Inherited: One Baby!. Laura Altom Marie

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СКАЧАТЬ know this’ll sound strange,” he said, “but once I tell you why I’m here, you’ll see just how little pride I have left.”

      “I’m all ears.” She mimed bunny ears at the sides of her head, wiggling her fingers in a feeble attempt to disguise a nervous giggle.

      “Okay, well…” He sniffed, looked toward the kitchen. “Is that smoke? Jeez, Candy, from the looks of it, your whole damned kitchen’s on fire!”

      A FEW MINUTES LATER Jake had extinguished supper, but a thick, not to mention, smelly, gray cloud still clung to the ceiling. On the scary meter, the oven flame-up had been nothing compared to the white-hot terror stuck in his throat at the mere possibility of Candy being in danger. Now that he knew she’d be okay, he felt even worse.

      Because really, he had no business worrying about her.

      For a minute there, he’d felt as though they were married again, as though she was still his responsibility.

      “Well, that oughtta do it,” he said, setting the extinguisher on the counter before adding, in what he hoped was a carefree tone, “Good thing I carry that model in all of my stores. If I hadn’t been familiar with how it works, your kitchen might be toast.”

      “Yeah,” Candy said from beside the sink. Already having opened the windows and turned on the fan, she now wielded the faucet’s spray attachment—just in case. “Guess I’d better start keeping a closer eye on those rascally corn dogs, huh?”

      “Might be a good idea—especially when you set the oven on broil.”

      “Oops. I thought I’d set it on three-fifty. Guess before you got here I was sort of wound up.”

      A charming blush pinkened her cheeks, but it did little to quench his frustration with her for being so careless. Didn’t she know how much she meant to him?

      Whoa, buddy. Shouldn’t that be how much she used to mean? Because now, a reunion with Candy only meant one thing: keeping Bonnie.

      Leaning against the counter, he turned serious. “I’m afraid you’re going to need a new oven.”

      “You think?”

      He nodded and crossed to where she stood. Hands on her shoulders, in his best manly fireman voice, he said, “It’s okay, ma’am. Fire’s out. You can safely put down the hose.” Easily enough said, but the jolt zinging through his arms from just touching her made him think he was the one in danger from fire. The flames leaping from her!

      He must not have been the only one affected by their touch. Candy not only popped the spray nozzle back into its hole, she scooted a good two feet down the counter.

      In all the excitement, she’d earned a black smudge of courage across her left cheek. Years of watching out for her leaned him forward, where, with the pad of his thumb, he brushed away the soot.

      “What’re you—” She tensed until she realized what he was doing.

      “Sorry, you had some—”

      “It’s okay.” Her dusky gaze darted to the floor, then back to him. “Thanks. For the cleanup job and for saving our—I mean, my house.”

      “No problem.” Had he only imagined it, or was the Ice Queen starting to thaw? “Glad I was here to help.”

      “Yeah. Me, too.” Candy gave herself a mental thwack on the head. Yeah. Me, too? What was wrong with her? For a second there, she’d actually enjoyed his company.

      Time for a reality check. And the lonely reality was that no matter how right Jake’s being back in their kitchen might feel, his presence was only temporary.

      Which was good.

      Because, really, she was far better off without him.

      How could she have forgotten how relieved she’d been when he’d left? How great it had felt knowing she’d never hear him ask those tired old questions again?

      “When do you want to start our family?” he’d asked morning, noon and night. “You’re gorgeous. Only in my dreams can I imagine how adorable our kids are going to be.” Nuzzling her neck, he’d follow up with, “Any idea how soon we can expect to be expecting?” And toward the end of their marriage, “Come on, Candy Cane. I’m just asking for a couple of kids. How bad could they be?”

      Candy swallowed hard, watching through watery eyes as the only man she’d ever loved sauntered to the fridge.

      Head inside, giving her an entirely too attractive view of his tight, jeans-clad derriere, he said, “I’m hungry, woman. What’s to eat around here besides—” he pulled out a jar, squinting at the label “—mini-gherkins?”

      Hurriedly wiping at a stray tear, she said, “Ketchup or mustard. Take your pick.”

      “You need to go to the store. This is no way to live.”

      “Ordinarily, I’d say you’re right, but in case you forgot, I’m leaving for Peru in six days, so there’s not much need for stocking up.”

      He closed the fridge, eyed the now soggy bag of fries. “Wanna order a pizza?”

      “Nah, let’s save money and play food scavenger hunt.”

      “Why? There’s no need to save money.”

      “For you, maybe.”

      “Candy,” Jake said, softening his tone. “Half of everything Galaxy Sports has ever made is sitting in an account with your name on it. Why won’t you use it?”

      “Simple, because I don’t want your money.”

      “It’s our money. Dad gave that business to me and you on our first anniversary. Remember? The divorce papers say all profits are to be split fifty/fifty.”

      “For the last time, Jake, please listen. Thank you for the offer. It’s sweet—beyond sweet. But really, I don’t want or need it. Give the money to charity. Send a few kids to college.” She turned her back on him, knotting her arms across her chest.

      “More than a few kids. We’re talking millions of dollars, Candy.”

      “Oh, so is that the going rate for a woman’s heart?”

      “What’s that supposed to mean?”

      She spun around to face him. “What do you think it means? Sure, we fought a lot about how you wanted kids, but beyond that, Galaxy Sports also contributed to our marriage falling apart. Because you started caring more about proving to your dad how good you were at selling everything from footballs to fishing poles than you ever cared about being my husband.”

      “Wrong. If memory serves me correctly, you spent an awful lot of time at Candy Kisses, too. What was I supposed to do, turn caveman and drag you home? The more I thought about it, the more I realized maybe you’d never wanted to be my wife.”

      “That’s not true,” she said, her voice a raspy whisper. She swallowed hard, fighting still more tears clinging to the corners of her eyes. “You know why I asked for СКАЧАТЬ