they had spoken, Victoria had been spouting nonsense about how she believed that Jordana’s marriage to Tanner was inevitable. That they belonged together in the same way Victoria and her fiancé, Garrett, did. Victoria swore she could feel it in her bones. What her cousin didn’t realize was just because she and Garrett fell in love didn’t mean it would work out for Jordana and Tanner.
Tanner simply didn’t see her “that way.” If he did, he would’ve called her during the past four months. But he hadn’t. Not even once.
As she watched the timer tick down the remaining minute before she had to go back into the living room and face Tanner, she knew she needed to come up with a plan.
Think …
After one night together, she didn’t know him very well. They’d danced and made small talk the evening of Wendy and Marcos’s wedding. It was enough time to form the conclusion that he probably was a decent guy. A decent guy who’d followed up on his responsibility after her cousin spilled the beans.
She needed to let him know he was released from all obligation. Off the hook. Dismissed. She had a sinking feeling nice guys didn’t walk away from their duty that easily.
The timer dinged. She plunged the press pot’s filter, then poured the steaming brew into a large ceramic mug and carried it and her tea around the corner into the living room with what she hoped was confident ease.
It was time to face the music. The sooner they got down to business, the sooner Tanner Redmond headed back to Texas and out of her life.
He sat up straighter in the chair as she approached, but not before she’d glimpsed the slump of his shoulders that belied the burden he was carrying. He looked big and bulky and slightly out of place folded into the floral-print chair. And really handsome, she thought, before she caught herself.
“Here you go.” She handed him the mug. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m due in the office for a conference call in less than an hour and I still have to get dressed. So drink up.”
He lifted his eyebrows but held her gaze. “I didn’t come here to drink coffee. Though I do appreciate you making it for me—”
“I know. So, let’s cut to the chase. You’re here because my cousin Victoria made you believe I need your help. I don’t. I may be pregnant, but I’m not in trouble. I’m going to have this baby, and you are under absolutely no obligation to me or to the child.” She paused and drew in a deep breath, hoping to quell another wave of nausea. “I think that covers just about everything.”
She remained standing, hoping he’d take the hint. Instead, he took a long sip from the mug. “Mmm … good coffee.”
Seriously? Irritation skittered along her nerves. “Tanner, did you hear what I said?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I heard you. But what you don’t seem to understand is this isn’t just your child. It’s mine, too. You may think you have it all under control, but you need to know right now. I’m not leaving here until you agree to marry me. Because no child of mine will be born out of wedlock.”
“Marry you?” she squeaked.
He watched the emotions play out on her face. First, confusion. Next, a look that resembled something just short of horror. Then the color faded from her cheeks, leaving her deathly pale. Despite the spectrum of emotion, the stubborn set of her jaw never eased.
So, she was going to make this hard on both of them. Didn’t she understand it could be so simple? Really. All she had to do was the right thing and agree to marry him, and then he’d leave—for the moment, anyway. She could get dressed, go to the office for her phone meeting—or whatever it was she needed to do—while he made arrangements with a notary or the justice of the peace to marry them right here in Atlanta. They would make their union legal sooner rather than later. For the sake of the baby.
Or maybe because he wanted to pin her down now before she managed to slip away again like she did the last time he saw her. The morning after the storm, he’d taken her to find her family and she’d left him with a handshake. A handshake and a “Thanks … for everything.” He’d known his share of women—spent the night with more than a few—but none had ever shaken his hand the morning after.
“Look, Tanner, you can’t just waltz into my home and expect me to marry you.” She looked exasperated. “Do you really think that’s the answer to this … this … situation?”
So, that’s what she wanted to call it. He looked at her for a moment, weighing his words. “Who else knows about our little situation?”
She crossed her arms over her ribs, pressing the robe against her frame. She didn’t look pregnant, but then again, he had no idea how far along women were when they started showing.
“No one else knows I’m pregnant, and I’d like to keep it that way. For now, at least.”
“Well, they’re going to find out eventually. Don’t you think it would be better to hear it from you … or us? Do you have any idea what it was like to learn that the woman I hadn’t spoken to in four months was pregnant with my child? Jordana, why didn’t you tell me before Victoria forced your hand? Why didn’t you call?”
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking a little guilty. “I’ve only known I was pregnant for about three months.”
She was hedging. “Three months is long enough. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I guess I was afraid. So many pregnancies don’t make it past the first trimester. I just didn’t want to alarm you.”
“Alarm me?” he said. “Were you ever going to fill me in?”
Her mouth held that stubborn line, but then he realized her brown eyes were swimming with tears. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I never meant for this to happen.”
The hard-nosed approach to getting Tanner Redmond out of her condo hadn’t worked. But the tears did. Jordana wasn’t an actress. The waterworks were genuine, compliments of the perfect storm of pregnancy hormones and frustration that consumed her all at once. It hit like an emotional tidal wave crashing down on her before she could run for cover.
After that, Tanner had easily agreed to give her time to think, time to get dressed so she could make her meeting on time—but only after she’d agreed to meet him for lunch tomorrow—Saturday, her day off.
She lifted the mug of naturally decaffeinated English breakfast tea and sipped at it tentatively, unsure of how her stomach would respond. But it was her conscience that felt ill. She’d decided the best way to let him off the hook was if she unexpectedly got “called out of town” tomorrow.
Jordana had decided she’d be doing Tanner a favor by doing this. Her administrative assistant, Marta, would call and deliver the news later this afternoon. She’d tell him, No, unfortunately, she was not certain when Jordana would return.
That meant there would be no way Tanner, who had a business to run back in Red Rock, would be able to wait for her in Atlanta. He’d have to get back to tend to his flight school. Once he was able to put some distance between them and think things out rationally, he’d realize getting married was not the answer. They’d work out a visitation schedule—one of the perks of Tanner being a pilot was he’d be
