The Holiday Triplets Read Online Free PDF Page A

feeble.”
    â€œWhat’re you, a surfing critic?” she demanded.
    â€œI used to surf in high school,” he said. “They have surf in Miami, you know.”
    â€œI thought you played football.”
    â€œThe two sports aren’t mutually exclusive.”
    â€œI never said they were.” Samantha kicked at the sand.
    The spray hit Mark’s freshly shined shoes and sifted into his socks. “Thank you for that.”
    â€œMy pleasure.” She started to laugh. Almost in slow motion, her face crumpled. Finally she rasped out, “It’s early menopause.”
    So that was the bad news. “Because of the radiation and chemo?”
    She nodded. “Nora advises against fertility treatments. She says they’d be hazardous.”
    â€œI concur,” Mark said.
    Fresh tears tracked after the ones that had dried in the breeze. “I didn’t realize how much I counted on having children. On going through the whole experience of pregnancy.”
    He checked the impulse to point out that she could adopt. You didn’t console a woman who’d lost a child by telling her she could have more, and, in a sense, that’s what had happened to Samantha. He’d learned from his patientsthat the child in a woman’s dreams might seem almost as real to her as a baby she’d held in her arms.
    How ironic that, despite his medical expertise, he had nothing to offer. Except comfort.
    Mark moved to her rock and slid his arm around her. When Sam’s head drifted to his shoulder, he brushed a kiss across her hair.
    She nestled closer, the scent of springtime enveloping him for a sweet instant before the breeze whipped it away. He couldn’t resist tracing the delicate straightness of her nose with his lips, and when she blinked up at him, his mouth closed instinctively over hers.
    The warmth drew him in, tantalizing against the cool air. This might be crazy, but Mark yielded to the longing to pull her onto his lap. She shifted readily, clinging to him, answering his kisses with a flick of tongue and a soft moan.
    He felt himself stirring, coming alive, wanting Sam in a way he’d never allowed himself before. He lifted his head, breathing fast, and then touched his forehead to hers.
    Although he wasn’t sure about the wisdom of proceeding with such a combustible relationship, they could hardly deny their attraction. And they were both adults. “We should get together after work. Figure out where to go from here.”
    â€œWhere to go?” Sam drew back, a pucker forming between her eyebrows.
    â€œI didn’t mean literally. I meant…” Grim reality slapped Mark, along with a fresh blast of wind. How could he have forgotten about Chandra’s call? “Wait. Before we discuss anything personal, I have a piece of news.”
    â€œHit me with it,” Sam replied, sounding more like her usual tart self. “Maybe that’ll bring us both to our senses.”
    Unfortunately, he reflected, it was more likely to bring them to the point of open warfare. “It’s about the clinic…”

Chapter Three
    Samantha couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Yet despite her dismay, she felt conflicted and uncertain. Where was the instantaneous flare of anger that should have powered her into action?
    She’d worked hard to bring this counseling service to reality. While she admired her parents’ devotion to the poor of another country, there were people hurting in this affluent area, too. Women in abusive relationships who needed someone to talk to, as well as confused teenagers and former foster children who lacked survival skills. They couldn’t afford to pay and often shrank from paperwork and bureaucracies.
    The Serra Clinic was unusually informal and flexible, using peer counselors who empathized with their clients. Right now, it depended entirely on volunteers, but Sam had hoped to raise funds and find sponsors so