Read Online Baby by Design: Designing Love Book One (Crimson Romance) by Elley Arden - Free Book Online Page A

at the moment she wished she’d never mentioned a baby.
    “I’m sorry, Tony.”
    “Listen, Trish. I’m the one who should be apologizing. You’re right. I pushed you. All those insinuations. The motorcycle ride. The hand up your leg…” His eyes darkened along with the dip in his cheek. “Yeah. I crossed the line.”
    Maybe, but it was a line that needed to be crossed by someone if she ever wanted to have a baby. She’d spent two years so concerned with finding the appropriate candidate she never let her guard down enough to feel half the desire Tony elicited from her during one non-date.
    She cleared the nerves from her throat. She could do this. She sold her ideas to hundreds of clients every year. This didn’t have to be any different. “I really hope you’ll consider crossing that line again, but first,” she clasped her hands in front of her, “hear me out.”
    He raised one beautiful black brow.
    “In the living room,” she said, walking away from him, hoping he’d follow.
    A rush of adrenaline boosted her confidence when she didn’t hear the front door open and close.
I can do this
, she thought over and over again.
    Stepping into the living room, she stopped on the edge of a blood red Persian rug and slipped his coat from her arms, letting it fall below her backside, hoping Tony still liked what he saw when he looked at her. Of course, hers wasn’t the usual seduction with success being a quick trip to bed. She had exactly one shot to convince this man that she was worth the trouble it would take to get her pregnant.
    Trish cringed. She was an idiot.
    With a sigh, she faced him and held out his coat. “I’m good. You can have this back.”
    He reached for the jacket with a smile. “I can’t figure you out.”
    “Just wait.” She walked to the sofa and sat, mostly because her feet hurt and her knees were weak, but partly because she expected him to leave her disappointed, and the sofa would make the perfect place to brood. “So here goes.” She sucked a mouthful of air and shot it right back out her mouth. “I’m adopted.”
    “You said that.” He walked to the chair closest to her and sat, crossing his ankle over his knee, draping the suit coat across his lap.
    “I want a baby.”
    “You said that too.”
    “Tony, stop interrupting me. This is hard enough.”
    He grinned, nodded and propped his elbows on the arms of the chair, bringing his fingers to his lips. He was so embarrassingly attractive, the idea of making a baby with him had her toes curling in her shoes and heat creeping up her face.
    She looked to the brilliant white crown molding over his head. “A couple years ago I decided time was running out, and if I wanted to ever have a baby I was going to have to make it a major focus. When I wasn’t working on my other major focus—design—I was systematically dating prospective husbands and fathers. I know that sounds desperate and terribly unromantic, but I tend to be a methodical person.” Tony chuckled. Trish gave him the stink eye. “Anyhow, that didn’t work so well. Everyone fell short.”
    “Except me.” He grinned.
    “Shush.” She would not let that grin rattle her. “I thought about a sperm bank.” Her cheeks heated again. “But not knowing either of my biological parents, it’s important to me that my child knows both of his or hers. So it was back to dating, only this time I didn’t care about finding a husband. My sole focus was to find a man I could have a baby with. No strings, really. Except I hoped he’d be willing to see the child a couple times a year. After Jackson likened having kids to having surgery without anesthesia, I was starting to give up hope, but then…”
    “Me.” He rested his folded hands in his lap.
    “You.” Trish nodded. “All the talk about Nonna’s list, and your comment about wanting kids but not the marriage. And…the chemistry between us.” She studied the crown molding again. “I had to ask. You may be my best