Page 2 of Maybe My Baby

That’s what a mature, responsible woman would do.

Or maybe she should wait a few days and pee on a dozen more sticks. To be sure.

She hesitated for a long time before answering the text. Finally, she responded...

Long day. I’m beat. What if I pick up barbecue and bring it over to your house?

Donovan’s reply was immediate.

You’re speaking my language. Sounds great. 7PM?

Her chest fluttered with anxiety. Should she blurt out the truth before or after dinner? Was there an instruction manual for this? An ebook online?

Her fingers trembled...

See you then.

At home she took a quick shower and changed. Normally, she would have gone with leggings and a cute top. But tonight, she needed to pull out the big guns. It was still hot and muggy. She picked out a teal sundress with a flirty skirt and paired it with flats.

Her hair never cooperated. Especially with summer humidity. Donovan claimed to like the wild curls, and she believed him...but for now, she pulled the whole mess up in a high ponytail. Immediately, she felt cooler.

On the way across town, she practiced her speech. Nothing sounded right. How could she break the news gently to Donovan whenshewas freaking out?

The line at the drive-through was short. She picked up pork plates with all the trimmings and added a couple of the store’s homemade brownies. When she put the bags in the passenger seat, the strong food smell made her stomach flop unpleasantly.

She rolled down her windows and told herself she wasn’t going to puke.

As she turned onto Donovan’s street, she looked ahead to his now-familiar house. The charming structure was one of the older homes in Blossom Branch. It had been built in the 1920s and renovated several times over the years. Donovan had bought it in run-down condition five years ago and spruced it up.

The brick bungalow with the wraparound porch and white trim sat on a nice lot with an apple tree and a fenced-in backyard, where Donovan’s beagle, Sam, played happily.

Ginny took deep breaths and tried to find her composure. Honestly, this was the most difficult situation she had faced since losing two grandparents in three months when she was a senior in high school.

She got out of the car on legs that trembled. After grabbing her purse and the food bags, she locked the car and made her way up the concrete walk to the porch. Three shallow steps. One beautiful oak door. Two heartbeats to find the key he had given her a month ago.

Suddenly, she was inside. The familiar surroundings calmed the panic in her chest. Donovan was the kind of man who liked things to be neat but wasn’t tight-assed about it. His home was comfortable and beautiful in equal measures.

Ginny left everything in the kitchen and went in search of her lover. She knew where to look. His workshop was connected to the back of the house by a covered breezeway. For a decade now, he had been producing handmade furniture for a wide variety of customers, particularly the wealthy ones who lived in Atlanta and maintained vacation homes in Blossom Branch.

She opened the door quietly, and there he stood, Donovan Mason. Boyfriend extraordinaire. His tall body was strong and broad shouldered. Not an ounce of fat on him anywhere. His streaky blond hair was longish and wavy. Everything about his looks and his temperament appealed to her.

He didn’t hear her enter. With earbuds in and his music no doubt blasting, he was lost in a bubble of creative energy.

Today, he was working on what would become the top of a massive dining room table. For days now, he had planed the wood, sanded, and planed some more. Watching him make love to a rough board and turn it into something beautiful never grew old.

Ginny had been standing in this very workshop the first time she knew she was falling for him. He’d been rubbing linseed oil into the top of a hope chest, his big, long-fingered hands gentle and firm.

Even now, watching him work made Ginny dizzy with longing. She possessed intimate firsthand knowledge of those talented hands.

He must have sensed he was being watched. His head lifted, he turned off the music, and his face lit up with pleasure. “Hey, Sunshine. How long have you been standing there?”

His smile warmed some of the numb places in her chest. “Not long,” she said.

“Hang on.” He gave the wood one last glance before picking up a rag and wiping his hands. “This one’s going to be a beauty. The family has eight kids. Can you imagine? They told me it’s important they all be able to sit around the table together.”

“Nice,” Ginny said. And itwasnice. But her mind was on other things.

Donovan crossed the room and caught her up in a bear hug. Because of him, she would always find the smell of sawdust arousing. He kissed her lazily, letting her know exactly how glad he was to see her.

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