Free Foolish Expectations by Alison Bliss Page A

Eight
     
    Nash wasn’t sure what to believe.
    When she’d turned down his marriage proposal, Nash understood her need to choose a life partner based on love, rather than necessity. Hell, he felt the same way. But arranged marriages had been around for centuries and many were successful once the couple grew to love each other. In time, he thought they would do the same. After all, she was the mother of his unborn child. That alone made him care more for her than just some one-night stand. Not that she’d ever been that to him, anyway.
    From the moment the waitress had given him Bailey’s credit card, Nash had hoped he would find her and it would be the start of something between them. Sure, he’d been pissed to find out she’d never told him her real name. And yes, it had annoyed him that she’d never bothered to show up on his doorstep, though she knew where he lived. Now it all made sense.
    But she’s married? Fuck.
    What the hell was he supposed to do about that? And where the hell was her husband, anyway? If Bailey was thinking about moving in with her father, then that meant her spouse wasn’t in the picture—at least not fully. Was he alive? Was he out of town?
    So many questions ran through his mind, but he couldn’t ask her a single one. The bomb she’d dropped on Nash had stunned him into silence, and before the shock wore off enough for him to speak, Bailey had run into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Clearly, she wanted to be alone, which was fine by him, since he needed time to think as well.
    Either way, he was involved now, which seemed to be the very thing she didn’t want. Well, tough shit. The idea of her taking off with his baby to parts unknown was ludicrous, especially when he had the means to take care of both of them. Like it or not—husband or not—Nash wasn’t going anywhere. And although she didn’t know it yet, neither was she. And he’d make damn sure of it.
    After a half hour passed, he tapped on the bedroom door and pushed it open. Bailey lay on the bed and tilted her head up until her glossy eyes met his. “Nash? W-what are you doing back here?” She sniffled.
    “I never left. Are you all right?”
    She tensed and her lips flattened into a thin, grim line. “I-I’m fine.”
    “You’re not fine. But it’s okay. We don’t have to figure anything out tonight. I can plainly see the thought alone stresses you out, which is the last thing you need right now. I don’t want to do anything to put our child in danger.”
    Our child. He liked the sound of that.
    Her body relaxed a little. “I just want to change and go to bed.” She got up and walked over to her dresser and pulled out some clothes, then headed into the bathroom.
    He pulled the comforter back and arranged the pillows while waiting for her to come back out. When she did, he gave her a stern look.
    “What?” she asked casually, as if she wasn’t standing there in a tiny pair of shorts and a tight tank top with no bra that showed her hard nipples.
    He nodded to her attire. “Could’ve warned me.”
    “I normally sleep in much less, but I couldn’t very well walk out here half-naked, now could I?”
    He groaned under his breath and resisted the urge to shift the instant swelling in his groin area. God, he wanted to touch her, but he couldn’t… Damn woman’s trying to kill me.
    Despite her insistence that she could do it herself, Nash helped her into the bed and quickly covered her with the sheet. It was either that or risk doing something that was surely against doctor’s orders. But he wasn’t planning on leaving her all by herself, so he sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off his boots.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Getting comfortable. I don’t plan on sleeping with these on my feet.” He pulled at his plaid shirt, unsnapping all the buttons simultaneously before sliding it off his shoulders and down his arms.
    Her eyes widened as she sat up. “You can’t stay here!”
    “Why? Is