that was a long time ago, and I’m a different person now.” He had no idea just how different, she added silently.
Another long pause. Conflicting emotions chased each other like thunderclouds through his eyes, and he seemed to be having some kind of internal debate about her. She wanted to squirm while he thought it over, but managed to stand her ground, holding his gaze with an unflinching one of her own. If he wanted to boot her out the door, fine. But she wasn’t going to turn tail and slink away like a scolded hound. There was too much at stake for her to be timid now.
“I’m ready for a break,” he finally said. “Let’s go talk in the office.”
It wasn’t exactly the “you’re hired” she’d been wishing for, but he hadn’t thrown her out into the snow, either. Feeling more optimistic than she had in months, Lindsay tried not to get her hopes up as she followed him back through the shop and into the small office. The plate glass that used to separate it from the work area was gone, and in its place was a banged-up piece of plywood that had seen better days. Brian started up a space heater in the corner, and once he closed the door, the interior warmed up quickly.
“I’m parched,” he said as he opened a countertop fridge and took out a bottle of iced tea. “I’ve got water, too. Would you like some?”
Considering his earlier comments, his offer of something to drink was a huge step in the right direction, and she nodded. “Thank you.”
After handing her the bottle, he twisted the top off his and took a long swallow. She sipped hers and held it against her cheek, enjoying the coolness against her skin.
“It’s pretty warm in here,” he said, holding out his hand. “Can I take your coat?”
“No, thanks. I’m fine.”
Her stoic comment earned her a chuckle. “Your face is getting redder by the second. If you’re worried about it getting wrinkled, I can probably scare up a hanger for it.”
“That’s not necessary.” Hearing the stiffness in her voice, she tried in vain to come up with a way to explain her odd behavior. Then, figuring that showing him was better than telling him, she set her water bottle down on the desk and took off her coat.
If she lived to be a hundred years old, she knew she’d never forget the look on his face.
* * *
“You’re pregnant.”
His surprise visitor shook long dark curls back over the shoulders of a maternity top that was better suited for fall than the middle of winter. Meeting his gaze with a directness that was a little unsettling, Lindsay gave him a pitying look. As they stared at each other, that all-too-familiar smirk crinkled the corner of her mouth. “Observant as ever, aren’t you?”
Brian had no clue what else he could possibly say. While his brain was struggling to wrap itself around her stunning revelation, his hackles began to rise, and he fought to keep his voice down. “Is Jeff the baby’s father?”
“Of course he is,” she snapped, flinging her coat onto the cluttered desk in a fit of the flash-fire temper that had apparently not mellowed much over the years. After blowing out an exasperated breath, she faced him squarely, the spirit that had always captivated him glittering in those incredible sky blue eyes. “I was with him for almost six years. Only him,” she added crisply.
Brian had a few choice words to say about the length of their noncommittal relationship, but he kept them to himself. At twenty-seven, he was a contented bachelor and far from being an expert on pregnancy. But he knew enough to be aware that upsetting her wouldn’t be good for Lindsay or the innocent child she was carrying. Whatever had gone on since she broke his heart and left him behind, it apparently hadn’t ended well. Piling on the guilt would only make her feel worse, and while the bitterness he felt toward his ex was still alive and well, browbeating her over mistakes she’d made in the past would be cruel.
“All right, I’m sorry.” Motioning to the desk chair, he said, “Have a seat and let’s start this conversation over again.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and she nailed him with a mistrustful glare. “You’ll be nice?”
“Sure,” he replied, doing his best to appear as if it didn’t bother him that the troubled girl he’d once loved more than anything had unexpectedly dropped back into his life pregnant with another man’s child.
“Promise?”
Some of the defiance left her expression, and he heard the slightest tremble in her soft voice. It made her sound vulnerable, like a frightened little girl who was searching for someone who would reassure her that everything was going to be okay. “Yeah, I promise.”
In his memory, Brian flashed back to his junior year in high school, when Lindsay Holland had been the pretty new sophomore every guy wanted to date. One afternoon, he’d run across her sitting in the stands after a football game, crushed by the self-centered quarterback who’d just dumped her for a cheerleader. After comforting Lindsay, Brian had tracked down the arrogant jerk and made sure that he never forgot what breaking her trusting heart had cost him.
And now, they were together again, in more or less the same set of circumstances. Plus a baby, of course. The irony of the bizarre circle they’d made didn’t escape Brian, and those old protective instincts kicked in, making him wonder where he might find Jeff Mortensen these days. “I never liked the guy, but I can’t believe he’d leave you and his own child to fend for yourselves that way.”
“He doesn’t know about the baby. I found out I was pregnant shortly after he took off.”
“Is that right?”
“I know that look, so don’t even think about it,” Lindsay warned, as if she’d read his mind somehow. “I don’t want you getting into it with Jeff. We’re not teenagers anymore, and you don’t have to defend my honor. I got myself into this mess, and I’ll come up with a way to get out of it. Eventually,” she added glumly.
How she knew what he’d been thinking was beyond him, but Brian chalked it up to their shared history and the fact that he wasn’t really all that complicated. So he shrugged it off and waited for her to get comfortable. Or as comfortable as a pregnant woman could in a straight-back wooden armchair. Once she was facing him, he started again.
Deciding humor was the best approach, he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall beside the beat-up table he used as a desk. “So, Lindsay, how’ve you been?”
Amusement twinkled in her eyes, and at last she smiled. “Good. And you?”
“Questioning my sanity ever since I came up with the idea of rehabbing this place and getting into the iron decor business.”
“How’s it going?”
“Nowhere,” he admitted grimly. “I’ve got a few contracts, but the problem with specialty work is that once you’ve filled an order, there’s no more coming in behind it. My cousin Jordan’s planning to come help out once his summer season is over, which will make a huge difference in the range of products I can offer. The problem is, I’m nowhere near the artist he is, so I have to figure out how to keep from going bankrupt before then.”
“Jordan, your cousin who does metalwork for the art fairs?” When he nodded, she said, “I remember him being
