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Authors: Maureen Child
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yet.”
“And your car?” she asked, surrendering to the inevitable. John wasn’t about to give in on this. She could see it in his eyes.
“I’ll get Pete to drive me back up here to collect it.” He climbed out of her car, waved one hand at the new car seat he’d gone into town that morning to buy and said, “There. We’re all set.”
All set. Now she had two car seats and one car. Ah, well, she couldn’t very well drive all the way home with the baby cradled in her arms.
John reached out, laid one hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. And blast if she didn’t feel the imprint of each of his fingers—right through the fabric of her jacket, her shirt, her skin, all the way down to her bones.She wasn’t quite sure what to do about it, either. It felt so…good to feel good again.
But the danger in that was all too clear to her. The last time she’d been led by her hormones and a heart that was too easily fooled, she’d been left alone and pregnant. Though she wouldn’t trade Jordan for anything in the world, she also didn’t want to make the same mistakes she had in the past. Oh, everyone made mistakes, she knew that. But at the very least she could make some new ones.
No, it didn’t matter what she felt for John Paretti. And it didn’t matter that he’d treated her with more tenderness, more gentleness than she’d ever experienced before. These feelings weren’t real. None of them. They were based entirely on the unusual circumstance that had drawn John and her together in the first place. If he hadn’t been here, if he hadn’t delivered her baby, if they hadn’t been so much like a… family in the last few days, none of this would be happening.
Family. The word shimmered in her mind like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. And for one brief moment she entertained the notion of how different her life might have been if only John had been her baby’s father. A heartbeat later, though, she let that thought go. Pointless to wonder. To speculate. The simple truth was, John Paretti wasn’t a part of her life. He was a part of a dream world that was now ending.
The best thing for her to do was get back to reality and put this little idyll where it belonged: in a dark corner of her mind and heart where dreams were kept once you woke up.
Her expression must have given her away because John bent his head and asked, “Hey, are you okay?”
“Sure,” she said, much too quickly. He didn’t believe her. His eyes told her that. But then why should he, when she didn’t believe her, either? Still, she slipped out from beneath his hand and tried not to mourn the loss of his touch. “I’m fine,” Annie said firmly, willing herself to be convincing. “Uh, why don’t I just go in and finish packing so we can get going?”
Escaping, John thought. She might as well have had a neon sign hanging over her head flashing out the words, Back Off. So fine. He’d back off. For now. But damned if it was easy.
“Yeah,” he said tightly, “go ahead.” His gaze followed her as she scuttled for the house, and the sound of the closing door seemed overly loud in the still air.
Standing right beside her, he’d felt her withdraw. She was already pulling away from him. There was a sense of goodbye hanging in the air between them despite the fact that no one had actually said the word aloud.
His chest tightened as he turned around and leaned against the car. Folding his arms over his chest, he crossed his feet at the ankles and stared at the cabin with enough intensity he should have been able to see through the log walls to the woman beyond. She was ignoring him. Getting ready to treat this past week as if it were nothing more than a temporary blip on her radar screen. Hell, she hadn’t even bothered to come up with a good lie. She hadn’t had to finish packing. She’d packed everything the night before. She was ready to leave and had been for hours. Apparently, he told himself, she was way more
“And your car?” she asked, surrendering to the inevitable. John wasn’t about to give in on this. She could see it in his eyes.
“I’ll get Pete to drive me back up here to collect it.” He climbed out of her car, waved one hand at the new car seat he’d gone into town that morning to buy and said, “There. We’re all set.”
All set. Now she had two car seats and one car. Ah, well, she couldn’t very well drive all the way home with the baby cradled in her arms.
John reached out, laid one hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. And blast if she didn’t feel the imprint of each of his fingers—right through the fabric of her jacket, her shirt, her skin, all the way down to her bones.She wasn’t quite sure what to do about it, either. It felt so…good to feel good again.
But the danger in that was all too clear to her. The last time she’d been led by her hormones and a heart that was too easily fooled, she’d been left alone and pregnant. Though she wouldn’t trade Jordan for anything in the world, she also didn’t want to make the same mistakes she had in the past. Oh, everyone made mistakes, she knew that. But at the very least she could make some new ones.
No, it didn’t matter what she felt for John Paretti. And it didn’t matter that he’d treated her with more tenderness, more gentleness than she’d ever experienced before. These feelings weren’t real. None of them. They were based entirely on the unusual circumstance that had drawn John and her together in the first place. If he hadn’t been here, if he hadn’t delivered her baby, if they hadn’t been so much like a… family in the last few days, none of this would be happening.
Family. The word shimmered in her mind like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. And for one brief moment she entertained the notion of how different her life might have been if only John had been her baby’s father. A heartbeat later, though, she let that thought go. Pointless to wonder. To speculate. The simple truth was, John Paretti wasn’t a part of her life. He was a part of a dream world that was now ending.
The best thing for her to do was get back to reality and put this little idyll where it belonged: in a dark corner of her mind and heart where dreams were kept once you woke up.
Her expression must have given her away because John bent his head and asked, “Hey, are you okay?”
“Sure,” she said, much too quickly. He didn’t believe her. His eyes told her that. But then why should he, when she didn’t believe her, either? Still, she slipped out from beneath his hand and tried not to mourn the loss of his touch. “I’m fine,” Annie said firmly, willing herself to be convincing. “Uh, why don’t I just go in and finish packing so we can get going?”
Escaping, John thought. She might as well have had a neon sign hanging over her head flashing out the words, Back Off. So fine. He’d back off. For now. But damned if it was easy.
“Yeah,” he said tightly, “go ahead.” His gaze followed her as she scuttled for the house, and the sound of the closing door seemed overly loud in the still air.
Standing right beside her, he’d felt her withdraw. She was already pulling away from him. There was a sense of goodbye hanging in the air between them despite the fact that no one had actually said the word aloud.
His chest tightened as he turned around and leaned against the car. Folding his arms over his chest, he crossed his feet at the ankles and stared at the cabin with enough intensity he should have been able to see through the log walls to the woman beyond. She was ignoring him. Getting ready to treat this past week as if it were nothing more than a temporary blip on her radar screen. Hell, she hadn’t even bothered to come up with a good lie. She hadn’t had to finish packing. She’d packed everything the night before. She was ready to leave and had been for hours. Apparently, he told himself, she was way more
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