Read Online My Best Friend's Baby by Lisa Plumley - Free Book Online Page A

tried
backpedaling against the slick waxed linoleum. The motion destroyed
whatever balance she had left. Chloe tightened her hold on the
Twinkies, felt herself falling ... and then Nick caught her.
Cardboard crunched and cellophane crackled between them as their
chests came together and squashed the Twinkie box.
    "Oh!"
    His arms held her close, his hands splayed
across her shoulder blades to keep her steady, and when she looked
up from the flattened remains of her prize—he had let go of
it, after all—somehow Nick's face hovered only inches from her own.
Concern turned his eyes mesmerizing and blue. Chloe felt herself
melting, easing into the warmth of his arms like Moe easing into a
brilliant patch of sunlight, and understood exactly what it was
about the heat that made the cat purr.
    "Whoops," she whispered.
    His gaze dropped to her mouth. She wanted to
say more, just to keep his attention there, but the feel of being
in Nick's arms stole her breath and sent her wits walking. She
licked her tongue over her lips, drew a deep breath, and couldn't
release it to save her life when she felt her chest expand and
press closer against him. Time spun slower.
    "Are you all right?" he asked.
    "Mmmm-hmmm." Better than all right .
"Thanks."
    And thank God he didn't let her go. Instead,
he held her a little tighter. "You should've just given up the
Twinkies peacefully," Nick murmured. "Now they're ruined."
    As if she cared. She'd crush a million boxes
if it would land her in his arms. Chloe didn't know how she'd lived
without his warmth surrounding her these past weeks. Like a
supplicant, like a woman in love wanting to be kissed, she tipped
her head back.
    Her eyes drifted closed. Please, just
give me this one moment , she thought as she sensed Nick's face
coming nearer. I'll live on it forever and never ask for
more .
    "Chloe ... ?"
    The wonder in his tone opened her eyes. The
desire she glimpsed in his gaze made her heart spin into a happy
dance of love lost and returned. He was going to kiss her! Even
without knowing the truth of their baby, Nick really wanted her,
just for herself. It was all she could've dreamed, happening before
her eyes.
    He lowered his head fractionally closer. His
minty toothpaste breath drifted past her cheek and the lean,
close-shaved caress of his jaw followed, making her twist her head
to capture his mouth. Kiss me .
    "Kiss me," she whispered aloud. "Oh,
Nick—"
    His whole body went still. Slowly he drew
back, and the heat in his eyes was from anger, not passion.
    " What ?"
    "I—I—I—" I said it out loud ! "I was
kidding!" She raised her Twinkie box prize and tossed it onto the
kitchen table. "I win!"
    "You win."
    She nodded.
    "You win ... that." He cocked his head
toward the Twinkies.
    She nodded.
    "You did all ... that, just to win." He
straightened his glasses and peered at her. "Ruthless competitor
that you are, of course."
    Was that irony in his voice? "Umm,
sure."
    "Like hell," Nick said. "You're not like
that, Chloe, and we both know it."
    She gestured lamely toward the Twinkies.
    "You were serious."
    "All true Twinkie aficionados are serious
about their—"
    "Cut it out, Chloe. This is important. I
have to think."
    Don't think ! Don't think ! She
grabbed his hand. "Later. Think later," she said rapidly. "I know!
Let's go watch that Three Stooges tape I rented."
    She yanked on his hand, trying to pull him
toward the living room and away from any further explorations of
the disaster that had just happened between them. He didn't
budge.
    Now she knew how Larry felt when they played
tug-of-war with his doggie toys on the slick kitchen linoleum. Lots
of movement ... no forward motion.
    "You've never kissed me before," Nick
said.
    Her heart twisted. Chloe quit pulling and
let go of his hand. "I didn't kiss you now, either."
    "You ... " Nick's gaze searched hers. Then,
typically, he dismissed the facts and went straight for the truth.
"You wanted to."
    She was in so far over her head. But as long
as