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didn’t… I mean.” She sat back down. “I’m sorry. I’m a bit out of sorts.”
    “That makes two of us.” He covered her hand with his. “I didn’t wake up thinking that in”—he wrinkled up his forehead—“seven months I was going to be a father.”
    “Wasn’t on my to-do list either.”
    “Then we need to make some decisions. Together.” He squeezed her hand. “I like you, Holly. I’ve thought about you every day since I met you. You don’t expect anything from me, but I’m here. I’m the father of your child and you’re the mother of mine. I’m not going to skip out on my responsibility. So whether we’re just friends, or even acquaintances, for the rest of our lives, we’ll always be bound by this child. I’m not a weekend-dad kind of man. I want to be hands on. So we need to decide how we do this.”
    Tears were welling in her eyes, and as hard as she tried, Holly couldn’t bat them away before they fell. “I’m going to be a horrible mother.”
    “No you’re not.”
    She nodded. “I’m too stuffy and uptight.”
    “Then you’ll learn to relax.”
    “I’m an overachiever. I’ll drive this kid insane.”
    “Or you’ll teach him how to do his best. Or her.”
    She began to laugh through her tears. His sense of humor made her want to know more about him, about how he’d turned out so well. “How long have your parents been married?”
    “Forty-five years. Yours?”
    “Thirty-three.”
    “Well, it’s good to know we both come from solid homes. My four sisters have ten children between them. I’ve got the
     
    uncle thing down pretty well.”
    Holly felt her body heat rise, and she wiped her hand over her forehead. “I’ve never been around a baby in my life.”
    He touched her cheek and wiped away a lingering tear. “It’ll come. I’ll be there, and God knows my mother will be too.” Gabe stood and helped Holly to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight. “Do you live close by?”
    “Yes. Just a few blocks away.”
    “Can we go back there? Talk? I don’t have to be back to the restaurant until four.” He gathered their cups. “Unless you need to get back to work.”
    “No, Tracy gave me the day off to find you.”
    “Smart woman.”
    “Yes, she is.”
    Holly gathered her purse and walked out of the coffee shop with Gabe. She couldn’t believe that she’d found him and now was headed back to her apartment with him. She stopped and let that sink in. She’d never invited a man up to her place—well, not one she didn’t know completely. How stupid did that sound? The man was the father of her child. It was certainly not the time to worry about inviting him into her home.
     
    Gabe insisted on taking a taxi to her condo. In all the years she’d lived in Denver she’d never taken a taxi, but he was being thoughtful and she accepted his graciousness.
    Holly opened the door to her condo, and Gabe followed her inside. He walked right through the living room and to the bank of windows that looked west over the city and toward the welcoming ridge of the Rocky Mountains.
    “Holly, this is amazing.”
    “I suppose it is. I’ll admit, I don’t notice it too much
anymore.”
    “How could you not? Look, you can watch that car all the way to the highway.” He let out a chuckle. “This is awesome.”
    Holly hung up her jacket and walked to the small kitchen.
     
    Her heartbeat was ramping up, knowing he was in her home—in her life.
    She opened the cupboard and pulled out two glasses, which she filled with water from the tap on the refrigerator. When she walked back to the living room, she found he had pulled back the blinds and was watching the world at his feet.
    “It’s more impressive from the roof,” she offered.
    “Really?” He spun around and his eyes danced. “I’d love
to see that.”
    “Some other time. Water?”
    “Sure.” He took the glass from her and settled his gaze on her. “You’re a beautiful woman,