Formula: Father

His expression turned serious. “Darcy, this isn’t going to be easy. There’s only a twenty-five-percent chance that it’s going to work. Even if we do everything right.”

“I understand.”

“No, I’m not sure you do. We’ll be a team, you and I. I’ll have to know very personal things. Like when you’re ovulating. And I’ll be the one examining you.”

She bit her lip to hide her smile. “You’re embarrassed.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m thinking about you.”

“No, you’re not. I can read you like a book. You’re thinking how weird it’s going to be if I’m your patient.”

“Aren’t you?”

She nodded. “Sure. It’s going to be weird, but only for a little while. Then you’ll get involved in the work, and I’ll be just another patient.”

“You’ll never be just another patient.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“I’m not so sure about that, either.”

“Come on, Maitland. This is the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I’m leaving everything I know behind me and starting a completely new life. It would mean a lot to me to have a friend there to help. I’ll go to a stranger if you want me to, but I’ve thought long and hard about this. I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted another human being. Despite…” She didn’t want to go there. Not now. “We have a lot of history together. We’re the brain patrol, remember? Who else is going to care more?”

He stared at her for a long while, his face expressionless. All she could do was wait, prepared for either answer. If it was yes, she’d have some work ahead of her. Not with the baby, but with Mitch. They’d need to talk about what had happened all those years ago. Clear the air. If he said no, then she’d leave him be. She’d find a good doctor and go on with her life. She’d still have Beth’s friendship to bolster her. And perhaps, in time, she and Mitch would be able to talk. She sure didn’t want to open that time capsule by herself.

“Can you give me some time?” he asked finally. “There’s a lot to consider.”

“Sure. Of course. Take all the time you need. As long as it’s in the next few days.”

“Gee, how generous.”

“Not to get too personal or anything, but remember that ovulation we talked about?”

He held up his hand to stop her. “I get it.”

“Good. Oh, and Mitch?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you keep this under your hat? I don’t want the press getting wind of any of this.”

“You know I’d never say a word.”

She nodded. “Yes, I do know that.” She stood, took a step toward the door, then turned to him. “I was wondering if you had time to give me a little tour of the place before I go?”

He shook his head. “Sorry, I’ve got a patient waiting. But maybe tomorrow….”

“No, it’s okay. Really.”

“Hold on a sec.” He picked up his phone and hit two numbers. A few seconds passed, then he asked his sister Abby if she could take Darcy around.

Darcy remembered Abby from school. She’d been two years behind Mitch and her. Abby was a great choice to show her around. Even as a girl, Abby had had her finger on the pulse of the world. Darcy had never been terribly close to her, but they’d been friendly.

Mitch hung up the phone. “She’ll be up in a minute. I would have asked Beth, but I know she’s got a meeting this morning.”

“It’ll be good to see Abby again.”

“I just wish I was free.”

“Don’t worry about it, Maitland. We’ll talk. Real soon.”

He got up and walked around the desk. She could tell he wanted to put his arm around her, but he wasn’t sure if he should. She helped him out by hugging him first. A first-class major squeeze. It was impossible not to close her eyes when she felt his hands on her back. When he pulled her close. When she took a deep breath of his masculine scent.

If things had been different…

MITCH DIDN’T CALL IN his next patient right away. He took a moment, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. It was important not to go crazy about this. What had happened to them was ancient history. Nothing to get all worked up about.

So why was his stomach churning? Why did he feel this crushing weight of disappointment?

Because he’d loved her, that’s why. He’d been young, yes, and he’d been naive, but the fact was he’d loved her, and he thought she loved him back. Now, once and for all, he knew he’d been mistaken. Darcy hadn’t loved him. If she had, she never would have asked him to be her doctor. Her emotions would have been too vulnerable. Yes, it had been years, but time could never diminish the pain of a first love gone wrong.

What shook him up most, however, was the awful realization that after all this time, even after Angela, he’d obviously still harbored hope that someday Darcy would come back. That she’d be his.

He was a first-class fool.

Darcy had left him without a second thought and gone on to a life he could hardly imagine. Of course she hadn’t thought about the kid who’d helped her with her science project. She was too busy with movie stars and politicians. Traveling all over the world. Smiling for the camera and her adoring public.

It was pure sentiment that had brought her here today. Some warm, fuzzy feeling about their childhood antics.

But what he was feeling was neither warm nor fuzzy. It hurt. It hurt as if she’d left him yesterday. It hurt because a dream had died. A dream he hadn’t even realized he’d had.

He couldn’t help her. He’d give her a referral, and that would be the end of it. Maybe it was a blessing. Maybe knowing the truth would set him free. He hadn’t been serious about a woman since Angela.

He looked at the clock, and that got him up and moving, but it didn’t stop his feverish thoughts. Why, of all the people in the world, did Darcy Taylor want artificial insemination? She could have any man she wanted. The best and the brightest would line up to father her child. But she’d asked about the donors at the clinic.

And why, at the peak of her career, had she quit? Something wasn’t right. It didn’t add up.

He went to examination room four and plucked the chart from the wall pocket. The minute he saw the name of his patient, he focused completely on her. Well, almost completely. Just before he knocked on the door, he closed his eyes and took a calming breath. An earthquake had hit Austin, and the epicenter was right here inside him. The world that had been steady and predictable this morning had been shaken so hard, he couldn’t get a foothold.

Darcy Taylor had come back.

DARCY SIPPED her coffee as she looked around the diner. It was a cheery place, with a regular clientele. She remembered the owner, Shelby Lord, as a spunky little girl with red hair, a friend of Beth and Ellie’s. She had obviously done well for herself with the restaurant. Darcy took another drink of the terrific coffee, then picked up her menu. As she tried to decide between the garden salad and a hot fudge sundae, Abby slipped into the seat across from her.

“The food here is great,” she said, picking up a menu. “Shelby will be surprised to see you.” Abby nodded toward the counter where a pretty blonde was serving a man in a business suit. “That’s Sara. What that poor thing has gone through…” Abby shook her head, then looked at the menu.

“Well?”

The dark-haired doctor, who looked so much like Mitchell only softer and prettier, seemed surprised at her tone. “What?”