Everything but the Baby (Harlequin Superromance) Read Online Free PDF

Let’s get something to drink. I think I just sweat out about ninety percent of my bodily fluids.” He tugged at his shirt. “And then, before we doany serious talking, I’d better wash off some of this grime.”
    In the end, she hardly had any time to explore the house. Amazingly, it took him only about fifteen minutes to do it all—toss back a full bottle of Gatorade, send Gigi home for the day, settle Allison in the library, shower and throw on a pair of old jeans and a crisp white shirt.
    She was only on her third bookshelf when he walked back in, still slightly damp and steamy and smelling of expensive soap.
    He buttoned his last button as he entered but didn’t tuck in the shirttail. His hair was wet and darker than ever.
    â€œSo,” he said as he leaned over and extracted two bottled waters from a small refrigerator built into the bottom bookcase that she hadn’t even seen. “I have to admit I’m curious. What’s important enough to bring you all the way across the country? I assume it has something to do with Lincoln Gray.”
    She accepted one of the bottles, nodding. He was taking her arrival quite calmly. It was as if he’d never really doubted that she’d show up, sooner or later.
    â€œIt does,” she said. “I’ve found him.”
    She had surprised Mark. It felt good. He was a very polite and civilized man, but all that confidence could get on your nerves.
    â€œYou did? How?” He frowned over the water, then took a long drink. “My P.I. hasn’t turned up a single lead.”
    â€œWell…” She hesitated. “I had an idea about where to look.”
    His dramatic black brows went up slightly. She’d known this was the tricky part. If she had a lead, why hadn’t she shared it with him a week ago?
    And she had known, even back then, exactly where she’d start the hunt for Lincoln Gray. She decided to return to the spot where she’d met him in the first place—Sole Grande, the South Florida beach resort that catered to the rich and idle. He had a friend who wintered there, an older woman who occasionally loaned Lincoln her mansion during the summer.
    It seemed like a long time ago—though really it had been only about two months. The day she met Lincoln, Allison had been sitting in the airport lounge, waiting for an overdue plane to take her back to Boston.
    It was only about three months after her father’s death and she’d been feeling pretty low. Her mission in Sole Grande—to contact her mother’s family, from whom she’d been estranged for twenty-five years—had been a disappointing failure.
    The O’Haras owned a luxurious beachside hotel called O’Hara’s Hideaway. Allison had made it all the way to the front door and then lost her nerve. How could she go in, announce her connection and expect the fatted calf? She hadn’t reached out to the O’Haras in the past twenty-five years. They’d be insulted if she did so now, as a last resort.
    However, they had been her last resort. An only child, now an orphan, she was absolutely alone. She didn’t even own a dog. Her business was booming, but as the pundits always said, you couldn’t cuddle up next to your bank account on a cold winter night.
    She’d been easy pickings for Lincoln, who had sat next to her in the lounge that day. When she’d tried to discreetly blow her nose, he’d noticed and asked her what was wrong.
    A month later, he’d asked her to marry him. And she’d said yes.
    It had been so simple for him. She thought it just barely possible that he’d go back to Sole Grande now to find another lonely, foolish heiress who would drop into his hands like an overripe plum.
    Still, when her detective called, it had surprised her, just a little, to be right. Lincoln wasn’t exactly hiding under a rock, was he? He obviously believed Allison would be too proud to