “But we won’t talk about her today.”

  Good choice. While Nora had only met Esther a few times, the whole hospital had buzzed when she dumped her husband and her job as a county prosecutor for a high-powered career in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. Not only had Esther refused to take her husband along to share her new life, she’d also abandoned the baby they’d conceived with the help of a surrogate mother. Kate had been only a few months from delivering Tara, who was in fact her own biological child.

  Speaking of Tara, she’d just produced a loud burp. Nearby, several guests smiled, while another glared, apparently under the impression that this was some rude visiting baby.

  Unfortunately, the burp brought up more than air, and Nora felt a large wet spot spreading across her shoulder. While she was trying to figure out what to do about it, a grunting sound signaled further action below.

  Well, great. Things like this, Nora felt fairly certain, never happened to the exquisite Persia. Although, there might be hope for the future.

  Around her, people were raising their glasses. Dimly, Nora realized the toast was reaching its climax.

  “…the most dynamic power couple in Safe Harbor, because their power comes from love. To my brother and the wonderful woman he’s brought into our family. To Kate and Tony.”

  Clinking, cheering. Nora would have joined in if she’d had a free hand to hold a glass.

  Next to take the floor, or rather, the hearth, was the hospital administrator, Dr. Mark Rayburn, who’d also gotten married recently. “I’ll keep this short. Marriage is great and it couldn’t happen to two nicer people. To Tony and Kate.”

  More cheering and clinking. Nora could feel the dampness seeping through her dress and the camisole beneath it. She considered handing the baby to some unsuspecting woman, but her conscience wouldn’t allow it.

  The next to salute the happy couple was Mark’s pediatrician wife, whose advocacy for needy women and children had won her the nickname Fightin’ Sam. “Enough of these weak-kneed toasts,” announced Dr. Samantha Forrest. “Let’s hear it for Kate and Tony. Hip, hip, hooray!”

  She led the crowd through two more repetitions of the cheer, each louder than the last. At the climax, the baby started to cry, not a loud wail that might have summoned her parents but a soft hiccupping that wrenched Nora’s heart.

  “Okay, sweetheart. Let’s see where…” She turned, only to find her path blocked by a sturdy masculine body. Shiny black jacket, formal white shirt and, instead of a puny bow tie, a teal necktie that matched the bridal colors. Also, she noticed a hint of darkness beneath the strong line of his jaw where a beard threatened to make its appearance. “You missed a spot when you shaved,” she said.

  He barely twitched, although anyone else would have felt his jaw. “Is that so? Well, you didn’t miss a spot, I’m sorry to say.”

  “Is it that obvious?” She’d hoped the baby’s pudgy little shape would hide the damage.

  “I had a great view of the entire proceeding.” Leo’s nose wrinkled. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Around them, people were edging away. “Afraid so.”

  “Do you know how to change a diaper?” he asked.

  “I’m an obstetrician. I think I can figure it out.” Technically, that ought to be his job as supervising uncle, but his wary expression indicated he’d do it only if absolutely necessary.

  He grinned. “I’m glad you’re an expert.”

  “Where’s the changing table?”

  “I’ll show you.” When Leo took her elbow, his large hand seemed to envelope her entire arm. With her knees on the verge of liquefying from all the champagne, Nora appreciated the support.

  On the second floor, the chatter of childish voices drifted from a nearby room. When she peeked in, Nora saw Brady and a couple of other boys seated in front of a screen, battling it out on a video game.

  “Tony and Kate usually restrict use of the game console, but things are a little relaxed today,” Leo told her. Into the playroom, he called, “Hey, guys, did you get something to eat?”

  “Yeah!” they chorused, and went on playing.

  A loud rumbling seemed to emanate from overhead. “Their speaker system is kind of powerful,” Nora observed as they continued down the hall.

  Leo laughed. “That isn’t the game. It’s raining. Hard.”

  As if for emphasis, a squall hit the roof with the patter of tiny hailstones. Having grown up in the Southern California town of Santa Barbara a few hours’ drive to the north, Nora rarely listened to weather reports, even in February, so she hadn’t expected this. “That’s fierce.”

  “It’s supposed to taper off soon.”

  She should have paid attention to those steely clouds on the drive over, and skipped the champagne. An unusually heavy storm could transform low-lying Safe Harbor into an obstacle course of flooded intersections and downed branches. In her current state, she wasn’t looking forward to navigating the few miles to her condo.

  As she stepped into the nursery, Nora forgot her concern. On the far wall, soft colors created a magical forest, where a shy dragon peered from behind a tree and fairies flitted between the trunks. “How charming.”

  “Changing table’s over there.” Leo indicated a chest of drawers topped by a padded surface. Beside it hung a cloth diaper stacker.

  If Nora had a nursery, she’d decorate it like this—an enchanting cloudlike mobile above the crib, an old-fashioned rocking chair for soothing a fussy baby and a shelf full of picture books with teddy bears peering out here and there. With a sigh, she laid the baby on the pad and set to work.

  Leaning against the wall, Leo watched, his warm expression heightening the bubbly sensation in her veins. “You have slender hands. Very graceful.”

