Lizzie finished the first piece of pizza and reached for another. “This is so good. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

“You need to make sure you eat. That taking care of yourself thing.” She wasn’t going to do anyone any good if she was tired and weak.

“Yes, Mom,” she joked. He noticed the color was back in her cheeks and her hair looked soft and slightly mussed from the nap. He liked it.

When his first two slices of pizza were gone, he wiped his fingers on a paper napkin and sat back. “Lizzie, I want to be involved. I know it’ll be hard from here, but you’ve got enough on your plate that I don’t want you to feel like you’re all alone.”

She looked startled at his words and put down her pizza. “Oh. Well, I won’t be alone. I’ll have Savannah and Carly and Julieta, won’t I?”

“Except they don’t know about the baby.”

“Right.”

“And you’re going to be busy running Baron, too.”

“What are you suggesting, Chris?”

He didn’t blame her for looking wary. “I’m not sure, and I’m going to need a few days to think, but will you at least call me and let me know how you’re doing? I’d like to come to a doctor’s appointment, too, if I can. Is there anything you need?”

She shook her head. “The only thing I need right now is to eat well, get lots of sleep, take my vitamins.”

He got up and grabbed a notepad and pen from the kitchen. “Here are my numbers.” He jotted them down. “This is my phone here at the condo, and this is my cell which is probably more reliable. And this is my email address. You can text or email or phone anytime, day or night, okay?”

He tore the sheet off the tablet and held it out.

“Thanks.” She took it and then wiggled her fingers for the paper. “I should do the same for you. My cell and my office. The two best places to reach me.”

He found it odd she didn’t include her home number, but whatever.

She pushed her plate away. “This was great, but I should be going. Thanks for the rest stop. I needed the nap and the food, I guess.”

“Anytime,” he answered, but it made things awkward as they both knew it wasn’t possible to pop in at random since they lived so far apart.

She got up from the table and picked up her purse from the end of the sofa. “I guess I’ll drop in and see Dad before visitors’ hours are over tonight, and tomorrow I’ll work out the board meeting I’ve arranged for Monday. Wish me luck.”

She smiled at him then, and he saw something new in her. Vulnerability. For all her confidence, she wasn’t as sure of herself as she led people to believe.

He went forward and, against his better judgment, folded her into his arms. “You’ll do great,” he murmured against her hair.

She was stiff for a few seconds and then she relaxed, her hands resting on Chris’s shoulders as she softened into his embrace. “I hope so.”

Having her close, pressed up against him was igniting the attraction again. It would be so easy to slide his mouth over hers, to press her body more firmly into his, maybe even carry her into his bedroom and make love to her again. There was no denying the chemistry that still sizzled between them.

But he did the right thing and put his hands on her arms, pushing her away a little and pasting on what he hoped looked like a platonic smile. “You’ve got a bit of a drive. Text me when you get there, okay?”

“You’re not going to get all overprotective, are you?” Her dark, mysterious eyes gazed up into his and he felt himself slipping.

“I just want to know when you’re there safe and sound, that’s all.”

“I’ll text you.”

“You want some pizza for the road?”

Their bodies still hovered close together. “Honestly,” she murmured, “you don’t have to look after me. I’m a big girl.”

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead—the safest area of her face. Then he opened the front door, let her out, and closed it again behind her.

He pressed his forehead to the door and exhaled heavily. She was right. He didn’t have to look after her. And damn it all anyway, because even though he didn’t have to, he wanted to.

Tags: Donna Alward Western
Source: readsnovelonline.net