Page 37 of Taming a Heartbreaker

“No, there’s nothing else I need,” she said, padding over to the bed. He watched as she threw back the covers, and then, ignoring his presence, untied her robe and shrugged it off her shoulders to place at the foot of her bed. Then she eased into the bed. It suddenly occurred to him that this was the first time he’d seen a woman get into a bed without him.

When she was beneath the covers, she shifted to what he knew was her favorite position. Then she raised her head from the pillow to glance over at him. “Is something wrong?”

“What makes you think that?”

She gave him one of those “duh” looks before saying, “You’re just standing there staring at me.”

“Oh, sorry. I guess I was thinking that you don’t look pregnant.” That hadn’t been what he’d been thinking; however, at the moment, that was the best answer he could come up with.

A smile touched her lips. She wouldn’t smile so often if she knew what it did to him. “It’s early yet. The baby is still small. No larger than a lemon at this point.”

He chuckled. “Hard to believe something that small could cause so much trouble.”

She chuckled as well. “Like I told you, I’m going to have a lot to tell our child when he or she gets older.”

He nodded. “I’ll let you get some rest now. Good night, Carmen.”

He was headed toward the door when she called out to him. “Redford?”

He turned around. “Yes?”

“Could you close the curtains? I prefer not looking at the stars.”

He paused to consider what she’d just said. He couldn’t help but recall the night she’d not only looked at the stars but had also made a wish upon them. So had he. He also remembered her telling him how much she enjoyed staring at them while in bed. Was what happened the night they spent together the reason she preferred not looking at the stars now?

“Why not? It’s a beautiful night,” he decided to say.

She glanced out the window and then looked back at him. That’s when he saw the pain in her eyes thanks to the moonlight peeking through that same window. Her voice was almost a whisper, “Like I said, I prefer not looking at them.”

In a way, he had his answer. Crossing the room, he closed the curtains, bringing the room into total darkness. He moved to leave the room again as she said, “Thanks.”

He didn’t deserve her thanks because he now knew that, although not intentionally, he had hurt her. Both Sloan and Leslie had told him he had. Now he saw it for himself and his heart ached.

“Honestly, Leslie, you’ve only been gone two days and you’re not giving me a moment’s rest,” Carmen said with a chuckle in her voice.

Yesterday her best friend had called around five times and from the look of it, she would beat that number today. “If you keep it up, Redford will assume you don’t trust him to take care of me.”

“Is he taking care of you?”

She paused in nibbling on the dry cereal she liked eating as a snack during the day. For some reason, it was a good feeling knowing she was being cared for by the father of her child. He might not love her, but he was doing his best to take care of them.

He prepared a delicious breakfast for her every morning, fixed a tasty sandwich for her at lunch, and then at dinner he always surprised her with some nutritious meal. She still loved his soups the best, but he’d even taken a shot at baking and prepared brownies for her last night when she’d said she had a sweet tooth.

She knew letting him stay here could result in emotional pain, but she liked knowing he was sleeping in the guest room beneath hers. Last night, he’d listened to her complain that she would be missing her pedicure appointment, so he’d seen her vain side. However, he hadn’t seemed to mind. While she ate dinner, he’d been on his laptop. She figured he was researching something but hadn’t bothered to ask what.

“Carmen, if you have to think about an answer, then that concerns me.”

She had not intended to stay quiet for so long. A concerned Leslie could become a worrywart, and that’s the last thing she wanted. “No reason for concern, Leslie. Yes, Redford is taking good care of me and our little bun.”

However, what she wouldn’t tell Leslie was that sickness or no sickness, her hormones were kicking whenever he was around, which was all the time. The only reason he wasn’t in the room with her now was because he’d wanted to give her and Leslie privacy.

He had come in after her lunch and nap to make sure she was on schedule with her medication. Then he had remained to watch a movie with her. Not once had he complained that it was a chick flick.

She thrown up three times today and no longer felt embarrassed that he saw her in such a way, and afterward he was always ready to assist her. The last time, she had finished brushing her teeth while standing at the vanity and happened to glance at the mirror while rinsing out her mouth. He’d been watching her. His brow had been furrowed in deep concentration and worry. When their gazes connected, she had felt hot all over. She’d broken eye contact with him to soak a face cloth in cool water for her face. He had come to her, covered her hand with his and said in a husky voice, “Here, let me do that.”

She should not have been surprised at how painstakingly gentle he was. And when he had pulled her tenderly against him, she sighed into his chest while he held her close, telling her everything would be alright. Then, as if it had been the most natural thing for him to do, he had kissed her on the forehead. She was convinced she could still feel the warmth of that kiss on her skin.

“Well, if you’re sure you are in good hands, Carmen...”

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