marked with a stork. Maybe she was alone, then. Luke rolled down his window and settled in to wait.
The cool spring sunshine did nothing to temper his mood. He stared unmoved at the pale green leaves of the aspen grove at the edge of the parking lot. A wall of gray clouds gathered at the horizon, and Luke chose to focus on those instead. By two o’clock, the town would be beset by thunder and lightning, a fairly common occurrence on spring days. What a relief that would be. The sun and chirping birds and flip-flops were just too much to take.
So he watched the clouds gather beyond the building and let his eyes slide to the entry each time the door opened. A half hour later, the door swung out to reveal Simone, alone. She juggled a stack of pamphlets while digging for keys in her purse.
Luke slid out of his car, and when his door shut, she looked up. For a moment, Simone only looked concerned. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing. I was just … worried about you.”
Her eyes jumped to his car, then back to him, and her face stiffened. “Are you following me?”
“No.”
“Really?” she snapped. “Because I don’t remember giving you the name and address of my doctor.”
“I didn’t follow you. I … detected my way here.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes. This is outrageous.”
He knew she was pissed. Hell, she was way past pissed if her flaring nostrils and reddening face were any indication. So Luke tried to tamp down his own feelings. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you going through this alone.”
She pushed past him and hit the unlock key, then threw everything into the passenger seat before rounding on him again. “How did you know I was alone? Or …” She gestured toward his car. “Was that the point of this? To find out who might be here with me?”
“No. No! It’s not about who the father is. I—”
“Really? Because you ask me every damn day. I’m sorry people think it’s you. I tell everyone who asks that it’s not. You’re the one who stopped denying it!”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
She threw her hands high. “I don’t need your protection!”
“Why not?” he yelled. Before the words had even left his mouth, he scrubbed his eyes with one hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, I just … You’ve totally shut me out.”
Simone’s hand touched his arm, and when he looked down, he realized she hadn’t touched him in months. Not that she’d ever been overtly affectionate, but she’d never avoided him before.
“I’m sorry, Luke,” she said. “I’m sorry for what people are saying. And I’m sorry I can’t talk to you. I am.” Her fingers curled around his elbow, digging in. “I’m sorry about it all.”
Oh, Jesus. He started to reach for her, but she jerked away and dropped into the driver’s seat of her car.
“Just leave it alone, all right? I’m fine.” She slammed the door, nearly catching Luke’s elbow in the process, and he jumped back just as the engine roared to life. Simone roared out of there like a pregnant NASCAR driver, and she left Luke more frustrated than ever.
The door of the office opened behind him, and Luke looked back to be sure it wasn’t a big hulking bastard wearing a sign that said I Knocked Up Simone Parker. But it was just a petite blonde woman in pink scrubs. No such luck.
Thunder cracked in the distance, and Luke looked at his watch, hoping that he’d been standing there for hours and the day was almost done. But no, it wasn’t even noon. The whole day stretched before him, and most of it would be spent sitting next to his stubborn-ass partner. And now he didn’t even have the small hope that Tessa Donovan might call again.
Shit. The nausea in his stomach had focused itself into one spot, and Luke could already feel the ulcer starting. Yet another one to add to his collection.
CHAPTER SIX
BITCH, TESSA THOUGHT to herself, squeezing her fists tighter. Her knuckles shone white beneath the skin, and her nails bit into her palms, but she squeezed harder. She wanted to get up and pace, but she wouldn’t give Roland Kendall’s snotty receptionist the pleasure. The woman was already nasty enough, and she’d clearly relished the past four hours of watching Tessa squirm.
Two hours into it, she’d been forced to call in sick to work. She’d explained to Eric that her doctor wanted to run routine blood tests but she needed to go to a lab in Denver. To temper the lie, she said she’d take a vacation day and do some shopping, too.
He’d seemed distracted, and when she’d asked why, Eric said he was having trouble getting in touch with Roland Kendall. Tessa had felt as if she’d been flashed into another dimension at that moment. A world made of ice and anxiety.
But she’d talked herself down. Eric always had trouble getting in touch with Kendall because Kendall made a point of being hard to reach.
Nothing had changed except that now he was keeping two Donovans waiting.
Tessa glared at the receptionist’s bent head, focusing hard in the hopes that frustration would act as a magnifying glass and burn a hole into the woman’s scalp. But she didn’t even twitch. Not until Kendall’s office door opened and the man himself came into view.
Tessa sprang to her feet as Kendall walked out with his arm thrown around the shoulders of a man Tessa recognized from the newspaper. The Denver mayor, maybe? No, someone more important. A congressman.
Though she was standing three feet away, Kendall ignored her entirely as he walked his friend out.
For a moment, she considered following them out, then decided that kind of determination might get you arrested when a U.S. congressman was involved. So she held her ground, and a few minutes later, Kendall returned. He spared her a hard look.
“Mr. Kendall,” Tessa said brightly as she stepped into his path. “I’m Tessa Donovan.”
“I know who you are.”
Uh-oh. His voice dripped frost and disdain. He knew. There was no other explanation.
“I hoped we might be able to speak in private for a few minutes.”
“Is there really any point to that?”
Oh, God. This was bad. “I hope so, yes.”
“I’ll save you the time. I—”
“Please?” she asked softly. “Just one minute?” The man finally relented, whatever good that would do her.
He stalked into his office with Tessa on his heels. She closed the door behind her.
“Sit,” he said gruffly, waving toward a chair. She sat, but when he only stood above her, looming and stern, she stood again.
“My brother—”