  What an unusual thing to notice. “A surgeon’s hands have to be steady.”

  “I’ll bet you can do a lot of things with those hands,” he murmured.

  A delicious shiver ran up Nora’s spine. She felt suddenly desirable, not at all like a woman who usually clipped back her hair and hid her figure beneath a white coat. Or like a wife whose husband preferred a younger, sexier replacement.

  Overhead, another gust of rain hit the roof. The room felt isolated, far from the wedding party downstairs. Intimate and inviting.

  She bent to her work. “I deliver a lot of babies with these hands.”

  “Ever get tired of it?”

  “Never.”

  He loosened his necktie. “Whenever I visit someone at the hospital, I can’t seem to resist stopping by the nursery. Those little guys are cute.”

  “You’ll make a great father.” When he didn’t answer, Nora glanced up to see his mouth twist. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “Only that I’m nowhere near ready to be a dad,” Leo responded pleasantly. “But I’m game to practice if you are.”

  His half expectant, half humorous expression stirred a flood of heat. Nora hadn’t felt a man’s touch in far too long. Was Leo just kidding around or seriously trying to seduce her? And if he was, did she want to take him up on it?

  She’d felt a tug of longing from the first moment she saw him. But he was a little too good looking, too quick with a smooth line.

  On the table, the baby yawned. “Time for a nap.” Carefully, Nora lifted her and moved to the crib. “I guess we should let her parents know she’s up here.”

  “I’ll do that,” Leo assured her.

  She hadn�
��t given him an answer. But he probably didn’t expect one, and besides, her soiled dress felt sticky. “I’ll go wash my hands and see if I can get out this spot.”

  “Thanks for handling diaper detail.”

  “No problem.”

  When she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, she wasn’t surprised to find that Leo had disappeared. That was no doubt the last she’d see of him except across a room, Nora reflected with a pang.

  Even though she knew perfectly well she’d have regretted yielding to impulse, she wished she could be sure she’d get another chance.

  Chapter Two

  He hadn’t meant to proposition Nora so bluntly. Hard to say why the suggestive remark had slipped from his mouth. Sure, Leo had picked up his share of women under unlikely circumstances before, including once at a fellow officer’s wedding. But not…

  Not what?

  “Not another high-flying blonde,” Patty would have said. “Honestly, Leo.”

  Well, it had come to nothing, anyway. Nora was evidently still dealing with issues from her divorce, and while she’d seemed ripe for a little diversion, she hadn’t responded. So he went downstairs before she came back. Best not to push a woman too hard.

  Either she wanted him or she didn’t. Leo had to admit he wanted her. Okay, given her reference to children, she might have initially mistaken him for husband-father material, but he could deal with that. As long as they both understood from the start that this was strictly a fling, they’d be fine.

  He was keenly aware when Nora walked back downstairs that she didn’t come in search of him. For the next hour, Leo watched from the corner of his eye as she mingled with her fellow guests, mostly hanging out with Samantha Forrest and a couple of other women from the hospital staff.

  Leo didn’t try to join them. For one thing, every time he ran into Dr. Forrest, she tried to talk him into volunteering at a counseling clinic she’d established at the local community center. Teen fathers needed his steadying influence, she insisted. Him, a steadying influence? Obviously, Fightin’ Sam hadn’t seen the pool table dominating his den.

  Late afternoon flowed into evening. At most weddings, the bride and groom quickly headed for their honeymoon destination, but Tony and Kate had decided to delay their trip until Tara was past the breastfeeding stage, so they were lingering with their guests. Although Leo understood the rationale, he didn’t entirely approve. If you weren’t desperate to rush off to a romantic wedding night, how romantic were you likely to be years later?

  Finally, after the ritual serving of the cake, guests began taking their leave. Leo distributed coats and umbrellas and went in search of missing purses, since his normally well-organized brother seemed lost in a cloud of bliss. Good to see the guy had some romance in his soul.

  Leo also kept track of Nora, who’d snared a corsage to pin over the wet mark on her dress and whose hair was curling in tendrils around her face, a bedroom effect that he found highly appealing. She seemed in no rush to depart, kicking back with shoes off—drawing Leo’s attention to her slim legs and shapely feet—while she indulged in more champagne and chocolates.

  After a lull, the rain started again, harder than ever. Guests grumbled good-naturedly that they should have gone while they had the chance. Leo agreed. He was tired of being around all these people.

  As another batch drifted out, Tony stood in the doorway beside him. “You’ve been great today. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.”

  “Want me to boot out the loiterers?” Leo asked. “I’ll bet you guys are ready to crash.”

  “Oh, they’ll go soon enough, now that the food’s being cleared. I’ll have the caterer pack you some leftovers.”

  “Great idea.”

  After his brother wandered off, Leo went into the room where he’d last spotted Nora, but it was empty. No sign of her in the dining or living room, either.

  It hadn’t occurred to him that she might slip out unnoticed. Not that he’d planned anything, but…

  At a rustle on the carpet, he turned. There she stood, bright and glowy, holding her shoes in one hand and her purse in the other. A dark pink bolero jacket mashed the corsage on her shoulder. “Excuse me, sir, are you the doorman?”

