What Makes A Father

So he hadn’t been able to support Annie through the shock and sadness of losing her sister. A little extra help with the babies wouldn’t have hurt, either. Somehow she’d had the strength to do it all by herself. On the other hand, he wouldn’t be going through the legal maze of securing his paternal rights now if things had been different.

It had been a month since he’d stood at Annie’s door for the first time and he could hardly remember a life without his kids—and her—in it. He’d seen the commercials on TV for companies that facilitated meets for people who wanted a relationship. The tagline: Never More Ready to Fall in Love. Mason was the opposite of that. Never less ready for love.

The collapse of his marriage had been a horrible warning. He found out that even if one made all the right moves and everything was perfect, it was still possible to fail spectacularly. And painfully. Because of things out of his control. He wouldn’t make the same mistake.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t be in awe of Annie Campbell. He thought about her more than he liked, even when he was slammed with patients in the emergency room. She was quite a woman—sexy, beautiful, maternal, funny and smart. Everything a man could want. So why hadn’t a guy snatched her up?

The doorbell rang and he swore under his breath, then checked the babies for any sign it woke them. Neither moved so he hurried to the front door, ready to chew out whoever had been stupid enough to ignore the baby sleeping sign.

He opened the door and saw a thirty-something guy standing there. He was well dressed and nice-looking. Mason wanted to strangle him. “Can you read?”

“What?”

“Did you see the sign?” He pointed. “The babies are sleeping.”

“Right. Sorry, man. I forgot.”

“How to read?” Now he really wanted to strangle this guy.

“No. That the babies are here.” He held out his hand. “Dwayne Beller.”

Mason hesitated then shook hands. “Mason Blackburne.”

“The father?”

“Of the twins? Yeah.” Now his curiosity was on high alert. “Who are you?”

“Annie’s boyfriend.” He shifted uncomfortably. “At least, I was.”

“So you’re not now?”

“No.”

Mason felt an odd sort of relief that she was no longer with this guy. “What happened?”

“Is Annie here?”

“No.” He stood feet apart, blocking the doorway.

“Do you mind telling me where she is?”

“Yes.” They were sizing each other up. “Mind telling me what happened with you and Annie?”

Dwayne shifted his stance uncomfortably. “Look, man, would you just tell her I stopped by?”

“Why?”

“Because I’d like her to know that I was here.”

Mason didn’t miss the fact that Dwayne was looking pretty irritated. It didn’t bother him at all. “I meant why don’t you want to talk about what happened?”

“Because it’s none of your business. It’s between Annie and me—”

“Dwayne?” Annie was almost at the top of the stairs and her eyes widened at the scene unfolding in front of her door.

She had several bags of groceries in her hands and didn’t look happy to see the guy. That didn’t bother Mason at all, either.

“Hi, Annie. You look good.” The ex-boyfriend had a sheepish expression on his face and glanced at Mason, who was still blocking the door. “Can I come in?”

“Why?” she asked warily.

“To talk,” he said. “I really miss talking to you.”

There was hurt and disillusionment in her eyes, proof the line wasn’t working. “I don’t think there’s anything left for us to say to each other.”

“Please just hear me out.”

“These bags are getting heavy.” She elbowed past him and Mason stepped aside to let her through. “And you said quite enough the last time I saw you. At Jessica’s memorial service. Your timing left a lot to be desired.”

Dwayne elbowed his way past Mason and followed her into the apartment, watching her set bags on the table. “Look, Annie, that wasn’t my finest hour. I admit it, but—”

“There’s no but,” she snapped. “At the worst time in my life you walked out on me. That doesn’t deserve a but.”

“No one feels worse about that than me.” The jerk held out his hand, a pleading gesture. “The thought of being a father freaked me out, okay? Two at once is a lot.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Her tone dripped sarcasm.

“You were distracted and I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to be there for me. For us. But I’ve had time to think. I miss you. I can’t forget you.”

Mason could understand that. Annie was unforgettable and this idiot had voluntarily walked out on her. The last thing he should get was a do-over.

Fortunately she appeared unmoved by his words. “Honestly, I haven’t had time to think about you at all, what with two infants to take care of. The fact is, you never cross my mind. In case that’s not clear enough, there is not a snowball’s chance in hell I would ever consider taking you back. You abandoned me once. I won’t give you a chance to do that to me again.”

“I wish you’d reconsider. We were good together. At home and at work.”

Dwayne must be desperate, Mason thought. After what she’d just said it was clear she’d made up her mind.

Annie’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, now I get it. And the verdict is official. You’re a conniving weasel dog and I don’t ever want to see you again.”

“Annie, please. I really need this—”

“Oh? I needed you,” she said. “And you couldn’t get out of here fast enough then. I’d like you to do that now. Just go.”

“Annie—”

Mason had seen enough. He moved next to her. “The lady asked you to leave.”

Dwayne’s ingratiating performance disappeared. “What are you going to do? Throw me out?”