First Comes Baby

First Comes Baby
Janice Kay Johnson

Laurel Woodall dreams of having a baby. But she can't let herself fall in love and will never again let a man in her life….Caleb Manes thinks Laurel is his future. When he hears she wants to have a baby on her own, he volunteers to be the father. Making a baby in this unconventional manner isn't the best way to further a relationship with Laurel, but it might lead to something more. Now he just has to convince her that this is what best friends are for….

“I’ve decided to have a baby.”

Caleb swore, and Laurel saw that he’d poured wine on the counter.

“You didn’t just tell me you’re pregnant.”

“No. I told you I’m going to get pregnant.”

His eyes narrowed. “That usually requires a woman and a man.”

“You know I can’t… I don’t want…”

What she thought was anger faded from his face. “I know. So you’re—what?—planning to find a donor?”

“I already have.” She busied herself dumping noodles into the now boiling water. “You know Matt Baker?”

Caleb’s tone was careful, controlled. “Why him?”

It was the last thing she’d expected him to ask. “He’s a friend. And smart. He’s nice. Healthy…”

“Did you consider asking me?”

From somewhere she found the courage to whisper, “What would you have said if I had asked?”

Dear Reader,

Let’s say your best friend is a guy. You want to have a baby. He’s smart, nice, has good genes. Why would asking him to father your baby change your relationship at all? I mean, hey—you’ve been friends forever.

Done laughing? After all, having a baby changed your relationship with your husband, right? But in my heroine’s defense, she turns to her best friend because of a whole lot of complicated fears and needs. He feels safe to her. Of course, he isn’t at all.

First Comes Baby drew together several themes that seem to preoccupy me as a writer: the aftereffects of traumatic life events, the powerful need to have a child and the emotional vulnerability pregnancy brings. Best of all, I finally had a chance to write about the transformation of friendship into passionate love, a process that proved easy— Caleb is one of my all-time-favorite heroes.

I hope you fall in love with him, too!

Best,

Janice

First Comes Baby

Janice Kay Johnson

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Janice Kay Johnson is the author of nearly sixty books for adults and children. She has been a finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA

Award for four of her Harlequin Superromance novels. A former librarian, she lives north of Seattle, Washington, and is an active volunteer at and board member of Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter. When not fostering kittens or writing, she gardens, quilts, reads and e-mails her two daughters, who are both in Southern California.

Dedicated with love to Mom,

my best friend and constant support

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER ONE

LAUREL WOODALL had been sure that asking a man to father her baby—without any sexual privileges—had to be the hardest thing she’d ever done.

But no. That conversation paled in comparison to this one.

Asking said man’s wife whether it was okay with her was definitely worse.

The two sat across their dining room table from Laurel, their chairs placed so close together that their shoulders touched. After dinner, they’d sent the kids to do homework, take baths and get ready for bed. Sheila and Laurel had cleared the dirty dishes and loaded the dishwasher, chatting in the way of two people determined to pretend they didn’t feel at all uncomfortable with each other, even though that was a flat-out lie on both their parts. Then they’d poured coffee and returned to the table.