Page 103 of Nobodys Baby But Mine (Chicago Stars 3)

“Nothing happens. Everything will be the way it was.” He moved toward his study. “I’m going to make my phone calls, then I’ll unload your car and we can go out to eat. I can’t believe you even considered running away.”

She followed him to his study, then stopped in the doorway. She rubbed her arms, but the chill she felt came from inside instead of outside. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to go back to the way things were.”

“Sure we can.” He moved toward his desk. “I swear to God, I’m going to fire Delgado.”

“Don’t blame him for what you started,” she said softly.

He spun back toward her, his body rigid. “Don’t you dare say that! You’re the one who started this, and don’t you forget it!”

“How can I when you throw it in my face every chance you get?”

He glared at her, and she glared back at him. Then she looked away. This game of assigning blame accomplished nothing.

She pushed her hands into the pockets of her dress and reminded herself that her worst fear had been groundless. He hadn’t been plotting against her at the same time they were making love. But the awful knot in her stomach wouldn’t go away. What had happened was merely a symbol of all the problems that lurked between them, problems she’d ignored or glossed over as if they didn’t exist.

She remembered how hopeful she’d been only a few days earlier that he loved her. She remembered all the dream castles she’d built in her head. It was ironic that a person who’d been trained in the scientific method could be so swift to abandon logic for wishful thinking.

She withdrew her hands from her pockets and clasped them in front of her. “I need to know where we’re headed, Cal, and what your feelings are toward me.”

“What do you mean?”

The discomfort in his voice indicated that he knew exactly what she meant. “How do you feel about me?”

“You know how I feel.”

“Actually, I don’t.”

“Then, you must not have been paying attention.”

He was going to make this even more difficult than it already was, but she wouldn’t back away. The time for daydreaming had passed. She needed to know exactly where she stood. “The only direct remark I can ever remember you making is that you like me.”

“Of course, I like you. You know that.”

She met his eyes squarely and forced herself to speak the words that wanted to remain stuck in the back of her throat. “I told you I loved you.”

His gaze dropped, and she realized he couldn’t look her in the eye. “I’m— I guess I’m flattered.”

She dug her fingernails into her palms. “I don’t think so. I think my honesty has scared you to death. And I also think you don’t love me back.”

“What the hell does something like that mean anyway?” He stalked to his desk. “We’ve gotten along together better than either of us ever could have imagined, and we’re going to have a baby. Why do we have to stick a label on it? I care about you, and in my mind that counts for a lot.” He dropped down into his chair as if the discussion had come to an end.

She wouldn’t leave it there. Perhaps she’d gained a bit of wisdom in the last few months, or maybe it was simply stubbornness, but it was time he added something more to this relationship than sex and a few

laughs. “I’m afraid caring isn’t enough for me when I think about our future.”

He gestured toward her with an impatient hand. “The future will take care of itself. Neither of us wants to be boxed in right now.”

“The last time we talked about it, the idea was that we’d get a divorce as soon as the baby is born. Do you still want that?”

“It’s way ahead. How do I know what’s going to happen?”

“But that’s still your plan?”

“That was the original plan.”

“And now?”

“I don’t know. How can either of us know? One day at a time.”

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