way arousal had slammed him when she opened the door. Not once had he ever noticed a pregnant woman at the grocery store and thought, Wow, she’s sexy. Apparently Lina was different.
Part of it, he guessed, was the fact that she was carrying his baby. And then there were all the memories of that night, and especially of the morning when he’d made her pregnant. God, it had been amazing. He’d never felt anything like that before.
Also, unlike the day before, she wasn’t making any effort to disguise her pregnancy. No coat or thigh-length sweater. Nope, over black leggings she wore a stretchy black top that clung like a second skin to the generous curves of her body. Maybe she’d planned to do yoga or something. Her feet were bare, too. He kept finding himself fascinated by her long toes and high arches. With the nails unpainted, her feet looked innocent. Maybe she couldn’t reach them anymore, it occurred to him.
Her cheeks were turning pink, which meant he was staring.
He felt some heat in his own face. “Do you have plans tonight?”
“Why?”
“Because my brother and sister-in-law suggested you join us for dinner.”
Her mouth fell open. “You told them about me?”
“Shouldn’t I have?”
“I don’t know! We haven’t decided anything!”
“You decided to admit that you’re pregnant with my child.”
“Yours? Like you own her?”
“You know that’s not what I mean,” he said, exasperated. Why would she flip out because he’d told his brother she was pregnant?
Her eyes narrowed. “Did you tell them how it happened?”
Until this minute, it hadn’t occurred to him that she might mind, and why. Oh, crap. Should he lie? Be honest?
No lies, he decided, not ever. “I did,” he admitted.
Lina’s glare felt like the midday, equatorial sun. He’d wake up in pain tomorrow. Her voice, in contrast, was exquisitely polite if also steely. “Then you may tell them thank you, that I appreciate their kindness, but no, I can’t join them tonight.”
He had to fix this. “They’re not judgmental people, Lina. Once they knew your due date, they’d have figured out when you got pregnant. That alone would tell them I’d done something stupid.”
“Which stupid thing are you talking about? Not wearing a condom? Or did you mean, being careless enough to leave the wedding invitation lying in plain sight? But wait. Maybe you did that on purpose to make sure I didn’t hang around with any illusions, like hoping that we’d just had a beautiful beginning.”
“We did have a beautiful beginning,” he snapped, then was shocked when he realized what he’d said. But he tried to be honest with himself, and he’d felt something unfamiliar that morning. The timing might have sucked, but the woman and he had meshed in a whole lot of ways.
She blinked a couple times, obviously taken aback. “Why would you say that?”
Bran rolled his shoulders. “Because it’s true. I don’t make a habit of picking up women in bars. Yeah, I had too much to drink, and yeah, having Paige dump me at the last minute like that stung, but that’s not why I wanted you. You’re beautiful, and you seemed sad, and I liked you.” He felt awkward. “I would have asked you out if you’d still been there when I came out of the bathroom.”
“Oh.” Lina nibbled on her lower lip for a moment. Her gaze shied away from his momentarily before connecting again. “I would have said yes.”
“Good.” It was too soon to suggest marriage, even if he’d like to have it settled. His plan to create a family had stumbled over an obstacle, but now he had another chance. One he liked even better.
One step at a time, he told himself. Zach was right, he’d need to find out why she’d gotten drunk and had sex with a stranger. This wasn’t the moment, though, especially not if he wanted to spend Christmas Eve with her.
So, keeping his voice gentle, he said, “You didn’t answer my question about tonight. Do you have plans?”
After a moment, she shook her head.
“Then won’t you come with me to Zach’s? I’d really like you to get to know my brother and sister-in-law.”
She searched his eyes, her own betraying more vulnerability than she’d probably like. “Are you sure I’m welcome?”
“I’m sure.”
Her knotted hands clenched and tightened a couple times. “Okay. I admit, I wasn’t looking forward to tonight, especially not after...you know.”
He nodded. “I do know. Uh... I’d better get back to work. I’ll pick you up at five thirty, if that works.”
“Thank you,” she said with dignity. “Can I bring anything? I mean, food?”
He guessed there’d be plenty, but he said, “Don’t rush out to the grocery store, but if there’s a dish you can make easily, Tess would probably appreciate it. I know she’s baking a ham.”
She told him she’d think of something, and escorted him to the door. Bran wanted to touch her, but the way she held herself aloof told him that wouldn’t be smart. Soon, he told himself. He’d just achieved a significant win. He shouldn’t get greedy.
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