by Desiree Holt
Stacy cocked an eyebrow. “What exactly did you hear?”
“When he found out about the baby…” She looked up. “You know about the baby?”
Stacy nodded.
“I could hear him ranting and raving and yelling about how it just wasn’t possible and what a mess it was and all that.” To her embarrassment, she burst into tears. She pushed her glasses up on her head and rubbed at her eyes with tissues she grabbed from a bedside box.
“He sounded so resentful, like I’d trapped him or something,” she sobbed. “I realized then that he hadn’t meant any of the things he’d said to me. Or at least that’s what I thought.” She yanked more tissues from the box and swiped at a fresh cascade of tears. “I’m so crazy about him. I don’t know what to do, and I’m sick that he’s mad about the baby.”
Stacy nodded but didn’t say anything, waiting quietly for Lindsey to calm down.
“I really didn’t think I could get pregnant, Stacy. Every doctor told me that. I don’t even know how this happened. Nick said it didn’t make any difference to him. I guess he was right, but I misunderstood. He doesn’t want children at all. I sure didn’t need him throwing it in my face, though. This is my child, even if he doesn’t want it, and I’m not getting rid of it. It may be my only chance. And then I heard him talking to Reno about you and I thought…”
Another fresh flood of tears consumed her. Hormones. All pregnant women cried at the drop of a hat.
Stacy handed her the box of tissues. “Well, this is what my grandmother would call a fine kettle of fish. Quinn is right. This is a ridiculous situation, but I can certainly sympathize with you. Do you know Nick has no idea why you won’t see him, and he’s ready to come out here and kidnap you?”
“What?” She sat up straight.
Stacy held up her hand. “I know, I know. Lindsey, Nick is so in love with you he can’t see straight. He’s been driving us all crazy since he met you. All the calls were about the big family shindig at Horseshoe I just mentioned.”
“For real?” Lindsey couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
“That’s right. He was so excited for the family to meet you. And by the way, he’s thrilled to death about the baby, but he’s worried sick about you. The doctor told him what a difficult pregnancy this was liable to be, and he’s been scared to death something will happen to you. You’re more important to him than anything, you and the baby.”
Lindsey stared at her open-mouthed, her face still wet with tears. “But this is crazy. How did we get in this mess?”
“My guess is because his pride wouldn’t let him ask what was wrong and yours wouldn’t let you question him directly about the calls,” Stacy said.
“Oh, God.” Lindsey blew her nose, then took another tissue and cleaned her glasses.
Stacy sat on the edge of the bed and took one of Lindsey’s hands in hers. “Being in pain in the hospital magnified things for you and even distorted them. It’s easy to happen. You were in no condition to do anything but deal with the physical pain, but now I think it’s time for the two of you to talk to each other.” She leaned over and kissed Lindsey on the cheek. “I hope you don’t mind. I feel like we’re sisters already.”
Lindsey levered herself off the bed, stood up, and gave Stacy a hug. “I can’t thank you enough. I feel so idiotic about everything, and now you have to drive all the way back to Austin by yourself. I’m so sorry.”
“Actually my husband is at Kate and Quinn’s. I dropped him there, and I’m picking up pizzas to take back. By the way, I told Nick to give you until tomorrow to mull over all of this before he rushed over here.”
“Thanks. You certainly have given me a lot to digest. Including my own stupidity in jumping to conclusions. Besides, I still tire easily. And I need some quiet time to figure out how to apologize to Nick for not having faith in him.”
“I know he’ll understand. He’s not that dense. I’d get plenty of rest if I were you, because I have a feeling you’ll be having a visitor before the sun is barely up.”
“Thank you again, Stacy. I can’t tell you what this has meant to me.”
“Just keep that obstinate brother of mine in line.” Stacy winked at her and was gone.
Lindsey had barely settled back in bed when Mary came into the room, trying hard not to smile.
“I knew I was right about him,” she said, straightening the bed covers.
“Eavesdropping, were we?” Lindsey chuckled.
“Now, little one, don’t you give me any of that mouth. I just came to ask if you wanted to come downstairs tonight or have me bring you a tray up here. And by the way, it does me good to see some color back in your face and a sparkle in your eyes. Will we be having a guest tomorrow?”
Mary’s face betrayed nothing, but Lindsey would have bet every dollar she’d listened in to the entire conversation with Stacy.
Chapter Twenty
The sun had just begun to climb into a perfect blue sky the next morning when something caused Lindsey to stir. She shifted as a warm, nearly naked body slipped into bed beside her and arms cradled her gently. Her eyes flew open. She tried to sit up, but the arms held her in place.
“I think this is where we left off,” a low voice said in her ear.
“Nick?”
“It better be. If you’re expecting anyone else, they won’t live to tell about it.”
She shifted in his arms so she could face him. She was still sore, and she moved gingerly.
Nick picked up on it at once. “Am I hurting you?”
“No. I’m just still a little tender. You can touch me,” she said impishly. “I promise I won’t break.”
“How are you really? And the baby. Is the baby okay?”
“We’re both fine,” she reassured him. “We’re eating properly, taking all our pills, and doing the light exercise Dr. Edberg told us to do.”
“Good.” He kissed her nose. “You don’t know how badly I want to be inside you right now, but I can wait because we’ve got the rest of our lives.” He tilted her face away from him. “I should paddle you, you know. How in hell could you even think I didn’t want you? Both of you?”
