Free Everything but the Baby (Harlequin Superromance) by Kathleen O`Brien Page A

must have seemed to you. You must have thought it meant I didn’t trust you at all.”
    He cocked his head. The sunlight caught his silky blond hair and made it gleam like gold. “What else could it have meant?”
    â€œIt meant that I’m a fool. A weak-minded fool. I let my father’s lawyer talk me into something I knew was wrong.” She dug into her purse and pulled out the sheaf of papers. “I brought the wretched thing with me, Lincoln, so that you could see me tear it up. I love you. I trust you with my life. If you’ll have me back, I’ll—”
    She broke off again, letting the quaver in her voice hint at a breakdown to come. Weak. Think weak . Shebowed her head low, as if she couldn’t even look him in the eye.
    The silence stretched several seconds. She fought the urge to glance up at him, to see if he was buying it. She kept her chin tucked, staring down at her chest, right into the big glassy eye of her diamond pendant.
    It was one of her nicest pieces and fairly impressive. Not golf-ball big, not actually vulgar, but substantial and sparkly enough that even the untrained eye could see it was special.
    She’d added it to her suitcase at the last minute, the way you might pack carrots for a horse or candy for a baby.
    Darn it. The silence was going on too long. She decided to make a small sobbing noise, although it came out kind of like a cross between a hiccup and a burp.
    But it worked.
    â€œHey, don’t cry,” he said. His, slender hand stretched out and cupped her chin. “Come on in. We’ll talk.”
    Â 
    A FTER A LLISON LEFT for Lincoln Gray’s house, Mark spent a little while talking to Tracy, who had insisted he update her every day.
    Then he headed for the mainland. A new chain of banks headquartered in Fort Lauderdale had approached his firm recently about representation, and, since three would definitely have been a crowd in this phase of Allison’s plan, he figured he might as well get some work done.
    He didn’t get back to the Hideaway until dusk. Hewas surprised Allison hadn’t called his cell to report on how the first assault had gone. But if she’d been with Lincoln all day and too absorbed to make a phone call…well, maybe that was all the report he needed.
    He felt a small ripple of distaste at the thought, which surprised him. He didn’t give a damn whether Allison’s strategy included doing the hoochie-koochie with Lincoln in a Roman tub full of gold coins and Vaseline. He wasn’t here to guard her chastity—a fortress he suspected Lincoln had breached weeks ago anyhow. He was just here to make sure she didn’t tip Lincoln off and scare him back into hiding.
    And, if the jewelry gods were with him, to snatch back the real peacock and replace it with the fake.
    The Hideaway’s front lobby was almost empty. On a mild night like this, with a nice breeze whisking away the heat of the day, most of the guests were probably out back, drinking sangria and daiquiris in the courtyard that overlooked the ocean. Through the picture window he could see twinkling white lights swaying on palm fronds, and a glimpse of a glowing turquoise pool.
    Danny O’Hara manned the front desk. The kid seemed as surly as ever while he checked in a young couple that were in a big hurry to get to the honeymoon suite.
    â€œHey,” Mark said with a smile. “Is Ms. Cabot in her room?”
    â€œBeats me.” Danny stared at the printer, which was buzzing out some kind of paperwork. “Maybe Flannery knows. She’s been stuck to her like glue all day.”
    â€œAll day?” Mark frowned. How long ago had Allison returned?
    Danny yanked the paper out of the printer and slid it across the counter toward the couple. He clearly did not enjoy his reception duties. Luckily, this particular couple wasn’t likely to notice. “Yeah. Flannery dragged her to ballet practice and then to