LITMIR.BIZ

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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.

      This sight alone was enough to make her want to strip and see if they could make use of that kitchen island, but she’d promised herself no more. She needed to focus on so many other things and her sex life was going to have to take a backseat for a while. What a shame, when she was facing such a delectable sight.

      “You’re just in time.”

      He didn’t turn around as he spoke, just continued to bustle about getting breakfast ready as if this were the most normal thing in the world. As if he belonged here.

      Eve couldn’t move from the doorway. Between last night and this morning, she had no clue what Graham had planned next. Not one time did he try to get her undressed. Maybe he didn’t find her as appealing as he used to. Perhaps pregnant women were a turnoff. Granted, it wasn’t like she felt sexy at the moment.

      No matter, she wasn’t looking for more. At this point, her only hope was that she could keep the peace in her family when they found out she was carrying a Newport’s baby.

      “Why did you stay?”

      Graham froze, plates in hand. Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he held her with his intense stare. “Because someone needs to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

      “So you’re my keeper now? I’m old enough to take care of myself.”

      She didn’t mention the fact that he was younger than her. There was no need to state the obvious. But the fact that he’d stayed out of pity didn’t sit well with her. Maybe she’d gotten her hopes up too high to think he’d stayed simply because he cared.

      “I’m not saying you can’t.” He dished up some type of casserole and...was that fried apples? “It’s the weekend. I wanted to stay and make you breakfast, so I did.”

      She wanted to argue, but the second she took a seat at the island and he placed that plate in front of her, she had no idea what they’d been on the verge of bickering about.

      Eve stared down at her plate of food, which looked like it came from some cooking magazine—not the kind featuring light cuisine, either. Then she glanced at Graham, who was scooping up his own servings.

      “You cook?” Okay, that was a stupid question. Clearly elves weren’t involved. “I mean, this is more than just oatmeal or cereal for breakfast. Where did you learn this?”

      Graham set his plate down and went back for two large glasses of orange juice. After putting everything on the island, he took a seat on a stool next to her.

      “My grandma Gerty taught us all about cooking. It may have seemed like punishment at the time, but looking back I can see she did it out of love, and as a way to bond.”

      The wistfulness layered with the love in his tone told her this grandmother was one special lady. Eve pierced one gooey apple with her fork. The buttery, cinnamon sugar flavors exploded in her mouth. She prayed this food stayed with her. This was definitely too good to waste.

      “Tell me about Gerty,” Eve said, forking up a bite of some egg, sausage and cheese casserole. “Is she still alive?”

      Graham swallowed and shook his head. “No.”

      That one word, full of sadness, had Eve pausing with her fork midway to her mouth. “Oh. Um...sorry. I didn’t think.”

      Graham barely spared glance look her way. “No reason for you to be sorry. She passed away several years back. But she was like a second mother to us. Mom met Gerty at a coffee shop. Gerty was retiring, but she’d already taken a liking to Mom. The two were close and Mom moved in with Gerty because she needed help.”

      A single, pregnant woman. Eve’s fork clattered to her plate as she thought of the parallel between Graham’s mother’s situation and hers. Did he see it? Is that why he was so adamant about helping her? Did he want to make up for the sins of some faceless man? Graham was so loyal, so noble where his family was concerned.

      “Don’t go there.”

      Eve jerked her gaze to Graham, who had shifted on his stool to face her.

      “Don’t let your mind betray you,” he added. “I’m not pitying you because of my mother’s circumstances. I’m sure she was scared being single and pregnant, but that’s not why I’m here.”

      Resting her palms on the edge of the counter, Eve tipped her head. “Why are you here? What do you want, Graham? Just say it.”

      His aqua eyes sparkled, and his lips pursed just slightly, reminding her of what she’d been missing out on the past few days. “Maybe I want to get to know you more. Maybe I think you need to know me better, as well. We need to be strong together, for the sake of our baby and our families.”

      Eve couldn’t agree more, but the way he looked at her said he wanted more than just pleasantries. Could she deny him? Probably not, but she did wholeheartedly agree with him that they needed to work together.

      “Then you’ll have to stop eye-flirting with me,” she told him, resuming her amazing breakfast.

      “Eye-flirting?”

      “Yes.” She stabbed another apple with her fork. “You look at me and I can see you undressing me in your mind, but you haven’t made any attempt to do so. I can’t figure you out, but I can’t be on the receiving end of that stare anymore.”

      Eve froze midchew as Graham’s fingertip slid along her jawbone. Quickly, she finished her bite so she didn’t choke. Her body responded instantly and he’d barely touched her. Why did she have to still want him? Why couldn’t she get him out of her system?

      “I’ll strip you right now and take you on this counter.”

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