A Natural Father (14 page)

He couldn’t stop himself from getting out of the car when he saw her walking across the asphalt after nearly an hour and a half. She was smiling, and there was a new swing to her walk.

Despite his worry, he couldn’t help smiling in return.

“Good news?”

“The best. My placenta is midway, just where it should be. I am now officially a normal twenty-five weeks pregnant woman. No special instructions, no restrictions. Woo-hoo!”

She was practically skipping, and he couldn’t help laughing.

“We’re going to have to tie a string to you so you don’t float away,” he said.

She stopped in front of him and her expression sobered.

“Sorry it was so long. They were running late.”

He shrugged it off, but she reached out to touch his arm.

“I was thinking while I was waiting. I want you to know I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me over the past few weeks. The extra work, all the support. You’re a good man, Dominic Bianco.”

He stared down at her, frustrated. He
was
a good man—he was also a man who desperately wanted to kiss her. A man who felt a fierce desire to protect her and belong to her.

“You make it easy,” he said.

She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“You make it easy, too,” she said. “Too easy, sometimes.”

It was just a peck, a kiss between friends, but his body roared to life anyway. Before he could stop himself, his arms came up to stop her from stepping away.

They stared at each other. Lucy’s eyes dropped to his mouth. Four weeks of careful diplomacy flew out the window. He wanted to kiss her. He was going to kiss her.

She sighed as his lips met hers. His tongue slid inside her mouth, tasting her sweetness and warmth. He slid his hands into her hair, cradling her head as he kissed her deeply.

He’d kept a tight rein on himself for so long, but he could feel his control slipping. He wanted to slide his hands beneath her clothes and touch her. He wanted to see her breasts, feel them in his hands. He wanted to feel her legs wrapped around his waist. He wanted to be inside her, part of her.

He backed her against the van and kissed his way across her cheekbone to her neck. She dropped her head back, her breath coming quickly.

“Dom,” she said.

He pressed an openmouthed kiss to the tender skin beneath her jaw, unable to get enough of her. She smelled so good, felt so good….

“Dom. We need to stop,” she said. “This can’t go anywhere.”

She sounded reluctant, and her body was still clinging to his. But she’d said it. He stilled, his face pressed against her skin. He was hard and he wanted her, so much. Not just physically. In every way.

Slowly he lifted his head and looked into her face. Her pupils were dilated, her mouth swollen from his kisses. But her eyes were serious. It was enough for him to release her.

They stared at each other for a long moment. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. He understood her reluctance to complicate her life, but life
was
complicated. The feelings between them were very real. She was prepared to risk so much in her professional life, but in her personal life she had all the hatches battened down tight.

“You know I want more from you than just a few kisses in a parking garage,” he said.

She shook her head. “I can’t risk it.”

“I’m not Marcus, Lucy. I’m not going anywhere.”

She simply stared at him. He ran a hand through his hair and stared out at nothing for a moment.

“Okay. I understand. We’d better get back to the market,” he said.

He slid into the passenger seat. She got into the car and put the key in the ignition but didn’t start the engine.

“I’m attracted to you. It’s not that I don’t want you,” she said quietly.

“Yeah, I got that.” He sounded like a sulky kid and he sighed heavily. “Look, we agreed to keep things about work, and I crossed the line. I’m sorry. But like Ma always says, we don’t choose the ones we love. It’s just the way it is.”

She stilled beside him and he closed his eyes.

Way to go, Bianco. Why not write some bad poetry and carve her name in a tree while you’re at it?

He waited for her to say something, but after a short, tense pause she turned on the engine.

They were both silent for a few minutes. Then she cleared her throat.

“Sorry for keeping you so long from the market. I hope your dad won’t be too upset.”

“He’ll be fine,” he said.

So this was how they were going to handle his inadvertent declaration—ignore it and hope it went away.

A pity he couldn’t do the same thing with his feelings for her.

Loving Lucy Basso and not being able to have her was turning out to be the toughest thing he’d ever done.

