Prince Charming in Dress Blues by Maureen Child Read Free Book Online Page B

the dancing flames in the hearth.
    A way with women, huh? Well, should she pause here to be surprised? Hardly. A man that good-looking, that… male, would hardly be living the life of a monk. Still, it hurt more than a little to think that his slow,easy smile was probably just a well-practiced routine. Which told her that, despite her best intentions, she’d already formed a sort of attachment to John. Perfectly natural, she told herself, while Lisa kept talking. After all, women falling in love with their doctor—or the man who delivered their babies—was practically a cliché.
    “Are you okay, honey?” Lisa asked, and this time her voice, filled with concern, reached past Annie’s preoccupation.
    “Yeah,” she said. “I’m great.” Okay, not great, but she really didn’t want to talk about this anymore. “And I’ll call you when I get home, okay?”
    “Sure, Annie. And you know, I’m sorry if I burst your bubble or something.”
    “You didn’t,” she said, determined to convince both herself and Lisa.
    “If you’re sure…”
    “I am.”
    “Okay, then, I’ll see you when you get home.”
    She said goodbye and hung up, letting her fingers trail along the back of the receiver.
    “Bad news?” John asked.
    Annie turned to look at him and couldn’t stop the nearly automatic tripping of her heart. Good Lord, she could be in some serious trouble here if she didn’t get a grip on reality.
    “No,” she said firmly, and pushed herself to her feet. “Nothing’s wrong. Lisa’s just worried about me.”
    “Lisa’s a born worrier.”
    “Yeah, she is. But she means well.” Just as she’d meant well telling Annie to not start mooning over John Paretti. It wasn’t her fault the warning had come too late.
    John frowned slightly as he studied her, and she wondered what he was thinking even while she told herself it really didn’t matter. She didn’t need to understand him. Didn’t need to know that he was a ladies’ man. Didn’t need to idly daydream or to speculate as to just what his kiss would be like.
    These few days in the cabin were nothing more than stolen time. Snatched from the everyday world, they’d both been thrown into an unusual situation that would be ending all too soon.
    When it ended, they’d go back to their own lives. And in reality, John Paretti would never look at her twice. Not that she would be looking, either. Of course not. She didn’t need anyone else now.
    She had Jordan.
    And together the two of them were the only family they’d ever need.

Six
    “W hat’re you working on?” John came up behind her and looked over her shoulder.
    Never taking her gaze from the screen, Annie said, “A new Web site for a prospective client.”
    Her fingers flew over the keys, and occasionally she tapped the mouse and colors streamed across the laptop screen. Then she’d mutter, chew at her bottom lip and start all over again. And he was becoming way too fond of watching her chew that lip of hers. In fact, he was dangerously close to offering to chew it for her.
    Reining his hormones in, he told himself to get a grip and asked, “Why’d you delete that?” as he pulled a chair up and sank onto it. “It looked good.” Not that he knew much about storks carrying babies, but it looked pretty good to him.
    Now she did glance at him. “Good but not great.” She sighed and added, “And I need great.”
    Night crouched outside at the window, but inside the cabin, warmth and light surrounded them. The baby was asleep in the next room, and Annie’d been ignoring him for too long. So, since she seemed determined to work, John had decided to help. Or at least bug her enough that she’d talk to him.
    Pitiful, Paretti, he told himself. Simply pitiful. But, hey, could he help it if she was just so damned attractive? It’s not as though he was trying to get turned on. It just sort of happened. Anytime she came into a room, God help him. He inhaled the pure, soft scent of soap and water