Vegas Pregnancy Surprise by Shirley Jump Read Free Book Online Page B

offered him a taste of the dreams he’d once had. The ones he’d shared with his brother, then abandoned so many years ago. He wanted to do this. Wanted it badly—not for him, but for Marcus.
    He thought of his schedule, of the relentless, dawn-to-dusk pace he kept, and couldn’t see a way, as Conner had said, that he could fit this into his day, too.
    Then a solution came to him. One that might give him the best of both worlds, allowing Linc to stay at the helm of the company while Molly did the work of overseeing the new software.
    It wouldn’t be the same as having a family of his own, of course. But it would be something. A legacy, of sorts. One that he suspected he’d have more pride in than all the hacker prevention designs he’d perfected over the years.
    It would be enough, Linc told himself. A fitting substitute for the one thing he had decided a long time ago he, of all people, would never have.
    Yes, it would be enough.
    Linc pushed his plate to the side. “I do have a preliminary program for this,” he said to Molly. “Something that we worked up years ago…” He paused, his mind rocketing back to the time period he tried never to visit mentally. “If you’d be willing to work with me and my designers on it, give us the feedback we need for real-world applications, I think I could have something put together for launching next year.”
    She swallowed the bite of food in her mouth, considering. “How long do you think something like that would take? This working with the designers process?”
    “At the very most, a few weeks. My team is pretty fast. And, like I said, the preliminary program is already there.”
    “Perfect. I just need something to tide me over until the next school year starts. I’ve put in several applications with other school systems, and I’m sure something will come through before September. I’m not looking for a career change, just a…” She put out her hands. “A bridge to my next job. If you’re okay with that, then I think this will be a match made in heaven.”
    A flush filled her face. At the double meanings in the words? Or something else?
    Once again, Linc was sure he detected an undercurrent of a hidden message, perhaps a secondary agenda, ever since she’d arrived. What it was, he couldn’t discern. But it had him intrigued.
    Could she still be interested in him? If so, he would have to make it clear that he had no intentions of starting a relationship, with her or any other woman. Regardless of how beautiful Molly was, or how memorable that night had been, his life was what it was. And that left no room for a woman like her.
    A woman he had known, almost from the minute he met her, was the kind a man settled down with. Despite that one wild night. Molly Hunter, kindergarten teacher, had suburbia written all over her.
    “I’m okay with that,” Linc said. “Are you sure you are?”
    “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”
    “I meant—” he leaned forward, his gaze connecting with hers, with the woman he had once spent an unforgettable, heated night with, one he had been unable to forget no matter how hard he tried and no matter what he told himself “—are you okay with working side by side with me for several weeks?”
    What was more…was he?
     

    Alex Lowell’s squeal of joy could be heard from across the spacious, beautifully appointed lobby of McKendrick’s Hotel. “Molly!” She drew her friend into a tight hug, the two months since they’d last seen each other disappearing in the space of the embrace. “I’m so happy to see you!”
    Molly drew back, laughing. “I’m so happy to see you, too. San Diego just hasn’t been the same without you and Serena. Even with all the texts, e-mails and video chats, it’s not as wonderful as seeing my best friends in person.”
    Alex gestured toward a pair of love seats, and the two women took a seat. “I bet San Diego is a lot quieter,” she said with a laugh of her own.
    “Not quieter. More