LITMIR.BIZ

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enough of a mess. He didn’t need to make it worse.

      After she lost the contents of her stomach, Renee stumbled out of the stall to the sinks. The woman who’d brought her the soda handed her another wet towel.

      “When I was pregnant with my oldest, I couldn’t take the smell of coffee. My husband was sure glad when he could have his morning cup again.”

      Renee’s eyes fluttered closed. Coffee, congealed oatmeal, what next? “I do miss my morning coffee.”

      “I’m sure your young man is excited by the prospect of becoming a father.”

      That was a question that she’d wrestled with since the day the pregnancy stick had turned blue. She still hadn’t come up with an answer. Would Hawk be pleased? Furious? Would he try to deny being the father? At this point, it didn’t matter.

      “You okay now?” the woman asked.

      Renee nodded and they walked into the hall.

      Hawk stood outside the door, waiting. “Are you all right?”

      “I’m fine.”

      He didn’t look convinced.

      The older woman smiled at Renee, then turned to Hawk. “Just hang in there. Her morning sickness should pass soon. And take comfort, my poor husband couldn’t drink coffee, either, until I gave birth to our son.”

      “Morning sickness,” Hawk repeated. “Morning sickness?”

      “I’d like to go home, Hawk.” Renee didn’t wait for him but started down the hall.

      He quickly caught up with her. “Are you pregnant?”

      She stopped and glared at him. “You want to have this discussion here in the hall of this public building so all of Houston can see and hear us, or do you want to have it back at my apartment?”

      His eyes narrowed. “I’ll wait until we’re home. But then—”

      “Then I’ll talk to you.”

      She thanked Heaven that Hawk didn’t demand answers there in the courthouse. She didn’t know what her reaction would’ve been if he’d pressed the issue.

      They were almost at her apartment when Renee’s stomach growled, breaking the tense silence. When Hawk glanced at her, a blush colored her cheeks. He pulled into the fast-food restaurant across from her apartment building and went to the drive-through window. He ordered the breakfast biscuit he knew she loved. When he ordered a coffee, she shook her head.

      “No coffee. Orange juice, please.” She rested her head on the back of the seat.

      After getting their order, he drove to her apartment. He followed her up the stairs and into the building. Once inside, he put the bags on the kitchen table where a thick book sat. The Complete Guide to the Nine Months of Pregnancy. Hawk picked it up.

      The book detailed the changes in her body and even mentioned food that might upset a pregnant woman. Too bad it hadn’t mentioned coffee.

      “Were you going to tell me?” he asked accusingly.

      Guilt swamped her, followed by anger. “You can get off your high horse. As I recall, you didn’t want to get married, so why would I think my being pregnant would make a difference?” Her harsh indictment hung in the air.

      “It would’ve.”

      That wasn’t a comfort to her. Or was it? “How was I to know?”

      “Have you been sick often?”

      “I’ve been puking in the mornings and in the afternoons. Certain smells drive me into the bathroom to lose my lunch. Obviously, coffee is one smell I can’t tolerate.”

      “Then I’d say it’s fortunate we’re going to get married.”

      “You should write for a greeting-card company,” she replied. “You’ve got a way with words.”

      He tensed as if she’d hit him with a lash, but he didn’t return the hostility.

      The instant the words were out of her mouth, Renee wanted to take them back. It would gain them nothing to be at each other’s throat. In spite of everything, marriage to Hawk was the logical solution for this mess and probably the easiest. Too bad it wasn’t the most palatable.

      She wanted to ask him why he was doing this, but she knew the answer. Hawk’s devotion to Emory was legendary around the company. It was as if Hawk had become the son that Emory had lost. And not only would Hawk protect her, but Emory would also have his socalled son marry his illegitimate daughter. It was perfect solution for some people. Just not for her.

      “Why don’t we eat? We can talk about how we’ll tell your father about the baby. It makes our marriage that much more important. Now it’s not only your safety that’s up to me, but our child’s, as well.”

      Although Renee didn’t want to sit down and talk, her stomach growled. Ignoring him, she stepped around his body and reached for one of the sacks. If he thought everything was going to be as it was before, then he was in for a big shock.

      He waited until she was almost finished with the biscuit before he repeated his earlier question. “Did you plan on telling me about the baby?”

      “It wasn’t going to be a secret much longer.”

      “But you weren’t going to tell me,” he pressed.

      “As I recall, you didn’t appear to want any involvement.”

      “I wouldn’t have walked away,” he tersely replied.

      Her eyes narrowed. “I see. You would’ve endured.”

      A muscle jumped in his jaw. “We can speculate all we want but the facts won’t change. We’re going to be parents, and that should be our main concern…and your safety, of course.”

      He reached out and grasped her hand. The electricity that always seemed to be there ignited.

      “Renee, I know you wanted something different. A romance, a church wedding with all the trimmings. But I can’t give those to you. I wish I could.”

      “I don’t want your pity, Hawk.”

      Cupping her chin, he shook his head. “It isn’t pity, Renee. It’s regret.”

      Great, just what a prospective groom shouldn’t say. He regretted the situation. It didn’t comfort her.

      Hawk leaned against the passenger side door of his car. Pregnant. Renee was going to have his child. The very idea of it shook him to the core and ripped through the wall of emotions that he’d fought a lifetime to suppress. His own mother had been expecting him when his parents were forced to marry. She had used the event as a club in every argument his parents ever had. He could still hear her shouting how he’d ruined her life. He clamped down on the memories.

      Instead, he thought about Emory. Would Emory be excited about the idea of a grandchild? Of course he would be, but Hawk knew that none of the other Sweeneys would welcome the news. It made protecting Renee all the more important.

      Would she ever have told him about the child?

      Don’t be stupid, his conscience told him. You two weren’t talking. Why would she tell you that she suspected she was pregnant? But as she said, it wouldn’t have stayed a secret much longer.

      He didn’t like the idea of not knowing about the child. They hadn’t planned on it, but no matter what, he wouldn’t walk away.

      Hearing the front door close, he watched her walk toward him. Renee Michelle Girouard was a beautiful woman, with deep-blue eyes and long auburn hair that caught fire in the sunlight.

      The first time he’d seen her, when she’d come to work at Texas Chic between her junior and senior year in college, Hawk knew he was in trouble. His attraction to her had scared him,

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