The Doctor's Baby(37)
“I suppose you can sit with us,” Mary Karen said. “We don’t care that you’re a pathetic loser who can’t get, er, keep, a date.”
Rachel gasped but Travis burst out laughing. “I don’t see you here with a date, M.K., so I wouldn’t talk.”
“I have a date.” Mary Karen slipped her arm through July’s.
Travis shook his head. “Doesn’t count.”
July watched and smiled.
“Children, there’ll be no arguing at the dinner table,” David said and July could hear the laughter in his tone.
“Your sister said I was a pathetic loser,” Travis protested.
“He intimated I can’t get a date,” Mary Karen said, though her eyes shone with good humor.
“Stop.” David held up a hand. “After dinner you can argue all you want. Or better yet, you can kiss and make up.”
The two exchanged a glance but didn’t respond. Still July noticed that when Travis took his seat at the table, he sat next to Mary Karen.
July wondered if her friend was aware of his interest. Then she noticed the flush in Mary Karen’s cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes. She knew all right. July hid a smile.
The waiter had just brought their drinks when Rachel excused herself to get changed for the fashion show. With Mary Karen and Travis fighting, er, flirting, that left July with David.
“You should wear a tux more often,” July said. “You look good.”
“I can’t wait to get it off.” David ran a finger around the inside of the starched collar. “Give me jeans and a flannel shirt any day.”#p#分页标题#e#
“I know what you mean,” July said. “I can’t wait to take this off.”
“As beautiful as you look in that dress.” David lowered his voice and leaned close. “You’d be even more beautiful out of it.”
The dark flicker of want in his eyes told her he was remembering her naked. Just like that she was back in the hotel room. Even after all these months, that night was still so vivid. The image of him permanently seared into her brain. They’d left the lights on. And they’d taken their time looking, admiring, tasting and caressing.
July’s nipples pressed against the bodice of her dress and an ache filled her belly. She forced her attention away from his lips. “Do you think I’m a bad mother because I left Adam home with a babysitter tonight?”
A look of startled surprise skittered across his face. Whatever he’d expected her to say, it obviously wasn’t this.
Instead of tossing out a glib answer, he took a sip of tea. Then he shook his head. “The way I see it, parents need to make time for themselves.”
It made sense but July wanted more. “Let’s say the roles were reversed and you were a single father. There are some conservative ‘experts’ who say if you’re single, you shouldn’t date at all until the child is grown. Others say if you don’t take care of your own needs, you can’t be a good parent. Which viewpoint do you support?”
Waiters in white dinner jackets swept into the room holding large silver trays. David waited until they’d placed the salads on the table and moved on to answer.
“I fall somewhere in the middle.” He stabbed a piece of lettuce with his fork. “I think being so focused on your child that you don’t keep yourself open to adult experiences isn’t good for either of you. But to do whatever you want, without regard to your child’s needs is—in my estimation—wrong.”
July thought for a moment. “Are you telling me that if you were a single parent, you’d see nothing wrong with an occasional date or a night out with friends?”
His eyes softened. “Getting out once in a while is good for you and for my sister.”
July followed his gaze. Mary Karen and Travis sat engaged in a heated debate. But Mary Karen’s flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes told July the woman enjoyed sparring with her old friend.
“She deserves to have fun.” David slanted July a sideways glance. “And so do you.”
“Even if it means leaving my baby?”
“I doubt Adam even knows you’re gone.”
July punched him in the arm before she noticed the teasing glint in his eyes. “I guess I should just shut up and concentrate on having a good time, huh?”
To her surprise, David took her hand in his. “You’re a new mother, July. I’d be concerned if you weren’t missing your baby.”
His thumb caressed her palm sending shivers of wanting throughout her body. And when he leaned close enough that she could see the flecks of gold in his blue eyes and inhale the tantalizing scent of his cologne, for one fleeting second the impossible occurred. July forgot that David was here with another woman…and that her baby was home with someone she didn’t know.