Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (38 page)

“You. You were beautiful, sleeping
there
. Did you know you were rubbing
Mr.
Bump
in your sleep?”

“
She
was probably moving
around
.
”
Danni
start
ed to stretch.

“Do that
again
and I’ll end up on the floor.” H
e
grabb
ed
for the side of the bed
.

“Who’d have thought a
queen-size bed would feel small,
”
she declared.

“Big enough for two
. C
onsiderably cozier for three.
” H
e snuggled
closer
to her again.

She pulled his arm around her to cradle her belly
.
“Can you feel him?
I think that’s his knee—right
here
.”

He left his hand
where she held it
, and
smiled. “I feel it.
I think he’s trying to stretch, too.”

“As if there was
much
room for that
.
”
She
planted a
quick
kiss in
Ben’s
palm
before
look
ing
at the travel clock propped on the nearby windowsill. “Didn’t you say you had to be at the clinic
for whatever you and Joel
were going
to
talk about
since the clinic’s closed today
?”

He slid
out of the bed and ended
up
on the floor with a thud. “Oh, God. I don’t dare be late!  I get the shower first,” and he trotted into the bathroom, leaving her to snuggle under the covers
a while longer
.

All the way to the clinic, Ben couldn’t stop thinking about spooning with
Danni
the night before. Had she felt his erection? She hadn’t said. He knew he couldn’t be near her in bed without that aching reaction to her nearness
. B
ut she’d asked him
to hold her close
and he couldn’t say no. Now what was he going to do? It had taken him forever to
fall
a
sleep and then he’d wakened earlier than usual in the
sam
e state of painful arousal. How could he act like a caring friend without giving away what else he felt for her?
That she turned him
on
like he’d never been turned on before?

He was certain she would think he was just like that creepy boyfriend, a guy who only wanted to have sex with her
. She
was pregnant, for Gods’ sake!
But pregnancy hadn’t stopped
Jason
from wanting to show his love for
Julie
. His sister had been
s
o open with
Ben
about the physical bonds of love.
He’d
heard the unmistakable sounds of passion the night he’d stayed over at her place when she was pregnant with Nattie
, and she’d correctly guessed why
Ben
couldn’t keep
from
blushing when
Julie
and
Jason
had come into the kitchen for breakfast, still unable to keep their hands off each other. When
Jason
had
headed back upstairs
to wake
Mark
,
Julie
’s words had been clear.

“He loves me, Ben. And I love that he shows me—every night. It’s normal—
”
S
he’d laughed and rubbed her rounded form
“
—and a whole lot of fun. After all, we don’t have to worry about my getting pregnant.”
Then
she’d
rubbed his head, hard,
giving him a noogie
like she’d done
so many times
when they were kids.

“But, aren’t you afraid?”

“Of what? He’s not going to make me go into labor. I’m only seven months
along
. The baby’s perfectly safe.” She’d grinned. “Probably likes the action, too.”

When
Jason
had returned to the kitchen, she’d hugged him tight and murmured something in his ear that caused him to erupt in belly laughs. Later that day, when
Ben
was helping
his brother-in-law
stack wood for the outdoor grill,
Jason
had said, “You’ll see,
Ben—when you
meet
the right lady,
” a glint of humor in his eyes.

He’d found the right lady, he was sure of that, but h
e’d probably blown it w
ith her w
hen he hadn’t come clean with
Danni
about
why he’d really kissed her on Thanksgiving. She’d given him the perfect opening and he’d
lost his nerve, saying only
that it was a good meal. How lame was that?

He had to get control of himself if
Danni
asked him to snuggle with her again—so she wouldn’t get the wrong idea. Well, the right idea, but the wrong time.
When
the right time
might
be, he still wasn’t sure.

Chapter 1
1

The student union was crowded at the beginning of the new term.
Sarah squeezed past the line of students snaking past the coffee kiosk and someone jostled her shoulder.

