Chapter Six
Peanut butter and jelly had never tasted this good when she was a kid. Now she was going to have one of her own and Cindy figured that was the reason.
She took the last bite of the sandwich she’d brought to work, savoring the sweet grape jelly mixing with the crunchy, salty softness of the peanut butter. She was sitting in the hospital’s serenity garden and savored that, too. It was peaceful, and she could use more peace in her life. Ever since she’d won that pesky raffle ticket, peace had been hard to come by.
She pressed the palm of her hand against her still-flat stomach and tried to really grasp the fact that a baby was in there. A baby fathered by Nathan Steele. Life as she’d known it would never be the same.
She was going to be a mom.
Part of her was starting to get excited at the prospect. The other part wondered how in the world she was going to do this on her own. Because, despite what Nathan had said to her about helping, she didn’t really believe he’d stick around.
And she was pretty sure she didn’t want him to.
At least he was honest, not trying to hide the fact that his birth control had failed. He’d only made a small blip on the blame-game meter when he’d hinted that she should be on the pill.
If only …
Because she’d sworn never to be stupid about a man again, alternative precautions and the resulting bloat and water retention had seemed unnecessary. Now she was looking at about eight months of both. Not to mention figuring out how to do it all and pay the bills.
“Hi, there.”
The voice came from behind her. It was deep and familiar and sucked the serenity right out of the garden.
Cindy half-turned just for visual confirmation that thoughts of him just moments ago hadn’t conjured him up. The blue scrubs, thick dark hair and serious expression equaled Nathan Steele.
“Hi.” She wadded up the plastic sandwich wrap and squeezed it into her palm.
He sat on the wooden bench beside her and glanced around at the shallow pond with the bridge curving over it. Several benches and chairs were scattered around the area. Three sides of the hospital threw the bushes, flowers and grass into shade.
“What are you doing here?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been here before.” His response didn’t actually answer the question.
“So your showing up while I’m having lunch is purely coincidence?” If so, she was going to have to burn a candle or something to reverse her continuing bad karma.
“Harlow told me this is where I might find you.”
Had he been looking for her? She didn’t like the stagger of her heart when she made that wild leap. She couldn’t go soft now. It was bad enough that through a horrible twist of fate this man had fathered her baby. One day he’d unjustly yelled at her and the next thing she knew she was pregnant. In between he’d refused to take a negative response regarding her phone number and she hadn’t stopped him when he’d kissed her. But kissing him had felt too good and now there were consequences.
Again, it was probably better to confirm. “Why did Harlow tell you where I was?”
“Because I asked,” he said simply.
Damn, there was that little heart skip again. She’d like to blame it on the changes of her body from the pregnancy, but that was probably not the case. How could this happen when she wasn’t even sure she liked him?
That thought didn’t even come close to stopping the pulse in her neck from throbbing, and her voice was just a little breathless. Darn him anyway. “Why did you ask?”
“How are you feeling?” Again he gave her a non-answer.
“Tired,” she admitted.
“Still nauseous?”
“A little.”
He glanced at the brown bag on the bench between them. “Lunch?”
“Peanut butter and jelly.”
He frowned. “Technically you’re not really eating for two, but the embryo will take what it needs from you. Nutrition is really important to its development.”
How clinical of him. A change from the flash of feeling displayed when he’d said this was his baby, too. That had melted her heart a little. Her bad.
“I did some research online. I know that eating right is the best thing for the baby.” She met his gaze. “Protein is important and peanut butter has lots of it.”
“Along with fat,” he pointed out.
“It’s a good fat. Better yet, it doesn’t make me want to throw up. And it’s not expensive.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “I just wanted to make sure this wasn’t a soup and crackers week.”
“You mean just before payday.” She refused to be ashamed of her strict budget. It was digging her out of a deep hole. “As it happens, this is the lean week.”
“Right.” He met her gaze. “If you run short, I can help you out. Healthy food is usually more expensive, but right now it isn’t an area of your budget that you should be downsizing.”
“You’re right.” She said that because he was right, but it didn’t constitute agreement to take anything from him.
“Have you made an appointment yet with an obstetrician?”
“Not just an appointment. I’ve actually seen the doctor, even though it still feels surreal to me,” she said. She’d called the day after telling him, and Dr. Hamilton’s staff managed to fit her in right away.
“Good. Prenatal care is the first line of defense to prevent premature birth,” he calmly pointed out.
“I’m on it,” she promised.
“Glad to hear that.” He looked around the garden again. “It’s nice out here.”
“Yeah. Quiet. This is a nice break from work. I’ve been really busy today.”
He frowned. “You have to be careful. Don’t overdo. Take it easy.”
“I’m pregnant, not an invalid.”
The retort was automatic, but for just a moment this conversation had felt like a fantasy. They could be a couple. He could be a guy sincerely anxious for the woman he cared about who was carrying his child.
Then reality reared its ugly head. She was carrying his child, but they weren’t now, nor would they ever be, a couple. The truth was that he didn’t care about her any more than she cared about him.
His concern was for this child. His job was saving
