LITMIR.BIZ

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It hadn’t been a totally impersonal hookup, but they certainly had made out. Not like this, standing in the hall outside her door, necking with the man who’d taken her to dinner. There was something wonderfully romantic about it. Something that made her want to sink in for a while and just enjoy the moment.

      Her fingers tested the texture of his short hair still damp from snowflakes. He smelled of the cool crisp winter air and a hint of oregano from the restaurant, and her ravenous senses lapped up every bit.

      “Lauren,” he whispered, scattering kisses up her cheekbone, over her ear, “this is getting more than a little out of control for a public hallway. Do you want to move inside?”

      Did she? She inched back to stare up into his face.

      Her apartment door swept open, startling her back a step and into the present. Jason stepped in front of her protectively, his back tense under her fingers. When had she touched him again? Her fingers curled deeper into the fabric of his jacket, taut muscles flexing under her grip.

      She peered over his shoulder and winced. “Mom?”

Four

      Lauren stared at her mother, framed in the open doorway, and tried not to panic. How long would it take those keen maternal eyes to notice the baby bulge under the baggy sweater? She really should have taken care of informing her parents before now.

      Second-guessing herself served no good. She needed to focus on how to best handle the moment, which began with gauging her mother’s current mood by how she dressed.

      Jacqueline Presley had always been a strange mix of junior league meets avant garde. She wore her standard Chanel suit—plum purple today—but with chunky jewelry in an animal theme. A family of ruby lizards climbed up one side of her jacket. Her emerald cape with silver fringe was draped haphazardly over her arm. She must have just arrived.

      How she’d talked her way past the super to get inside, Lauren didn’t even want to know.

      She had more pressing concerns, anyway. Her mother’s clothes said she was in an up mood, but her tousled hair, chipped nails and shaking hands testified to a frenetic edge. Sure, they were minor signs, but Lauren had learned long ago to catalog every detail, read the nuances, prepare herself for anything.

      As she struggled for what to say, Jason stepped forward and thrust out his hand. “Hello, Mrs. Presley. I’m Jason Reagert.”

      “Reagert?” She shook his hand, then tapped the air with a rhinestone-studded fingernail, chewed down on one corner. “Are you related to J. D. Reagert of Reagert Comm?”

      His smile tightened but didn’t disappear. “My father, ma’am.”

      “Oh, no need to call me ma’am. I’m Jacqueline.” She took his arm and hauled him into the apartment, not even looking back at Lauren.

      What the hell?

      She’d been so freaked out worrying that her mother would learn about the baby—only to be ignored completely. But then, Jason represented everything her mother wanted in a son-in-law. Lauren followed them inside, closing the door behind her.

      Jacqueline’s laugh bounced around in the vaulted ceiling. Her mom had many wonderful qualities, and she could certainly be charming when she wanted. And the times she’d taken meds, life had been level, happy. Lauren couldn’t quite say “normal,” because her mother was always quirky and artsy, but when she took care of her health, those eccentricities were actually fun.

      God, she hoped this was one of those times.

      Lauren inched her purse around over her stomach and followed Jason and her mother deeper into the apartment, the pair still with their backs to her. Jason pulled out a chair for her mother at the dining table. Odd choice, but Lauren wasn’t going to argue, since sitting at the wooden ice-cream-parlor-style table would conveniently hide her pregnancy.

      Had Jason known that? A sharp and watchful edge in his eyes indicated he was very aware of everything going on around him. Realization washed over her. Jason was shielding her from her mother. He’d maneuvered everyone so Lauren’s stomach was never visible, while keeping her mother distracted—offering to take her wrap, pulling out her chair, asking about her trip down.

      Could they actually pull this off without her mom finding out about the baby in such an explosive way tonight? It looked increasingly possible as Jacqueline seemed enraptured with quizzing Jason about his new job in California. Neither of them spared so much as a glance across the table at Lauren. Jacqueline was too busy soaking up the attention to even fidget with her glasses chain dangling from her neck.

      How strange, not to mention different, to have someone run interference with her mom. She’d never had that before—her father had been more concerned with hiding out than containing the situation. Okay by her. She was an adult now.

      Still, it felt good to breathe. Of course, Jason offered only a temporary reprieve. The news would come out soon enough, but in a more controlled setting.

      Fifteen or so minutes of small talk later, Jason clasped Jacqueline’s hand. “Jacqueline, it’s been a delight meeting you. I hope you don’t find me pushy here, but I’ve just gotten in from California to visit Lauren and have to leave soon… ”

      Her mother scooped up her cape and passed it to Jason to hold open for her. “Oh, don’t let me keep you two lovebirds. I’ll just head back to my suite at the Waldorf.” Stepping into her cape and shaking out the fringe, she turned to Lauren. “Lunch, dear, you and I, as soon your guy here returns to California.”

      “Sure, Mom. We really do need to talk.”

      “I know a great place with all organic foods. It’ll help you with that water retention. Your face is a little puffy.” Jacqueline leaned close to press her cheek to Lauren’s. “He’s a keeper. Don’t mess it up this time, dear.”

      Lauren secured her purse over her stomach. “Of course, Mom.”

      She so didn’t want to have a conversation with her mom about finding an “acceptable catch,” especially in front of Jason. She could even let the “puffy face” comment pass if it meant getting through this visit without a confrontation. Come to think of it, her mother would probably see this baby as an opportunity to reel in that “catch.”

      Lauren shivered in disgust at the thought of her child being used that way.

      Jacqueline breezed toward the door with a wave over her shoulder but not even a backward glance at Lauren as Jason escorted her out to the hall.

      Lauren sagged in the chair, her purse sliding to the hardwood floor with a hefty thump. She smoothed her hand over the slight bulge of her stomach, the baby rolling under her hand. No child of hers was going to be seen as merely an opportunity to climb up some social ladder.

      A tear dripped off her chin.

      Damn. She scrubbed the back of her wrist along her face. She hadn’t even known she was crying. She heard the creak as Jason closed the door, and she swiped her fingers under her eyes again, praying she’d cleared away any mascara tracks.

      As he stepped into the apartment again, she scavenged up a smile. “I can’t even begin to thank you.”

      “For what?” He pulled a chair closer to her and sat.

      “For running interference with Mom, for not saying anything about the baby or my slimy accountant.”

      “I’m all about making things easier for you and our baby.”

      Our baby.

      His words sent a shiver through her. Of excitement or fear?

      She thought of their kiss in the corridor and how quickly she could land right back in his arms again, in his bed. Jason had a way of making her lose control, and that scared her most of all.

      Lauren

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