The Marine's Red Hot Homecoming by Christine Glover Read Free Book Online

with a military guy. He always put the mission first—and right now the mission was protecting his family.
    “Do we have to vacate the premises as well?” the bakery owner asked.
    “No. The firewalls prevented the damage from spreading.” Caleb closed the distance between them, wanting to protect her, aching to hold her. “Only Harmony Landing has to undergo fire and water mitigation. That starts today.”
    “I called my parents,” she said moments after the other shop owners had promised to give her additional assistance before they dispersed. “They’ve got a spare room for me and Jason.”
    “It’s great that they offered to help out, but why stay in a little bedroom when you can have an entire house to rattle around in?” Caleb wanted to brush the tendrils of blonde hair from her furrowed brow. Instead, he clasped his hands behinds back. “Plus, I have everything that he needs set up.” He’d already assumed the responsibility of having a safe, secure home for his son whenever he returned from his overseas’ tours of duty.
    She swallowed hard, her hazel eyes unfathomable. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. It might send the wrong signals to him.”
    He inhaled a deep breath, sucked in the sweet scent of her peaches and cream aroma and the fresh spring air to wash away the lingering toxic fumes. But he couldn’t clear out the disappointment twining through his veins. “He’s sixteen months old, not sixteen. I doubt he’ll get confused if we play house together for a month.” That might give him the time he needed to convince Hannah that she could trust him.
    “This isn’t a game.” She crossed her arms. “I’ve got a life here. One that I’ve worked hard to create. Playing house might not confuse our son, but...” She looked away.
    “But nothing,” he said. “We’re his parents. I can help you when you’re busy dealing with the restoration and reconstruction of your shop.” He didn’t like the feeling of desperation, or his lack of control. She held all the power in this decision. That was something he wasn’t accustomed to at all.
    “When?” She snapped her head back and locked her eyes with his. “Between business calls and trips?”
    Patience. Reel her in slowly. Let her see you’re a reasonable guy. “Other couples do it all the time—it’s called cooperation.”
    “That’s the problem, Caleb,” she said. “We’re not a couple. Plus, you’re more likely to give orders than work as a unit.”
    “You have no idea how I’ll be because you refuse to give me a chance to prove I’m not like your ex.”
    “Right. That’s why you issued an order to get married.”
    God, he hated it when she was right. Only a part of him wished she was wrong, but that randy part had no business in negotiating this deal. Sex wasn’t what would bring her to see his way of thinking. “I get that this isn’t about being a real family with a marriage license and a white picket fence surrounding our house, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be partners in raising our son.” He crossed his fingers mentally.
    The lines marring her brow smoothed and she let her arms fall to her sides. Her resistance was fading. He pressed on, gently, not willing to accept no for an answer when he was so damn close to getting her to say yes. “You can run your online business from the house. I’ll set up an office for you. Your babysitter can stay over if necessary. God knows I’ve got the space. It’d be good for him to spend as much time with me as possible before I ship out again.”
    She tilted her head and put her index finger on her chin. After several beats of silence, she pursed her lips, then puffed a long breath. “I suppose we could stay with you temporarily.”
    He reined in the desire to fist pump the air. “Absolutely,” he said. “It’s a win-win situation.”
    “Don’t expect this whole partners in parenting thing to lead to anything more,” she warned him. “Because that’s