Lucy hung her dress carefully in the van before tossing her bag onto the passenger seat. It was three hours before their guests were due to arrive, but she’d insisted on helping Dom set up. In return, he’d insisted that she shower and dress at his place rather than return home. At the time, it had made sense. Now, it made her nervous. Somehow, the thought of getting naked in Dom’s house, even when he was in a far distant room, made her feel distinctly…edgy.

It had been almost two weeks since Dom had told her he loved her. Two weeks of neither of them mentioning it or referring to it in any way. Her fault—she was the one who’d sat in stunned silence when he’d spoken the words. She was the one who had started the car and changed the subject instead of addressing what he’d said.

She’d gone over and over the moment a hundred times, justifying her response to herself, trying to convince herself that what he’d said had been a generic, sweeping kind of statement and not about her, about them.

But she knew it was. Deep in her heart, she’d known for a long time that the way he looked at her, the way he behaved around her was not just about lust or desire. She understood him so much better now, after all the time they’d spent in the van together, after all the working dinners and spirited discussions.

He was loyal to a fault. He was honest, committed. He cared about everything he did. And he was kind—he’d proved that to her time and time again with his generous, selfless actions.

He was also incredibly sexy and clever and witty.

And he loved her.

The knowledge had been working on her like water on rock. Every time she looked at him she thought about what he’d said.

We don’t choose the ones we love.

She pushed the memory away as she parked her van in front of his house. She had no idea what to do with it, so she avoided it, the way she’d avoided responding to him at the time.

“Hey. Let me grab that for you,” Dom said when he answered the door. He took her dress and bag from her.

“The caterers will be here soon. I’ve left the flowers for you. I’m still trying to get the patio heaters working.”

She followed him up the hallway but stopped awkwardly when he turned through a doorway into a bedroom. One glance was enough to let her know it was his—his suit and shirt were on the bed and his aftershave tinged the air. Briefly she took in the neutral decor, the wooden bed with a mocha linen quilt and the pile of books on his bedside table before she looked away.

He hung her dress on the hook behind the door and left her overnight bag beside the bed.

“There are fresh towels in the bathroom,” he said, indicating the door to what was obviously an ensuite.

“Great. Thanks,” she said. Her palms were sweating and she wiped them down the sides of her leggings.

She would never have said yes to this if she’d known it would feel so…intimate.

She was relieved to see the armful of cut flowers waiting on the kitchen counter. Work—that was what she needed right now. Lots of work to keep her mind from going places it shouldn’t.

“I’ll leave you to it,” he said.

He picked up a remote control and clicked a CD into play as he exited the house to the covered deck out the back. The smooth tones of Duffy filled the room in his wake. She watched for a minute as he bent to examine the gas bottle on one of the three large outdoor heaters they’d rented to warm the patio. He was wearing a pair of old cargo shorts and a faded T-shirt, and he frowned with concentration as he adjusted something. She was so used to that look now, his I’m-trying-to-work-this-out expression. It made her want to laugh and smooth away the lines at the same time.

She forced herself to look away and concentrate on her own tasks. Within minutes she was immersed in trimming and arranging great bunches of Oriental lilies, saw grass and birds of paradise into what she hoped would pass as professional displays. Duffy’s voice rose and fell around her and she hummed along. She placed the first vase just inside the front door on the hall table Dom kept there. The second she placed on the front corner of the kitchen counter. The third went into the center of the dining table. She kicked her shoes off as she surveyed the living area, looking for a home for the last vase.

She saw that Dom already had his laptop linked to his flatscreen TV. They planned to use it as a giant monitor throughout the evening, with their Web site demonstration repeating over and over, showcasing their new services to their customers.

She decided the living space had more than enough color, so she headed outside. She smiled as she caught Dom singing to himself as he manhandled the last heater into position. He flashed her a grin, sheepish at being busted. She placed the vase in the middle of his outdoor table and stepped back to assess the affect.

“Perfect,” she said.

“Even if you do say so yourself.”

They smiled at each other again and she found herself thinking how natural this felt—being with Dom in his house, sharing with him.

She clamped down on the thought. It had no place in the reality of her life, like a lot of other thoughts she’d had lately.

