What Makes A Father

“Yes. Gabriel Blackburne. But he’s kind of a hermit. Keeps to his office, hunched over a computer, presumably strategizing how to turn the company around.”

They’d reached the ground floor and both of them were breathing a little harder as they headed for the rear door that led to the patio.

Carla gave her a look. “You have the strangest expression on your face. Why?”

“Because Mason’s last name is Blackburne.”

“Who’s Mason?”

“The babies’ father,” Annie clarified.

“Small world,” her friend said. “We needed this lunch even more than I thought so you can fill me in.”

“I wonder if Mason is related to your Gabriel Blackburne. It’s not that common a name,” Annie said.

“I guess it’s possible.” Her friend moved decisively to the table with the most shade, put the bag down on it and sat in one of the sturdy metal chairs. “From what Lillian tells me, Gabriel is not a fan of her business plan but he does approve of the branding campaign C&J did for Make Me a Match.”

“Well, he sounds a little intimidating, but definitely has good taste in graphic design companies.” Annie sat at a right angle to her friend. “You’d expect Mason to be that way, but he’s not.”

Carla pulled two paper-wrapped sandwiches and napkins from the bag. She handed one over. “I need details. A text saying ‘twins’ father showed up and DNA confirms’ isn’t much information.”

“I haven’t had much time in the last few months.”

“Two babies. I get it. And you’re a saint, by the way. So tell me everything.”

Annie explained about contacting the men Jessica thought could be the father and Mason showing up last. “He’s an army doctor just back from Afghanistan. So, military and medical.”

Carla took a bite of her turkey sub and chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. “He sounds honorable to me. I haven’t known you long but I’m learning that you’re good at finding flaws.”

Not so far, Annie thought. “You know me pretty well. I’m not holding my breath he’ll stay honorable. For now he’s good with Charlie and Sarah. Not too proud to ask for help. The first time I left him alone with them, he called his mom for backup.” Annie wasn’t sure why, but she’d believed him when he’d said he wouldn’t have let her think he handled the twins without a problem. “Florence, his mom, is fantastic. Loves kids and thrilled to be a grandmother. She has them now.”

“Lillian’s sister is Florence. Has to be the same family,” her friend concluded. “Like I said, small world.”

“No kidding. If Gabriel looks anything like Mason, I can see why you think you could use the exercise.”

“He’s pretty, but a little too dark and brooding for me. Besides, he keeps reminding everyone that he’s only there temporarily.” Carla shrugged. “So the twins’ father is a hottie? It could be a reality show—Real Hotties of Huntington Hills.”

Annie laughed then thoughtfully chewed a bite of her sandwich. “‘Hottie’ would be an accurate description.”

“You like him.” Carla’s voice had a “gotcha” tone.

“Why in the world would you come to that conclusion from what I just said?”

“Good question,” Carla mused. “Maybe the way you were so deliberately aloof.”

It was a little scary how well this woman knew her, Annie thought. They’d hit it off when working together on the branding campaign for Make Me a Match. Annie had spent some time in their office to get a feel for the dating service but the nephew had never poked his head out of his inner sanctum. Her friendship with Carla was relatively new but her assessment of Annie’s feelings about Mason wasn’t too far off the mark. Still, an attraction was no reason to be giddy. Just the opposite, in fact.

“It doesn’t matter whether or not I like him. Men are notoriously unreliable.”

“You know I agree with you about that.” Carla ate the last of her sandwich then wiped her hands on a napkin. “I know we’re fairly new friends and this is probably invading your privacy. Feel free to say it’s none of my business, but what’s your story? Why are you commitment averse?”

“Let’s call it daddy issues. And before you ask, it’s both biological and step. My mother has terrible taste in men. And you already know about Dwayne.” Her ex-boyfriend. The jerk had sworn to always have her back but couldn’t get away fast enough when she’d become the twins’ legal guardian and brought them home. “I’m not going to be complacent and starry-eyed then get blindsided when Mason decides he can’t handle being a father to twins. I can only deal with one day at a time and for now he’s doing all the right things.”

