Cart Before The Horse Read Online Free PDF

Holly.”
    She let out a long breath and turned away. She wasn’t used to men looking at her the way he did. “Gabe, I’m not in
love with you.”
    “Of course not. You don’t know me.”
    “Right. I should have been in love with you before I went to bed with you. Lack of direction that night. But”—she was talking quickly to get to her point, and she made herself slow down and get it right—“what I want you to know is, we need to establish that we are just two people on this same journey. I don’t want you to expect anything from me.”
    She turned back to him, and he gave her a slow nod. “Can we at least work on being friends? It sounds better than
introducing my child to someone as Junior and his mother, my acquaintance. ”
    She felt foolish, and she assumed that was his
point. “Friends.”
    Gabe sat down on the sofa and set his glass on a coaster on the coffee table. “You’ve been to the doctor?”
    Finally, they were talking about something that was a little more comfortable to her. This was a question she could answer. Even if she didn’t want to think about it.
    “Yes.” She sat down in the chair across from him. “I’m exactly eight weeks along.”
     
    “That gives us a full seven months to plan everything out.” He sat back. “Do you have another appointment set up?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’d like to be there. I’d like to be at all of them.”
    “Is that normal?” She’d be exposing everything to him if he came with her. But how dumb was that? Obviously he wouldn’t be asking to go to prenatal appointments if she hadn’t exposed everything to him once.
    He smiled. “Yes. My brother-in-law even delivered one of my nephews. He said it was amazing.”
    She felt the blood drain from her head. Delivery. That’s right. The unexpected child was going to bring pain.
    Gabe stood and swiftly moved to her. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah. Just a little dizzy.”
    “Would you like to lie down?”
    “Maybe I should.” She stood and Gabe held her arms. She looked up at him. Her child would be good looking, because Gabe was striking. No wonder she’d fallen into his bed.
    She tried to shake off the thought. Friends was all she’d offered, and friends it was going to remain.
    “Will you be okay?” He loosened his grip.
    “I’ll be fine.”
    “I’ll let you be, then. Will you come down to the
restaurant for dinner?”
    “No. I’m okay. Really.”
    “Hey, this is one of those things I can do. I can feed you and feed you well.” He touched her face again and his fingertips lingered on her skin, sending a calmness through her she hadn’t felt in days. His eyes were compassionate, and the thoughts that he was still a stranger began to slide away. “Let me.”
    It meant a lot that she didn’t have to worry he would slip away in the night. He was offering her more than she could have ever expected, and that included decent meals. “I’ll think about it.”
    Gabe pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “And, so I
     
    don’t lose you again, give me your phone number.”
    She took the phone and just looked at it. Agreeing to a meal was one thing. Giving him her number ensured he’d be able to reach her always.
    It wasn’t nearly as big a commitment as having a baby with the man.
    She typed her number into the phone, and he grabbed it back from her.
    “Good.” He saved the information and stuck the phone back into his pocket. When he rubbed his palms on his pants, she knew she wasn’t the only one who was nervous about what they were about to go through. “I’m not kidding. I’m not leaving you. This is our baby. I’m here for both of you.”
    Holly bit the inside of her cheek. Should she kiss him for caring? Or push him out the door before she lost her composure? “Thank you,” she managed, but her voice broke and the tears were bound to come next.
    He walked to the door and opened it as he turned to look at her again. “Dinner. Give it some thought.”
    “I