A Daddy For Christmas: Yuletide Baby Surprise / Maybe This Christmas...? / The Sheriff's Doorstep Baby. Alison Roberts

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      His ears tuned in to the sound of Mari walking toward him, then the floral scent of her wrapped around him. She stood behind him without speaking and he realized she was reading over his shoulder, taking in the note.

      “Loves her?” Mari sighed heavily. “The woman abandoned her to a stranger based on that person’s reputation in the press.”

      “I take it your heart isn’t tugged.” He closed the laptop and turned to face her.

      “My heart is broken for this child—” she waved toward the sleeping infant in the baby seat “—and what’s in store for her if we don’t find answers, along with a truly loving and responsible family.”

      “I’m hopeful that my contacts will have some information sooner than the police.” A reminder that he needed to make the most of his time with Mari. What if Salvatore called with concrete news tomorrow? He looked over at Mari, imagining being with her, drawing her into his bedroom, so close to where they were now. “Let’s talk about how we’ll look after the baby here during the conference.”

      “Now?” She jolted in surprise. “It’s past midnight.”

      “There are things to take care of, like ordering more baby gear, meeting with the hotel’s babysitting service.” He ticked off each point on his fingers. “Just trying to fill in the details on our plan.”

      “You actually want to plan?” Her kissable lips twitched with a smile.

      “No need to be insulting,” he bantered right back, enjoying the way she never treated him like some freaking saint just because of where he chose to work. He wasn’t the good guy the press painted him to be just because he’d reformed. The past didn’t simply go away. He still had debts that could never be made right.

      “I’m being careful—finally. Like I should have been earlier.” Mari fidgeted with the hem of her untucked shirt, weariness straining her face, dark circles under her eyes. “She’s a child. A human being. We can’t just fly by the seat of our pants.”

      He wanted to haul Mari into his arms and let her sleep against his chest, tell her she didn’t have to be so serious, she didn’t have to take the weight of the world on her shoulders. She could share the load with him.

      Instead, he dragged a chair from the tiny teak table by the window and gestured for her to sit, to rest. “I’m not exactly without the means or ability to care for a child. It’s only for a short time until we figure out more about her past so we don’t have to fly by the seat of our pants.” He dragged over a chair for himself as well and sat across from her.

      “How is it so easy for you to disregard the rules?” She slumped back.

      “You’re free to go if you wish.”

      She shook her head. “I brought her in here. She’s my responsibility.”

      Ah, so she wasn’t in a rush to run out the door. “Do you intend to personally watch over her while details are sorted out?”

      “I can hire someone.”

      “Ah, that’s right. You’re a princess with endless resources,” he teased, taking her hands in his.

      She pulled back. “Are you calling me spoiled?”

      He squeezed her fingers, holding on, liking the feel of her hands in his. “I would never dare insult you, Princess. You should know that well enough from the provocative things I said to you five minutes ago.”

      “Oh. Okay.” She nibbled on her bottom lip, surprise flickering through her eyes.

      “First things first.” He thumbed the inside of her wrists.

      “Your plan?” Her breathing seemed to hitch.

      “We pretend to be dating and since we’re dating, and we’d be spending this holiday time together anyway, we decided to help with the child. How does that work for a plan?”

      “What?” She gasped in surprise. “Do you really think people are going to believe we went from professional adversaries to lovers in a heartbeat?”

      He saw her pulse throb faster, ramping up his in response.

      “Lovers, huh? I like the sound of that.”

      “You said—”

      “I said dating.” He squeezed her hands again. “But I like your plan better.”

      “This isn’t a plan.” She pulled free, inching her chair back. “It’s insanity.”

      “A plan that will work. People will believe it. More than that, they will eat it up. Everyone will want to hear more about the aloof princess finding romance and playing Good Samaritan at Christmastime. If they have an actual human interest piece to write about you it will distract them from digging around to create a story.”

      Her eyes went wide with panic, but she stayed in her seat. She wasn’t running. Yet. He’d pushed as far as he could for tonight. Tomorrow would offer up a whole new day for making his case.

      He shoved to his feet. “Time for bed.”

      “Oh, um,” she squeaked, standing, as well. “Bed?”

      He could see in her eyes that she’d envisioned them sharing a bed before this moment. He didn’t doubt for a second what he saw and it gave him a surge of victory. Definitely best to bide his time and wait for a moment when СКАЧАТЬ