Free The Best Laid Plans by Sarah Mayberry Page B

jaw. Then Ethan reached for his coffee and she saw that there was a slight tremble in his hand.
    It took her a moment to understand what she was seeing: Ethan was nervous. Really nervous, if that hand tremble was anything to go by.
    She frowned. Why on earth would a man as inherently confident and cocky as Ethan Stone be nervous about having a bowl of pasta with her?
    “What’s going on, Ethan?” she asked. “Are you okay?”
    He looked at her, then he glanced at his coffee for a long beat. Finally he met her eyes again.
    “Last week, you said you’d prefer for your child to have a relationship with his or her father if it was at all possible.”
    Her stomach sank. He was going to lecture her again. Tell her she was wrong, that what she was planning was wrong. She’d really hoped that they could get past this, that he could accept her decision and they could remain friends. Hell, she’d even imagined that their friendship might deepen now that they had breached the invisible wall between their work and private lives.
    But apparently Ethan wasn’t going to let this go. Which meant she was going to have to leave. Then she was going to have to cancel their racquetball game and let their friendship fade to polite nods in the hall and the occasional discussion about the weather when they crossed paths in the kitchenette.
    “We had an agreement. No more lectures.” She pushed her coffee away and started to slide off her stool.
    Ethan’s hand curled around her forearm.
    “Give me five minutes. I promise it’s not a lecture,” he said.
    His hand felt very warm where it gripped her arm.
    “What is it, then?” she asked.
    Ethan’s gaze searched her face. “I’ve been thinking about what you said last week. About always wanting to be a parent. About not wanting to miss out.”
    She frowned, trying to understand where this was going.
    “I don’t know if I ever told you, but I was married once. Cassie and I divorced five years ago. When we got married, we planned on having at least three kids. But it never happened.”
    If he was about to tell her that he’d resigned himself to missing out and that she should, too, she was going to dump her coffee over his head.
    Ethan swallowed nervously. “I guess what I’m trying to ask in the least eloquent possible way is how would you feel about me offering to be your sperm donor?”
    Alex stilled. For a moment the world seemed to go quiet. Or perhaps she was simply so stunned she’d blocked out everything except for him and her.
    “I’m…sorry?”
    “I’d like you to consider me as a potential father for your child,” he said. “You should know up front that I’d want to be actively involved in his or her life. I’d want visitation rights and equal say on important issues like education and health. I’d expect to contribute financially. I’d want it to be a real partnership.”
    He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a folded sheaf of papers. “I’ve had a complete medical checkup. My doctor says there are no issues there.” He slid the folded sheets toward her.
    Alex looked from him to the papers then back. She shook her head, utterly blindsided.
    Ethan frowned. “Is that a no? You don’t even want to discuss it?”
    The intense disappointment in his face was enough to spur her past her shock.
    “Ethan. This is—this is not what I was expecting,” she said.
    Understatement of the year.
    “Right. Well, I’ve been thinking about it since last week but I didn’t want to say anything until I had the go-ahead from my doctor.” He gestured toward the printout. “I had my sperm tested, as well. Apparently it’s good to go. Strong motility, the report said. Good count. It’s all in there.”
    He shifted uncomfortably on his stool and she realized he was blushing. Would there be no end to today’s revelations regarding Ethan Stone? If anyone had told her a week ago he was capable of blushing, she would have laughed in their face. As for him