LITMIR.BIZ

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up.”

      He lifted his eyebrows but held her gaze. “I didn’t come here to drink coffee. Though I do appreciate you making it for me—”

      “I know. So, let’s cut to the chase. You’re here because my cousin Victoria made you believe I need your help. I don’t. I may be pregnant, but I’m not in trouble. I’m going to have this baby, and you are under absolutely no obligation to me or to the child.” She paused and drew in a deep breath, hoping to quell another wave of nausea. “I think that covers just about everything.”

      She remained standing, hoping he’d take the hint. Instead, he took a long sip from the mug. “Mmm … good coffee.”

      Seriously? Irritation skittered along her nerves. “Tanner, did you hear what I said?”

      He nodded. “Yeah, I heard you. But what you don’t seem to understand is this isn’t just your child. It’s mine, too. You may think you have it all under control, but you need to know right now. I’m not leaving here until you agree to marry me. Because no child of mine will be born out of wedlock.”

      “Marry you?” she squeaked.

      He watched the emotions play out on her face. First, confusion. Next, a look that resembled something just short of horror. Then the color faded from her cheeks, leaving her deathly pale. Despite the spectrum of emotion, the stubborn set of her jaw never eased.

      So, she was going to make this hard on both of them. Didn’t she understand it could be so simple? Really. All she had to do was the right thing and agree to marry him, and then he’d leave—for the moment, anyway. She could get dressed, go to the office for her phone meeting—or whatever it was she needed to do—while he made arrangements with a notary or the justice of the peace to marry them right here in Atlanta. They would make their union legal sooner rather than later. For the sake of the baby.

      Or maybe because he wanted to pin her down now before she managed to slip away again like she did the last time he saw her. The morning after the storm, he’d taken her to find her family and she’d left him with a handshake. A handshake and a “Thanks … for everything.” He’d known his share of women—spent the night with more than a few—but none had ever shaken his hand the morning after.

      “Look, Tanner, you can’t just waltz into my home and expect me to marry you.” She looked exasperated. “Do you really think that’s the answer to this … this … situation?”

      So, that’s what she wanted to call it. He looked at her for a moment, weighing his words. “Who else knows about our little situation?”

      She crossed her arms over her ribs, pressing the robe against her frame. She didn’t look pregnant, but then again, he had no idea how far along women were when they started showing.

      “No one else knows I’m pregnant, and I’d like to keep it that way. For now, at least.”

      “Well, they’re going to find out eventually. Don’t you think it would be better to hear it from you … or us? Do you have any idea what it was like to learn that the woman I hadn’t spoken to in four months was pregnant with my child? Jordana, why didn’t you tell me before Victoria forced your hand? Why didn’t you call?”

      She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking a little guilty. “I’ve only known I was pregnant for about three months.”

      She was hedging. “Three months is long enough. Why didn’t you tell me?”

      “I guess I was afraid. So many pregnancies don’t make it past the first trimester. I just didn’t want to alarm you.”

      “Alarm me?” he said. “Were you ever going to fill me in?”

      Her mouth held that stubborn line, but then he realized her brown eyes were swimming with tears. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I never meant for this to happen.”

      The hard-nosed approach to getting Tanner Redmond out of her condo hadn’t worked. But the tears did. Jordana wasn’t an actress. The waterworks were genuine, compliments of the perfect storm of pregnancy hormones and frustration that consumed her all at once. It hit like an emotional tidal wave crashing down on her before she could run for cover.

      After that, Tanner had easily agreed to give her time to think, time to get dressed so she could make her meeting on time—but only after she’d agreed to meet him for lunch tomorrow—Saturday, her day off.

      She lifted the mug of naturally decaffeinated English breakfast tea and sipped at it tentatively, unsure of how her stomach would respond. But it was her conscience that felt ill. She’d decided the best way to let him off the hook was if she unexpectedly got “called out of town” tomorrow.

      Jordana had decided she’d be doing Tanner a favor by doing this. Her administrative assistant, Marta, would call and deliver the news later this afternoon. She’d tell him, No, unfortunately, she was not certain when Jordana would return.

      That meant there would be no way Tanner, who had a business to run back in Red Rock, would be able to wait for her in Atlanta. He’d have to get back to tend to his flight school. Once he was able to put some distance between them and think things out rationally, he’d realize getting married was not the answer. They’d work out a visitation schedule—one of the perks of Tanner being a pilot was he’d be able to fly in and see his child as often as he liked. By that time, he’d see that marriage was just an unnecessary burden to place on everyone involved.

      She straightened a stack of papers on her desk, beginning her daily tidying-up ritual early. Because she planned on leaving early. She was indeed going to take herself out of town. She’d take her laptop and the files her father had asked her to read through and go to her favorite bed-and-breakfast on St. Simons Island. The time away at the beach would do her a world of good. Not to mention, she wouldn’t have to ask Marta to lie to Tanner. Truly, she would be out of town—on business.

      He could rest assured that he made a valiant effort, but he would know full well that he was absolved of any and all obligation to her and the baby.

      Jordana stared out her office window on the twenty-second floor, high above Peachtree Street. The breathtaking view of downtown Atlanta did little to soothe her. The shiny, mirrored buildings only seemed to reflect the fact that running away to the beach didn’t make the real challenge go away. Eventually, she would have to break the news to her parents. The mere thought turned her stomach inside out. She put a protective hand on her belly. Maybe what she was feeling was the remnants of the morning sickness. She glanced at her desk clock. It was nearly noon. She needed some nourishment, needed to feed the baby something other than saltine crackers. She wrote a reminder to herself on a Post-it note to follow up on an idea she wanted to present to her father before she left for St. Simons—the idea stemmed from a lead he had mentioned. Maybe if she proved just how conscientious she was at work, he would be more accepting of the news that she was about to become a single parent.

      The buzz of the phone intercom startled her and made her drop her pen.

      “Ms. Fortune,” said Marta. “There’s a gentleman here to see you.”

      Jordana’s heart hiccupped. She wasn’t expecting anyone, but she had a dread-filled hunch she knew just who it might be.

      “Thank you, Marta. Does this gentleman have a name?” She purposely softened her voice so not to shoot the messenger.

      Marta was quiet for a few beats before she said, “Yes, ma’am. He says his name is Tanner Redmond.”

       Chapter Two

      For a very brief moment, Jordana contemplated an escape plan. It was a crazy idea, of course. Tanner was standing right in front of Marta and had heard her talking to Jordana. Escaping or pretending she wasn’t in the office was not an option. But it didn’t mean she had to make herself available to him.

      She just needed a moment to think….

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