“Like what?” Carla asked.

“Well…” Annie thought for a moment and fought a smile she knew would look tender and goofy. “Hardly a day has gone by that he hasn’t come to see them. He said he’s already lost too much time being their father and doesn’t want to miss another single moment with his kids that he doesn’t absolutely have to.”

“How sweet is that? Certainly not the behavior of a man who’s going to abandon them,” Carla pointed out.

“Maybe.” It was hard to argue with that assertion so Annie didn’t. “He works in the emergency room at Huntington Hills hospital and he looks so tired sometimes it’s a wonder he can stand up, let alone hold one of the babies.”

“Wow.” Carla stared at her in disbelief. “Do you have recent pictures of the twins?”

“What kind of mom would I be if I didn’t?” Annie proudly pulled a cell phone out of her slacks’ pocket, found the most recent photos and then handed it over so her friend could scroll through.

“The twins are beautiful. And I say again—wow.” Carla’s eyebrows went up. “He’s such a cutie, and I’m not talking about Charlie. This one of Mason holding both babies is a seriously ‘aww moment.’”

Annie glanced at the picture and smiled at the memory of Mason dozing off while they were on his chest. He held them securely in place with a big hand on each of their backs. The moment did have a serious cuteness quotient, which was why she’d taken the photo. “More than once he’s fallen asleep on my sofa.”

“Oh?”

“Down girl.” She hadn’t been able to resist snapping the picture, but it didn’t mean anything. Certainly not that she was looking at the future. One day at a time worked just fine for her. “Naps on my couch are about a demanding career, work schedule and his children,” Annie said. “It has nothing to do with me. Or us.”

“Still, he’s not a troll and he likes kids. That’s a good start.”

“There is no start,” Annie argued. “How can there be when he doubts my character? He made it clear that he doesn’t trust me.”

“What does he have against you? The two of you just met.”

“He was justifiably curious about why my sister didn’t contact him when she found out she was pregnant, about the possibility that he was a father. I got the feeling that, with him, that lie of omission extended to me because I’m Jessica’s sister.”

“Is it possible that you’re inventing reasons to push him away? Like I said, you’re good at finding flaws,” Carla said. “Does it bother you that Jessica slept with him first?”

“Of course not. And, as you pointed out, I just met him a few weeks ago.” Annie analyzed the question a little deeper. “And by first you’re suggesting that I will sleep with him, too. That’s just not going to happen.”

Carla shrugged. “If you say so.”

“You’re seeing a relationship where none exists. Is Lillian working you too hard at Make Me a Match?” Annie teased. “Maybe you can’t leave work at the office?”

Her friend laughed ruefully. “We need satisfied customers. And they need to spread the word about the valuable service we provide if the business is going to survive.”

“I’ll talk it up and, if I can, send clients your way,” Annie promised.

But she wouldn’t be one of them. She had enough on her hands without falling in love. Lust was a different thing altogether and had a mind of its own. Proof of that was the vision of twisted sheets and strong arms that had been keeping her awake at night. And those arms didn’t belong to just anyone. They were definitely Mason’s.

Mason was at the apartment with the twins several days after his mom had watched them. Annie was putting in more hours at her office because the deadline for the high-profile campaign was approaching fast. He’d gotten Sarah to sleep and had spent the last fifteen minutes walking Charlie. Now he carefully lifted the baby from his shoulder and put him on his back in the crib, beside his sister. He held his breath, fingers crossed that the little boy was finally sound enough asleep that the movement wouldn’t wake him. No sound, no movement. Mission objective achieved.

He looked down at them—his children—and thought for the billionth time how beautiful and perfect they were. And how lucky he was to have them. Sure, he hadn’t known from the beginning about the pregnancy and could whine about that, but it wouldn’t have changed anything. A lot of active-duty service members missed out on big family moments because of deployment. The truth was, he couldn’t have been there for their birth even if he’d known.