Free Colton's Christmas Baby by Karen Whiddon Page A

breathtakingly beautiful in a far different way than Massimo had been.
    Dangerous for a woman like her. If she was smart, she’d stay far, far away from him. She didn’t need that kind of trouble. Her hand drifted to her belly. Especially not now.
    Still unable to look away, she sucked in her breath as he glanced over his shoulder, his dark gaze locking on hers.
    Damn. Hurriedly, she looked down, cheeks flaming. Then, peeping up through her lashes, she watched as Damien took a seat across the room in a booth with his brother Wes. As he sat, the crowd of people obscured him from her view. Grateful he hadn’t come over—heaven helpher explain that one to her mother—part of her felt hurt that he’d ignored her.
    Still, it took a while for her racing heart to settle back into a steady beat.
    â€œHey there, girl.” Bonnie Gene breezed up, grabbing Eve in a fierce hug before she’d even had time to register her mother’s arrival.
    â€œHave you ordered yet?” Dropping into the seat across from Eve, Bonnie Gene snatched up the menu and flipped it open.
    â€œNot yet.” Eve couldn’t keep her gaze from straying over toward the side of the bar where Damien sat.
    Naturally, Bonnie Gene noticed. “What are you looking at?” Then, without waiting for an answer, she pushed to her feet to get a better look. “Damien Colton. I’ll be.”
    Eve felt her face heat. Dang it.
    â€œHmmm.” Her mother’s shrewd blue eyes pinned Eve. “I feel really bad about what happened to that boy. Have you spoken to him yet?”
    That boy was now thirty-five, and whether Eve had talked to him was none of her mother’s business. Still, she couldn’t outright lie. “A little, just in passing.”
    â€œI haven’t. But I have talked to his sister. Just yesterday, in fact.”
    â€œYou talked to Maisie Colton?” Surprised, Eve stared. Everyone in Honey Creek knew how much Maisie hated the Kelleys. Each and every single one of them. “When? How’d you manage to get her to talk to you? Was she…nice?”
    Bonnie Gene signaled the waitress, who hurried over with a steaming cup of coffee, her usual drink, even in a bar. “Yesterday. And yes, she was nice. She’s the one who approached me.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œShe wants to join the quilting group.”
    Eve’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t have been more surprised if her mother had suddenly announced she wanted to take up hang-gliding. “Really?”
    â€œYes, really.” Satisfied with her daughter’s stunned reaction, the older woman sat back in her chair, smiled and sipped her coffee. “She’s supposed to come visit our meeting next Thursday night. You ought to come, too. It’ll be fun.”
    For once, Eve actually considered attending. But she knew if she started going now, her mother would expect her to go forever and always. Still, watching the train wreck of Maisie Colton trying to interact with a bunch of fervent quilters made it awfully tempting.
    â€œDoes she even know how to quilt?”
    â€œI don’t know.” Supremely unconcerned, Bonnie shrugged. “If she doesn’t, we’ll teach her. It’s about time that woman started trying to become a part of her community.”
    â€œMaisie Colton?” Eve couldn’t wrap her mind around the image of long-legged, willowy, model-perfect Maisie Colton trying to make a quilt with her own exquisitely manicured fingers. “I hope this doesn’t come back to bite you.”
    The waitress hurried over to take their orders. Eve ordered the California burger, with avocado and bean sprouts. After a second of consideration, her mother ordered the same.
    After the waitress left, Bonnie Gene leaned across the table. “Are you going to go talk to him?”
    â€œWhat? Who?”
    â€œDamien Colton. You always did have a thing for