Read Online What If I'm Pregnant...? by Carla Cassidy - Free Book Online Page B

and inviting, but hers radiated nothing close to warmth or invitation.
    â€œYou’ve raised Gina since she was ten,” she said, the words clipped and curt. “If you think I can mess up her value system with my substandard one in asingle night of conversation, then I guess maybe you didn’t do such a great job raising her.”
    She pulled open the door that led into the apartment building. “And now if you’ll excuse me, I have six naked dancing men waiting for me inside. I’m going to get drunk and have sex with them all because my value system doesn’t tell me there’s anything wrong with that.” With these words she disappeared into the building and slammed the door.
    Tanner stared after her, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Chapter Five
    C olette slammed her apartment door and threw her purse down on the sofa. She had never been so insulted in her life. How dare Tanner Rothman confront her about her morals! How dare he imply that her value system was so poor she shouldn’t be around his precious baby sister.
    He knew nothing about her values or morals. He knew nothing about her. The man had hardly spent any time with her, certainly not enough to judge her morality. She just wished he’d take his stubborn, judgmental self back to Kansas where he could rule the world around him.
    She kicked off her shoes and stalked into the kitchen, anger still driving her. She put the teakettle on, hoping a cup of tea would calm her down.
    Leaning against the counter while she waited for the water to boil, she thought over the conversation with Tanner.
    Now that the heat of the moment had passed, she recognized that she might have overreacted to everything he had said…might have overreacted to him.
    She’d awakened that morning with the heat of his kiss from the night before still warming her lips and a desire for him to kiss her again.
    It had frightened her, and she’d reacted defensively, trying to avoid him all day. She had spent most of the day trying to be in an area of her store where he was not.
    Her anger with their brief discussion on the way home had been far greater than the situation warranted, but it was an anger that had made her feel safe, invulnerable to his charm and sexy attractiveness.
    The teakettle whistled shrilly and she quickly made herself a cup of tea, adding an extra dollop of sugar for comfort.
    Still, even though she had overreacted somewhat, it still irritated her that he somehow believed she might be a bad influence on Gina.
    She knew she needed to continue to embrace her irritation…her anger where Tanner was concerned. She had a feeling it was the only thing that would keep her safe until he left to return to his ranch in Foxrun.
    It was almost a relief when Gina called and told her she wouldn’t be home for dinner, that Tanner was taking her out to eat and she’d be home later. Good. Perhaps the two could work things out and Tanner would go home.
    At about the time she thought Tanner and Gina should be finished eating and returning to the apartment, Colette went to bed. She was still smarting from what Tanner had said to her on their way home, and she told herself she had absolutely no desire to see him.
    The next morning as she left the apartment building she was vaguely surprised that he didn’t show up. She got her bagels from Johnny’s Café, then continued on to the shop.
    Maybe he’d gone back to his ranch, she thought a few minutes later as she sipped a cup of coffee and ate a blueberry bagel. Maybe he’d given up on getting Gina to return to the ranch, had accepted defeat and left Kansas City behind.
    Funny how the thought sent a tiny wave of disappointment through her. She studiously tamped the emotion away. Why should she be disappointed if she never saw Tanner Rothman again?
    She certainly had no illusions of any kind about developing a relationship with him. She didn’t want a