man who not only made her pulse dance, but made her think warm thoughts of all kinds.
Ordinarily that would make her back away and find an excuse to be somewhere else. But she couldn’t do that with Jake Martin. She was starting to wish she could think of a reason to ask him over for dinner.
Wait. She had the perfect reason.
His house had practically exploded that afternoon. He couldn’t go back there until something was done about the mess. So she wouldn’t feel hesitant about asking him over—even if it was to her sister’s house. She smiled again and waited for a chance to get an invitation in.
But meanwhile, there was the question of that important thing that made him want to learn how to run a house.
“Am I supposed to guess what it is?” she asked.
She was almost flirting now. Maybe she ought to hold that back for the time being. She’d forgotten how much fun it could be—that little surge of electricity as your eyes met his—that little bobble of excitement in your chest. Flirting. She was going to have to work on it a bit, but it could be an asset. She bit her lower lip and waited for an answer.
“No, of course not,” he said, his blue eyes sparkling. “Sorry to be so secretive, but there are reasons.”
“Go ahead,” she said recklessly. “You can tell me anything.”
He hesitated, looking at her as though trying to decide if he could trust her.
She smiled, trying to look trustworthy.
He shrugged. “Okay, I’ll tell you why.” He leaned forward so that he could speak more confidentially. “I’m about to become a father. And I’ve got to learn how to take care of my little girl as quickly as I can.”
CHAPTER TWO
SARA GAZED AT Jake, amazed. A little girl—just like Savannah. Funny how similar their stories seemed to be. Maybe he was adopting his little girl, the same way she was adopting hers. Or maybe—she glanced at his hand, looking for a ring and he noted her interest with a crooked grin.
“No, I’m not married,” he said. “But I do have a little girl and in a few days, she’ll be with me. I’ve got to be ready to take care of her. I’ve got to learn all this stuff.”
“Of course you do.”
She smiled at him. Finally there was a flicker of warmth in his eyes and it had to be because he was talking about his baby. She knew the feeling. She’d considered herself a career woman for years until Savannah had come into her life. And now her entire reality was totally focused on that child.
She leaned forward, wanting to know all about it but not wanting to seem too nosy. She thought of her own nine-month-old baby, and her smile widened. He was in for such joy if his experience was even half as rewarding as hers had been.
Savannah had been the child of her younger half sister. After Kelly died in a car accident, Sara had volunteered to take her. She’d been reluctant at first. She and her sister Jill hadn’t had any contact with Kelly for a long time and knew nothing about her baby. Besides, Sara was about to make a major step forward in her career, a job that would take all her time.
But in the end, the baby came first.
Now she couldn’t even remember that struggle to decide very clearly. Her very existence revolved around this baby she’d only had for less than six months. She couldn’t imagine life without her. In just a few minutes she would get a chance to tell Jake all about her. The anticipation made her smile.
“I’ve always been a quick study in my line of work,” Jake said. “And since I didn’t know anything, I decided the best thing to do would be to just start teaching myself how to cook and to clean and all the rest. Just go ahead and jump in with both feet. So today was the day.” He threw his head back and groaned. “Disaster.”
She had to admit that was pretty accurate. “Think of it as a learning experience,” she told him. “I think you need more planning ahead of time. And maybe lessons would help.”
“Lessons.” He nodded, thinking that over. “Maybe you could teach me a few more tricks?” He looked at her, his face endearingly pathetic.
“Why not?”
That was her first, exuberant reaction, but it only took seconds to make her wonder what the heck she thought she was getting into. Her interior watchdog was yelling, “No, no, no, no!” That was exactly what she’d programmed it to do if she was ever in danger of falling for a man again. But she was very tempted to ignore it. Maybe her luck had changed. How would she ever know if she didn’t try?
“So tell me about your little girl,” she said, wondering if it would be a good time to ask him what his dinner plans were. Maybe not. Better wait another ten minutes or so. “How old is she? When did you see her last?”
He frowned. “I think she’s about nine months old,” he said. “I think that’s what they told me.”
Nine months. That was the same as Savannah. “You’re adopting her?” Sara asked.
But he shook his head. “No. She’s mine. I just didn’t know about her until I got released from the camp and sent home to the States.”
Somewhere deep inside, very near her heart, a new warning was beginning to send a small, nervous signal to her brain. She touched her breastbone with her fingers, gently pushing as though she could push the feeling back. But it just got stronger. Something wasn’t quite right here.
But that was silly. She had no real reason to think that at all. He was telling her the facts as he knew them—why would that be threatening? She was being ridiculous. Probably because she wasn’t used to talking to men like this.
“What’s your baby’s name?”
He shook his head. “Funny thing is, they never told me that. I guess I’ll be able to name her whatever I want.”
“So you’ve never seen her?”
“No.” His smile was brilliant. “But I’ve seen pictures, and she’s a beauty—a little blonde with dark eyes and the biggest smile I’ve ever seen.”
Sara was feeling sick. She wasn’t sure why. But something was beginning to feel very wrong. Why did everything he said seem to have such a close resemblance to her Savannah?
Stop it, she told herself. That’s crazy. What he is describing is the picture of almost any little nine-month-old girl. Don’t let your imagination carry you away. Just stop it!
“What happened to her mother?” she asked, surprised to hear how raspy her voice sounded.
He shook his head. “She’s out of the picture,” was all he said.
What did that mean? That she didn’t want the child? That she didn’t want a relationship with Jake? That she was an unfit mother and he had to take over? It could mean a thousand things. It could also mean—no, she didn’t want to go there.
“So they’ve told you that your baby is all yours?” she asked, feeling breathless.
