The hair on the back of her neck started to prickle as she felt someone watching her. She looked around, not noticing anything unusual. You’re paranoid. Who would be watching you? When nothing out of the ordinary happened, she finally loosened up and enjoyed herself. When the door to the outside area opened, her mouth fell open. Sauntering toward her, looking like the devil himself, was none other than Nick. She knew what she must look like to Seth. She had stopped talking in midsentence and was now gaping at the man approaching their table. I wouldn’t hold out much hope of another dinner invitation anytime soon.

Nick smiled as he reached their table. He laid his hand on her shoulder in a proprietary manner. “Wh— What are you doing here?” she stuttered.

“Hey, princess. I was having dinner with a customer.”

She looked around suspiciously, seeing no one waiting for him. As if he knew what she was thinking he added, “They’ve already left. I happened to see you when I was leaving, so I thought I’d come say hello.” Leaning over her shoulder, Nick extended his hand toward Seth. “Nick Merimon.”

She could see that Seth was very curious about their exchange as he politely shook Nick’s hand and introduced himself. “So, how do you two know each other?” he inquired.

“We work together,” Beth answered quickly.

“We also live together and Beth is having my baby,” Nick added helpfully.

Beth watched in horrified fascination as Seth’s uncertain smile slowly slipped off his face as he noticed the embarrassment on hers. “Beth? Is this true?”

With a weak smile, she said, “We don’t officially live together; it’s complicated.”

“That wasn’t really the part I was asking about,” he said.

She knew her face was flaming as she searched for an answer that wouldn’t sound as damning as the truth. “Er, yes, I am pregnant,” she admitted, “But we aren’t in a relationship or anything so I can see other people.” Oh, my God, just shut up. Do you hear yourself? You have just given new meaning to the expression “white trash.”

Seth stood up from the table, now completely flabbergasted. “I think you two need some time alone. Beth . . . good luck.” With those words, he left as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels.

Nick walked around to take the recently vacated chair as she hissed, “What in the hell was that?”

“I don’t know what you mean, princess. If you wanted me to lie for you, then you should have warned me ahead of time. I was just answering his question honestly.”

Getting to her feet, Beth snapped, “Well, bravo for you then. I’ll leave you here to revel in your honesty.” She saw Nick hastily throw some bills on the table as he followed her out. When he reached over to pluck her keys out of her hand, she rounded on him, full of fury. “Give me my keys, Nick; I just want to go home.”

All signs of humor were gone from his handsome face as he said, “You’re too upset to drive. I’ll take you home and we can pick up your car in the morning.”

“I’m fine! Just give me back my keys.”

She sucked in a breath as he laid his hand against her stomach. “That’s our child in there, Beth. I’m not letting you tear out of here while you’re this upset. I’d never forgive myself if you had an accident and you or the baby was hurt.”

All of the fight left her as her anger deflated. How could he drive her so crazy one moment and then say something like that in the next moment? He put a hand on the small of her back and gently led her toward his car. When he had her settled in the passenger seat, he walked around to the driver’s side and slid in.

They drove across town in silence. She was relieved to escape to her bedroom when they reached the apartment. She desperately needed a few moments to herself to come to grips with the train wreck that was her life. She couldn’t believe that Nick had rolled out their dirty laundry for the world to see tonight. Seth wasn’t likely to ever speak to her again. The look on his face had been priceless. Just thinking about it made her start to laugh. Then, once the laughter started, she couldn’t seem to stop. Nick stuck his head in the doorway, looking at her as if she had lost her mind. It only made her laugh harder. Soon tears were coursing down her cheeks as she fought to take a breath.

“Um, princess, are you okay?”

Suddenly her laughter turned into tears. His concern was her undoing. The enormity of her situation was finally hitting home. Nick sat down on the bed and gathered her into his arms. He cradled her like a child, stroking her hair and murmuring soft words of comfort as she continued to sob. “I’m sorry, baby; I shouldn’t have done that to you. I . . . I didn’t know you liked that guy this much.”

“It’s not that,” she mumbled. “That was actually kinda funny. I’m scared, Nick. I’m having a baby and Suzy’s right; this is a life-changing moment. Everything’s changing and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to handle it.” She took a hesitant look at his face, afraid of what she would see there. He probably thinks I’m a pathetic basket case. All I do now is cry and throw up. If I were him, I would have my suitcase packed and waiting at the door.

He grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and dried her tears. He kissed her on the forehead and pulled her back into his embrace. “I keep trying to tell you that I’m here for you. This isn’t your baby, this is our baby. Why are you more than willing to go out with a man that you met through a dating service and give him a chance, but not me? We’ve been sleeping together for the last six months, but you’d rather trust a stranger than me?”

Oh shit, that really sounds bad. If I didn’t know better, I would swear he’s hurt. Has he ever given me reason to believe that I couldn’t trust him? No. With a sigh, she pulled back to study him. “I’m sorry; you’re right. I haven’t handled this very well. You have to admit, you do have a bit of a reputation.” Really? You couldn’t just apologize and make nice?

Chuckling, he said, “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better. As for my reputation, princess, I’m a man. I don’t sleep with a different woman every night, but, yes, I have dated my share. Contrary to popular belief though, I’m not some kind of gigolo. I’m perfectly capable of being faithful to one woman. If you haven’t noticed, you’ve had my full attention since the moment we met and I can’t imagine that changing anytime soon.”

