Page 35 of Doctor Daddies

“It really was,” I agree.

“Well, you have Ross to thank for it,” Millie replies with a slight giggle. “I’m going to try and learn how to cook a bit better now that I have the time, but I might need a little supervision.”

She glances at me, and I could swear I see a hint of flirtatiousness in her face. Whatever it is, though, she looks away just as soon as she’s found my gaze, and I wonder if it’s nothing more than wishful thinking on my part.

“I’ll clear up,” she remarks, and she goes to rise to her feet. But before she can, Ross lifts a hand, stopping her dead in her tracks.

“We can handle that.”

“You sure?” she replies, looking between us, clearly not entirely convinced by the idea. “You’re meant to be my guests?—”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Ross replies.

“Well, I guess it’s getting close to Lewis’s bedtime, anyway,” Millie concedes. “Maybe I should be getting you ready to sleep, huh, buddy?”

“Can I stay up a bit longer?” he asks her, his eyebrows raising hopefully, but she shakes her head.

“You have school tomorrow, Lewis,” she reminds him, as she stoops down to lift him into her arms. “Come on—let’s get you washed up and in bed. Say goodnight to everyone!”

He raises his hand and waves at us, and we wave back. And as he looks between us, I wonder if he has any idea of the truth of why the three of us are so intent on getting to know him, at least at whatever rate she will let us. Is there some part of him, deep down, that knows that there’s some kind of connection between the four of us, or has he just accepted it, in that blunt way that kids do, that we have all started hanging around here all of a sudden?

I don’t know, but truthfully, I don’t think it makes much of a difference. I’m just glad to have the chance to get to know him,as weird as this situation might be. He’s already a fully formed little person, and to get a glimpse of the kid that Millie and the three of us made on that night—it’s more than I ever could have imagined.

We all watch as she carries him through, and I have no doubt that Ross’s and Cole’s minds are in the exact same place mine is right now, even if none of us will say it out loud. We haven’t exactly gone out of our way to discuss the matter of Lewis’s paternity, because truthfully, I don’t think it matters to any of us. What happened that night, it happened to all of us, and all of us have a hand in what came of it.

As soon as Millie is out of sight, Ross gets to his feet. “Come on, let’s get to work,” he announces. “I’ll wash, you dry, James. Cole, you put away. How about that?”

“Damn, you run a tight ship.” Cole laughs, but he gets up to help out anyway. He knows that Ross is not one to turn down when he has an idea in his head, and besides, all of us want to do what we can to help Millie out. I could tell myself that it’s because she’s pregnant, and there’s nothing more to it than that—but if I’m being honest, it’s because I don’t want her to think that I won’t pull my weight given the chance.

I don’t know what happens when this contract is up. But I know I want to make the very most of her presence while I still can.

In every way that I’m able.

17

MILLIE

I standin the doorway for a moment, watching as his rest rises and falls slowly beneath the covers. Lewis, for all that he tried to convince me he was good to stay up a little longer, is completely out for the count, and I want to make sure he gets as much rest as possible before school tomorrow.

I flick off his light and pull the door shut, a small smile on my face as I head back to join the guys. As I got Lewis ready for bed, I was able to hear them in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner, and the sound of voices filling the apartment is cozy in a way I didn’t know I needed. In a place this big, you really need a whole lot of life to keep it from feeling empty, and the three of them are exactly what the doctor ordered. Almost literally.

I pick up the glass of wine I left on the dining table and head through to join them in the kitchen, raising my eyebrows when I see how spotlessly clean they’ve left it.

“What, are the three of you a deep-cleaning service as well as running the clinic?” I joke, and Ross looks up from the sink, which he’s just wiping down after presumably finishing up with the dishes.

“Got to keep up with those side hustles,” James jokes, and I laugh.

“Good to know,” I reply. “When can I hire you to do the rest of the apartment, hmm? Keep me off my feet?”

“Whenever you want,” Cole replies. “Free of charge.”

“Don’t tempt me,” I warn them, and I glance between them for a moment, suddenly distinctly aware of the fact that we’re all alone together at last. The last time I could say that was when they found out about Lewis in the first place, when they were so pissed that I had kept all that from them—but this, this feels like something else entirely. Something warm, something comfortable. Something I could get used to, if I wanted to let myself.

“You want to head to the living room?” I suggest, changing the subject, breaking the quiet between us at last. I wonder if it’s on their minds too, if they notice that it’s just the four of us once more. And if their minds, like mine, are drawn back to the night this all started, the night that changed everything. The night I still find myself coming back to in my mind, over and over again.

“Sure,” Cole replies. “Is Lewis asleep?”

“Dead to the world,” I reply, with a slight laugh. “I think he was pretty exhausted from all the excitement of having you guys around, you know?”