A Baby in the Bargain by Victoria Pade Read Free Book Online Page A

crazy.
    Then he took his arm away and it was even crazier that she was sorry it was gone.
    “So, looking at the building for the community center,” she said to put things squarely back into the dominion of business.
    “Right...” Gideon said, giving no indication that being near her had affected him the way it had affected her. “I’ll be in Lakeview all day tomorrow. I could meet you at the building I have in mind at...maybe, let’s say, four-thirty? Any earlier and I’m afraid I might keep you waiting again.”
    “My schedule is light tomorrow. I can leave work early enough to get to Lakeview by four-thirty. Just send me the address.”
    “I’ll do that,” he agreed as they headed for the coffee shop exit.
    “Thanks for the latte,” Jani said, passing in front of him as he held the door open for her. “And I’m glad you decided to let us do this for Lakeview and for your great-grandfather.”
    The frown that skittered across his handsome face made her wonder if, for just a few minutes, he’d forgotten who she was. And she was sorry she’d brought it back to mind.
    His only acknowledgment of what she’d said was to raise that dented chin of his as he followed her outside.
    She had the sense that he was tempted to walk her to the driver’s side of her car when he hesitated to go to his own. But apparently he resisted the urge because as Jani went to her sedan, he walked in front of it to his own vehicle.
    While Jani unlocked her door he stood with his back to his, watching her.
    “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she called across to him.
    “Right. Tomorrow,” he confirmed, waiting for her to get in before he turned to his own car.
    Sitting in her driver’s seat, Jani got her second glimpse of his rear end through her passenger window as he leaned over to unlock his door.
    But she quickly turned her head to face forward when he got in so he wouldn’t catch her ogling him.
    As she started her engine and pulled out of the parking spot, she angled her eyes in the direction of her rearview mirror so he wouldn’t know she was looking—even though she was. She just couldn’t stop herself from getting every last glimpse of him.
    The thought of seeing him again the next day excited her a little.
    Maybe even more than a little.
    In fact, she was already looking forward to it as if it were the highlight of the day to come.
    And wondering if she should wear the formfitting fuchsia dress that she usually considered too tight and way, way too short for the office...

Chapter Four
    T he site Gideon had in mind for the community center was Lakeview’s old city and county building. It was a plain, three-story yellow-brick structure with boards over several windows, grounds that were all weeds and a cracked and pitted parking lot.
    Jani didn’t have any trouble finding it on Wednesday afternoon—it was on the same road that led to the Camden warehouses and factories. She must have driven past it on the few occasions she’d been to the facilities in Lakeview. She just hadn’t taken any notice.
    As she drove up, what initially struck her was that Gideon hadn’t been kidding about it needing a lot of work. But then she spotted the parking lot, Gideon’s sports car and Gideon himself, and everything else flew out of her mind.
    Wearing tan slacks and a short leather jacket over a cocoa-colored shirt, he was half sitting, half leaning on the hood of his car. His long legs were stretched far out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. His arms were locked over his chest, his hair was slightly windblown. And had the backdrop been more scenic, it could have been an ad in GQ for the car or the clothes. Or the man himself. He looked dashing with just a hint of bad boy thrown in to make it interesting.
    That’s the picture that should be on his website, Jani thought as she parked alongside of him and tried to get her pulse to stop racing. She reminded herself that this was not a social visit, that Gideon Thatcher reviled