What was he doing here? How had he found her? And why in the world had he come?

There was nothing Boston Kincaid would ever need from her. Things had been cut and dried the last time she'd seen him. She'd told him to leave and never come back, something he'd been itching to do for over a month. So it wasn't like he needed any kind of closure. Everything between them was dead. Door closed, locked, and dead-bolted with its key missing for a full decade. There was no feasible reason for him to return. Unless...

No, it wasn't possible. He didn't know. He couldn't know. If he knew, he sure as hell wouldn't have waited this long to come back. But it was the only reason he might ever show up in her life again.

Panic and fear struck; her face drained of color.

His features drew tight and turned hard as if he could read every thought racing through her head. But he merely slid his hands casually into his pockets, achieving that deceptively calm demeanor he'd always been so good at posing.

34

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

"Going to invite me inside?" he asked, tipping his head toward her house.

Ellie frowned and dropped her hands from her mouth. No, no, no. There was no way she'd let him into her home. There were too many pictures of Cassie in there. He couldn't go anywhere near the front door. She had to get rid of him...fast. Slicing an uneasy glance his way, she swallowed as his penetrating eyes nailed her to the spot. God, they were the same shade of blue as Cassie's.

The man was still devastatingly attractive. Ellie bit the inside of her lip and wondered why he couldn't have gotten fat, lost his hair, or developed some kind of nasty twitch.

Why'd he have to look even better after ten years? It wasn't fair. And it wasn't helping her concentration at all.

His hair was still inky black but a lot shorter now. And as unbelievable as it could be, she swore his shoulders were even wider. His chest had definitely filled out. He'd always been tall, so at least that hadn't changed. And the aura around him was still—

"Ellie," he said.

As she realized she was just standing there, ogling, and doing nothing whatsoever to scoot him along, her face heated.

"What are you doing here, Boston? How did you..." Find me. She paused. How had he found her? And why had he wanted to? There could only be one reason, but Ellie was going to deny that explanation for as long as she could. There had to be something else.

35

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

"You have some very... observant neighbors," he murmured, glancing pointedly toward the Young's house on the left. "Maybe we should go inside before starting this conversation."

Ellie followed his stare and caught sight of Nora in her yard, openly watching them as she watered her plants, drowning her poor roses. She lifted her hand and waved.

Boston waved back and gave a nod of greeting. Letting out a groan of misery, Ellie wondered how in the world she was ever going to explain Boston to Nora...and there was no doubt in her mind Nora would badger her until she revealed every detail.

"We have a lot to discuss," Boston told her, turning back with a probing look. "And I don't think you want an audience any more than I do."

Well...that didn't sound good. Actually, it sounded downright threatening. Boston had never been quite this menacing before. Her knees turned to Jell-O.

"What's going on?" she demanded, the hair standing straight up on her arms.

His jaw went stubbornly hard, but when Ellie remained rooted in her spot, he sighed and took his hand from his pocket, holding up an envelope folded between his fingers for her to see.

Ellie's mouth dried out. Eying the letter, she had this urge to snap it from him and tear it into tiny pieces. With no idea what was inside the note, she had a strong suspicion it had somehow brought him here.

"Did you really have a miscarriage?" he asked.

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Delinquent Daddy