He looked so sincere that she wanted to believe him. Maybe it was time to see what he really was made of. She would give him the chance that he seemed to want so much, but she wasn’t going to make it easy. From now on, Nick would be involved up to his elbows. She would drag him to every doctor’s appointment. They would be on a first-name basis with the employees of Babies-R-Us, where they would shop weekly until they found the perfect breast pump. She would ask him to rub her feet every night and cater to any cravings that she might have. First up though, they would babysit for Claire and Jason tomorrow night. If he made it through that, the games would begin. If he was still standing at the end, then she would beg him to marry her and never look back. Be prepared—he’s never going to make it. Don’t let him break your heart. The man has left a trail of panties and broken hearts from here to Charleston. Don’t forget it!

She turned to straddle him and pressed a kiss to his mouth. “Okay, let’s take it day by day. I can’t promise anything, but I’m willing to try.” Her heart stuttered as he turned a sexy smile on her. He looked so happy that she almost felt bad about what she planned to put him through. No guts, no glory. When his hand slid slowly up her leg to the curve of her bottom, her thoughts scattered.

Beth felt the hard line of his erection pressing into her stomach as she lost herself in his kiss. Unlike their usual frantic coupling, Nick set a gentle pace. He drove her wild as he lazily caressed her. By the time he moved over her and took possession of her body, she was almost out of her mind with need.

He drove into her gently, as if afraid she would break. His mouth covered hers, his tongue tentatively thrusting inside to stake claim. His kiss became wild and uncontrolled, completely at odds with his possession of her body. She wrapped her legs around his hips, forcing him deeper inside her. She was frantic for a release from the building pressure. Each time her body clenched and she was close to going over the edge, he pulled back, refusing to let her go over the other side. After his third retreat, she was so desperate that she sank her teeth into his shoulder. Suddenly, the maddening rhythm was gone and he lost all control. She hung on for dear life as his hips drilled into her and they both found the release that he had been denying them.

When she floated back to earth, she was certain about one thing; no matter what other problems they might run into down the road, sex would never be one of them.

Chapter Eleven

They arrived at Jason and Claire’s a few moments before six the next evening. Nick looked completely at ease as they walked through the door. She had to envy his endless supply of confidence and easygoing demeanor. He seemed perfectly content to be spending his Saturday night babysitting.

Claire showed her Christina’s room and how to make her bottles. Nick stood in the living room talking to Jason as if he hadn’t a care in the world. When Claire and Jason had both kissed Christina good-bye, Claire gave Beth an evil smile and plopped the baby into Nick’s arms. Jason smirked while Claire tried to cover her laugh with a cough. Finally, there was a crack in Nick’s confident façade. He looked at Claire and asked, “So, are you guys sure about this? You know that we don’t actually know anything about babies, right?”

Jason clapped him on the shoulder and said, “You’ll be fine. We still don’t know what the hell we’re doing most of the time, but you learn. See you guys around midnight.”

With another smirk, Claire followed Jason out the door.

As soon as the door closed, Nick held Chrissy out to Beth. She sidestepped him and walked to the couch to relax. Nick continued to stand in the entryway, obviously clueless about his next move.

“Come on over here and sit down.” She smothered a laugh as he held the baby in front of him like a ticking bomb. When he gingerly settled onto the couch beside her, she gave him a round of applause. Chrissy picked that moment to smile at him adoringly and he was a goner. She saw him melt before her eyes as another female lost her heart to him.

“Hey, beautiful, are you from around here?” Chrissy grinned at him as if she knew exactly what he was saying. “So, do you want to go out and get a bottle or something one night?” Chrissy gurgled in delight. Apparently, you were never too young to appreciate a hot guy.

Nick looked at Beth and asked, “So, what do we do now, just sit here?”

“Pretty much. Claire said that she had already fed and bathed her. We’ll put her down for bed in about an hour.”

Nick grinned. “An hour? Man, we got off good. If we had held them off until seven we would be home free.” He had barely finished his last sentence when all hell broke loose. One moment Chrissy was smiling and the next moment she looked like Linda Blair in The Exorcist.

My God, they call this a spit-up? It looks more like a nuclear explosion. Nick had vomit dripping down his shirt, running off his arms, and pooling in his lap. Chrissy was apparently thrilled to be rid of the load and cooed happily.

“Holy fuckamoly!”

“Nick! Watch your language.”

“Princess, she can’t talk. I have puke all over me; don’t you think I deserve the satisfaction of some profanity?”

Beth started laughing but was silenced when he thrust the baby in her arms. “I’ve got to get this stuff off me before I add some of my own to it.” Giving her an evil grin, he said, “Good luck, honey.”

Wrinkling her nose at the foul smell, she carried Chrissy to her room and settled her on the changing table. She swiveled her little head around as if looking for Nick. “He’ll be back soon, sweetie, and Auntie Beth will make sure he holds you again.” She managed to strip the baby’s clothes off and give her a quick bath with the warm baby wipes. Getting her dressed again was more challenging with her little legs kicking frantically. After ten minutes of getting one leg in just to have another kick out, Beth was about to give up. She was at her wit’s end when Nick walked in with damp hair, wearing a T-shirt and shorts.

“I had to raid Jason’s closet.” Looking at the stains on Beth’s shirt, he added, “You might want to look through Claire’s.”

“I will if I ever get Chrissy’s clothes on. It’s like trying to dress a wild animal.”

Nick walked over and tickled Chrissy on the stomach, sending her off into a fit of giggles. “Here, you hold her up and I’ll slip her legs in.” Finally, with a little teamwork they had her dressed. Beth was exhausted and ready to collapse.