A Camden's Baby Secret by Victoria Pade Read Free Book Online Page A

of day’s beard shadowing his sharp jawline, making him look just gritty enough to be a turn-on.
    Not that she was turned on. Livi was clear about that.
    But still, there was no looking at Callan, watching him do what he was doing, without appreciating the undeniable appeal of a fit man’s physique.
    In a purely analytical way.
    Until her traitorous brain zoomed somewhere else.
    Back to Hawaii. To that night. She’d insisted on complete darkness, so she hadn’t really seen him naked.
    Something she suddenly regretted...
    She realized belatedly that she’d completely missed whatever it was that Greta was talking about. She tuned back in as the child unfastened her seat belt and opened the car door, saying, “Let’s go show Uncle Callan my new stuff!”
    Oh.
    Livi swallowed and got a grip on herself, coming totally into the present again.
    What do I do now? she thought.
    What was the protocol for two people in this situation? Was there a protocol?
    Yesterday had been awkward, but there had been the Tellers and the nurse and Greta to serve as a buffer between her and Callan, plus so much going on that they’d both addressed only what was happening.
    But now? If she followed Greta to the barn—as it seemed she should—then what?
    Did they just go on acting like strangers?
    Or did they, at some point, talk about Hawaii?
    Did she tell him what a jerk she thought he was for ditching her in the middle of the night after sleeping with her?
    Or was she supposed to act as if it hadn’t fazed her? As if it was par for the course—sleep together, go your separate ways, it happened all the time...
    Was that what he thought of her? That she slept around so much that it wouldn’t be any big deal for a guy to slip out after the fact, without a word? That that was a common occurrence to her?
    What an awful thought.
    It made her want to shout that until him she’d slept with only one man in her life: Patrick. The man she’d loved and been devoted to. The man who had loved and been devoted to her. Her soul mate and the person she’d expected to spend her entire life with.
    But if she did shout that she would just sound defensive, and Callan probably wouldn’t even believe it.
    What did people do in a situation like this?
    For the second time in two days Livi just wanted to hide or run the other way.
    But by then Greta had reached the barn and alerted Callan to the fact that they were there, and he was looking straight at Livi across the distance.
    She took a deep breath and decided that, at any rate, she wasn’t going to act as if she’d done something wrong.
    Yes, she felt like she’d done something wrong—something terribly wrong—by sleeping with him, but in spite of that, people did hook up with someone they’d just met for one-night stands.
    If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be him, for the way he’d treated her—slithering silently out like a snake.
    If either of them needed to hang their head in shame, it was him!
    So she got out of the car and followed Greta’s path to the barn.
    She had barely exchanged hellos with Callan when the little girl announced that she was going to show her grandparents her new shoes and purse. Thinking of that as a reprieve, Livi turned to follow.
    Until Callan said, “Can you hang back, Livi?”
    And off went Greta. Leaving Livi alone with this man she’d never wanted to see again as long as she lived.
    â€œI wanted to talk to you yesterday, but then I had to come out and load that truck. John Sr. won’t let me let anything slide...” Callan stopped short, as if to keep himself from saying more on that subject, and then started again. “And before I got back inside, you were gone. But we do need to talk.”
    â€œOkay,” Livi said, with a note of challenge creeping into her tone. She was unwilling to give him any help.
    â€œHawaii...” he said. “I need