LITMIR.BIZ

      Chapter Three

      Paige was thankful that Jared had left the office for an early lunch and had told her not to expect him back until after two, if then. Despite his totally professional attitude toward her the entire morning of his second day back in Grand Springs, he had seemed nervous and edgy. And once or twice, when he’d thought she wasn’t looking, she’d caught him staring at her. Smiling, she had returned his stare, giving him an opportunity to say something—anything—personal. But all he’d done was clear his throat and look away. If he’d wanted to say something to her, why hadn’t he? Maybe her wishful thinking had made her imagine the longing in his eyes, or perhaps it had just been a reflection of the longing in her own heart.

      How was she going to work alongside Jared day after day, see him walk out of his office with his dinner dates time and again, and then have to order morning-after roses for those women, as she’d had to do today for Marcy Dailey?

      “Eating in today?” Kay asked as she entered the employees’ lounge.

      “Yes, I brought a microwave meal.” Paige pointed to the low-fat, low-calorie pasta dish she’d just warmed.

      Kay tossed a brown paper bag on the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. “I brought tuna with fat-free mayo on whole wheat and bottled water. I’m watching my figure. What’s your excuse for eating that stuff?”

      “I’m watching my weight, too,” Paige said. “I’m only five-five and I’ve gained three pounds more than I should have. Dr. Petrocelli says that since I’m already well-rounded—” Paige rolled her eyes and sighed “—I need to watch my weight or I could easily balloon into an elephant by the time the baby arrives.”

      “Speaking of Baby Montgomery, have you given any more thought to what we talked about last night?” Kay unscrewed the lid from her bottled water.

      “Shh!” Paige glared at Kay. “Anyone could overhear you. No one knows I’m pregnant, and I certainly don’t want anyone suspecting that Jared is the father.”

      “You do realize that sooner or later, you’re going to have to tell him.”

      “He may not believe the baby’s his.” Paige lowered her voice to a whisper. “He has no reason to believe me. He’ll probably think that I’m just trying to trap him because he’s rich.”

      “Anyone who knows you, knows you aren’t the type.” Kay unwrapped her sandwich.

      “That’s just the problem. Jared doesn’t know me. Except as his employee. He doesn’t have a clue as to who I am as a person.”

      “Then we’ll have to figure out a way for him to get to know you. And we don’t have any time to lose. You’re going to have to tell him the truth before you start showing.”

      “I think it might be better all the way around if, when it becomes necessary, I tell him he isn’t the father. That it’s my boyfriend’s baby.”

      “What boyfriend?” Kay took a hefty bite out of her sandwich.

      “The imaginary one who fathered my child.”

      Kay chewed and swallowed, then washed the food down with water. “What if Jared wants to meet your boyfriend? What will you do then?”

      “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. My main concern is keeping this job. I need my insurance, and once I have a child to support, I’ll need my weekly paycheck more than ever.”

      “You’ll never be able to look the man straight in the eye and lie to him,” Kay said. “You’re far too honest. Besides, even if by some miracle you pull this off, what will you do when one day L.J. gets a real good look at your kid and notices that it’s a carbon copy of him?”

      “I can’t worry about the future. At least not the distant future. I have to concentrate on the present and on the immediate future, and how I’m going to explain to everyone that I’m four months pregnant and not married. I wish I wasn’t so old-fashioned., but I come from a very conservative, traditional family that believes that you marry and then have children.

      * * *

      Jared had left the office an hour ago with no intention of returning today. Spending an entire morning around Paige had been more difficult than he’d ever imagined. He realized now that getting her out of his system was going to be more difficult than giving up cigarettes. He’d quit smoking seven years ago, but he’d be damned if he didn’t still miss the old habit.

      During his burger-and-fries lunch at The Saloon, a local bar and grill, he had decided that avoiding Paige was the act of a coward. He’d stayed away from her for four months, running from his feelings. Now, dammit, he’d returned to Grand Springs to face those feelings head-on…and conquer them.

      Entering Paige’s office, Jared found it empty. She had probably gone out for lunch. Fine. He’d grab a cup of coffee in the employees’ lounge and get busy on some phone calls he needed to make.

      As he neared the lounge, he heard two female voices and immediately recognized them. Paige and Kay.

      “…How I’m going to explain to everyone that I’m four months pregnant and not married,” Paige said.

      Jared stopped dead in his tracks directly outside the half-closed lounge door. It couldn’t be! Surely he’d misunderstood what Paige had said. She couldn’t be pregnant. She couldn’t be!

      “Look, I think all your worries would be over if you’d just tell him he’s going to be a father,” Kay said. “I’ll bet money that he’ll want to marry you. Something tells me that he’s the old-fashioned, possessive kind.”

      “I don’t want him to marry me because

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