The By Request Collection. Kate Hardy

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       Nine

      Eve rolled over in bed, glanced at the clock and closed her eyes again.

      Wait. She jerked up in bed and stared at the glaring numbers. How did it get to be so late? Sleeping in had never been an issue for her. She always showed up before anyone else and got a jump start on her day. At this rate, she was never going to make it into the office on time.

      The sudden jolt of movement had her morning sickness hitting her fast. She rushed to the en suite bathroom and fell to her knees.

      She’d had worse mornings, but still, she didn’t like this feeling one bit. How could she remain professional if she was showing up late and looking like death?

      Once she was done, she wiped her face with a cool, damp cloth and realized two things: one, it was Sunday so she wasn’t late for anything. And two, there was a glorious smell coming from the kitchen and overtaking her home.

      Surprisingly, whatever that scent was, it didn’t make her more nauseous. If anything, her stomach was ready to go. This roller coaster of emotions and cravings was extremely difficult to keep up with.

      Eve thought back to last night when Graham had made a simple grilled cheese sandwich and cut up an apple for her. Then he’d practically patted her on the head and sent her to bed, saying he’d lock up.

      So, either he’d stayed and that was him in the kitchen, or one of her sisters was here. She highly doubted Nora or Grace had come by just to do some cooking, so she had to assume Graham had made himself at home.

      Considering that she’d just tossed her cookies, so to speak, she opted to brush her teeth before heading down. By the time she hit the bottom steps, her mouth was watering. The magnificent aroma filled the entire first floor. Suddenly her belly growled and she had no idea how she could go from sick one second to hungry the next. Pregnancy sure wasn’t predictable.

      Heading down the wide hall toward the back of the house and the kitchen, Eve tried to figure out what to say to Graham. She’d seriously had a meltdown last night. He’d been so concerned about the baby, about her. But she hadn’t been able to control those insane emotions.

      Years ago when she’d thought herself in love, she’d have given anything for her boyfriend to have cared about her, about their baby. But she’d endured the first trimester and part of the second alone. Then she’d struggled through the miscarriage, the D & C, the grieving. All of it on her own. She’d pushed her sisters away because nobody could fix her broken heart. Nobody could bring back her baby and she wanted to be left alone.

      Graham was most likely worried about his place in their child’s life. He wasn’t the type of man to sit back and let someone else raise his child. Still, the fact he’d stayed last night showed the type of man he was. He could’ve walked away.

      So what did this mean? Did he want more than just shared parenting? Did he want to try at a relationship?

      Good morning, shoulders.

      Freezing midstride, Eve stared straight ahead to the sexiest cook she’d ever seen. She’d seen Graham countless times with nothing on, but finding him in just his jeans standing at her stove was like some sort of domestic porn. Seriously. This was calendar material. Forget the firefighters, sign Graham up. The way those back muscles flexed and relaxed as he did...whatever it was he was doing.

      There was a man cooking in her house. The sexy, hot father of her baby was cooking in her house.

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