direction and hurried back to her desk where the telephone sounded an insistent appeal.
While Zane pretended to listen to Dr. Baghriâs discourse, he noted that Georgeanne apparently reached the phone too late, because it stopped ringing. She looked at it in a regretful way and reached for some papers on her desk.
A dignified black woman in a white nurseâs uniform appeared at the counter behind Georgeanneâs desk. Georgeanne looked up with a warm smile. Zane wished she would direct all her smiles at him.
âWho was on the phone?â he heard Georgeanne ask.
âMrs. Miguez is holding for Dr. Baghri,â the black woman said. âTammyâs asthma is acting up again, and sheâs panicking.â
âOh, dear.â Georgeanne looked distressed and stood at once. âDr. Baghri says she may have to be hospitalized this time. Iâd better put him on immediately.â
âHave you seen my copy of
Faking It
?â the nurse asked. âI thought â there it is. You put your papers on top of it.â
Georgeanne glanced at the book on her desk and turned scarlet. Zane searched his memory but couldnât immediately place the title. He resolved to look into the matter further. Anything that caused this incredible woman to blush interested him.
âWhat is it with you?â the nurse asked. âEvery time I so much as mention this book, you do an imitation of a boiled lobster.â
âWe have a visitor,â Georgeanne said, almost choking. âWould you mind getting that silly book off my desk?â
âWhat for?â the nurse asked, grinning. âAre you afraid the visiting doctor might see it and make a few assumptions?â
Georgeanne ignored that and hurried out of her office cubicle. She approached the doctors and spoke a few sentences in Dr. Baghriâs ear.
Zane watched her approach, smiled at her, and wished she would come close enough to speak in his ear. To his intense interest, she returned his smile and hurried back to her desk.
The telephone rang, and Georgeanne answered it without looking up when Zane crossed the room and glanced around her small cubicle.
âYes, Mrs. St. George,â she said. âYes, thatâs the one. Thank you for telling me.â
Zane watched the smile that crept over her face with deep interest. She laughed, and Zane found himself equally fascinated by her full, rich chuckle.
âThe article is based on my observations from working in a childrenâs clinic for several years,â she went on. âIâm so glad you enjoyed it.â She listened a moment. âWell, someday I hope to have children of my own, of course. One of these days, when Mr. Right comes along.â
Zaneâs mind filled in the other side of the conversation. Georgeanne had written an article. That didnât surprise him at all, considering the way heâd been pouncing on her epistles for the past few weeks.
What did surprise him was the image that rose in his mind of Georgeanne with a dark-headed baby at her breast. In his years as a pediatrician, he had seen many, many women with babies at their breasts, but none of those real images rocked him the way the vision of Georgeanne did.
All he had to do to make it come true was convince Georgeanne she had at last met Mr. Right.
Chapter 2
Zane couldnât believe his luck. He hadnât needed to say a word, and here he sat in Georgeanne Hartfieldâs red SUV. They headed for the building that would become the new Saturday Clinic, while Dr. Vijay Baghri drove to a hospital in nearby Beaumont where little Tammy Miguez was being admitted.
Better yet, Georgeanne had discarded the white linen jacket she wore in the clinic. Only a clingy calf-length yellow jersey dress covered her satin skin. He admired the lush feminine curves beneath the yellow jersey and tried in a half-hearted way to keep his imagination under some semblance of control. Heâd only met