Page 4 of Maybe My Baby

She found a washcloth, wet it, and wiped her face. She was so pale, her freckles stood out. The dark circles under her eyes were the product of a sleepless night. If she didn’t get her act together, Donovan was going toguessthe truth before she ever had a chance to tell him.

After a minute of deep breathing, she returned to the kitchen. He was at the sink rinsing out the plastic barbecue containers to ready them for the recycle bin.

He stopped what he was doing and dried his hands. “You okay, Sunshine?” He cupped her face in his hands and stared at her in concern.

Ginny grimaced. “I think the stress is getting to me.”

“Poor baby.” He folded her in his arms. She leaned into him, absorbing his quiet strength. Donovan was intensely masculine. But unlike a few guys she had dated, he didn’t see caring and compassion as a weakness. That was astonishing to Ginny and completely disarming.

She had grown up in an extended family where the males fought good-naturedly to best each other in hunting and fishing and dirt bike racing. Everything was a competition.

Donovan had none of those traits. What had drawn her to him in the beginning was his absolute self-confidence and his wicked sense of humor. It didn’t hurt that he was gorgeous and sexy.

In addition to his beautiful brown eyes, he had hair that fascinated her. The blond waves streaked with a darker caramel shade were nothing like hers. Before meeting Donovan, she had never cared for long hair on a man. But his chin-length mane, always tucked behind his ears—except when they were having sex—suited his looks and personality.

She didn’t know if the longer length was a personal preference or simply a sign of the fact that he was too busy for frequent haircuts. But she loved running her hands through the thick, soft layers.

Finally, she stepped back from his embrace. She was swamped with guilt for no good reason. Maybe it was the fact that she was unable to blurt out two simple words.I’m pregnant. How hard was that to say?

Still, there had been two of them in that bed whenever this happened.

Wrapping her arms around her waist, she leaned against the fridge. “So what’s this big idea you have that will solve all my problems?”

Donovan chuckled. “Not all your problems. Just the rent situation.”

“Okay. Let’s hear it.”

He cocked his head and stared at her so intently her nipples tightened beneath the thin fabric of her bra. “I think you should move in with me.”

TWO

WHEN GINNY OPENEDher eyes, she was lying on the kitchen floor. The usually unflappable Donovan knelt over her, white-faced, with a panicked expression.

She winced and put a hand to her head. “What happened?”

“You fainted.” The two words sounded like an accusation. “Good Lord, Ginny. You need to see a doctor. This can’t be normal.”

“Let me sit up.”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “Not yet. You caught the side of your face on the corner of the table when you went down.”

“I’m fine,” she muttered. Embarrassment heated her throat and cheeks.

Donovan stroked a lock of hair away from her forehead. It had escaped her ponytail. “Is the thought of living with me really that scary?”

His tone was humorous, but in his eyes she saw a flicker of hurt. “Of course not,” she said. “I was surprised, that’s all.”

“Surprised? Really?” His jaw jutted. “I suppose I should apologize for spooking you. Clearly, we aren’t on the same page about this relationship.”

“That’s not true,” she said. But the words weren’t convincing even to her own ears. “I want to get up.”

She could tell he didn’t like it, but he helped her to her feet and put her in a chair. “Don’t move. I’m getting ice for that goose egg.”

Ginny didn’twantto move. She didn’t want to do anything at all. Pitfalls in every direction. That’s what she faced. And no clue how to navigate them.

She watched him dampen a dishcloth and wrap it around three ice cubes. Gently, he pressed the makeshift ice bag to the side of her face.

“I can hold it now,” she said. Having him so close made it hard to think clearly.Move in with me, he had said. Wasn’t that kind of earth-shattering news? Or was it no big deal to him?

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