Another Woman's Baby. Joanna Wayne

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      Chapter Five

      Bart set his tray on the table by the window. “This is some layout you have here. The closest I’ve ever been to living the life of the rich and famous.”

      “My grandfather built it for my grandmother years ago. He wanted her to have her dream house. She designed it herself, down to the gingerbread trim. It could use some restoration, but it suits me fine the way it is.”

      “This is a beautiful stretch of land and there are no high-rises nearby to block the view.”

      “My grandmother said the land was practically worthless back then, nothing but miles of sand. No one ever expected this stretch of beach to build up the way it has.”

      “I can see why it did. It rivals the Caribbean for sheer beauty.”

      “Is this really your first trip to the area?”

      “It is. You actually caught me in the truth.”

      “So what do I believe about you? Is Bart Cromwell even your real name?”

      “It is for now, and that’s about as real as it gets for me. Every assignment I’m a different person with a different background, a different personality. Right now I’m Bart Cromwell, a used-car salesman from Nashville. I can fix you up in a great little low-mileage sedan for less than two hundred dollars a month. Don’t worry about your debt. Everybody’s credit’s good with me.”

      “Hey, you are good,” she said. “Makes me want to go out and kick some tires and peek under a hood.” But in other words, there was no use bothering to get to know him. He would never be who or what he claimed. She spread a layer of orange marmalade on her buttered toast. Whoever he was, he made a good breakfast.

      He forked a bite of egg. “There’s got to be a dozen rooms in this place.”

      “I’ve never counted them, but let’s see. There are six bedrooms, countless baths, the big family room where we sat by the fire last night, the kitchen, a library, that little cubbyhole at the top of the stairs on the third floor. There’s a treadmill in there in case it’s too wet to walk on the beach. And then there’s the cupola. It’s used mostly for storage now, but when I was a teenager, it was where Jackie and I went to giggle and talk about boys.”

      “You and Jackie Brewster. As close as two people could be.”

      “Only she was Jackie Sellers back then.”

      “Right. Daughter of Janelle and Lane Sellers. But back to the subject of Pelican’s Roost. Your grandmother must have known you loved the place when she left it to you free and clear.”

      “You do know everything about me.”

      The conversation died as they ate. Bart finished first even though he’d had twice as much on his plate. He didn’t appear to have an inch of fat on him, yet his appetite was ravenous. She’d like to find out his secret.

      After he drained his coffee, he turned from the window and fastened his piercing blue eyes on her. “Actually, I don’t know everything about you, Megan. I only know facts that are in a computer somewhere or that are common knowledge.”

      “What else is there to know?”

      “Tell me about your relationship with John Hardison.”

      “He’s my associate. We’re heading up a merger team together at the present time.”

      “But you were engaged at one time.”

      “You didn’t leave a stone unturned, did you? Want to tell me how many times we slept together or did that not make it into anybody’s data bank?”

      “None that I have access to.” He leaned in closer. “I’m not into voyeurism, Megan. But my job right now is keeping you safe, and the more I know about you, the easier that will be.”

      She sighed and stared out the glass door, focusing on the morning sun rays that sent sparkling sprays along the surface of the Gulf. She’d always been a very private person, and knowing that this stranger knew almost as much about her as she did about herself made her extremely uncomfortable. But not nearly as uncomfortable as she’d been last night in the hands of a killer. That left her no choice but to cooperate.

      “John and I were engaged, but we broke up over a year ago. Now we’re friends and co-workers.”

      “That must be awkward.”

      “We’re adults. We handle it.”

      “Is he planning to visit you here at the beach?”

      “No. He wasn’t invited, not that he would have come anyway. Spending time with a pregnant woman is not his idea of fun.”

      “Then that’s one less person we have to worry about. There’s no reason for him to know anything more than what we tell your friends around Orange Beach. Do you plan to stay here until the baby’s born?”

      “That was my original plan. You seem to be setting up my agenda now.”

      “Having the baby here will work out fine. Hopefully, this will all be over long before the birth.”

      “I should certainly think so. That’s two and a half weeks from now.” She pushed the tray away. “Now, tell me about this plan that you have.”

      He exhaled sharply as he gave her his undivided attention. “You, Megan Lancaster, are about to knock a man right off his feet and into your bed.”

      “You, Bart Cromwell, must have crumbled hallucinatory drugs into your eggs.”

      “No. This is pure genius.”

      “I assume the guy’s blind.”

      “Twenty-twenty vision. You’re looking at him. We’ll laugh and hold hands and stare into each other’s eyes at local restaurants. We might even be spotted dancing cheek to cheek at one of the clubs.”

      “Oh, no!” She swung her legs over the side of the bed. “You may only exist in this one moment in time, but I don’t. I know people in this town, and I’m not going to become a spectacle. You can be a friend, a renter, or a relative, but I will not pretend to be your lover, not with this body.”

      He walked over and stood beside her. “What happened to your promise to do whatever it takes to catch the killer.”

      “Look at me.” She stood and clasped her hands beneath her bulging belly. “Even if I agreed to do this, who would believe you’re attracted to me? I’m eight months pregnant. I look like a blimp.”

      “That’s only in your mind.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “I’ve thought this through. I need to be with you every time we leave the СКАЧАТЬ