  He felt absurdly glad to see her. “Yes, ma’am. May I help you?”

  “I have a car around somewhere, but there’s this awful policeman who might haul me off to the pokey if I try to drive,” she said. “Could you call me a cab?”

  Did she have any idea how delicious she looked? “What a coincidence. I happen to drive a cab. It’s right outside.”

  She regarded him dubiously. “How do I know you won’t overcharge?”

  “My customers pay only what they wish,” he assured her. “As for the personal valet service, it’s free.”

  “Personal valet service?”

  Leo raked her with his gaze. “Removal of dead flowers, part of the standard package. Removal of damaged stockings, on request. Removal of soiled clothing, strictly optional but a lot of fun.”

  “And here I thought you’d given up,” she murmured.

  “I never give up.”

  “How about yes to A, maybe to B and no to C?”

  He didn’t recall which was which, except that C referred to removing her clothes. Too bad. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

  Leo made short work of leave-taking, and gratefully accepted a carryout box of goodies. Then he dashed out with an umbrella, fetched his car and collected a cheerful, feeling-no-rain Nora at the front door.

  “You don’t drink very often, do you?” he asked as she slid into the front of his red two-seater. Torrents of water splashed across the windshield and drummed on the roof.

  “What gives you that idea?” Tossing her gear atop the junk in the back, she fumbled with her seat belt, got it stuck halfway and meekly allowed Leo to finish the job. Since the task involved stretching it across her rounded breasts, he took as long as possible.

  “If you’d expected to drink this much, you’d have arranged to come with a friend,” he pointed out, his face close to hers.

  “I wouldn’t trust my friends to drive in this weather.”

  “But you trust me?” Another few inches and their lips would meet.

  “Sirens shrieking, wheels cutting around the corner in pursuit of evil wherever it may strike,” she declared. “You’re a pro.”

  As the belt clicked into place, he brushed his mouth across hers. Mmm. She tasted of chocolate and her lips parted tantalizingly. Then, abruptly, she ducked her head. “We’re a little old to make out in public, don’t you think?”

  “I’d much rather neck in private.” He shifted behind the wheel. “Where to, madame?”

  She stretched her legs and wiggled her stocking-clad toes. “Harbor Bluff Drive West. The new condo development.”

  Leo had cruised past there plenty of times on patrol. “Swank place.”

  “Bought it with my divorce settlement,” she said.

  He didn’t want to discuss her divorce, or her ex-husband or how much money she did or didn’t have. He was too busy thinking about that kiss and, at the same time, navigating away from Tony’s home. The downpour distorted oncoming headlights and blurred stop signs, and while Leo had no trouble handling the situation, he wasn’t so confident about the other motorists.

  “What’s that wonderful smell?” Nora asked.

  No one had ever complimented his car’s odor. Ah, the food. “Buffet leftovers. I’m willing to share.”

  “Clever way to snag an invitation inside.”

  “You already gave me one.”

  “I did?”

  “When you said yes to B and C.”

  She contemplated this notion for the length of a red light. “Which one was C?” she asked as they pulled forward.

  “Peeling off your dress.”

  “No, I’m sure it wasn’t.”

  “I’m no good at multiple choice,” Leo replied. “I usually check All of the Above. How’s that sound?
”

  “Including my dress? Sorry.” Leaning back, she let her eyes drift shut.

  Just what he needed, for her to fall asleep. Leo wasn’t in the habit of taking advantage of women. Whatever he and Nora chose to enjoy, it had to be by mutual consent. Informed mutual consent. Which meant she must be awake and reasonably alert.

  He hoped she had plenty of coffee.

  The complex where she lived stood atop coastal bluffs. It overlooked the beach and, to the east, the curve of marina from which the town of Safe Harbor took its name. After inserting a key card into the parking lot gate, she pointed the way to her reserved, covered space.

  “I live right upstairs, but we have to go around the buildings,” she told him as they got out. Not far off, the surf murmured in a gentle background rhythm.

  “You planning to put on your shoes anytime soon?” He didn’t understand why she was still walking around in her stockings.

  “They’ll be ruined.”

  “Suit yourself. Hang on a minute.” He grabbed the caterer’s box along with a canvas bag that held a change of clothing. “I did promise you food.”

  “So you did.”

  Recipe for a wet journey: one umbrella, a bag, a box and two people, one of whom kept zigging and zagging and breaking into song. Specifically, “It Never Rains in Southern California.” After a few grumpy moments, Leo realized his tux couldn’t get much wetter anyway, and joined in the chorus.

  He couldn’t recall the last time he’d sung in the rain. Maybe never.

  They circled the parking area and proceeded up a walk-way, past stucco units with water overflowing the balcony flower boxes. After a little key action, they burst through Nora’s front door and paused on a half circle of tile at the edge of the carpeted main room.

  Leo’s gaze swept the low couches and bookcases artfully placed to divide the large rectangular space into sections for entertainment, relaxing and dining. The soft swirl of grays, greens and corals made him wonder if they’d splashed their way into a tropical lagoon. “Nice.”