Her Festive Baby Bombshell

“Thanks. It was good but I’m full.”

“There’s a lot of leftovers. I guess I’m not so good with portions. I’ll put them in the fridge in case you get hungry later. I know how hard you worked today. I’m sorry I wasn’t any help.”

“You have those babies to care for now. Besides, you cooked. That was a huge help.”

She sent him a look that said she didn’t believe him, but she wasn’t going to argue. “I’ll just clean this up.”

He got to his feet. “Let me help.”

She shook her head. “You rest. I’ve got this.”

“But I want to help. And I’d like to make a pot of coffee. Do you want some?”

“I can’t have any now that I’m pregnant.”

“That’s right. I forgot. But don’t worry. I plan to do lots of reading. I’ll catch on to all of this pregnancy stuff. Well, come on. The kitchen isn’t going to clean itself.”

When he entered the kitchen, he smiled. For a woman who was utterly organized in the office, he never expected her skills in the kitchen to be so, um, chaotic.

Normally such a mess would have put him on edge, but this one had the opposite effect on him. He found himself relaxing a bit knowing she was human with flaws and all. Maybe she wouldn’t expect him to be the perfect dad. Maybe she would be understanding about his shortcomings.

Holly insisted on cleaning off the dishes while he placed them in the dishwasher. In the background, the coffeemaker hissed and sputtered. They worked in silence. Together they had everything cleaned up in no time.

“There. That’s it.” Holly closed the fridge with the leftovers safely inside.

After filling a coffee mug, he turned to Holly. “Come with me. I think we need to talk some more.”

She crossed her arms. “If this is about your marriage proposal, there’s nothing left to say except when can I catch a flight back to New York?”

He’d already anticipated this and had a solution. “Talk with me while I drink my coffee and then I’ll go check on the helipad.”

“Do you think it’s damaged?”

Luckily the helicopter had been on the big island for routine maintenance when the storm struck. It was unharmed. However, with so many other things that had snagged his immediate concern, he hadn’t checked on the helipad. Anything could have happened during that storm, but his gut was telling him that if the house was in pretty good condition then the helipad wouldn’t be so bad off.

“Don’t worry. The storm wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.”

The worry lines marring Holly’s face eased a bit. With a cup of coffee in one hand and a glass of water in the other for her, he followed Holly to his office. Luckily the windows had held in here.

“Why don’t we sit on the couch?”

While she took a seat, he dimmed the lights and turned on some sexy jazz music. Cozy and relaxing. He liked it this way. And then he sat down next to Holly.

Her gaze narrowed in on him. “What are you up to?”

He held up his palms. “Nothing. I swear. This is how I like to unwind in the evenings.”

The look in her eyes said that she didn’t believe him.

“Listen, I’ll sit on this end of the couch and you can stay at the other end. Will that work?”

She nodded. “I don’t know why you’d have to unwind on a beautiful island like this—well, it’s normally beautiful. Will you be able to get it back to normal?”

She was avoiding talking about them and their future. It was as though she was hoping he’d forget what he wanted to talk to her about. That was never going to happen.

Still needing time to figure out exactly how to handle this very sensitive situation, he’d come up with a way to give them both some time. “I have a proposition for you—”

“If this is about getting married—”

“Just hear me out.” When she remained silent, he turned on the couch so that he could look at her. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Of course. I’d hope you wouldn’t even have to ask the question. I’d like to think that you’re always honest—but I know that isn’t true for most people.” Her voice trailed off as she glanced down at her clenched hands.