Read Online Anything but Mine by Linda Winfree - Free Book Online Page B

nodded. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”
    Hefting her suitcase and garment bag, he carried them through the living room to the guest room. An odd relief flowed through him. Autry was right on this point—a renewed sexual involvement too soon would muddy the waters even further. A little more space there was probably a good idea. Once he touched her, gave into the low hum of desire she always inspired, he wouldn’t be able to keep a straight head where she was concerned.
    He’d need that too, not only to keep her safe, but to muddle his way through the next month. He couldn’t afford to screw this up.
    She waited for him in the kitchen, placing salad greens and slices of fragrant roasted chicken on plates. Stanton paused in the doorway and watched. She moved with smooth grace, and the sweater she’d changed into before they left her house hugged the tiny bulge of her pregnancy. An urge to embrace her, fold his hands around the swell of their child, caught him by the throat. He didn’t remember wanting that when Renee had been pregnant with their sons.
    Autry glanced up, her expression tense, her eyes troubled. “Think it’s warm enough to eat on the deck?”
    “Probably. I can always light the fire bowl.”
    Once they were settled at the deck’s glass-topped table, a fire flickering in the copper and iron bowl in the corner behind them, he watched her play with her food, pushing the lettuce around her plate and only nibbling at the chicken.
    He cleared his throat. “How has it been? Physically, I mean.”
    Surprise flickered in her blue eyes. “I’m still fighting morning sickness that lasts all day, if that’s what you’re asking.”
    “I’m sorry.” What else could he say? Hell, it was basically his fault. He was the one who’d told her it was safe to make love. He was the one with a faulty vasectomy. “What did your doctor say?”
    With her fork, she danced a slice of tomato around the edge of her plate. “Just that it wasn’t anything to worry about. It’ll go away.” She rested her chin on her hand, expression glum. “With my luck? The day I have the kid.”
    The conversation only made it more real, even though, sitting across from her with the table hiding her stomach, he couldn’t see a lot of changes in her body. Her breasts might be a little fuller, but if anything, her face was thinner, the line of her clavicle sharper.
    He frowned. “You’re gaining weight, right?”
    She pinned him with a look and reached for a roll. “You know, sometimes I can see why Renee divorced you. You don’t ask a pregnant woman that, Stan.”
    “You do when she’s carrying your child. Are you gaining what you should?”
    “Yes. I am. Right now, everything is fine. Anything else you’d like to know?”
    He cleared his throat again, looked away then back to hold her gaze. “Do you know the sex?”
    Her eyes softened. “Not yet. I’m scheduled for a sonogram on my next visit, a couple of days from now, and we might find out then. It’s one of those new four-dimensional sonograms.” She paused, head bent for a moment, and pushed the tomato around her plate again. Finally, she lifted uncharacteristically shy eyes to his. “Would you like to come with me?”
    An opportunity to see his baby growing within her? To make sure she actually was okay? More than he wanted to admit. “I’d like that. Thanks.”
    Yawning, she stretched and rolled her shoulders in a small circle. “Lord, I’m exhausted. And I’ve got a ton of prep work to do.”
    Stanton pulled his gaze from her breasts. Yep, definitely fuller, a little rounder. She’d filled his hands nicely before and he itched to find out what that fit would be like now. He swallowed, hard. “Why don’t you grab a shower while I clean up? You can relax and do what you need to do, make an early night of it.”
    “That sounds wonderful. I think I will.” She folded an arm over her head and tugged on the elbow with her other hand, a move he remembered