With a Little T.L.C.

“Hey, I’m a sure thing. I’m here to do my bit. You don’t have to convince me.”

“No. But we have to count on you.”

“What does that mean?”

“Let me ask you something first,” she said.

“Okay. I’m all ears,” he said, rubbing the one she’d yanked.

Liz swallowed the smile that hovered, refusing to let his clever pun distract her. “Why do you want to be a cuddler?”

He looked thoughtful, as if remembering something. “After my niece was born and you bounced me out of my sister’s room, I wandered by the newborn nursery. It was just before they shut the curtains and your staff left them open a little longer for me.”

Considering his movie star good looks, Liz couldn’t blame them.

“I watched the volunteers holding the babies,” he continued. “And I talked to one of the nurses on duty that night who explained everything you just said. I was impressed,” he finished.

When he mentioned the nurse, Liz’s interest piqued. That was it. He was on the make and figured a hospital was a good place to meet women. She’d been burned like that before. What other reason could a guy like him have for being here?

“But if I remember rightly, your sister had her baby almost a year ago. As the saying goes, what took you so long?”

He shrugged. “Time got away from me.”

“So why now?”

A shadow crossed his face as he remembered. “My secretary gave birth recently, a very small baby. It turned out that she was a failure-to-thrive infant.”

“That’s rough,” Liz said, sincerely sympathetic. “What happened?”

“She’s doing okay now, but they came too close to losing her. It took extra attention and stimulation. Not to mention that I lost the best secretary I’ve ever had.”

“Really?”

“She quit because she didn’t have family to leave the child with and didn’t trust anyone else. I admire her commitment because they’ll have it tough financially. Anyway, the point is that after the birth, and during the extra time in the hospital, she couldn’t hold the baby twenty-four hours a day. The cuddlers filled in and made a difference. I decided there was no time like the present to do something worthwhile.”

“I’m glad the baby is doing well,” Liz said. “But think about this. We integrate our volunteers into the schedule. The nurses count on them to pick up the slack when it gets busy. You’ve seen firsthand how important it is that they show up.”

He frowned. “And your point is?”

“You’re a single guy with a busy social calendar.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Because you look like—” She stopped. What was this need she had to keep tossing him crumbs that would swell his head to the point where finding a hat to fit would be impossible?

“Never mind,” she said. “Picture this scenario—you meet someone and you’d like to take her out on the spur of the moment. But you’re scheduled to be here with the babies.” She held one hand out. “Here we have Miss Nubile.” She held out her other hand. “And here we have Miss Crankypants Infant screaming her head off. Which female do you think you’d pick?”

He scratched his chin. “Tough choice. Is Miss Nubile a blond or a brunette?”

“Which are you more partial to?”

“Tall redheads.”

With an involuntary flash of disappointment, Liz figured a short brunette like herself was safe from him. “Okay, let’s make Miss Nubile a tall, titian-haired temptress.”

“Okay, let’s.”

“I knew you were impossible the first time we met.”

“Thank you very much,” he said brightly.

She sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. “My point is that when you don’t show up because you and Miss Nubile are tripping the light fantastic somewhere, it’s the babies who lose out. The role of touch is critical in child development. We need people we can count on for this program.”

“You’re prejudging me.”

“Not you specifically, but men in general—”

“So this third degree has to do with the fact that I’m a man.”

More than you could possibly imagine, she thought. But she only said, “Our average volunteer is female.”

“Aren’t there laws against gender discrimination?”

“Not discrimination. A screening process to protect the babies.”

“I would never hurt them.”

“I’m not suggesting you would deliberately harm them, but neglect—”

He stood suddenly and his agreeable, flirtatious facade disappeared. “I don’t neglect children, Liz. I firmly believe that they are our most precious natural resource.”

Funny, she thought. She liked his anger more than his charm. She believed it. She stood too. “That’s something we see eye-to-eye on.”

“By definition I thought you had to take anyone who shows up.”

“True. But I won’t approve any volunteer who might reflect badly on the program. It’s not firmly established yet.”

“No?”

She shook her head. “It’s just about a year old. We’re coming up for review soon. Some members of the hospital Board of Directors feel the volunteers could be better used elsewhere. I don’t want to give them any ammunition to cancel the cuddlers. I have to insist on high standards.”

He looked down at her, way down. “Spell it out.”

“Reliability is a must. And a minimum commitment of one three hour shift a week. We require you to work four weeks in the newborn nursery before going to the Neonatal Intensive Care.” She shrugged. “Those are the rules.”

“You’ve got yourself a new recruit. When is the orientation?”

“Saturday. Ten a.m. Sharp.” She glanced at his paperwork, making sure he’d filled it out completely. “Tardiness isn’t an excuse.”