like I said.”
Naomi just stared at him. Since he was driving, he didn’t take his eyes off the road again, so she couldn’t see if he was joking or not. But he had to be joking. “You’re not serious.”
“Dead serious.”
“Toby,” she argued, “that’s nuts. I mean, it was a sweet thing to do—”
“Screw sweet,” he snapped with a shake of his head. “I wasn’t doing it to be sweet and, okay, fine, I didn’t really think about it before saying it, but once the words were out, they made sense.”
“In a crazy, upside-down world, maybe. Here? Not so much.”
“Think about it, Naomi.”
She lifted one hand to rub her forehead, hoping to ease the throbbing headache centered there. “Haven’t been able to do much else since you blurted out all that.”
“Then think about this. There’s no point in you raising a baby on your own when I’m standing right here.”
“It’s not your baby,” she pointed out.
“It could be,” he countered just as quickly. “I’d be a good father. A good husband.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?”
She lifted both hands and tugged hard on her own hair. Nope, she wasn’t dreaming any of this, which meant she had to get through to him. What he’d just said had touched her. Deeply. To know that he was willing to throw himself on a metaphorical grenade for her meant more than she could say. But that didn’t mean she would actually allow him to claim another man’s child as his own. It wouldn’t be fair to him.
“There are many, many points to be made, but the main one is, I’m not your responsibility,” she said, keeping her voice calm and firm.
“Never said you were,” he said. “You are my friend, though.”
“Best friend,” she corrected, still looking at his profile. “Absolutely.”
“Then accept that as your friend I want to help you.”
“Toby, I can’t let you do that.”
“You’re not letting me, I’m just doing it.” He stopped at a four-way intersection and, when it was clear, drove on toward Royal. “It makes sense, Naomi. For all of us, the baby included. You really want to be all alone in that snazzy condo in Royal? Or would you rather be with me out at the ranch? If we’re living together, that baby has two parents to look out for it. And, big plus, you can stop tying yourself into knots over your folks.”
“So you’re trying to save me.” Just as she’d suspected. “This is all some grand gesture for my sake.”
“And my own,” he said, then muttered something under his breath and pulled the truck over to the side of the road. He parked, turned off the engine, then shifted in his seat to face her.
His eyes, the clear, cool aqua of a tropical sea, fixed on her, and Naomi read steely determination in that stare. She’d seen him this way before. Whenever he had an idea for one of his inventions, he got that I will not be stopped look on his face, in his eyes. If someone told him no about something, he took it as a personal challenge. Once Toby decided on a course of action, it was nearly impossible to get him to change his mind. This time, she told herself, it had to be different.
“I’m not a saint, and I’m not trying to rescue you.”
“Could have fooled me,” she murmured.
He sighed heavily, turned his gaze out on the road stretched out in front of them for a long second or two, then looked back at her. “Hell, Naomi, we’re best friends. We’re both single, and we can raise the baby together. Helping each other. This could work, if you’ll let it.”
A part of her, she was ashamed to admit, wanted to say yes and accept the offer he shouldn’t be making. But he was her friend, so she couldn’t take advantage of him like that. “I don’t need a husband, Toby. I can raise my child on my own.”
Now he sent her a cool, hard stare. “You forget, my mother was a single mom after my dad died. I watched how hard it was for her to be mother and father to me and my sister. To work and take care of the house. To run around after me and Scarlett with no one to help out. You really think I want to sit by and watch you go through the same damn thing?”
She bit her lip. She had forgotten about Toby’s family. His mother, Joyce, was a smart, capable, lovely woman who had worked hard to raise her kids on her own. Now Toby was not just a successful rancher, but a wealthy inventor, and his younger sister, Scarlett, was a veterinarian. “Your mother did a great job with both of you.”
His features evened out, and he gave her a smile. “And we thank you. But my point is, you don’t have to do it the hard way like my mom did. Mom didn’t have anyone to help her. You have me.”
“I know,” she said, taking a breath to calm the anger bubbling inside. “I really do know. But you don’t have to marry me, Toby.”
“Who said anything about have to?” he asked. “I want to. We’re good together, Naomi. There’s plenty of room at the ranch. You can take over one of the bedrooms for an office. It’s not far from the studio where you film your show...”
True. All true. There was a small studio at the edge of Royal where her cable TV show, Fashion Sense, was recorded once a week. And to be honest, being at the ranch would get her away from most of the gossiping tongues in town, and once Maverick’s video hit, she’d be grateful for that.
“It’s a great idea, Naomi. Hell, even your parents liked it.”
She choked out a laugh. “Of course they did. Toby McKittrick—inventor, rancher, wealthy. I’m surprised my mother didn’t squeal.”
He gave her a half smile and a slow shake of his head. “You’re being too hard on her. On both of them.”
“I know that, too,” she said with a sigh. She smoothed her fingertips over her knees. “They’re not evil people. They’re not even really mean. They just live in a very narrow world and it’s never had room for me.”
He reached out and took her hand, stilling nervous fingers. “There’s room for you with me.”
“Toby...” Naomi didn’t know what to think. Or feel. He was right in that they were good together. They were already friends, and maybe a marriage of convenience would be good for both of them. But was it fair to him? “If we’re married, you can’t find someone for real.”
“Not interested,” he said firmly with a shake of his head. “Been there already, and it didn’t end well.”
Naomi sighed again. She couldn’t blame him for feeling burned in the love department. She could, however, blame the woman who’d hurt him enough that Toby had built a wall around his heart that was so tall and thick it had taken Naomi months to reach past it.
“Fine. You’re not looking for love. Neither am I,” she added in a mutter. “But that
