Read Online The Holiday Triplets by Jacqueline Diamond - Free Book Online

a man reputed to be anexcellent surgeon can’t manage to extract a simple rubber band that’s eating my head.”
    That remark brought a deep, rich laugh. “One band-ectomy coming up.” After clicking the coffeemaker into action, Mark examined the contents of a drawer. He selected a small pair of sharp scissors and approached with caution. “I’m not used to doing this without a nurse. Perhaps a whole surgical team.”
    â€œI could give Lori a call.”
    â€œToo late.” Setting the scissors on the table, he lifted the tangle of hair. With scarcely a tug on Sam’s scalp, strong, deft fingers cleared away loose strands, freeing as much of the band as possible. The gentle strokes felt like caresses.
    In the quiet room, she heard the rush of his breathing. Even facing away, she could detail the muscular length of Mark’s body and picture the set of his jaw. She’d watched him perform surgery a few times on complicated cases, and she knew the intensity of his gaze and the way his lips pressed into a firm line.
    Snip. One cut must not have been enough, because the scissors snicked again. Then, with the merest of pinches, he plucked out the remnants of the band, and thick waves brushed the nape of her neck.
    â€œGood job,” Samantha said.
    â€œYou haven’t seen it yet.”
    â€œI can tell. You have talented hands.”
    â€œSo I’m told.” He came into view, discarding a pathetic clump of elastic and hair into a wastebasket. After washing up, he fetched a box of chocolates from the freezer. “These don’t take long to defrost.”
    â€œHave you done this before?” she asked, bemused, as he took out mugs and plates. “Eaten junk for lunch?”
    â€œI frequently eat junk for lunch.”
    â€œJust curious.” Normally, she’d be on her feet, pouring coffee and helping set the table. But today, she felt an unusual lassitude, which translated into an inability to budge. “Just show me the contents, will you? Of your cabinets.”
    â€œMy cabinets?”
    â€œI’m curious. They aren’t bare, are they?”
    â€œCertainly not.” Obligingly, he opened one. She cataloged a couple of china plates, neatly stacked, three cups bearing the logos of charitable organizations, four glasses and a lot of open shelving.
    â€œThat’s disgusting,” she said.
    â€œWhat is?”
    â€œEmpty space. Don’t you get a burning desire to swing by a yard sale and check out the goods?”
    Coffee, chocolates and Mark joined her at the table. “I can safely say that urge hasn’t seized me, not once.”
    â€œYou’re urge-free?”
    â€œOf the desire to shop at yard sales? Yes.” He studied her across the table. “Where do you find the time?”
    â€œMostly while I’m supposed to be exercising,” she admitted. “Mark, do you want kids?”
    His dark eyebrows met in the middle. “Are you offering to have my child?”
    â€œAs if I could.” She shook her head ruefully. Why had she asked him that? Because, she supposed, she wanted to know more about him. Although they worked together and could probably finish many of each other’s sentences, she hadn’t been aware until today that he had a sister, let alone an alcoholic one.
    â€œI’m doing the world a favor by not having kids.”
    What on earth motivated him to say such a thing? “You have to be joking.”
    He shook his head. “My genes are nothing to brag about. Neither is my schedule.”
    Sam thought this over. Not much to think about, really. “I vote for a world filled with miniature Mark Rayburns, as long as they don’t kick poor patients out in the street.”
    â€œWhen have I ever done that?”
    â€œAside from the clinic?”
    â€œThose aren’t patients.” He regarded her closely. “I know you wanted children, but have you truly