Baby On The Way Read Online Free PDF Page B

into her sweet-smelling hair, “I’m sorry. I should have called. I just got caught up in—”
    He broke off, wondering how to explain, and she lifted her head. “More important things?” she said sweetly.
    “More urgent things,” he corrected, pressing her face against him again. “I was trying to finish up as quickly as possible to get back so we could.”
    “Take up where we left off?” she said in a muffled voice.
    “Talk,” he said grimly. Taking her by the shoulders, he held her away, giving her a small shake. “Stop putting words in my mouth and admit this baby’s mine.”
    She remained still in his grasp, searching his face. Then her lashes swept down, hiding her expression as she admitted reluctantly, “You’re the father.”
    An intense wave of satisfaction washed over Del, catching him by surprise. He knew it! He knew she hadn’t slept with any other man. His hold on her tightened, and he said encouragingly, “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
    She didn’t respond, and Del gave her another hug. Beneath his palms he could feel the delicate bones of her back. Her breasts were crushed softly against his chest, the harder press of her belly nudged his groin. She felt so slight, so vulnerable, in his hold. She’d been through so much without anyone to lean on. But that was all over now; she had nothing to worry about any longer. Possessive tenderness poured through himand words he’d never intended to say sprang out of his mouth, “I’ll marry you.”
    He clamped his lips shut. But after a brief moment of shock he found to his amazement the words felt right. Marriage—he’d never thought it would be a viable option with his type of job, but now. yeah, that was the answer to the problem. The easiest solution.
    She wouldn’t be on his mind so much if he was married to her.
    Libby hadn’t responded—overcome with gratitude, no doubt. Pleased that he’d solved everything so easily, he gave her another hug. “It shouldn’t be too bad,” he said, thinking aloud. “We can just go on in pretty much the same way we’ve started.” Warming to the idea, he added, “In fact, it might be kind of nice to have a wife to come home to in between jobs. I’ll tell everyone that I’m the father and—”
    “No!” Libby pushed free of his arms.
    Her hair was all ruffled, her brown eyes snapping. Del stared at her angry expression in surprise. “You mean you want to be the one to tell everyone?”
    “No! I mean I don’t want anyone to know you’re the father. Not ever.”

4
    S he was overly tired or feverish, Del decided, noting the bright spots of color on her cheeks. Or possibly her raging hormones were confusing her. Soothingly, he said, “Libby, you’re not making sense. People are bound to know I’m the father when we get married—”
    “We’re not getting married.”
    Seeing the set expression on her face, his noble feeling of self-sacrifice faded. Frowning, he said pointedly, “But we have to get married. You’re having my baby!”
    “You know that, and I know that, but nobody else does,” Libby remarked, stepping away from him to resume her seat. She picked up her yarn again. “And that’s the beauty of my plan.”
    “What plan?”
    “To keep you entirely out of this. After all, it wasn’t your fault I got pregnant.”
    He raked his hand through his hair, barely resisting the urge to clutch at it. “But we just established it was my fault.”
    “No, we didn’t. We merely established that you’re the father,” she said, working her needles. “We used a condom. How were you to know I’d get pregnant?”
    “No one could know that.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong. I did know—or at least I should have.” Libby paused in her knitting and looked up at Del. He was standing in the middle of the room, his expression a mixture of bafflement and anger. Choosing her words carefully to help him understand, she said, “Don’t you see? This baby is the story of my life.