“You said…”
“Like everything else, you totally misread and misinterpreted what I said. I was stunned, sure. You’d said over and over that every doctor told you this wasn’t possible. But I was not unhappy. Oh, no, sugar. I’m definitely not unhappy. Just scared for you, wanting you to be okay.”
“I’m fine. Really.”
He was caressing her cheeks, her forehead, her shoulders, touching her as if he wanted to be sure she was real. “And why the hell didn’t you just ask me who Stacy was?”
“Because I thought she was one of your girlfriends, and I’d sound like a jealous idiot interrogating you.”
“We owe Quinn and Stacy a lot for getting us past this.”
“Yes, we do. And by the way…” She tapped the side of his head with her knuckles.
“Ouch. What was that for?”
“For not telling me you were a twin. She’s lovely. A class act.”
“Classier than me, apparently. I seem to be the world’s biggest screw-up.”
“Shut up and kiss me,” she said.
Which he did. Very thoroughly.
“How soon?” he asked.
She knew what he meant. “About another three weeks. We’ll have to take it a little easier at first, but I’m sure our inventive minds can get around that.”
He groaned. “I guess I’ll be taking a lot of cold showers.”
She gave him a devilish grin.
“And the baby?” Lines of worry creased his face. “It won’t hurt the baby or anything?”
“If you’d like, you can come to the first obstetrician appointment with me and get it first-hand.”
“Damn straight. And every appointment after that. I was scared to death when that doctor told me you were pregnant. I remembered everything you’d said, and I was afraid having the baby would kill you. I
couldn’t stand that.” He kissed her again. “Yesterday was the longest day of my life. When I found out Stacy was coming to talk to you, I wanted to jump in my car and meet her out here. She got Reno to come to the house and practically hog-tie me. She said she wanted everything out in the open before I came charging in. I think she really wanted to make sure I hadn’t screwed up big time.”
“I know I’ve been an idiot, Nick, but when I heard you talking, all I could think—”
“Enough. We were both fools. But never again.” He tilted her face up to him. “We have to talk about getting married. I’d do it tomorrow if we had the paperwork, but my mother claims she’s in charge. I hope you don’t mind. She knows you don’t have any family. Of course, when you’re better, we can try to find your uncle if you like.”
She nodded. “And anyone else we can trace.”
“Okay, then. That’s a plan.”
Lindsey sighed. “At least all the memories are finally silent. Thank the Lord for that.”
Nick kissed her cheek. “Amen. Listen, my mother is hot to plan something with you, if that’s okay. I don’t know who you want to include or what’s in your head—”
She touched his lips with her fingertips. “Shh. It’s fine. It will be wonderful. I will love having your mother plan my wedding. I think just the family and people like Quinn and Kate and Reno would be more than enough. After all, we are kind of putting the cart before the horse here.”
“Don’t even think about that,” he admonished. “Just being married is what’s important.” He hugged her again. “I love you, Lindsey. I nearly died when I thought I’d lost you. Don’t ever scare me like that again. Promise?”
“I promise.”
“I have orders from Reno not to show up at the office until I have my life straightened out. I think that’s going to take quite a few days, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes. Absolutely.” She didn’t think she could possibly get any happier.
About the Author
Known as the oldest living author of erotic romance, Desiree Holt has produced more than two hundred titles in nearly every subgenre of romance fiction. Her stories are enriched by her personal experiences, her characters by the people she meets.
After fifteen years in the great state of Texas, she relocated back to Florida to be closer to members of her family and a large collection of friends. Her favorite pastimes are watching football, reading, and researching her stories. She lives with her three cats, who love to sit with her when she writes.
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Also Available
Moving Target
Guardian Security Book One
By Desiree Holt
They're trying to kill her, and she doesn't know why…
Kathryn Holt knows only that she has to get far away as fast as she can. In a frantic, cross-country odyssey, she transforms from pliable Kathryn to feisty, determined Kate Miller, staying one step ahead of the killers on her trail. Then Fate delivers her into the hands of a dark knight with a tortured past. The safety he offers is as tempting as he is.
After having his perfect life ripped apart, recluse Quinn sees protecting Kate as his chance for redemption. He never plans on wanting the guarded beauty, never mind falling for her. Denying the explosive chemistry between them is useless, and as danger closes in, he must fight to expose the killer or risk history repeating itself.
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Rose Delaney is a baby bounty hunter, rescuing children from fugitive ex-spouses. All she wants is to return a recovered child to its mother and get back to her regimented solitary life. But when a snow storm leaves her and baby Emmy stranded, Rose has no choice but to lean on the ruggedly handsome rescuer, who thinks the baby is hers. Holed up in their mountain resort-under-construction and unable to contact Emmy’s mother, Rose's priority is hitting the road—even if Garrett’s erotic touch entices her to ride out the storm.
Construction boss Garrett Galo loves his job, but he never imagined a perk like being snowbound during a whiteout with the sassy brunette he just rear-ended. He’s learned to stay away from women who want a family, especially when they come with a kid in tow. When passionate nighttime encounters flare between them, Garrett begins to question what he’d risk to keep Rose.
This isn’t the time or the place for romance—but will five days on a mountain make these loners reconsider giving in to love?
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