The Nurse's Newborn Gift. Wendy S. Marcus

all the things he knew Jarrod would want his son to know.

      “This is Jarrod’s baby?” Kira asked.

      Surprising that Krissy hadn’t shared that bit of information with her sister.

      “Wait a minute,” Kira added. “Your artificial insemination was done with Jarrod’s sperm? He had his sperm frozen before he died? And you...”

      Krissy nodded.

      Spencer had been cruel to insinuate Krissy would try to pass off another man’s baby as Jarrod’s. Deep down, he didn’t believe she’d do such a thing. But Kira mentioning Krissy’s artificial insemination put an immediate halt to any lingering question he may have had.

      Krissy yawned, a big, totally exhausted looking yawn. “I’ll tell you everything. Later. I promise.” She repositioned herself in the bed. “Right now, I really need to close my eyes for a few minutes.” She found the bed controller and lowered the head of the bed.

      “I’m going to go track down her doctor,” Derrick said as he left the room.

      “I’m going to go grab a cup of coffee,” Spencer said, knowing Kira would be in the room if Krissy should need anything. But when he left the room, he didn’t go to grab a cup of coffee. He followed Derrick, hoping to listen in on his conversation with Krissy’s doctor.

       CHAPTER THREE

      ON MONDAY MORNING, Krissy sat at the reception desk at Derrick’s office, helping Sara with answering phones and checking in/checking out patients, while Kira covered most of her nursing duties in the back. It was that or use a valuable sick day to stay home alone and rest, which would no doubt give her too much time to think about all she had to do before the baby came and worry about the actual giving birth part, which would be anything but restful. So Krissy had given in and agreed to Kira’s terms.

      The good news, she was getting paid. With her delivery date fast approaching, every penny counted. Working the desk wasn’t so bad. And since Kira had been spending her time on the business side of nursing for the past few years, prior to taking on the job of office manager at Derrick’s family practice, her nursing skills were a little rusty, which meant Krissy still got to work with patients who needed injections, blood draws, and/or EKGs.

      Krissy had just checked out a mother and her newborn baby following her first checkup when Spencer walked in followed by a thinner but equally fit and equally good looking man. Lord help her. Spencer in khakis and a polo shirt looked good. But Spencer in black dress slacks, a crisp white fitted dress shirt and a black tie was off the chart hot. To the point his hotness was making her hot...and bothered.

      Based on the ‘You like what you see?’ expression on his face, again, he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. The man was too cocky for his own good.

      Krissy tilted her head down and pretended to look for something on the desk in front of her. “Stupid pregnancy hormones would have me doing the deed with the devil himself just to get some satisfaction.” Good thing Krissy had more self-control than that.

      “So I’m the devil?” Spencer asked, standing right in front of her, with a way too amused smile on his nauseatingly handsome face. He handed her a folder.

      Krissy took it. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.” Heck, she hadn’t even realized she’d said the words out loud. “I blame pregnancy brain.”

      The look he gave her screamed, “You’re a total nut job,” although without words.

      Maybe she was. “It’s a real thing. Look it up. It’s like a pregnant woman’s body is so busy growing another human being, the brain gets overloaded and doesn’t filter stuff that shouldn’t come out of her mouth or remember stuff she’s supposed to do. It doesn’t comprehend the same or think the same. I hope it goes back to working normally once all this is over.”

      His smile made her insides feel all fluttery.

      Then he opened his mouth. “Your brain never worked normally.”

      “Careful,” she gave him the stink eye. “Or I’ll call Kira and tell her you’re upsetting me. She’s gotten even more overprotective now that I’m pregnant.” And more bossy and more opinionated and more of a pain in the butt—who Krissy loved dearly, but still a pain in the butt, which was why Krissy needed to find the energy to go apartment hunting.

      “Hmmm,” Spencer said. “It’s not like you to let Kira fight your battles. You going to blame that on pregnancy brain too?”

      “No. I’m going to blame that on mother-protecting-the-health-of-her-unborn-baby brain. Stop trying to upset me, Spencer. What do you want?”

      He had the good sense to look contrite. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He leaned in and added, “And I’m sorry about the other day. When I told you—”

      “Don’t.” She held up her hand to get him to stop talking. “You already apologized.” About ten times in ten different messages on her cell phone. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Or think about it. “So if that’s the only reason you’re here, you can take your friend and leave now.”

      He looked at the man standing beside him. “This is Alfonso Gianelli, a newly acquired player with NYC United. He just arrived from Italy. I spoke with Derrick and then Kira yesterday. She said she could get him in for a full physical this morning. We’d like him to be able to start practicing with the team as soon as possible.”

      Nice of her darling sister not to mention a word about it. Krissy held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

      Alfonso smiled a charming smile, brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

      Spencer flashed him an annoyed look and said something in what sounded like Italian. Alfonso dropped her hand.

      Killjoy.

      “He doesn’t speak much English,” Spencer said.

      Krissy looked Alfonso over and smiled. “He doesn’t need to.”

      “Is Kira here?”

      “She’s in the back.” Krissy checked the spelling of Alfonso’s name on the paperwork Spencer had given her then wrote it on the label of a specimen cup and handed it to the patient along with two antiseptic cleansing wipes. “We’ll need a specimen for a basic urinalysis,” she told Spencer. “Does he need a drug screen?”

      “Already done.”

      “Bathroom’s over there.” Krissy pointed.

      Spencer spoke to Alfonso in Italian and the other man walked toward the bathroom.

      Krissy couldn’t stop herself from watching him walk away, even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. “That is one fine backside on that man.” Tight and round and just begging to be squeezed.

      “Stop trying to make me jealous,” Spencer snapped.

      “I’m not trying to make you jealous.” For that to happen he’d have to care about her, even the tiniest bit, which he didn’t. “I’m merely stating my opinion.” If verbalizing her opinion bothered Spencer, well, bonus points for that!

      “How are you feeling?” he asked.

      Now he was going to be nice? Which meant she should be nice too? Fine. “I’m feeling well. No more pains. Derrick has been checking my blood pressure three times a day. Mornings and afternoons it’s been running around one hundred and thirty-eight systolic, seventy-four diastolic. In the evenings it’s been spiking a bit. But I think that’s because by the evening time I’ve taken all I can handle of Kira commenting on everything I do and eat and telling me what I should be doing and eating.” She lowered her voice and looked him straight in the eye when she added, “While I know she loves me and just wants what’s best for me, she is absolutely driving me crazy, more crazy than you