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“Not as far as I’m concerned.” He handed her both items of food. “Eat up. You’re too thin. It can’t be good for the baby.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m trying to keep food down. It’s not easy.”
He stood. “That’s why I’m going to make this tea and we’ll see if it helps. Now, when I come back I want you to tell me any chores you need done because you can’t be cavorting around the stable in your current condition.”
Gabby snickered. “Cavorting? You sound like a nineteenth-century chaperone.”
He sniffed. “This is what I get for being helpful.”
She stopped laughing. “Sorry. Thank you for coming. Really.”
She was touched. He cared for her, even if he tried to hide it behind bossiness and teasing.
Don’t get used to it,she told herself.It won’t last forever.
His expression softened. “I’m partly responsible for the way you’re feeling, so I’d better do what I can to help, even if it’s not as much as I’d like.”
“Aww.” Emotion stuck in the back of her throat and she blinked rapidly, her own warning fading from her mind. “You’re just a big old softy.”
“Nope.” He backed away, raising his hands defensively. “No tears, woman. That was not part of the deal.”
Sniffling, she grinned. “It was in the fine print.”
As he left, her heart filled, and she wondered if maybe she could have something real with him after all. Could she be brave, as Marley had suggested, and take a chance on him? Or would he inevitably want to move on to someone new and more exciting?
12
Gabby’s parentswere due to turn up in time for dinner, so Logan arrived a few hours early. It was a sunny day, and they sat in the paddock with dogs frolicking around them and Princess out enjoying the sun. Gabby had set up a picnic table with soda water, lemon tea, coffee for Logan, and an array of snacks. She’d opted for foods that had only a faint smell and tasted bland because those were what she could keep down. Well, those and chocolate. Although her morning sickness had definitely improved this week, and she’d found herself able to enjoy a few larger meals too.
She’d regained a little weight, which seemed to please Logan. Every time she turned around, he was there with something for her to eat. He’d even dropped by at work once with a meal for her. It was a bit ridiculous but she hadn’t told him to cut it out because it was sweet and, frankly, made her feel special. She reminded herself not to read anything into it, that it wouldn’t last, but she couldn’t seem to help indulging in it for as long as it did.
“What do we need to sort out before your parents get here?” Logan asked as Thelma bounded over with a tennis ball in her mouth.
Gabby sipped a mug of lukewarm tea. “I don’t think we have to make any hard and fast decisions now, but they’re the type of people who love organization—a bit like Kyle—so it will help if we can show we’ve at least talked about some of the important issues.”
He took the ball from Thelma and threw it, watching as she raced across the paddock and snatched it up a moment after it landed. “Such as?”
Something nudged her leg, and she glanced down and saw that Louise was trying to get her attention. She patted the dog’s head and scratched behind her ear.
“Such as where the baby will live.”
He turned back to her. “Here would be the obvious answer, but it depends on what you want. I can have them some of the time at my apartment if that would help.”
Gabby sighed. “If we did that, it would mean two homes we’d have to fit out with baby gear.”
“So, we’ll keep them here,” he said.
Gabby smoothed a hand down Louise’s back, enjoying the way she leaned into the touch. “That’s not fair on you though. I don’t want to compromise your ability to see them just because it’s less convenient.”
Logan’s lips twisted. “Wherever they are, I’ll make sure to see them.”
Gabby’s heart warmed and her insides melted.
Don’t get used to it. He might bail once they’re born.
“Besides, you have that lovely bedroom at the front of the house,” he added. “My spare room is dark and cramped. It’s fine if there’s no better option, but in this case, we do have a better option so I think we should take it. But,”— he glanced down at his hands, an unfamiliar note of anxiety entering his voice— “if the baby is going to live here, then I’d like to stay here too. At least in the beginning. I want to be available for support and to share those early days with our baby.”
Damn, why did he have to say things like that? It made him difficult to resist. She had to remember that they weren’t a couple. He wasn’t the man she’d dreamed of starting a life with. And this wasn’t what he wanted, no matter how good he was at putting a pretty face on it.
