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“Jenna Kendall. Her father, Justice Kendall”—I emphasized the name, knowing the doctor would recognize the billionaire who’d funded the building of a large portion of the hospital—“is a friend and asked if his daughter could volunteer here.” I forced a casual laugh.
Just as I’d hoped, the name-dropping hit its mark, and Dr. Cahoon paled before backing up a step. “Nice to meet you. Uh, I have an appointment to get to.” Then he hurried off in another direction.
I smirked at his back, then looked at Jenna, surprised to see her crestfallen expression. Had she been disappointed when the doctor lost interest? Jealousy bubbled up inside me, an emotion I was not familiar with. I didn’t like it, but I knew I would have to get used to the feeling. With every passing moment I spent with Jenna, my obsession with her grew.
“You didn’t have to do this just because you’re friends with my dad,” she said softly. “I really appreciate that you were willing to, but I don’t want you to be forced to—”
“I thought I already made it clear to you.” I interrupted once I understood her change in mood. “You are not a bother.” She looked up at me dubiously, but I didn’t miss the hope lurking in them. “I didn’t do this just for him, sunshine,” I admitted hesitantly. I wasn’t sure how much to reveal just yet.
“But you told—”
Not wanting to be overheard, I cupped her elbow and guided her over to the wall, then bent low to speak into her ear. “Dr. Cahoon doesn’t have any morals and rarely hears the word no, so he can be a persistent asshole when he’s interested in a woman.”
I put one finger under her chin and raised her face so I could see into her gorgeous blue depths. “You are incredibly beautiful, Jenna. Any man would be a fool not to want to be with you.” Thinking of other men lusting after what was mine made my expression darken as I frowned. “I want everyone to know you’re off-limits. And the only way I could be sure he would leave you alone was to scare him off.”
“Oh.” She peered up at me through her lashes, and the sweet pink blush I was beginning to love appeared on her cheeks. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sunshine,” I replied warmly.
“Um, what did you mean when you said I was off-limits?”
Fucking hell. Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have said that. “You’re too young for anyone here.” It was the best I could come up with other than to tell her she was mine.
Then I wanted to kick myself because her face fell, and she took a step away from me. Rather than pull her into my arms like I wanted, I let my hand fall to my side and mentally sighed in frustration.
“I'll show you around now,” I muttered.
I walked her through the area where women came to give birth and areas limited to hospital staff before we headed to the window to the nursery. She stared at the babies excitedly, but there was also a look of such longing that I almost caved and told her she’d be marveling over our own child in there very soon. Instead, I just smiled. “You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”
She glanced at me, blushing. “How do you know that?”
I winked and tapped my name tag. “Mothers and babies are my expertise.”
Her laughter made my dick—which had barely softened—harden again. I vowed to make sure I heard it as often as possible for the rest of our lives.
We both washed our hands thoroughly, then donned hospital gowns, gloves, and masks. When we entered the nursery, a nurse sitting behind a small desk to the side of the door greeted us. “Dr. Sutton. I wasn’t expecting you today.”
“I’m just showing around our newest volunteer,” I explained. “Jenna, this is Doris. Doris, meet Jenna.”
Doris, a woman in her early fifties with shoulder-length, springy brown curls, and twinkling gray eyes, smiled at my girl. “Welcome. It’s so great to have you here. We’re always in need of volunteers.” Then she looked up at me. “Do you want me to page Regina?”
Regina was in charge of all volunteers and the person I had originally intended to pass Jenna off to. “I’ll take her over and introduce her after we’re done here.”
Doris studied me curiously for a moment but didn’t comment on my unusual choice.
“I think Jenna will be most useful as a Cuddler,” I told Doris, though my attention was on Jenna and the way she lit up like a Christmas tree. “She’s amazing with babies.”
Doris frowned briefly, then smoothed out her expression when she caught my narrow-eyed gaze. “Um”—she cleared her throat—“Regina usually starts our volunteers in the open playroom and recreation activities. Then—”
“Doris,” I grunted, making it clear she was overstepping. “I’ll handle things with Regina. Now, I’m going to go over the duties with Jenna, then I’ll let her get acquainted with my patients while I do my rounds.”
“Yes, Doctor,” Doris mumbled, looking down at paperwork sprawled on the desk in front of her.
As we walked away, Jenna leaned in and quietly said, “I don’t want to cause any problems. Maybe I should—”
“Relax, sunshine,” I murmured reassuringly. “I’m the head of the department. When it comes to volunteers for the NICU, in particular, I have the final say.”
“Okay, but I don’t want to upset Regina by making her think I went over her head or am getting special treatment.”
