Free No Foolin' (Willowdale Romance Novel) by Lisa Scott Page A

her friend, Chelsea, told her. “Didn’t you know? She lives with you. She never talked about her movie-star boyfriend?”
    “I’ll call you back.” Dina hung up the phone and did a quick Internet search. And sure enough, there was Kate kissing Teague Reynolds in front of an airplane. Her chest tightened. Did this mean she wasn’t coming back? How could she do this to Dina? She swallowed the giant lump in her throat and realized she shouldn’t have claimed she didn’t need help with the baby. And she should have agreed that Kate was right, that George wouldn’t stick around.
    Dina paced around the room, nibbling on a cookie. There was a stash of them in her nightstand. She couldn’t let Kate know how desperate she felt. She’d probably come back in a minute and blow everything with gorgeous T-Rex. Someone should live happily ever after. So, she texted Kate: OMG. T-Rex? U R So Lucky!
    Dina dropped the phone when someone knocked on her open bedroom door. She looked up. “Oh, it’s you.” Flopping back on her canopy bed, she studied the boy-band posters that still lined her walls. Probably should take those down now that she was going to be a mama.
    “That’s a fine way to greet your father.”
    She shrugged. “Did you hear about Kate? She flew out of town yesterday with Teague Reynolds, the movie star.”
    Dad’s eyes widened .
    Just one more thing perfect Kate did right. I get knocked up and she hooks up with a celebrity.
    “Movie star?” Dad knitted his brows. “She left town and didn’t tell me?”
    Dina rolled her eyes. “She’s twenty-six, Dad.”
    “Who did you say it was?”
    “Teague Reynolds.”
    He widened his stance and crossed his arms. “I don’t like this,” he said. “Not one bit.”
    She picked at a hangnail on her thumb. “What’s not to like? If she’s lucky, she’ll get knocked up, too.”
    He frowned at her and left the room.
    So that was it. Dina really was all alone; all alone with a baby on the way and no one to help. Her throat clogged, and she blinked back tears. She hated crying. Oh, she faked it when she needed to, but real tears were another thing.
    She stared at her closet, which was taunting her with cute clothes that no longer fit. Favorite childhood stuffed animals sat on top of her dresser. Old issues of Cosmo peeked out from under her bed. Not too many parenting articles in those. It was like she didn’t even belong in this room anymore. But where did she belong? She just wasn’t ready for this.
    Pressing her fingers against her eyes, she sucked in her breath. There was only one thing to do; there was only one person who could help her. She had to talk to the baby’s daddy, tell him he was right. But would he want her now? The baby kicked, and she rubbed her belly and stared out the window.
    GAZING OUT THE WINDOW, Kate felt like she was in a different world when the plane ducked under the clouds and she saw Maui rising from the sea. Of course, she’d been in a different world since she met Teague. But Hawaii was paradise. Pale pink clouds steamed over mountain tops, and white foamy waves rimmed the shore of the jewel-green island. This tiny land mass had appeared out of nowhere in the vast gray-blue sea. It was as if she’d entered a tropical dream when the flight landed. Fitting, she thought. This whole thing seemed like a dream.
    They climbed into the fanciest limo she’d ever seen, but still, she was distracted by the sights and sounds. She fingered her orchid lei as the limo shuttled them to their hotel. Spiky green fronds danced in the breeze on top of tall, skinny palm trees. Sunlight glinted off the ocean while gulls bobbed and swooped down to the water. She lowered her window to get a better look. The weeds growing along the highway looked like her houseplants back home. She inhaled deeply and decided it even smelled exotic.
    Teague was watching her. Dang, she felt stupid. Like a dog out for a ride, sniffing the breeze. She put up her window and