Bundle of Joy by Barbara Bretton Read Free Book Online

impassive. "Don't worry," he said in a laconic tone. "I won't embarrass you."
    "It's not that I'd be embarrassed." Well, not exactly. She fumbled about for the right words. "I mean, it's just that I try to keep my private life and my professional life separate."
    He laughed out loud. "You can do better than that, Bradley. I've heard all about your fancy parties."
    "You know what I'm talking about," she snapped, horrified to discover that she was on the verge of tears. "We made a promise last night and I trust you'll keep it."
    He crossed his arms over his muscular chest and the mischievous light in his eyes went out. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm not exactly proud of what happened last night either."
    His words found their mark inside her heart and she swallowed hard. "Well, at least we're in agreement."
    "Yeah," said Charlie as she headed toward the bathroom. "We're in agreement."
    Last night was last night. It was over. Everything about Caroline told him so. The way her arms were wrapped about her mid-section. The tilt of her chin. The fact that she wouldn't meet his eyes. He'd been relegated back to the blue-collar world, locked out of her world as surely as they'd been locked in together the night before.
    She wanted him out of there and she wanted him out of there as fast as humanly possible.
    8:58.
    8:59.
    9:00 A.M.
    It was over.
    The lock clicked open and Caroline swung the door wide.
    "I'd better shove off." He headed for the front of the store. "There'll be hell to pay at the bar."
    She followed him toward the outer door. "You--you won't tell anyone about what happened, will you?" She hated herself for sounding so plaintive but it couldn't be helped.
    "I already told you I won't," he said, not turning to look at her. He didn't want to see the look of relief on her beautiful face that her interlude with the working classes would remain their secret. "As far as I'm concerned, last night never happened."
    "Good," said Caroline, opening the door for him.
    "Good," said Charlie, heading out to his car.
    "We'll never talk about it again," said Caroline.
    "Damn straight," said Charlie.
    "Last night was nothing special," said Caroline.
    "See you around," said Charlie, climbing into his car.
    "Yes," said Caroline, stepping back into her shop. "See you around."
    The whole affair was over and done with and neither one of them would utter a word about it ever again. Caroline would refuse to think about the warmth and security of his arms. Charlie wouldn't waste a second dwelling on the way she'd made him feel as if he could conquer the world.
    They would do their best to pretend nothing had changed between them, that he was still just Donohue-the-short-order-cook and she was Caroline-the-snob-from-Princeton and that their lives had never come together, not even for one magical night in June.
    Fortunately for them, Fate had other plans.
     
     

The First Trimester
     
    The hottest spring on record slid into the hottest summer.
    Life in Princeton and Rocky Hill slowed to a standstill. "Damn heat wave," said the regulars at O'Rourke's Bar and Grill as they ordered up another pitcher of draft. "Can't even think, it's so hot."
    Which was fine with Charlie Donohue. Last thing he wanted to do was think, because whenever he did, he invariably found himself thinking about Caroline Bradley. He'd see a woman with blonde hair on line in the supermarket and remember the way Caroline's hair felt against his face. Or he'd catch a scent like perfumed sunshine and that unbelievable night in her shop would come back to him in all its Technicolor glory.
    "Food's not up to your usual high standards, Charlie," said his boss after a few weeks of this. Something on your mind?"
    Charlie shook his head. "Nothing I can't handle."
    O'Rourke was about to launch into another one of his patented "...what you need is a good woman..." lectures when the phone rang. It was Murphy, sounding manic, terrified and ecstatic all at once. "This is it," said Murphy, as