Because although she had never had a friend who was a new mother before, she knew, from watching numerous TV shows, that usually it was only family who were allowed in to visit a mother and her new baby. And Mia and Darius’s baby was very new.

  “You’ll need to shower and change your clothes too before we leave, after working with the animals all morning. Mia particularly asked that I bring you with me,” he added in a softer voice when Molly didn’t answer.

  Immediately crushing Molly’s hope that he had wanted her to accompany him.

  That disappointment was quickly replaced by the excitement of knowing Mia had asked for her.

  Molly knew Rufus had done a security check on her before she began working in the shelter, so he must know how enticing that request was to someone who had been put into care at the age of ten.

  Mia had asked Molly’s permission for her father to carry out that security check. Molly had agreed readily, knowing she had nothing to fear from the little Rufus would be able to learn about her online and the formal documents of her having been taken into care after her mother’s abandonment.

  And the minutiae?

  Well, Molly had never been arrested. Despite how often she moved on, her job record was spotless and her references excellent. Other than that, there was no official minutiae.

  The fact Mia had offered her the job, that Molly had worked at the shelter for the past three months, and both Mia and her father were friendly toward her, told her that Rufus hadn’t found anything detrimental about her during that security check.

  Because there really was nothing to find.

  About her, at least.

  Her mother was a different matter, but as she was long gone, possibly even dead, none of her crimes were relevant to the here and now.

  At least, that’s what Molly had been telling herself for the past three months. Even if, inwardly, Molly knew her reason for applying for the job at the animal shelter, of spending time with Mia, had everything to do with her mother’s crimes.

  “All’s well that ends well” was a good idiom to live by, and Molly had been doing exactly that since she started working here.

  She gave Rufus a hopeful smile. “I would love to come, if you’re sure I won’t be intruding?”

  “I told you, Mia asked for you to come with me if you wanted to do so,” he dismissed.

  Which still wasn’t the same as Rufus wanting her to accompany him, but Molly wasn’t going to let that deter her from seeing Mia and her only hours-old daughter.

  Once she’d showered and changed, told Meg, one of the other full-time employees, where she was going, and asked her to keep an eye on Honey, she was able to meet up with Rufus in the reception area.

  He was once again dressed in his formal shirt and tie and three-piece-suit, and looking every inch the successful businessman he was.

  Making Molly feel unsure about being in an enclosed space with him for the time it would take to drive them to the hospital.

  She was even less sure after he’d already flustered her by helping her on with her jacket, opening the door for her to leave the building first, and then done the same with the passenger door of his SUV before closing it and going round to get in the driver’s side.

  Molly had dated occasionally in the past, never anything serious, but enough to know that men her own age usually weren’t as polite in their attentions to women.

  The inside of the black SUV was all leather and lacquered wood, but it was the male musk of Rufus and his expensive aftershave or cologne that Molly drew into her lungs with every breath. It was a masculine and sensuous mixture, the strongest scents of which seemed to be cedarwood and mint.

  Molly was so aware of those scents, of Rufus, that she didn’t know what to say now she was actually alone with the man who featured in all of her nighttime fantasies.

  Rufus, understandably, was almost quivering beside her with the excitement of knowing he would shortly be seeing his new granddaughter.

  Molly knew that Elizabeth was the name of Mia’s deceased mother, but she had no idea where the name Anoushah came from. No doubt it had special meaning for either Mia or Darius. It was certainly beautiful and unusual, in any case.

  They stopped briefly on the way so that Rufus could buy some flowers for Mia.

  “It’s family-only at this stage, I’m afraid,” the nurse behind the reception desk at the private hospital told Molly regretfully after Rufus had told her he was the new baby’s grandfather and duly handed over the flowers to her after she’d said she would put them in a vase.

  “I’m Mia’s sister,” Molly assured her lightly, even though she and the red-haired Mia looked absolutely nothing alike. “I’m sure if you ask Mia, she’ll tell you that’s who I am. Won’t she, Daddy?” She turned to Rufus.

  He looked stunned for several seconds before responding to the plea in Molly’s eyes. “Yes, of course,” he confirmed abruptly.

  The nurse smiled. “I was just concerned because we’re expecting Mr. Kingston’s five brothers, his cousin, and all their wives to visit later this afternoon.”

  It was the first Molly had heard about Darius’s large family. They were obviously a close one if they all wanted to visit the new baby and Mia later today.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t go in?” She voiced her uncertainty.

  “Yes, you should.” Rufus took a firm hold of her arm to ensure she would remain standing beside him.

  “Mrs. Kingston’s room is the second door on the right down that hallway,” the nurse directed warmly.

  They walked down a hallway with a gold-colored carpet and walls that were all a complementary cream marble.

  Nothing at all like the bare hallways of the hospital where Molly had her tonsils removed when she was twelve.

  “That was very quick thinking,” Rufus praised softly as the two of them walked toward Mia’s room.

  She beamed. “Thank you.”

  “Although I’m not sure I particularly like the idea of anyone thinking I’m your father.” Rufus frowned. “Or hearing you call me Daddy,” he added huskily.

