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was suffocating. Her hand flew to her throat, determined not to allow her senses to reel under his potency. From the moment she’d met him, Will had projected this power over her, made her head spin along with her heart.
    She hoped her stare would turn him to stone as she said haughtily. “What will we tell everyone at work?”
    “That we’re getting married.”
    “They’ll be shocked, and that’s putting it mildly.”
    He shrugged. “It’s none of their business. We’ll be the talk of the office for a week or two and then we’ll be old news.”
    “I don’t want them knowing about the baby.”
    “What does it matter who knows?”
    She bristled at his insensitivity. “If they know,
Will
, they’ll know we had to get married and not for love.”
    His eyes softened. “That would hurt?”
    Her turn to shrug.
Yes, it hurts because I want you to love me.
What? Where did that come from? Will love her? This was a straight-out shotgun wedding and she was a woman who could handle anything that came her way and come out smelling of roses. Couldn’t she? “Stupid pride I guess. I’d like them to think we’re in love.”
    He reached over and touched her hand. She drew back as if she’d been burned. They remained silent until Will said. “Is that all your conditions?”
    “Yes.”
    “And if I agree, you’ll marry me?”
    “Yes, but don’t expect me to sleep with you. That’s asking too much.”
    He grinned. “Aww, shucks,” he said.
    “And I don’t want you flaunting your women in front of me. I hope you can remain chaste until after the baby’s born?”
    “You think I’m a sex addict?”
    “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”
    “A year’s a long time without sex.”
    “Take up knitting. It’ll keep your hands occupied.”
    “It’s not my hands I’m worried about.”
    Despite his quip, he seemed dejected but it could have been the moonlight streaming through the window and casting his face in shadow. “Our parents need to know that we’re getting married. That’s a given, we don’t have to tell them about the baby until much later.”
    “Are we going to say it’s a premature birth?”
    He frowned. “They won’t care once they have their grandchild in their arms.”
    “That’s so true.” She raked a hand back through her hair and exhaled.
    She cursed herself for her brusqueness. They were in this situation together. She knew what she was getting into and so did Will. So why the ravished maiden act every time he reminded her of the reason they were marrying? Because it hurt so damn much, that’s why.

Chapter Nine
    Getting to know you. Walks in the rain. Holding hands. Kissing.
    Charli was in the living room in an old tracksuit lying on the floor following exercises from her workout pregnancy tape. She liked the tape as loud as she could reasonably have it. It saved her mind from being distracted by any other sound that filtered through her window from the street outside.
    She was calmer today. The incredible pressure and tension of the past days had gone and she was determined to remain this way; allowing nothing or no one to alter this feeling of semi-peace.
    Following the tape, Charli lay on her back with her knees bent. Inhaled through her nose and tightened her stomach and buttock muscles. Flattened the small of her back against the floor and allowed her pelvis to tilt upward.
    His head, poking through the open window, loomed down at her from between her stretched legs. Startled, she said, “Please go away. You’re ruining my concentration.”
    “My concentration’s lapsing too.”
    She jumped to her feet and ran her hands down the sides of her pants. He gave her a brief scrutiny. If he made any crack about what she was wearing she’d throw the nearest thing she could grab at him. “Ever heard of knocking?”
    “I rang your doorbell for a good two minutes. Just going to give up when I saw this window open.”
    “So you poke your head through and scare me half to