Free Confidential: Expecting! by Jackie Braun Page B

while they’d circled the crowded dance floor. To be fair—and Mallory was a firm believer in fairness—she’d been only too happy to return the favor. And later she had.
    She dabbed moisturizer on her face and, rubbing it in, sighed. He’d said he would call today, but he hadn’t. Not while she’d been at work, not on her cell phone and not since she’d been home. It was now past eleven o’clock, the last hour of the day ticking away. She tried to remain optimistic, which was something in itself. Even two years into her relationship with her last boyfriend, Mallory had taken every vow Vince made with a grain of salt:
    “The next time my boss invites everyone out to dinner, I’ll invite you along.” “When my parents come to town next time, I’ll introduce you.” “I’ve got a buddy who says he’ll get us some prime Sox seats for the next game.”
    Yeah, right. Whatever. Mallory hadn’t pinned her hopes on any of her ex’s promises. She’d known he would break them. Just as when she was a kid she’d known her father would fail to honor his word the fewtimes he’d actually made plans to visit with her after the divorce.
    For reasons she couldn’t quite comprehend, she wanted to believe Logan. She didn’t want him to disappoint her.
    She moved to her bedroom, where she slipped into a tank top and boxer shorts. Pulling back the comforter on the antique four-poster she’d purchased at an estate sale in Lake Forest, she knew there would be no need for down tonight. Even the cotton sheet would be overkill. The air-conditioning unit had been fixed, but even with it blasting on high her skin felt heated.
    She was fanning herself and considering a cold shower when the telephone rang. Even before she glimpsed the Caller ID readout she knew who it was. Her heart did a crazy thump and she was glad no one was around to see her foolish smile.
    “I was just thinking about you,” she said in lieu of the standard greeting.
    “I guess that means I didn’t wake you. Are you in bed?” His voice was low and all the sexier for it as he asked the question.
    “As a matter of fact, I just climbed under the covers.” Mallory lowered herself onto the mattress as she made the claim.
    “Imagine that. So am I.”
    Her already elevated body temperature shot to the combustible range as she pictured Logan stretched out on his mattress wearing what he’d had on late last night…nothing. “Mmm.”
    “What was that?” he asked.
    “Nothing.” She smiled at the memory. “Nothing at all.”
    “I’m sorry to call you so late. It was a crazy day. After my show I spent a few hours taping promotional spots to run during other programs and then…it doesn’t matter. Suffice it to say it was a really long and tedious day.”
    “Sorry. We can talk tomorrow if you’d like. For that matter, you needn’t have called at all.” Though she was so glad he had.
    “I told you I’d call. I’m a man of my word.”
    Logan said it simply, stating it as fact. Her heart did that funny thump thing again. She wasn’t sure which she found more disconcerting, the flash of fire he could provoke with a look or this new physical reaction.
    “I like knowing that you try to keep your promises,” she admitted.
    “Everyone should.”
    “But everyone doesn’t.”
    “You’ve been hurt,” he said.
    “Haven’t we all?” Mallory waited a beat, wondering if he might mention his own breakup, and not just because she wanted a story and still smelled one here. But because she wanted to know more about Logan for herself.
    He made a sound of agreement, but didn’t expound on it. Instead he said, “It’s pretty much a given that by the time you get to our age someone will have broken your heart or breached your trust. It’s the human condition. Of course, that doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
    “No.”
    She heard him sigh. “It’s late. I should let you go.”
    “Is that a polite way of telling me I need my beauty sleep?” Mallory