  No, that was a little…disturbing considering how attracted Molly was to him. Unless you were into that kink, of course, and then it was perfectly fine.

  Molly wasn’t, and she knew from Rufus’s frown that he wasn’t either. “I bet you would have liked it even less if I’d said I was your girlfriend!” she teased to cover the awkwardness of the moment.

  Would he?

  Admittedly, Rufus thought it would be a little awkward initially to introduce this much younger woman as his girlfriend, but he couldn’t claim to be completely averse to the idea when his attraction toward her had only grown deeper as he spent the morning working alongside her.

  Not if it also meant he got to make love to that “girlfriend” in his bed every night. Or naked across his desk. Or in the back, or front, of his SUV. Even up against the nearest wall sounded pretty good right about now.

  Being shut in the confines of his vehicle with her for the past half an hour had only made him more aware of the heady allure of Molly’s perfume, a mix of earthy woman and the lighter scent of vanilla.

  Hell, his first visit to see his new grandchild was decidedly not the time to have a fully erect cock inside his boxers at the thought of having Molly spread out before him like a buffet he intended gorging on for hours!

  Besides, didn’t her teasing comment mean that she found the idea laughable?

  Of course it did.

  “You’re right,” he acknowledged abruptly, releasing her arm to knock on the door and then enter Mia’s room after being invited to do so.

  His actual daughter looked tired but also glowing, a huge smile on her face. She was holding her newborn daughter in her arms, wrapped in a soft pink blanket.

  Darius was seated beside them on the bed, his love and pride for his wife and his daughter shining in his usually serious eyes.

  When Rufus looked closer, he could see his son-in-law also had lines of strain beside his nose and mouth, no doubt from having to watch his beloved wife in pain before and during giving birth to Elizabeth.

  Reminding him that Darius was sixteen years older than Mia, and their relationship worked⁠—

  Forget it, Rufus told himself sternly.

  He needed to concentrate on the here and now. Most especially his granddaughter.

  He had to admit to being a little thrown earlier when Darius told him they had decided to name their daughter Elizabeth Anoushah.

  The Anoushah part he knew was because of a child Darius had befriended, but who had died during his years serving in the army in Afghanistan.

  Elizabeth was to honor the mother Mia had never known.

  Rufus’s deceased wife.

  He knew he hadn’t been completely honest with Molly earlier regarding his feelings for Beth. But what could he have said differently? Beth was my wife, the mother of my daughter, but we only had an affection for each other because of Mia rather than a grand and passionate love.

  Yeah, that didn’t sound too good in reference to a woman who had been his wife and died twenty-two years ago.

  Better to keep his silence on the subject.

  “I left flowers with the receptionist. She said she would have someone bring them in once they’re in water,” he told Mia after kissing her warmly on the cheek. “Yellow roses, your favorite.”

  “Thank you.” Mia glowed at him. “Would you like to hold her?” She shyly held out the sleeping baby. “We’ve named her Elizabeth, for obvious reasons, but we intend to call her Lilybeth.”

  Rufus felt a momentary relief knowing that he wouldn’t be reminded of his dead wife every time he spoke of or to his granddaughter.

  A relief that became lost in the ether the moment he took the tiny baby in his arms, his gaze riveted on his granddaughter’s perfect features.

  She looked so much like Mia had as a baby. Wispy red-gold hair and eyebrows, perfectly rounded cheeks, a button nose, and a perfect rosebud of a mouth. Her hands were up against her tiny chest, her fingers so long and slender, she didn’t seem to know what to do with them.

  Rufus choked with emotion when the fingers of one hand opened and then closed around the index finger on his left hand, connecting them irrevocably despite him knowing it was a reflex response to his caress.

  It was magical, and a moment in time Rufus knew he would never forget. Especially when it reminded him so much of having a newborn Emily placed in his arms.

  Much as he wanted to continue holding Lilybeth, he knew he mustn’t be greedy. After all, he had the rest of his life to hold and spoil his granddaughter.

  Darius might be a taciturn bugger at times, but there was no doubting his deep love and protection of Mia since Rufus had escorted and given his daughter to the other man two years ago. Rufus could see by the emotion in his son-in-law’s dark eyes that Lilybeth was now very much a part of that same love and protection.

  Rufus didn’t doubt that the two men would ensure no harm ever came to Mia or Lilybeth.

  Rufus lifted his head to glance at Molly standing a few feet away. She seemed to be doing her best to appear invisible. Which wouldn’t do at all.

  He glanced at Mia and Darius, eyebrows raised questioningly, waiting until they had nodded their permission before approaching Molly. “Have you ever held a very young baby?”

  She looked startled. “When would I have had the opportunity to do that?”

  Rufus shrugged, surprised by her unexpected aggression. “Maybe at the children’s home?”

  Molly inwardly cringed at how shrewish she must sound. She’d reacted that way because Rufus had caught her off-guard with that question.

  She forced a smile. “They tended to keep the newborn and young babies in a different part of the home.” Her glance fell to Lilybeth. “She’s beautiful,” she murmured softly, tears stinging her eyes.

  Those tears escaped and fell softly down her cheeks after Rufus had placed the baby in her arms.

