A Passionate Proposal. Emilie Rose

last thing he wanted was to ruin their friendship.

      “Thanks.” His voice sounded as though he’d swallowed a handful of gravel. He beat a hasty retreat, eager, he was ashamed to admit, to get out of the house before he did something stupid like kiss her until they ended up naked and horizontal.

      What he needed was a good dose of something that didn’t make him feel like a failure. Work. He had an exemplary bedside manner, and his diagnostic skills were superb, or so his instructors back at Duke had told him.

      Obviously, Josh didn’t see the same qualities.

      Cort shrugged on a clean shirt and tie. He’d never shirked hard work, but usually his diligence produced visible results. No such luck with Josh. The harder he tried, the worse the situation seemed to get with his son. The baby books were a prime example. He’d practically memorized the parenting books he’d found on Kate’s shelves only to have Tracy tell him to ignore them and follow his gut instinct.

      Not a chance. He trusted his gut when it came to patients, but not with his personal life, because with Josh and Tracy his gut was one big knot of apprehension.

      Three

      Tracy’s heart quickened when Cort’s truck pulled into the driveway that evening.

      Libby had dropped by earlier to soak up all the news about Cort and Josh, and she’d stayed long enough to fill Tracy’s mind with illicit suggestions regarding ways to convince her new tenant to stay in Texas. Seduce him, she’d said.

      Tracy rolled her eyes. As if she’d know how to seduce anybody.

      “Show him what he’s giving up by going back to Duke. It’s your last chance to hook the man of your dreams,” Libby had insisted.

      Tracy shook her head. She would never deliberately quash someone’s dream. If Cort wanted to be a surgeon, then he ought to be a surgeon. He was her tenant. She was his nanny. She’d do best to remember that, but that didn’t mean she didn’t secretly wish she could be as bold as Libby suggested.

      “Daddy’s home, sport.” Cort looked scrumptious in his dark suit and blinding-white shirt.

      Josh took one look through the glass storm door at the man striding up the walk and buried his face in her neck. Cort witnessed the maneuver, and his confident stride faltered. Resignation settled over his features.

      Tracy’s heart went out to him. She vowed to do whatever she could to bring father and son together. Plastering a smile on her face, she pushed open the door. “How was your day?”

      “Not bad.” Satisfaction filled his voice. He lifted a hand toward Josh’s back, but then dropped it before making contact. “How about here?”