Free Dare to Hold by Carly Phillips Page A

surrounded her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I can manage a stop by the mall.”
    She shook her head. “No. You do not want to come while I try on fat clothes.”
    She set the glass in the sink and attempted to wrench away from him, but he held her in place. “What the hell, Meg?” He turned her around and lifted her chin. Tears burned in her eyes, and he narrowed his gaze. “Fat clothes?” he asked, trying not to get angry and to understand instead.
    She remained stubbornly silent.
    He shook his head, totally at a loss. Sometimes women fucking confounded him. “What’s with the embarrassment?”
    “Men,” she muttered. She sniffed and shook her head. “Sure, you’re here now. My body is reasonably fit. I’m not stupid enough to think you’ll still be here when I’m big like a whale, so can we skip the embarrassment of you seeing me shopping for stretchy pants with a pouch in front? I’m sure you have better things to do, and besides, I already have plans with my friend Lizzy.”
    He blew out a long breath, finally understanding. Or he thought he did. “I realize we’re getting to know each other, but can you give me a little credit? It’s not like I didn’t know you were pregnant going into this.” He was still attracted to her. And that was that.
    “Whatever,” Meg said.
    He had sisters, which meant he knew she was going to believe what she wanted to, his words be damned. Fine. He’d just go along with the program.
    “I need to stop home and change into clean clothes. Then I thought we’d go by my brother’s and give him information to start digging into your ex. After that?” He’d concede defeat on this one. “You can go to the mall while I head over to work and talk to my boss.”
    “I wasn’t aware I needed permission,” she said, trying to remain sweet but make her point. She caught his look. “Are you giving notice?”
    “Something like that,” he muttered.
    She wouldn’t like the next part of his plan, so he intended to put off explaining it to her until her mood and feelings about him improved. He fully expected the fireworks to start again when she found out he wasn’t leaving her alone to deal with her lurking ex.
    *     *     *
    The ride to Scott’s took longer than Meg expected, and by the time he pulled off an exit on I-95, she had a throbbing headache. And when he turned onto a tree-lined street with set-back houses—big Spanish-style houses in the adobe coloring she loved, with gates around each—the dull ache turned to a searing pain. “You live here ?”
    “Sure do.”
    “On a cop’s salary? Not that it’s my business,” she quickly said, realizing how rude and uncalled for her remark had been. “I’m sorry. I’m just surprised.”
    He turned, his gaze hidden behind really sexy aviators. “I get it. And for the record, I want you to feel like you can ask me anything.” He turned into a long driveway and parked by a two-car garage. He pulled off the sunglasses and left them on the dashboard.
    “Okay … then how do you live here?” she asked, feeling a bit braver but still overwhelmed by the upscale neighborhood.
    “My mother’s parents passed away, and when my grandfather died, he left us kids each a very nice trust fund. For me, it was a way to separate myself from my father’s money.”
    She studied him without interrupting, wanting to understand this enigmatic, complicated man.
    He shut the ignition and twisted to face her. “When I was married, we lived in an apartment in South Beach.”
    “Married?” This was the first she’d heard of it, and she couldn’t believe the uncomfortable twisting in her belly. She had to remind herself that he’d said he had been married. He wasn’t currently. And he’d been understanding of her past, so she could do no less for him.
    He let out a groan. “It was a couple of years ago,” he said, gripping the steering wheel hard. “And in truth, Leah, my ex-wife, was more interested in my