LITMIR.BIZ

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pair, this one with a hole on the side of the upper thigh. It was almost as if he’d predicted her fascination with the chinks in his armor.

      She realized she’d been gawking at him only when she heard Rachel’s clunky car wheeze away. Nick grinned down at her, resting his arm up against the door frame. Something wicked urged her to nestle a palm against his cut waist, slide it upward, over his stomach, the side of his chest, until she could dig her fingers in the tender spot under his arm.

      Bad girl. Dumb girl. Girl who had no business even thinking about sex stuff after Chad had proven how incapable she was of handling an intimate situation.

      And Nick wasn’t helping, with his insolent smile and leathery scent. He was so close she could hear him breathing. She wasn’t happy to find that she’d been matching him, breath for breath.

      “Hi,” he said softly, still leaning.

      “Hello. May I come in?” Or maybe not. Could be an awful idea here.

      He paused a moment, his pale blue eyes running over her body until she blushed inside and out. What could a man like him see in a getting-fatter-by-the-moment, bad-news girl? He grinned again, backing up to allow her entrance.

      She stepped into the room, thinking she was doing pretty well poise-wise until she saw it.

      The bed.

      She’d just stepped into a situation she might not be able to handle.

       Chapter Four

       N ick rested his hands on his lean hips, obviously amused with Meg’s motel-bed shock. “It’s not going to swallow you up.”

      But it sure consumed the room, thought Meg. It was king-size, robed with a quilted gingham pattern. The Bates Motel furnishings gave Meg a shiver: two Spartan nightstands, a dreary lamp, a tiny TV that required you to switch channels by hand dial and a dresser capped by a long, bleary mirror… And, wouldn’t you know, the mirror reflected the entire length of the bed. She didn’t even turn around to look at the shower for fear of fainting right on the spot.

      “Of course it won’t swallow me.” She cleared her throat as she turned her back on said furniture. She tried to laugh off the nervousness, but what came out of her lungs was far more terrifying than the room. A near cackle. A genuine, Witchy Poo, yikes-I’m-being-chased-by-the-devil cry for help. She clamped her lips together before subjecting them both to more terror.

      Now that she’d gotten both Nick and the bed out of the same line of sight, she felt more comfortable. “You’re probably wondering why I’m here.”

      Silence. No need for words. Nick merely crossed his muscled arms over his chest and rested his back against the wall.

      She took a deep breath and exhaled. “The truth of it is, I’m still not sure what to tell you about marriage.”

      He nodded. A muscle flexed in one of his arms, a quick, jerky motion, almost as if he’d blocked an incoming fist to the gut.

      Could this man be a father to her child? Could he forget that Chad Spencer had taken a pretty active part in creating him or her? Meg held back another nervous laugh. It didn’t get tenser than this. “I’ve thought of so many reasons not to say yes to you.”

      “I heard them the other night,” he said, his voice low, as skin-tingling as fingernails lightly scratching down her back.

      She thought of how nice it’d be to have someone like Nick around every night, someone who actually warmed her heart, her body. Somebody who—maybe someday—could care about her. Aunt Valentine would never come back again. Her parents would never welcome her into their arms. All bets were off on Chad becoming a part of her family. Meg had no doubt Nick cared, but would he be a real family to her?

      Then again, how many men wanted to marry a woman who was about to give birth to an illegitimate child? Maybe Nick was the closest she’d ever get to having a family again. Even if, every time she peeked over at him leaning against the wall, she saw the reflection of foster home abandonment in the way he crossed his arms, the way he kept his silence.

      What secrets did this man hide from her? Did she really want to know?

      All she was certain of was that she’d always have secrets of her own. Especially the one about her family and why they’d never, ever, allow her into their home again. It was a secret that, if revealed, could turn Nick against her. One that could give Chad supreme power if he decided to engage her in a custody battle for her baby.

      This marriage could even the playing field with Chad. And that was it, the answer she’d been searching for. It was too bad she couldn’t enter this marriage because of love, but love was a luxury she couldn’t afford after all the mistakes she’d made with her life.

      Somewhere in her brain, Chad was laughing at her. It was the same laugh she’d heard the night after they’d made love—or whatever it was called. It’d certainly had nothing to do with love. Fear had driven her, fear of being alone for the rest of her life.

      Nick’s gravely voice shoved Chad’s laughter out of her perception. “Have I lost you, Meggie?”

      Her heart jumped, then she smiled. He was referring to her woolgathering, nothing else. If she turned down his proposal, it wouldn’t tear him apart. Nick had no emotional stake in this.

      “You haven’t lost me.” Not yet. “I still don’t understand why you’d offer to do this. I guess I need to know before this goes any further.”

      His arms remained crossed. “You’re right, I haven’t explained anything.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what I was expecting you to say when you don’t realize where I’m coming from.”

      He motioned toward the bed, a grin hiding in his eyes. “It’s the only seat in the house, Meggie, and I know it can’t be comfortable standing on your feet for too long.”

      She reluctantly edged onto the bed, sighing as the weight was taken off her legs. Maybe Nick would be a good husband—thoughtful, fantasy-inducing… She wiped her mind clean of wicked thoughts and waited for him to explain.

      “I guess I should make it clear that our marriage would be in name only. That should soothe your thoughts a little.”

      Something in her heart took a dive. “But—marriage?”

      “Yeah, I know it’s a big step.” He looked her straight in the eyes, a soul-searing request for faith. “I wasn’t the one who set off the bomb in Chaney’s Drugstore, and I mean to correct the misconception.”

      Meg felt her eyebrows pulling together. He was kidding, right? “Nick, the bombing happened sixteen years ago. You’re still obsessing over it?”

      Wrong thing to say. He stood a little taller, stiffer, his arms tightening over his broad chest, his strong shoulders lifting as if counteracting another burden that had been hefted onto them. “The Reno family was the closest thing I ever had to a normal life. It’s something worth fighting for. When Spencer set off that bomb, he didn’t just destroy a building, he blew up their confidence in me. My parents never talked to me again. Same with my brother, Sam.”

      Meg hadn’t realized the depth of his hatred until now. She wondered anew why he wanted to be a father to Chad’s child.

      Nick continued. “I can’t get my parents back. And Sam might not even want to look me in the eye again. But I’m sure as hell going to make sure Chad Spencer never hurts anyone in this town, and that includes you, Meggie. You and your baby.”

      Her throat burned from emotion. It’d been a long time since someone had cared this much about her. Aunt Valentine would’ve gone out on a limb for Meg, and now Nick was here to take her place. She could actually have a family again.

      The only drawback was this raging anger that emanated from Nick’s every word. It frightened her, yet his knight-in-shining-armor attitude all but overshadowed that fear. His gesture of marriage touched her, made her feel like a person

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