Page 12 of Tempted By the Handsome Doctor

He doesn't flinch from the honesty. "I know. I haven't earned it."

"But I want to try." The admission surprises even me. "For the baby's sake, if nothing else."

"For the baby," he agrees, though something flickers in his eyes that suggests he might be hoping for more.

I break off another piece of cookie, considering. "There's a fall festival at Riverbank Park on Saturday. Local artists, food trucks, that kind of thing. We could meet there around noon?"

"That sounds perfect." His smile is immediate and genuine, lighting up his tired face.

My phone chimes with a calendar reminder. "I should get back to the library," I say, reluctantly gathering my things. "We're doing a special reading for the preschool group today."

Daniel stands when I do, a reflexive old-fashioned courtesy that makes me wonder about the grandfather who raised him. "Can I walk you to your car?"

"I'm parked in the hospital lot." I hesitate, then add, "But you can walk me to the corner."

We exit the café together, and I know how we must look to passersby…The handsome doctor and the librarian, an unlikely pair on a weekday morning.

At the corner, we pause awkwardly. There should be a protocol for saying goodbye to the father of your unborn child whom you barely know, but no one has ever covered this particular situation.

"So, Saturday?" Daniel confirms. "Noon at the park entrance?"

"Saturday," I nod.

He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, clearly debating something. Then, slowly, he reaches out and briefly squeezes my hand. "Take care of yourself, Maya."

The touch is fleeting but electric, sending a jolt up my arm that has nothing to do with pregnancy hormones and everything to do with the memory of his hands on other parts of me. I pull away first, flustered.

"You too," I manage. "Don't work too hard."

A wry smile twists his lips. "Doctor's orders?"

"Librarian's," I counter, and am rewarded with a genuine laugh.

We part ways at the corner, and I feel his eyes on my back as I walk toward the hospital parking lot. I don't turn around, though I want to. I need to maintain some distance, some perspective.

Because the truth is, I'm terrified of how easily I could fall for Daniel Morrison. How naturally we seem to fit together, even in these strange, strained circumstances. How much I want to believe that his promises of support and involvement are real.

But wanting something doesn't make it true. My father wanted to see me turn thirty, wanted to meet his grandchildren someday, wanted to grow old in the house he loved. Wanting didn't save him.

And Daniel might truly believe his own promises now, in the flush of shock and responsibility. But what happens when reality sets in? When my belly swells and midnight feedings loom, and his career demands more and more of his time? When the baby becomes real and not just a concept?

I can't afford to trust him completely. Not yet. But I can give him the chance to prove himself, step by careful step.

Starting with a fall festival on Saturday.

Chapter 6 - Daniel

I arrive at Riverbank Park thirty minutes early, because apparently impending fatherhood has turned me into the kind of guy who worries about punctuality. The kind of guy who spends forty-five minutes deciding what to wear to a small-town fall festival. The kind of guy who buys flowers on the way—then panics and leaves them in the car because they might seem too forward.

I settle for leaning against a lamp post near the park entrance, trying to look casual despite the knot of anxiety in my stomach. The fall festival is already in full swing, spilling out from the park's boundaries onto Main Street.

Booths with colorful canopies line the walkways, selling everything from hand-knitted scarves to maple candy. Children dart between adults' legs, their faces sticky with caramel apple. A band sets up on the small stage by the river, testing microphones and tuning guitars.

It's the kind of wholesome small-town event I used to mock when I was younger, desperate to escape Cedar Falls for the excitement of a bigger city. Now, watching families stroll past, the afternoon sun turning the changing leaves to fire, I find myself wondering if I've been missing something all these years.

"Danny? That you?"

I turn to find Sheriff Mike approaching, his uniform exchanged for jeans and a Cedar Falls High School sweatshirt. We played football together back in the day, before I left for college and he stayed to join the police force.

---