Sea Glass Island (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,41

kids outdid themselves trying to get Ethan’s attention. He had one settled in his lap, another leaning into his side, when he spotted the look of envy on Samantha’s face. Easily identifying with it and knowing the ache of emptiness that usually accompanied those feelings, he leaned toward her. “You okay?”

“Just thinking how good you are with them,” she said. “And I’ve seen you with B.J., too. You’re a natural.”

“It’s a good thing, given the number of kids I see in the clinic every day.”

“Doesn’t it make you want to be a dad?”

“Sometimes, yes,” he said candidly. “I just know it’s not in the cards. How about you?”

“I wasn’t sure I had any maternal instincts until the first time I held Gabi’s baby. Now...” She sighed. “But why wish for something I’m not likely to have?”

“It’s not too late for motherhood. You’re only in your thirties, right?”

“Without a relationship in sight,” she reminded him. A grin teased at her lips. “Unless you’re volunteering.”

Now it was Ethan’s turn to blush. He could feel the heat climb into his cheeks as he considered the idea for just a heartbeat. Him. Samantha. A baby. It was a picture, all right, he thought, recalling Boone’s comment a while back.

“I’m sure if you let it be known that you want a baby, you’ll have plenty of volunteers,” he said, all but choking on the words. He hated the idea of anyone other than him touching her, but he had no right to feel such intense jealousy.

“Just anyone won’t do,” she said with a resigned expression.

Ethan was relieved to hear it, but he couldn’t let her see that.

Thankfully, Greg stood up just then. “Okay, Cameron and Lily, say good-night. I need to get you home and into bed.”

“But we want to stay with Uncle Ethan,” Lily said, holding tight to Ethan’s arm.

“Little girls need to get plenty of sleep so they’ll be beautiful when they grow up,” Ethan told her emphatically.

Lily turned a shy look on Samantha. “Like her?”

Ethan smiled. “Exactly like her.”

“Is she your girlfriend?” Lily asked.

Greg chuckled at Ethan’s choked reaction, but he did scoop his daughter up. “Enough with the personal questions, kiddo. It’s not polite.”

“But you always say if I want to know something, I should ask,” Lily said, obviously confused by the contradiction.

“One of these days we’ll have a long talk about which questions are acceptable and which ones aren’t,” Greg said. “I think I’ll let your mother handle that. Tell your uncle Ethan good-night.”

Both kids gave him fierce hugs, then ran to the door. Greg gave him a wink. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Ethan had a hunch his was going to be a whole lot less stressful than Greg’s, given that he was heading home with two kids on a sugar high.

9

No sooner had Greg left with his children than Gabi gave a dramatic yawn and stood up. “I think I’m about to crash, too. It’s the curse of motherhood. I have no stamina anymore. Ethan, would you mind giving Samantha a lift home? I know she’s not ready for the night to end.”

Before Samantha could protest or Ethan could reply, she took his acceptance for granted and sailed out of the ice cream parlor.

“That was subtle,” Samantha said, embarrassed by the obvious ploy. She stood up. “I can still catch her.”

Ethan reached for her hand and shook his head. “No, it’s fine. You’re not finished with your ice cream and neither am I. Stay.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, surprised by his easy acceptance of the situation.

“Given that I just saw your sister peel out of the parking lot like she has a curfew, I’d say I have to be,” he said wryly. “She wasn’t taking any chances you’d bolt after her.”

“I actually thought for a time she was immune to the meddling gene, or at least averse to it, given what we all put her through with Wade, but I guess not,” Samantha said with a resigned shrug. She pushed the remains of her sundae away. “As for this, my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Hard to imagine, but I can’t eat another bite of ice cream.”

“Want to go for a walk?” Ethan asked, surprising her yet again. “We could drive down by the town pier and walk either along the sand or out to the end of the pier. Of course, if it’s overrun with fishermen, we might be taking our lives in our hands.”

“Still, a walk definitely sounds good. It’s a beautiful night.” A romantic