Married To The Mum-To-Be. Helen Lacey

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СКАЧАТЬ shook off the memory and made green tea. Another habit from his five-month relationship with Kayla. She was a strict vegetarian and believed in healthy eating, admonishing his proclivity for strong black coffee and leftover pizza for breakfast. It made him smile and he sipped the tea as he headed for the living room.

      The cat was still meowing and began curling around his ankles. He gave the animal a pat, drank some more tea and dropped into one of the big leather sofas, then stared at the cold fireplace. In winter the room was cozy, despite its size. Liam placed the tea on the side table, relaxed his head against the leather and closed his eyes.

      And didn’t wake up until seven thirty.

      By ten past eight he was showered and dressed, and was turning the ignition in the Silverado.

      He made a call to Connie at the hotel saying he wouldn’t be in until the afternoon, ignoring the question about his whereabouts, and then headed off down the driveway. He pulled up outside Kayla’s apartment at eight twenty-five and spotted her by the front door before he had a chance to shut down the truck. A man was with her and Liam instinctively scowled. Her landlord. He was a lanky, disheveled looking geek who he’d spoken to a couple of times and didn’t like one bit. In his opinion the other guy was a little too friendly toward Kayla. He put the vehicle in Park and got out, striding around the other side as she waved goodbye to the other man and then made her way down the paved path. She looked tired and he figured she’d probably had as little sleep as he had. She wore a pale blue dress that buttoned high up the front and fell just above her knees and made her long legs look sensational. He experienced the usual ripple of attraction that wound its way up his spine. He smiled when she reached the vehicle.

      “Good morning,” he said easily. “Sleep okay?”

      “Like a log,” she replied and they both knew she was lying through her teeth.

      They’d parted badly the night before. He’d lost his temper with her, something he loathed doing. “I’m sorry about last night... I should have called first. Or I should have—”

      “Forget about it,” she said quietly. “Let’s just get this done. So, how did you sleep?” she asked as he opened the passenger door.

      “Barely a wink,” he said as she got into the truck.

      Once he was back in the driver’s seat she spoke again. “I woke up at about quarter past three.”

      As he did. “Me, too,” he admitted. “Although I did manage to catch another few hours on the couch.”

      “You’re lucky. But my couch isn’t as comfortable as yours.”

      He recalled her lumpy sofa that she’d picked up at a yard sale. She loved antiquities and old wares and her home was spotted with pieces of furniture she’d salvaged and restored. He’d never done any sleeping on her couch, but they’d done a whole lot of loving.

      “If I recall correctly you have a comfortable bed.”

      Color pinched her cheeks. After everything they had been to one another, she still blushed around him. “Comfy enough,” she said and clutched the tote she carried. “We should get going.”

      “Not yet,” he said and wound his hand around her nape and drew her close.

      “What are you doing?” she asked, pulling back a little.

      “Kissing my wife,” he replied and claimed her lips possessively.

      It took about three seconds for her to respond and Liam smiled against her mouth. They could fight. They could disagree. They could spend time apart. She could give him every excuse under the sun as to how difficult it was for them to be together. But the attraction and feeling between them was undeniable. Her lips parted invitingly and he deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth over her own, finding her tongue and drawing it gently between his teeth. Kissing Kayla was like trying to quench a thirst...it was never enough, never deep enough, never hot enough, never intense enough.

      “Liam,” she said breathlessly, suddenly dragging her lips from his. “Would you please stop? Someone could see us and—”

      “Like who?” he demanded and threaded his fingers through her hair. “Your neighbors? Your geeky landlord, who I’m pretty sure has got the hots for you?”

      She pulled away and straightened in the seat. “That’s ridiculous. Dane is my friend, that’s all.”

      Liam settled in front of the steering wheel and strapped on the seat belt. “I still don’t like him.”

      Kayla huffed out a breath. “Would you stop acting like a jealous—”

      “A jealous husband?” Liam shot back, cutting her off as he started the engine. “That’s what I am, remember? Your husband.”

      She pulled her tote onto her lap. “I know who and what you are. And I know that since the moment I told you I might be pregnant you’ve been behaving like a real jerk.”

      * * *

      Kayla was mad. Things were complicated enough without Liam making it worse by having some kind of macho freak-out about her landlord. She glared at him and then turned her head to stare out of the front window. It wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned he thought Dane had a crush on her, although she’d always laughed it off before. But not today. She was too wound up to find the humor in his words.

      She glanced at his left hand and noticed he was wearing his wedding ring, while her own finger felt shamefully bare. The platinum-and-diamond band was in her purse, wrapped in a tissue and tucked away for safekeeping. But Liam always seemed to wear his when they were alone together. It irked her a little. And guilted her, too. He acted more like a husband than she did a wife.

      Deep down, she knew all his arguments about telling their parents—especially now—were right. But she couldn’t get over her fear that it would be like adding one final splash of gasoline to the pile of wood. And that news of a Rickard-O’Sullivan pregnancy would hardly do anything to defuse that blast. She’d been awake all night worrying—

      “Is there any place in particular you’d like to go?” he asked, his voice jerking her back into the present. “Maybe try to get in to see a doctor?”

      Her head snapped sideways. “No doctors. Just a drugstore. If the result is positive from the test then I’ll go and see my own physician once...once...you know...”

      “Once the truth is out, you mean,” he said quietly and then glanced at her stomach. “So...how far along do you think you are?”

      She shrugged. “I don’t know. Over a month. Maybe two.”

      He was silent for a moment, and then spoke. “We’ve always used contraception.”

      Kayla had wondered when that statement would rear its head. “Condoms are only ninety-eight percent effective.”

      “Really?”

      “Yes,” she replied and smiled sweetly. “Haven’t you ever read the packet?”

      He laughed and the sound affected her way down. Sometimes, she couldn’t believe he could still do that, that she could be as gushy and as aware of him СКАЧАТЬ