Free Will Work For Love by Amie Denman

news.”
    “It’s a girl!”
    “Awesome!” Whitney caught Taylor’s excitement and
her smile spanned her entire face. She almost couldn’t imagine
their happiness.
    “Healthy and perfect,” Taylor continued. “And
there’s more news. Are you ready for this? Jackson and I have
decided to name her after you.”
    Whitney gasped and couldn’t say anything. She sat
down on a bench near the harbor railing.
    “I’m glad it’s a girl,” Taylor continued, “because
we were going to name it after you either way. Your last name is
perfect for a boy, but I’m not sure I’m too crazy about naming a
son Oliver. Maybe the next one. Well, what do you think about
naming your God daughter Whitney?”
    “I think it’s incredible,” Whitney whispered. Her
eyes filled with tears and she felt sobs choking her. To have a
family again…
    “Don’t get all weepy, honey. I’ll start blubbering,
too. We’ll go to the spa and talk it all over when I get
there.”
    “That sounds wonderful,” Whitney said.
    “Now, I hope you’re out on the town having a
wonderful time right now. I’m probably pulling you away from the
dance floor with three hot island men lined up and waiting.”
    “There are actually five.”
    “I figured.” Taylor paused. “Can’t wait to see you
next week. Love you, Whitney.”
    “I love you, too.”
    Whitney closed her phone and dropped it into her
purse. She was so stunned by Taylor’s news that she forgot about
Chris for a moment. He stood five feet away, politely looking out
at the water. She knew he probably overheard everything she said.
Not that it mattered.
    She took several deep calming breaths. There was
entirely too much excitement in her life right now and her emotions
were dangerously exposed on the surface. She didn’t trust herself
to talk to Chris any more tonight, or to do anything else with him.
Decisions right now were probably the kind she would regret in the
morning.
    It was a totally unusual feeling for Whitney.
Vulnerability. And she wanted to run. She found the keys to her
Jeep in her purse and swallowed hard.
    “Everything okay?” Chris asked.
    Whitney nodded. “Yes. Thanks for asking. And thanks
for listening tonight.”
    He nodded. “That sounds like the night’s over.” He
didn’t make a move to close the distance between them.
    “It’s getting late, and I have a lot of work to do
tomorrow. I’m going to head home,” she said.
    He paused and she wondered if he was going to say
anything at all. Finally, he asked, “Would you like me to walk you
to your car?”
    “I can practically see it from here, but thanks.”
She hesitated. She thought he might ask her out again or at least
ask her to call him. But he didn’t. He stood stock still, both
hands on the railing.
    “Goodnight, Chris,” she said. She turned and walked
toward the city lot downtown as quickly as she could.
    With each step, she left behind one piece of the
sparkling day she spent with Chris.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    Chris didn’t think his headache could get a whole
lot worse. He finally got to sleep at almost three a.m. this
morning, after parting with Whitney downtown. The mixed signals
coming off Whitney confounded him. The night went really well until
Taylor called and he had to listen to her get all gushy just
talking to him. The final “I love you” before she hung up was the
last straw. He needed to keep his head in the game and remember
that he was just stalling her off to save his company.
    Right now, she was costing him sleep. But if he
didn’t get his butt in gear, he might lose more than that. If he
couldn’t get Whitney off his mind, he could at least get her and
her insurance fraud threats off his back. It was already eight
o’clock. Time to get started. The shingles and new screen door to
fix the last of the damage from Hurricane Destiny on his friend
Ella’s flower shop were finally in stock. It was a one-hour job he
could check off his list before settling in for an all-out