First Comes Baby...: The Loner's Guarded Heart by Michelle Douglas Read Free Book Online

business, Ben. I work when I have to work.’
    He shut up after that. It struck him how much Meg stuck to things, and how much he never had. As soon as he grew bored with a job or a place he moved on to the next one, abuzz with the novelty and promise of a new experience. His restlessness had become legendary amongst his friends and colleagues. No wonder she didn’t have any faith in his potential as a father.
    All you did was collect sperm in a cup .
    He flinched, spilling cereal all over the bench. With a muffled curse he cleaned it up and then stood, staring out of the kitchen window at the garden beyond while he ate.
    You never planned to have a child.
    He hadn’t. He’d done everything in his power to avoid that kind of commitment. Bile rose in his throat. So what the hell was he doing here?
    He stared at the bowl he held and Stefan’s face, words, rose in his mind. A baby deserves both a mother and a father . He pushed his shoulders back and rinsed his bowl. He might not have planned this, but he had no intention of walking away from his child. He couldn’t.
    He swung to Meg, but she didn’t look up from her computer. He wasn’t hungry but he made toast. He ate because he wanted his body clock to adjust to the time zone. He ate to stop himself from demanding that Meg stop what she was doing and talk to him right now.
    After he’d washed and dried the dishes Meg turned off her computer and pushed it to one side. He poured two glasses of orange juice and sat down. ‘You said we have to talk.’ He pushed one of the glasses towards her.
    She blinked. ‘And you don’t think that’s necessary?’
    ‘I said what I needed to say yesterday.’ He eyed her for a moment. ‘And I don’t want to fight.’
    She stared at him, as if waiting for more. When he remained silent she blew out a breath and shook her head.
    He rolled his shoulders and fought a scowl. ‘What?’
    ‘You said yesterday that you want to be acknowledged as the baby’s father.’
    ‘I do.’
    ‘And that you want to be a part of its life.’
    He thrust out his jaw. ‘That’s right.’
    ‘Then would you kindly outline the practicalities of that for me, please? What precisely are your intentions?’
    He stared at her blankly. What was she talking about?
    She shook her head again, her lips twisting. ‘Does that mean you want to drop in and visit the baby once a week? Or does it mean you want the baby to live with you for two nights a week and every second weekend? Or are you after week-about parenting?’ Her eyes suddenly blazed with scorn. ‘Or do you mean to flit in and out of its life as you do now, only instead of calling you Uncle Ben the child gets the privilege of calling you Daddy?’
    Her scorn almost burned the skin from his face.
    She leaned towards him. ‘Do you actually mean to settle down and help care for this baby?’
    Settle down? His mouth went dry. He hadn’t thought...
    She drew back and folded her arms. ‘Or do you mean to keep going on as you’ve always done?’
    She stared at him, her blazing eyes and the tension in her folded arms demanding an answer. He had to say something. ‘I...I haven’t thought the nuts and bolts of the arrangements through.’ It wasn’t much to give her, but at least it was the truth.
    ‘You can’t have it both ways, Ben. You’re either globe-trotting Uncle Ben or one hundred per cent involved Daddy. I won’t settle for anything but the best for my child.’
    He leapt out of his chair. ‘You can’t demand I change my entire life!’
    She stared at him, her eyes shadowed. ‘I’m not. I’ve never had any expectations of you. You’re the one who stormed in here yesterday and said you wanted to be a father. And a true father is—’
    ‘More than sperm in a cup.’ He fell back into his seat.
    She pressed her fingers to her eyes. ‘I’m sorry. I put that very crudely yesterday.’
    Her guilt raked at him. She hadn’t done anything wrong. He was the one who’d waltzed in and