Free Accidental Baby by Kim Lawrence Page A

referring with a grimace to her sickness.
    ‘It shouldn’t last much longer—so they tell me.’ She certainly hoped the professionals knew what they were talking about. ‘I eat in the morning to compensate for later on. It won’t harm the baby,’ she reassured him. ‘I asked.’
    ‘I wasn’t thinking about the baby.’
    ’Oh! I’m tough,’ she assured him earnestly.
    ‘As old boots.’
    The affection in the swift sideways glance had the power to suspend her heartbeat. Don’t do anything stupid like reading anything but friendship into that, she instructed herself sternly.
    The four-wheel drive crunched over the gravelled surface of the long, crescent-shaped driveway. Jo looked out at the horses grazing in the lush paddock the driveway bisected. The horses had originally been a hobby which over the years had grown. Pat Rafferty had retired early from his law practice and was a well-respected and successful breeder these days.
    The stables were busy, but the house was empty. She knew the absence of his mother hit Liam as he walked into the kitchen; she felt it herself and her heart ached for him. It was the one room that most echoed the warmth and humour of Maggie’s personality.
    ‘I suppose your stomach is a bit delicate?’ Liam filled the kettle and placed it on the hotplate of the Aga.
    ‘Not in the mornings’ She pulled out a chair beside the large scrubbed table.
    ‘Bacon, egg. . . sausage?’ He reached for two earthenware mugs.
    ‘Everything, I’m greedy.’ The memory came flooding back so abruptly she couldn’t breathe. She’d asked for everything before and had she received and given just that!
    The sound of the mug smashing into a thousand pieces on the floor broke the sudden electric silence.
    ‘Hell!’ he swore softly. ‘Where does Mum keep the dustpan?’ His blue eyes had darkened several shades and his olive skin seemed to be drawn tighter over the sharp contours of his face.
    She immediately recognised that her light-hearted reply had triggered the same response in him. Knowing her sensual fantasy was being shared only increased the heavy, hot languor that had invaded her entire body. Throat dry, heart thudding, she cleared her throat.
    ‘In the cupboard, over there.’ Despite her best efforts it was barely more than a husky whisper.
    She ached for his touch; for a moment the yearning blanked out every other thought in her head. How had she been so blind to something that had been staring her in the face? Of course she wanted his child, she wanted every part of him. Greedy didn’t begin to cover the ferocity of her desire.
    ‘Thanks. Lucky it wasn’t the best china.’
    ‘Yes.’ The words didn’t mean anything, they just covered the gap in normality. Part of her still longed for that normality, but part of her was no longer satisfied with the comfortable security of their deep friendship. She needed
     more—much more. What an awful, hopeless situation to find herself in.
    ‘That should do it.’ He straightened up suddenly and she flushed, as would anybody caught ogling someone’s tight, masculine rear.
    ‘Women look too,’ she said belligerently, instinctively defending herself from the glitter of his blue eyes. Why, she wondered despairingly, didn’t I just keep my mouth shut like a normal person?
    ‘Was I objecting?’ he said, holding up his hands. ‘Who needs subtlety? I’m an enthusiastic advocate of girl power.’
    I just bet you are. ‘Are you laughing at me?’ It wasn’t surprising—he had all the smug confidence of someone who knew he had a beautiful body and sex appeal that went off the scale.
    ‘The fact I’m laughing at all is a miracle. A miracle only you could have brought about, Jo. You really are unique. Thank you.’
    The unexpected and genuine warmth was lovely, but she’d have much preferred he thought of her as sexy and seductive rather than some sort of clown—unique or not.
    ‘I’d prefer feeding than thanking,’ she pointed out