  Lilybeth was so tiny, the smallest baby Molly had ever seen or held.

  Her breath caught in her throat when the baby’s lids suddenly fluttered open and she found herself being looked up at by green eyes ringed with the same turquoise as her mother and grandfather. Molly knew babies as young as this weren’t able to focus properly yet, but it was still slightly unnerving to have Lilybeth appear to almost be staring straight into her soul.

  And finding her wanting.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Okay?”

  Molly gave Rufus a startled glance, having briefly forgotten he was standing beside her. “Fine.” She nodded abruptly. “You have a beautiful daughter,” she told Mia and Darius before chuckling, her cheeks hot, as Lilybeth began to root around against her chest. “I think she wants feeding.” She crossed the room to give the baby back to Mia.

  Lilybeth’s sudden need to be fed, plus the arrival of a ward assistant with the roses in a vase, created enough distraction for Molly to be able to quietly leave the room.

  She drew in a deep breath of much-needed air once she was in the hallway.

  She hadn’t realized meeting Lilybeth, seeing Rufus with her in his arms, would be quite so…emotional. If she had, she might not have agreed to accompany him here.

  As it was, after holding Lilybeth in her arms and feeling as if the newborn baby could see all the secrets Molly kept hidden deep inside her, she’d realized it was time for her to go.

  She hadn’t thought it would happen as soon as this, had hoped to have more time, but she’d done what she came here to do, and now it was time for her to leave. Not just the maternity hospital, or the animal shelter, but London itself and the people she had come to know here.

  She’d come to the English capital with only one purpose in mind, and now that purpose had been served. She just hadn’t realized how much of a wrench it would be to up and leave when it came time for her to go.

  All her adult life, she’d been moving from place to place, searching, always searching, for the people and the place where she would feel as if she belonged.

  Admittedly, she hadn’t realized how much it would hurt for her to be here. To be present but on the outside. Always on the outside.

  And God knows she wanted to stay, to continue to be a part of Mia’s, Darius’s, Lilybeth’s, and Rufus’s lives, even if it could only be on the periphery.

  “Are you all right?”

  Her spine stiffened at the sound of Rufus’s voice behind her. Damn it, she’d wanted a few minutes alone so she could fall apart in private.

  Something she shouldn’t—couldn’t—do in front of Rufus without him asking questions she would refuse to answer.

  It had taken Rufus half a minute or so to realize Molly was no longer in the room with them.

  The same half a minute when he’d also decided that he should give the newborn baby and her parents some time alone while Lilybeth was being fed.

  He and Mia had reestablished a strong father-daughter bond since they were reunited two years ago, but he would rather not intrude right now on such an intimate experience between the new baby and her parents.

  That was his own reasoning for coming out into the hallway. He wasn’t sure what Molly’s was.

  His gaze narrowed when he saw how pale her cheeks were. “We never did get to eat lunch,” he realized. “Let me buy you something in the hospital bistro.” He’d noticed the signs for the eating area when they first entered the hospital.

  It wasn’t the usual type of place he would have chosen for a first date, but⁠—

  What the hell…?

  Noting the pallor of Molly’s face and then offering to buy her something to eat as they had both missed out on lunch did not amount to a date, for fuck’s sake!

  Molly would probably laugh at the idea of him thinking it was.

  “There’s really no need for that,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll want to remain at the hospital for a while longer. I can easily get a bus or call a cab and then eat something when I get back to the shelter.”

  “Absolutely not,” he snapped. “Sorry.” He winced at the sharpness of his tone. “Let’s go grab a sandwich in the bistro here. We can discuss what happens next once we’ve spoken to Mia and Darius again after Lilybeth has been fed.”

  Merely saying his granddaughter’s name filled Rufus with warmth, a bone-deep sense of rightness he hadn’t experienced since Emily was born.

  Which made the young woman standing in front of him a part of those feelings of rightness.

  He eyed Molly quizzically, unhappy with the paleness of her cheeks and the haunted look in his eyes. As if seeing Lilybeth had opened up an old wound for her.

  Was it possible that’s what had happened?

  His initial security check on Molly had been thorough, as it always was on anyone who came near his beloved daughter.

  Molly’s life before the age of ten was mainly a mystery, her name only having appeared on any official records when she started attending school at the age of five.

  In contrast to the lack of information about those early years, Molly’s life after the age of ten, until she aged out of the system at eighteen, was well documented.

  After that Rufus had been able to follow her progress by her job history, as well as establishing she had no criminal record.

  He hadn’t looked too deeply into her personal life from the age of eighteen to twenty-seven.

  But there was no denying that holding Lilybeth appeared to have triggered something inside Molly, totally destroying her usual cheerfully smiling disposition.

  Could that something possibly be that Molly had once had a baby of her own?

  Rufus took a gentle hold of her arm. “Is there something you want to share with me?” he prompted softly.

  If anything, her cheeks became even paler. Her eyes were wide, the pupils endless pools of black.

  Her throat moved as she swallowed. “I— You— It— No, nothing,” she finally blurted.

  One thing Rufus was confident of was the accuracy of his bullshit meter, and right now, it clearly told him Molly was lying.