“
Hi
,
Sarah
.”

She
glanced up.

Steve
was smiling at her
.

“What do you want? I thought you graduated already.”
She pulled a napkin from the container.

“I
’m
a few
credit
s
short, so I’
m
taking
two
class
es
this term
.
”

“Too much foot
ball and not enough class.
” She smirked. “
So typical
.”

He
scann
ed
the room
.
“
Where’s
Dannilynn
these days
?”

“Why do you
want to know
?” Sarah
saunter
ed toward the table
where her order had been placed.

Steve followed her
as she headed in the direction her friends’ waves.

“
Didn’t she dump
you
?
”
Why couldn’t he leave her alone?
Danni, too?

“If anyone g
ot dumped, it wasn’t me. I hear
she’s
got a kid
. What do you know about that?”

So that’s it.
“As if I’d tell you
.”
She reached for the coffee she’d ordered.

“If you see her, ask her if the brat is mine.”

“Why should you care
? Even if
it is
, I doubt it’s your first.” She
glar
ed
at
him
. “Just ’
cause you can throw a football doesn’t make you worth her time.
I told
her
you were a loser
last spring
.
How much you wanna bet
she
agrees
?
”

Steve grabbed Sarah’s arm, spilling her coffee.
“Watch your mouth, bitch.”

“You watch yours, Steve. I hear
d
she swore out a complaint against you.
” She looked down at his hand, still clutching her elbow.
“
Take your hands off me or I’ll
do the
sam
e
.”

He backed away from her.

“What was that all about?” her friend asked.

“Nothing important. Just a
has-
been football star tryin
g to throw his weight around.” But w
hen
she
returned to
the dorm, Sarah called
Danni.
A recorded
message told her
the phone had been disconnected.

A week later,
she reached
Danni
at the
cottage
.

“
Your mom gave me your
new
number. I
thought I’d let you know Steve was asking about you.”

“What did he want?”

“
Just if I’d seen you. W
here you were.”
Sarah twirled a pen
on her desk then doodled Danni’s name on the paper
.

“What did you tell him?”

“I didn’t.
H
ow are you?
I haven’t seen you around.
”

“I’m
not coming back until spring quarter
. Please
don’t
give
Steve
this
number or tell him
where I am. I never want to see him again.”

“No worries.”

Th
e
afternoon
Bronnie convinced Joel to ask
Dannilynn
to work at the front desk
,
Danni
entered the clinic, all smiles. She greeted the regulars who were waiting in the reception area and slid into Bronnie’s chair in time to answer the phone.

“New Harbor An
imal
Hospital
.
”
Then, after a pause, “O
ne moment, please.” S
he t
ransferred the call to the back.

Bronnie stuck her head out
the door
from
the general treatment area
and gave her a thumbs-
up.

“Glad you could come in
,
”
Joel welcome
d
her a few minutes later
.
“
After we close for the day, come
see me
.”

She nodded and reached for
the
ringing
phone
.

When office hours were over, she
smiled
at Ben as she
s
queezed
around
him
on her way to
Joe
l
’s office. 

“You wanted to see me
.
”

Joe
looked
at her over the tops of his
half-
glasses. “
You’re
going to have that baby
one of these days
.
By the way, when are you
due
?”

“D
octor
Wright says March, but it’s a guess, so maybe earlier than that.”

“I’d have
figur
ed tomorrow or the next day.” He winke
d
at her
.

“
Joe
l
!
I’m not that big
.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” He
looked
for a chart amid the pile on his desk.
“
By the way,
how are things at home?”

“If you mean with my parents, I’m talking to my mom, but I’m living
on my own.”

“Hm
m
.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just asking. Are y
ou ready for this baby
,
when it’s time
?”

“Yes
, we’re taking a childbirth class
.”

“What about
school?”

“Not this quarter, maybe spring,
and
for
sure,
both s
ummer
session
s
. Why
?”