Celebration's Family

He was warmed by the kindness she exuded, in spite of the fact that he’d acted like such a jackass in the meeting yesterday. Then again, she was a smart woman and probably realized it was her job to court anyone and everyone who could further her cause. The old saying about catching more flies with honey than vinegar came to mind. However, Kate seemed to radiate something more genuine than a person who was simply out to market her business purposes.

“Dr. Thayer,” she said, extending her hand. “Thanks so much for agreeing to meet me on such short notice.”

He nodded. “Please call me Liam.” He pulled out her chair and helped her settle herself before reclaiming his own seat across the table from her.

“Actually I was glad you called,” he said.

Her blue eyes widened, an unspoken question.

“I feel I owe you an apology. I didn’t mean to be so difficult in the staff meeting yesterday. It was a tough morning, and your bachelor auction caught me by surprise.”

She waved away his words. “No apology needed. After I stepped back from the situation, I realized one size doesn’t necessarily fit all when it comes to projects like this.”

The server appeared and introduced himself. His eyes softened when he looked at Kate, and his gaze lingered a little longer on her face than was strictly professional. He wasn’t inappropriate but obviously a healthy, heterosexual man appreciating a beautiful woman. It dawned on Liam that Kate Macintyre probably had that effect on most men who crossed her path. His colleagues were cases in point.

Liam cleared his throat.

“Would you like some wine?” Liam opened the cordovan-colored leather-bound list of offerings that the server handed him and glanced at it. “I can’t indulge because I have to get back to the hospital after lunch, but please go ahead.”

“I love wine,” she said. “But if I have a glass right now, I’ll have to go home and take a nap. I’m such a lightweight. So no, thank you. I’ll just have iced tea.”

Liam snapped the list shut and their gazes connected. It was her eyes that exuded the warmth, he realized. Even though they turned down slightly at the outer edges, they were kind eyes that always seemed to be smiling.

The way they sparkled made him think that she would probably be a fun person—an optimist...or even an instigator, but in a good way.

Not to mention her eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue. An azure iris rimmed by a navy border. A color combination that made you look longer, trying to figure out just what made them so striking.

And it was then he realized that, like their waiter, he also had been staring a hair too long.

“Two iced teas, then,” he said and handed over the wine list before the server left to get their drinks.

“So, as I was saying a minute ago,” he continued. “I’m sorry for being so difficult. Sometimes it’s a challenge getting the kids ready and out the door in time for school. Do you have any children?”

She held the menu open in front of her, but her gaze held his. For a split second he thought the light in her eyes dimmed a bit. “No, no children of my own. But my brother and his wife have a son. I love my nephew, Cody, as fiercely as if he were my own. He’s the reason my family decided to get involved with expanding the services the hospital offers to children, but that’s another story.

“What’s important is that I understand why you might feel uncomfortable about the bachelor auction. I didn’t realize any of the staff had children.” She tilted her head to the side and quirked a brow. “Not that anything about this auction will be scandalous. It will be completely G-rated, I assure you.”

“No scandal, huh?” he asked.

She shook her head. “None. Maybe a little mischief...”

As the words hung between them, she bit her lower lip, and her blue eyes danced with what Liam imagined might be all the mischief she claimed the auction lacked. For a fraction of a second, he contemplated what sort of mischief might be running through her mind.

Until she said, “I do have my own reputation to consider. Maybe we should go light on the mischief, too. Especially because I don’t want to scare you off. Please know I was only joking.”

She reached out and touched his hand. Her skin was soft and warm.

“Of course,” he said, backpedaling from all thoughts of mischief and her soft, warm skin as fast as he could, especially when she pulled her hand away.

“Why don’t we figure out what we want to eat,” he said. “Then I’m eager to hear about this new plan.”

Kate studied the menu so that she could regroup and gather her thoughts.

She was nervous, hence the babbling on about nonsense. Why was she suddenly so uneasy? Liam Thayer was reserved and maybe a bit gruff, but that was nothing to get anxious over, she reminded herself as she perused the menu.

Normally she was a pro at meetings like this. Just what was it about Dr. Liam Thayer that threw her off her game? Maybe she was a little worried about suggesting her alternative plan. It was a paradox, really. She stood behind this bachelor auction event.

As she’d said to Liam, it wasn’t anything scandalous. She wasn’t asking Celebration Memorial’s doctors to perform like Chippendales. When she’d discovered that the seven of them were single, she’d simply grabbed on to the obvious fund-raising opportunity. Because what single woman in Dallas wouldn’t want a date with a handsome doctor?

However, what she’d failed to factor in was that single didn’t necessarily mean each and every one of them would be available...or elated by the idea. The possibility of any of them having kids or girlfriends hadn’t even entered her mind. It was a dumb oversight, and she was lucky that only Liam had balked.

She knew how protective her brother, Rob, had been of Cody before he’d met and married Pepper. Kids changed everything. Because Kate hadn’t taken that into consideration, she was determined to make this right with Liam. She was going to make sure he had the opportunity to be on good terms with his boss and to look out for the best interests of his daughters.

They made small talk about different menu items. They’d both eaten at the restaurant before—no surprise because it was enjoyed by most of the people in Celebration—and pointed out their favorite dishes to each other. Finally, after she ordered the plank-grilled salmon with seasonal vegetables and he ordered the wild mushroom ravioli with a wedge salad, she said, “So tell me. What exactly is it about the bachelor auction that you object to?”

He didn’t answer her right away, and his expression was so neutral that she couldn’t get a read on what he might be thinking.

“I hope that doesn’t sound insensitive, but I have to ask, because I have a feeling what it might be,” she said, filling the silence. “Yet I don’t want to assume.”

She forced herself to stop talking. It was an uncomfortable question made worse by his continued silence, but she needed to know. Especially if they were going to get past the awkwardness and move on to something that worked. She held her breath, forcing herself to be quiet until he answered.

Finally he did. “It was exactly what I told you yesterday. I have kids. I think it sets a bad example.”

“Do you have boys or girls?”

He frowned. “Does it really matter?”

“No, but I’m interested.”

A raised brow and a vague light that passed over his face had her stomach doing an odd clenching number, and she was suddenly scrambling to clarify.

What? Did he think she was interested in him?

“What I mean is...I’m curious.”

He was drumming his fingers on the table. He looked down at his hands for a moment, then back up at her. She worried that the wall he’d erected around himself yesterday in the meeting might go back up. But then he blew out a breath and said, “I have two girls, Amanda and Calee. They’re thirteen-year-old twins.”

“Aah, twin girls,” she said. “That’s so sweet. I wouldn’t mind having twins someday. But they don’t run in our family, plus it’s unlikely I’ll even get married anytime soon.”

What was wrong with her today? Had she left her filter at home?

Liam didn’t say anything. But his gaze bore into hers, and the heat from it warmed her cheeks. Obviously Liam Thayer wasn’t interested in her genetic predisposition or her hopes and aspirations for the future beyond raising funds for the children’s surgical wing. His actions up to now suggested he might not even be interested in hearing about that.

Still, he had agreed to meet her for lunch.

He had a restless, intense edge about him—drumming his fingers once again on the table, scowling, shifting in his seat, glancing at his phone. She wondered if the man knew how to loosen up. Yet she hadn’t really been around him for any length of time to get a realistic read on him. He was working today. As a doctor, that meant he was on the clock even on his lunch hour. He was probably anxious to get back.

When he wasn’t looking through her with that piercing gaze, he seemed vaguely annoyed with her, as if it should be clear that she was taking up his precious time.