“Don’t be silly,” Dottie insisted, patting her shoulder. “Children are a miracle. Believe me, once you hold your baby in your arms, you’ll want more.”
Taylor felt queasy and set her cup on the coffee table. “Well, thank you for the tour, Mrs. Hernandez. We really should be going.”
“It was my pleasure.” Dottie moved to the door, all business again. “I have a packet of information for you in my office, and if you’re considering scheduling this suite, I encourage you to do so soon. It’s always in high demand and availability fills up quickly. We’re already pretty much scheduled out for the next eight months.”
Eight months? Wow. That was a lot of pre-planned births.
Taylor and Matt paused at the alcove to wait for Dottie to lock up. “We do have several other suites,” she said, “and I can always check their availability for you as well, but really, the Presidential is the way to go, especially since this is your first.”
Matt nodded. “Looks like fun to me.”
Fun, right. Probably was for everyone but the mother.
Dottie started off down the hall and Matt put that protective, guiding hand on Taylor’s lower back as they fell into step behind her. “Even if you decide not to go with the Presidential,” Dottie said over her shoulder, “you’ll want to attend our information night tomorrow here at the center. We go over all the details of selecting your birthing team, the info about our Lamaze group meetings, and we tour all of the available suites. We also set up your birth portfolio.”
“Birth portfolio?” Taylor asked.
“Our VIPs always have a portfolio.” They left the West Wing and turned the corner heading for Dottie’s office. “For security measures, you know.”
No, she didn’t. “What security measures?”
Dottie raised a finger in the air and shook it. “The safety and security of our patients is our number one priority. Along with the birth plan for the medical team, the portfolio contains the necessary personal information about the mother and father, along with their picture IDs. We have a list of relatives and friends our parents have okayed to visit. This allows the staff to keep a close eye on everyone who comes and goes.”
They arrived at Dottie’s office door, and she turned to them before entering. “We run a large facility and have to keep track of every person entering and leaving for the safety of our patients and most especially, the babies. Some of our patients attract a lot of media attention and it wouldn’t do for us to allow a reporter or some crazy fan to sneak into the clinic and breach the privacy of the families we serve, now, would it? It’s happened at other facilities, you know, but never here.”
Interesting. With all this security, and yet, she and Matt had just taken a tour under false identities. “Felicity didn’t mention anything about a portfolio,” Taylor said, following Dottie into the office and handing over her visitor badge, “or maybe you didn’t have those when she booked the Presidential Suite?”
“Yes, we did.” Dottie accepted Matt’s badge and dropped both into her desk drawer. “I was the one to institute the portfolio system when I took over as manager in 2008. I raised the bar on the standards and security protocols the minute I was promoted.”
The woman picked up a cheery yellow folder and handed it to Taylor. “You’ll find all the information and forms you need in here, along with my card. Call any time. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have, and please consider attending the informational meeting tomorrow night. We can start your portfolio, sign you up for Lamaze classes, and get your insurance lined up, even if you aren’t quite decided yet on which suite you prefer.”
Matt gave Taylor that look again, suggesting she come clean. She ignored him. “Thank you. We’ll be there.”
“The meeting starts at 7 p.m.,” Dottie called after them as Taylor took Matt’s hand and dragged him out of the office. “There’ll be cookies!”
Outside in the parking lot, Matt opened Taylor’s car door. “What the fuck was that?” he said, but he was grinning.
She slid into the seat and stared at the building as he went around to his side of the car and climbed in. “If you wanted to kidnap a senator’s pregnant wife and steal their child, where better to get all the pertinent information you needed than from their birthing portfolio?”
“You think it was someone here at the clinic?”
“Possibly.” Taylor glanced over at him and he was still looking at her with that what-the-fuck face. “All my instincts are screaming that this is about the baby, not Felicity. I could be wrong, but I think it’s worth pursuing. If I don’t have any stronger lead by tomorrow night, I’ve got nothing to lose but to show up for that meeting. We can ask Dottie more questions and see if there’s anyone else who remembers Felicity.”
“What if the real Dillingers show up?”
“I’ll make sure they don’t.”
“How are you going to do that?”
She gave him a confident smile. “I’m a crack FBI agent. I have my ways.”
His grin widened. “I am totally turned on right now.”
She reached over and stroked a finger across his jawline. “You should be.”
Without warning, he reached across the seats, grabbed her by the back of the neck, and dragged her toward him. His lips crushed hers and his free hand fondled her breast through her shirt and bra.
The rush of playing pretend and pulling it off pumped hard in her veins, so Taylor felt him up as well, giving his thickening erection a good squeeze through his slacks.
