Claim My Baby (Crescent Cove 2)

“You’d be surprised all the things you don’t know about me.”

“Then tell me some of them. I’m standing right here listening.”

He pushed a hand through his hair, now dotted with snow. “Seth and I have other siblings. A brother and a sister. We’ve never met them. Until last year, Seth didn’t even know of their existence.”

“From your mother?” I guessed.

He nodded. “Yes, she remarried. Whole new family, whole new life.”

“Are you going to ever meet them? See her again?”

Just as quickly, he shook his head. “I have no desire to see her. Ever. I closed that chapter a long time ago, not long after our father paid her off to leave us.”

“What?” I whispered. “That can’t be so. What mother would accept money to give away access to her children?”

His laughter was harsh. “Oh, you’d be surprised. Ours did, and Laurie’s did. Quite easily, in fact. Neither took a backward glance.”

My throat clogged with emotion. For the little boys he and Seth had been, growing up without their mother. For Laurie, who’d truly found her mother in Ally.

He stepped toward me and ran his fingers over my wrist beyond the sleeve of my coat and along the back of my hand. Awareness prickled in his wake. “So, if you think your ferocious defense of our child is going to drive me away, you’re so very wrong.”

Our child. Just those words sent my heart tumbling.

“I-I wasn’t going to demand you be a part of the kid’s life.” As soon as the statement was out, I rued my loose tongue. Why couldn’t I just shut up and let the man speak?

Because you’re afraid to believe him. If you do and he pulls the rug out from under you, it’ll be so much worse.

“No?” His hand fell away. “What were you going to demand? Timely support payments then?”

“I don’t need your money.”

“You don’t, do you? Because you have that money squirreled away from the sale of the bed-and-breakfast, and though you would never spend it on yourself, a child is a different matter.” He made a noise in his throat as I averted my gaze. “Thought so. How is it I can guess your motivations so succinctly, and you’re so often off-base about mine? Is this a Women Are from Mars, Men Are from Venus situation?”

I couldn’t help laughing at his mangling of the title of that book. That I may or may not have read. Eleven times. “You try having pregnancy hormones on top of your normal crazy and see how you act.”

His expression softened and my throat went tight all over again. “You’re certain?”

Swallowing deeply, I nodded. “Three tests don’t lie.”

“Three.” His Adam’s apple rose and fell. “Were you feeling sick?” He frowned. “You should sit down.”

“I’m fine. Though I wouldn’t protest a cup of tea.”

“Sorry. I’ll stock some on my next trip to the market.” I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me as he took my hand and led me to the couch. “How did you know to take the tests?”

“Morning sickness a few days this week. Enough fatigue to take down a horse. A desire for ice cream covered in potato chips when I was drowning my sorrows for having such a big mouth.” My stomach chose that moment to roar, and he looked at me, aghast.

“You haven’t eaten?”

“No, I didn’t have a chance. I was at the hospital to see Ally and the baby and—”

“You have our own baby to concern yourself with now.”

“No kidding. What are you doing?”

He was already on the phone, talking to God knows who. A few minutes later, he hung up, satisfied. “Seth’s nanny will deliver dinner. She got the night off since I stayed with Laurie, so really, this is barely an inconvenience.”

I grabbed his phone to check the time. “Are you crazy? It’s so late. Surely there’s something we can eat here—”