The Baby Bargain. Wendy Warren

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      Eden was blushing, right down to her toes. She felt heat surging, well, pretty much everywhere.

      Before she’d decided to pursue alternative insemination, she hadn’t had a steady relationship in almost a year. She certainly hadn’t had a relationship since, so that put her in the middle of a two-year dry spell.

      The truth was she didn’t miss any specific person with whom she’d been in involved. What she missed was the idea of someone, all the terrific fantasies she used to build up during the honeymoon phase.

      But “forever” had remained for her nothing more than an increasingly uncomfortable yearning. Finally, she’d decided that the hunt for happily-ever-after was like looking for the lost city of Atlantis.

      The truth was that she was better, calmer, steadier without all the drama.

      As for sex, at first she’d only missed it every now and again.

      Then she’d pursued alternative insemination and gotten pregnant with Liam, and her hormones had gone haywire. She’d experienced the normal rise in libido during pregnancy, with unfortunately no one to help her exercise it.

      Mothers with partners complained all the time about lack of desire and about their significant others’ frustration with a greatly reduced sex life.

      In a seriously ironic twist, Eden found herself still highly charged after childbirth. Hormones. Couldn’t live with them, couldn’t live without them.

      She was certain her hormones were at least partly responsible for the fact that she was attracted to LJ Logan.

      True, he was handsome, had a sense of humor and a way of staring at her that made her skin feel hot and goose bumpy at the same time. But he was also impertinent, a little arrogant and very single-minded.

      He really annoyed her.

      When she wasn’t completely turned on.

      “Of course I know who the sperm donor was,” she said, not sure why she’d decided to answer, except that she didn’t want him to think that either she or the Children’s Connection were irresponsible. “I chose him.”

      He pondered that awhile. “I want to know more. Like why you chose a donor instead of the real thing.”

      “I got the ‘real thing,’” she countered. “Without unnecessary complications.”

      A smile eased across his face. “You consider sex an unnecessary complication?”

      Yes. No. “I wasn’t referring to sex.”

      He grinned. “Answer, anyway.”

      He was flirting with her, no question, but the flirtation was playful. Because her heart skipped several times, she answered honestly to eliminate any notion that she might be waiting for a man.

      “Yes. Okay. Sex is a complication. Relationships in general are a complication.”

      If she was expecting an argument, she was mistaken.

      He spread his arms in a gesture that said, “See? We agree.”

      He might have elaborated, but Liam didn’t give him the chance. The baby started bawling, the quality of the cry suggesting he’d had a bad dream or was wet. Eden jumped up. More slowly, LJ rose also.

      They stared at each other, neither moving until Liam cried louder.

      “I’d better go.” This time they both spoke at once.

      Eden did her best to ignore the foolish side of her that felt disappointed. Instead, she nodded. “Thank you for dropping by,” she said perfunctorily, figuring that if he’d driven all the way out here to secure her support he was leaving disappointed, so she ought to at least be polite.

      He opened the screen door for her, a chivalrous move that surprised her. She hadn’t seen a man move that swiftly to open a door he didn’t intend to walk through himself since she’d left Kentucky.

      A hiccupping cry from her baby had her muttering, “Thanks,” and heading inside, leaving LJ Logan to do…whatever LJ Logan did with his evenings.

      “He’s dry and doesn’t want his teether. Must have had a bad dream, poor little guy.” Cradling the baby, Liberty greeted Eden at the door to the bedroom Eden shared with her son.

      She’d positioned the chair by a window to take advantage of silver moonlight when she nursed late at night and it seemed that she and Liam were the only people awake in the world.

      “Do you want the Boppy?” Liberty asked. Eden nodded and Liberty placed a sturdy crescent-shaped pillow on her friend’s lap.

      Settling Liam atop the Boppy, Eden raised the T-shirt she’d changed into after work, deftly released the flap on her nursing bra and urged her fussing son to nurse himself back to sleep.

      Liberty sighed. “Have I ever told you how jealous I am?”

      Eden glanced up in surprise. “What? In the past thirty minutes you’ve decided you want kids?”

      “No. I want bodacious boobs.” She glanced at her own modest breasts and sighed again. “You think you’ll get to keep yours when you stop breast feeding?”

      Too preoccupied by the conversation on the porch to smile, Eden answered distractedly. “I don’t know. If they’re a package deal with my new hips, I’ll pass.”

      “Don’t be silly. You look like Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Men love that.”

      “Sure. Men born in 1932.” Leaning her head against the cushioned back of the chair, she rocked gently. “Did you catch anything that was said on the porch, or were you in the back of the house?”

      “Are you kidding?” Liberty plopped herself onto the bed. “The front door was open, so I sat on the couch and listened to everything.”

      “What СКАЧАТЬ