Free Caroselli's Accidental Heir by Michelle Celmer Page A

may not have wanted to admit it to himself, but he definitely knew something was wrong. “I should have been there for you.”
    Lucy was quiet for several seconds, then said, “I think we’re doing this wrong.”
    “Doing what wrong?”
    “This.” She gestured between the two of them. “Aren’t we supposed to be blaming each other? Yet here we both are falling all over ourselves, trying to take the blame. It’s...weird.”
    She had a point. For him, the blame game had been responsible for the demise of more than a few budding relationships. But his relationship with Lucy was unlike any he’d ever had. “It’s just who we are, I guess.”
    “I guess.” Despite what she believed, he’d failed her. He’d let her down. It wasn’t going to happen again. As far as he was concerned, for the rest of her life, Lucy would never want for a single thing. Even if she refused to marry him, he would always take care of her as the mother of his child,. And as much as he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her, it might only push her farther away. Though it was tough, he stayed on his side of the car.
    “Do you have a preference as to where you’d like to shop for clothes?” he asked, starting the car.
    “I usually go to the thrift shop on Montrose,” she said. “They have good stuff at that one. I find a lot of things that are new with the tags still on for super cheap.”
    Over his dead body.
    He took her to the mall instead, to the department store where his sister and mom liked to shop. Only then did he appreciate just how frugal and disciplined she could be. She went straight to the clearance section. When she did find something she liked she would immediately come up with some reason why he shouldn’t buy it for her. Why she could live comfortably without it. So different from Alice, who always seemed to have her hand out. Lucy had class, and dignity, and too much pride for her own good.
    What had Elana called Alice? A bloodsucking she-devil? If the shoe fit...
    “It’s okay to have nice things,” he told Lucy when she turned down his offer to buy her a fifty-dollar pair of sunglasses.
    “I know, but I don’t need them.”
    “So what? Why does everything have to be a debate? You like them, so just get them.”
    “It doesn’t work like that for me. When I see something I like, I automatically tell myself all the reasons I don’t need it, and I usually talk myself out of buying it.”
    Not this time. “Well, I’m getting them. Wear them, don’t wear them, I don’t care.”
    He grabbed the glasses from her and located the nearest register. Before she could catch up and stop him, the glasses were bought and paid for.
    “See, that wasn’t so bad,” he said, handing her the bag. “Was it?”
    Lucy cracked a smile. “I guess I’m just not used to someone wanting to do something nice for me.”
    “Then you had better get used to it. And you had better pick out some clothes, or I’m going to do it for you. And as you know, I’m about as fashion conscious as a house fly.”
    “The truth is, the clothes we’ve seen here aren’t exactly my style,” she admitted. “I know it’s what’s appropriate. But it’s just not me.”
    He realized she was right. A lot of what they’d seen was stylish and chic, but geared more toward the career women, which for Lucy just wasn’t all that practical. Screw appropriate, he just wanted her to be comfortable and happy. “Then we’ll find something that’s more you.”
    They came across an upscale boutique appropriately named Bun in the Oven , and the instant he saw the clothes in the window display, he knew they were in the right place. The outfits were young and hip, the fabrics soft and feminine.
    As the stepped inside, Lucy gasped softly, gazing around in wonder. “I’ve never seen clothes so beautiful.” She touched the silky sleeve of a peasant blouse, reaching for the tag to check the price.
    “Don’t even think about it,” he said, taking