Finding Her Prince. Robyn Donald
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Название: Finding Her Prince
Автор: Robyn Donald
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: Mills & Boon M&B
isbn: 9780008906009
isbn:
It felt a little weird, but, “Okay.” She looked at the drawings of cuddly zoo animals on the first page. “These are too cute.”
“Those are generic,” Shirley explained. “The next page is cars, fire trucks, airplanes. Boy stuff. Then there’s the sports-themed sketches. Followed by fairy tale characters and princess pictures. Nathan can make a decision when he finds out the sex of the baby.”
“These are really good.” Pretty amazing, really.
She flipped through the pages, each set of sketches more impressive than the last. Knowing whether the child was a boy or girl would narrow down themes, but they were all so adorable, making a decision wouldn’t be easy.
“You’re incredibly artistic,” she said.
“Not really. I just had lots of time to practice.” Shirley’s pleased expression instantly disappeared.
Cindy felt guilty because it was the first time the other woman had smiled and something she’d said had made the warmth dissolve. “You have a lot of natural talent. I don’t think practice alone would be enough to do this.”
“It is if you have the time. My husband left me.” She shrugged. “Because I wasn’t being a wife, I had a lot of time to work on other, creative endeavors.”
But you were a mother, Cindy wanted to say. If the marriage wasn’t working, why didn’t this woman’s time and energy get channeled into the young son who must have been hurt and confused about his deteriorating family? She’d never understood before how priceless her carefree childhood had been but kept the revelation to herself. In fact, she didn’t know what to say.
But not saying anything made this more awkward than watching Nathan explain their complicated association to his mother.
Shirley must have felt it, too. “I’ve kept you on your feet too long. You should rest.”
Alone, Cindy walked back into the room where she’d be staying. The bed was queen-size, covered with a floral quilt and a striped bed skirt in green and white. A tufted bench sat at the foot with her suitcases resting on top. There was an oak dresser with a mirror over it and matching nightstands. Very comfortable and should have been cheerful.
Cindy remembered what Nathan had said about being an unaccompanied minor. She’d assumed both of his parents had demanding careers, but that wasn’t the case. He was a handsome doctor, brilliant and wealthy. Yet she felt sorry for him. And that was stupid. It could potentially weaken the hard crust around her feelings. And that would be a disaster.
If she made it through this pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby, it would be in no small part because of Nathan’s support at this traumatic time. She would be forever grateful to him, but they were having a baby, not a relationship. That’s the only reason she was living in his house.
The emotional health of her heart depended on remembering that.
Cindy had always thought that leather belonged on animals, not furniture, but that was before she’d experienced Nathan’s decor. All afternoon she’d been relaxing on his family room corner group. The cushy feel of the soft leather had changed her opinion. And the TV wasn’t bad either. It had to be at least a seventy-five-inch screen. In her tiny house it would be too big, but this room accommodated it perfectly.
“So size does matter,” she said to herself.
She was watching an old chick flick starring Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood. The TV was so big and clear she could see practically every pore in the actress’s flawless face.
Glancing at her watch, she realized it was after seven. Shirley was out and Nathan hadn’t returned from the hospital. She was getting hungry and wondered whether to go digging into his provisions. Mi casa, su casa, he had said. Before she could decide, the front door opened and closed, then he walked in lugging plastic bags of groceries in both hands.
“Hi,” she said. “Need some help?”
“This is everything.” His eyes narrowed on her. “And you’re here because of questions like that. Your job right now is to carry nothing heavier than the TV remote.”
“Then you should be proud because today I totally rocked this remote control. It got an excellent workout.”
He carried the bags into the kitchen and set them on the granite-covered island in the center. While he unloaded them, he asked, “How do you feel?”
She muted the TV sound before answering. “Good. Normal. No more pains. Not even a hint of a cramp.”
“Excellent.”
“I’m thinking it’s okay to go back to work.”
He was putting a box into the pantry and turned to stare at her. “Your doctor advised you to rest for several weeks.”
“But I feel fine.”
“That’s great. And we want to keep it that way. So just relax and go with it.” He closed the cupboard door. “Where’s Shirley?”
“Astrology class. She was going to skip it and stay with me, but I talked her into going.” He didn’t respond and she added, “You don’t seem surprised.”
“I’m not. Shirley keeps busy.”
“She showed me some sketches for a mural in the baby’s room.”
“Oh?” He put bananas in a cobalt blue pottery bowl on the island.
“They’re really good ideas—for either a boy or girl. She’s quite an artist.”
“Shirley’s had a lot of practice.”
“That’s exactly what she said,” Cindy informed him.
She was looking for some kind of clue as to how he felt about that, but he gave her no reaction, as if he’d perfected not reacting. And really that information was need-to-know. She didn’t need to. Nathan’s relationship with his mother was none of her business. But the fact that he called her Shirley spoke volumes.
When the silence stretched between them, she asked, “So what’s in the bags?”
He wadded up the empty ones and threw them in the trash. “Nothing now. But I got you peanut butter and jelly.”
She wanted to go all mushy inside from the gesture but held back. “What kind?”
“Crunchy. I wasn’t sure what kind you liked, but how can anyone not like crunchy?”
“Sound logic,” she approved. “And jelly?”
“That was a tougher decision. I fell back on personality.”
“How so?” She sat up straighter and tucked her legs to the side.
“Strawberry СКАЧАТЬ