Expecting the Boss's Baby Read Online Free PDF Page B

valued the longevity and comfort of their friendship. Donna’s wide-eyed baby face belied her worldly-wise mind.
    “I’m surprised you were able to get away from work,” Donna said as they shared a small tableoverlooking the pond. “It seems like your lunch hours are always used for special projects for the mighty Michael.”
    “I’m not working for the mighty Michael anymore,” she said. “I quit.”
    Donna’s brown eyes rounded. “You’re joking!”
    “No. I’m pregnant,” she said, and Kate told her the whole story to the accompaniment of Donna’s repeated gasps.
    “His financial statement,” Donna said and tried unsuccessfully to swallow a chuckle. “I’m curious. What did it say?”
    Kate threw her a sideways glance. “I didn’t look. I already know he’s got a lot in the bank. I just don’t know how terrible it would be to marry him knowing he doesn’t even believe in love.” She tossed some breadcrumbs toward the geese that begged from the luncheon crowd.
    Donna made a face and sighed. “It’s admirable that he wants to take care of you and the baby. I hate to say it, but he may be too damaged from his upbringing to really be able to love someone. This won’t be a marriage like your parents have.”
    Donna was voicing all of Kate’s concerns. “I know,” she said glumly. “It’s not that he’s a bad person, but since he didn’t have an example of how to live in a family, I’m afraid he really won’t know how.”
    “You can’t tell me you didn’t see this coming like a freight train,” Donna said. “You’ve worked with him for three years.”
    Kate felt a rush of embarrassment at her foolishness. “That’s part of the problem. The only way I know him is through work, and even though that might have consumed a lot of hours, there are things Michael never mentioned about himself. I know it sounds silly, but I just thought I had a terrible, terrible crush. Since we spent that night together, I’ve been on an emotional seesaw.”
    Donna groaned. “How hard is he pushing?”
    “Very hard,” Kate said, feeling the beginning of a headache.
    Donna reached over and squeezed her arm. “You could always move to France.”
    Kate gave a half-hearted smile. Throughout their friendship, they’d taken turns offering the fantasy of moving to France as a way to escape the crisis du jour.
    “Whatever you do, don’t fall in love with him until he falls in love with you,” Donna said.
    Kate frowned. “What do you mean don’t fall for him? I thought I already had.”
    “You fell into lust, infatuation. Both of those are temporary. Real love is terminal,” Donna said cheerfully. “My mother always told me never to marry anyone who didn’t love me more than I loved him. So if you decide to marry him, you just need to make him fall in love with you. Or make sure you don’t fall in love with him.”
    “Great,” Kate said wryly. “Do any of these pearls of wisdom come with a magic wand?”

Three
    “M ichael, if you don’t stop talking about the financial arrangements pertaining to this marriage, I’m going to throw up.”
    Michael blinked. “Okay,” he said, setting his papers on the end table beside her sofa.
    His unswerving focus on her never failed to unnerve her. She would have to find a way to get over that if she was actually going to go through with this. She’d been unable to sleep thinking about it. It seemed so terribly wrong not to marry for love, but in the stillness of the middle of the night when it was just her heartbeat and her baby’s, Kate asked herself if she’d be able to live withherself if she didn’t try. Looking at Michael, she prayed she was making the right choice. “I have other concerns.”
    “Such as?”
    “Where we will live, how we will relate to each other, the wedding,” she said, thinking that those barely scratched the surface.
    “That’s easy,” he said, waving his hand. “You can choose a house where you’d like us to live.