The caterers arrived on time, and she spent another hour checking over their marketing materials and their Web site display.

She looked up when Dom’s bare feet appeared in front of where she sat on the sofa, hunched over the laptop.

“You want first shower?” he asked.

She stared at his feet, not surprised that even they were attractive—brown and strong-looking, his toes even and regular.

“Aren’t you cold?” she asked stupidly.

He glanced down at his feet. “Nope. First or second shower?”

“Um, second,” she said.

“Okay. I’ll yell out when I’m finished.”

He left. She finished with the laptop and put it out of the way. Then she fidgeted, waiting to hear his voice calling her to the shower, trying not to think about him standing under a stream of water, big and naked and wet. It seemed like a long time before she heard a door open.

“All yours,” he called.

“Thanks.”

She entered the bathroom from the hall, noting with relief that he’d closed the door to his bedroom. Fluffy towels were piled on the shelf at the end of the bath and he’d left her overnight bag beside the vanity. She closed the hall door and started to pull her top over her head. She froze as she heard movement in his bedroom, then rolled her eyes at herself. Of course he was in there—he was getting dressed.

A wave of totally inappropriate heat swept over her as she imagined him getting dressed. Pulling boxers over his strong thighs. Buttoning his shirt over his broad chest. The image was so clear in her mind’s eye she had to blink to dislodge it.

She growled at herself and whipped her top over her head. Within seconds she was beneath the shower, washing herself with soap that smelled like Dom. She tried to get a grip by staring hard at her belly, but all she could focus on was what he would think of her pregnant body. Her belly was taut and smooth, but it was undeniably a belly. Her breasts were full, bigger than they’d ever been, and her nipples were darker and very sensitive to the touch. Her legs were still long and slim, her best feature. And she’d only widened marginally in the hips….

Lucy flicked the water off briskly. It didn’t matter what Dom might think of her pregnant body. He was never going to see it.

She pulled on her underwear and did her makeup and hair, taking more care than usual. She’d chosen a sleek, modern maternity dress, but she needed the confidence of knowing her hair and face were at their best. She swept her hair up and left several strands down to tickle her neck. She colored her lips with a deep plum lipstick, then made her eyes smoky with kohl. Lastly she slipped her earrings into place, smiling as they brushed her neck as she tilted her head.

Then, her towel wrapped tightly around her, she tapped lightly on the door through to the bedroom. There was no answer and she opened it carefully. The room was empty, but Dom’s aftershave hung heavily in the air. The quilt cover was wrinkled from where he’d sat to put on his shoes. His watch lay curled on the tallboy, the leather band curved to the shape of his wrist.

She stood for a moment, looking around. This was where he slept. His clothes were behind those sliding doors. She was in his most private space.

She was doing it again: fixating on a man she couldn’t have. Frustrated with herself, she let the towel drop as she reached for her dress. The dark blue fabric slipped down her body and she smoothed her hands over the fine black beading on the bodice and skirt. It was only when she tried to zip the dress that she remembered Rosie had helped her try it on in the store. She bit her lip. Dom would have to zip her up.

Her heels clicked quietly on the floorboards as she walked to the living room. Dom was talking to one of the caterers but he looked up when she entered. It was wrong to feel a rush of pleasure at the way his eyes darkened. Wrong, but impossible to deny. As it was impossible to deny the slow burn in the pit of her stomach as she looked at him, tall and gorgeous in his charcoal suit.

“Can you zip me?” she asked.

He stepped forward. She turned her back, and she felt the slow tug as her zipper closed. When he reached the top, he lingered for a moment, his hand heavy on her back.

“You look very nice,” he said. She almost laughed at how much meaning four little words could hold. Except the way she was feeling—at war with herself—wasn’t very funny.

“Excuse me, but did you want to start with just the champagne or offer all the wines when people first arrive?” the caterer asked.

Dom turned to answer and she tried to catch her breath.

Don’t,
she told herself.
Don’t forget what’s at stake.

But for the first time it hit her that maybe she had more to lose than she had to gain by keeping her distance from Dom.

It was a revolutionary thought. And a very disturbing one.