Free Expecting...in Texas by Marie Ferrarella Page B

tabled for the moment. “Is there anything I can do for you, Savannah?”
    No, there wasn’t anything he could do—any more than he’d already done. The kind tone almost made her cry. Savannah shook her head as she picked up a stack of reports.
    “Just throw in a compliment like that every now and then, and I’ll be fine.”
    “No problem.” He followed her to the file cabinet. “I’ll be in Europe for about four weeks, but if there’s anything you need to reach me about, here’s the number of my hotel. I don’t want Dad dealing with any more than he already has to.” Dallas frowned, his features darkening slightly. “He’s got enough on his hands trying to extricate himself from the wicked witch of the west’s clutches.”
    No one, Savannah had quickly discovered, liked Sophia Fortune. She hadn’t met the woman herself, but from all reports, Ryan’s soon-to-be ex-wife was selfish, self-centered and despicable. It was a wonder that the woman had pulled the blinders over Ryan’s eyes long enough to get him to marry her. But he’d been vulnerable right after his first wife Janine had died, and Sophia had apparently used that to her advantage.
    A lot of wrong moves could be chalked up to vulnerability, Savannah thought. She closed her fingers over the paper with the hotel number.
    Dallas picked up the travel bag he’d thrown together. “Then I’ll see you when I get back.” Turning, he almost ran into Cruz on his way out. “Sorry—didn’t see you standing there. Want to see me about something? I’m in a hurry, Cruz.”
    Cruz shook his head, his easy smile betraying none of the emotions simmering beneath. “No, I just came to see Savannah.”
    Dallas’s mouth curved. “Then I’ll get out of your way.” The next moment, he was gone.
    Damn, when was she going to be able to look at Cruz without feeling her heart leap into her throat?
    Nerve endings rose, stiffening like tiny hairs in a breeze. Savannah didn’t know where to look, what to do with herself. She hadn’t been alone with him for almost two weeks—ever since she’d told him that she was pregnant.
    But because of her office’s orientation, she found herself watching Cruz work with his horse far more than she should. Watching, and letting her mind drift to a world that was perfect. A world where resentment and repercussions didn’t exist. And love did.
    Forcing a smile to her lips, she looked at him. “What can I do for you?”
    You can tell me the truth .
    His smile remained, sensual and teasing, as he shoved his hands into his back pockets. She looked a little pale, he thought. He wondered if that was because of the baby, or because she never seemed to go outside. At least, he hadn’t seen her around lately.
    “Just stopped by to see how you were doing.” He took a deep breath. The room smelled of wood and lemon polish—his mother’s handiwork. But the scent of exotic flowers was new. Savannah’s. “It’s been about two weeks since I’ve seen you.”
    Two weeks in which he’d tried to blot Savannah out of his system. It might have worked, too, if he didn’t have dreams that insisted on sneaking up on him in the middle of the night. Dreams about limbs as soft as cream, eyes as blue as the sky, and a smile made out of sunshine.
    She came to him like that—a misty, unattainable dream—making him yearn for her. Making him doubt his own sanity when he awoke.
    With the studied air of a man whose most serious thought was of his latest conquest, Cruz sat down on the edge of the desk and looked down at her. His eyes swept over her with familiar ease.
    “So, tell me, how’s it going?” Her figure was as shapely as ever; there wasn’t so much as a hint of the baby that was to come.
    She raised her eyes to his. “Professionally or personally?”
    “Whatever you want to tell me.”
    She pretended that she was still talking to Dallas. It was easier for her that way.
    “I miss teaching, but the work is interesting and