The Baby Arrangement

Roxie shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe he’s married and he forgot to tell her?” She used finger quotes to make her point.

Out of the corner of her eye, Roxie saw Pete with his chick du jour. She was determined to act nonchalant, no matter how much she wanted to walk over to him and demand an explanation for why he hadn’t contacted her. But when it came right down to it, he had nothing to explain. He was free to do whatever he pleased.

And so was she.

Amber was reading lips again. “Something about living in DC and she’s shaking her head.” Amber looked at Roxie. “Did they talk at all back on the island?”

Roxie had had enough. She grabbed Amber’s elbow and pulled her away. “This is crazy. All we have to do is ask Bree what’s going on. I’m sure she’ll tell us.”

Amber gave her a look that said she was definitely unconvinced. “Just like how she told us what happened between them on the island? Because you don’t argue with a guy like that unless there’s something more than just a casual friendship going on.”

* * *

NICK WATCHED AS Bree spun around and walked away from him, her anger evident from not only her words and attitude but her abrupt end to the conversation, not letting him explain.

“Wait a minute.” He took a few steps forward to follow her. “Wait a minute!” he repeated, and his command had her turning to face him.

“What?” Her question dripped with insolence.

“That’s it? You find out we live within twenty minutes of each other and you get mad and walk away?”

“What am I supposed to say? You lied to me.” She lowered her voice. “And now I understand why.”

What did she understand that he didn’t? They’d never talked about where they lived. He only knew she lived here because Pete had checked out her company online. “Go ahead, tell me why you think I lied, even if I didn’t.”

She kept her voice quiet. “You figured if I didn’t know where you lived, then after we slept together I wouldn’t expect anything from you. DC is a big place. What were the odds that we’d run into each other?”

“You couldn’t be further from the truth,” he told her. “You never asked me where I lived and I only knew you lived outside of DC because one of your friends mentioned your company’s name to Pete. Besides, back on the island, you acted like you never wanted to see me again. So what difference does it make where I live? We had never run into each other before the island, so I assumed we’d never run into each other in the future.”

Her eyes widened. “Assumed?” Her loud exclamation had heads turning their way. “Assumed?” she repeated softly. “You’ve got to be kidding.” With that, she spun around again and walked away.

Damn, if she didn’t look good enough to eat, wearing that emerald-green formfitting dress. Even angry, she was hot.

He shook his head to clear it of thoughts he shouldn’t be having.

How exactly had they ended up at the same place tonight? What were the odds? He glanced around, considering those people in the restaurant who might have arranged their accidental meeting.

His mother was speaking with the chef—Pinar, he believed was her name. His mother had given him the ticket, supposedly a friendly gesture from Pinar. And as far as he knew, his mother had never met Bree. Besides, she had insinuated that she was inviting Pete to introduce him to Pinar. As if Nick had been more of an afterthought in the invitation.

At least, that was what he’d thought until right this moment. Pete hadn’t seemed especially excited about coming tonight, but maybe he was just acting his part. Had Pete planned this reunion with Bree all along so Nick could ask her for financial help? His mother could have just been a pawn in Pete’s plan.

The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that he’d been tricked into coming. He ought to leave right now, if not for the fact that he was starving. He also liked to keep up with local food trends. Not to mention that he didn’t want to leave things so badly with Bree.

“Hi, Nick.”

A hand touched his arm and he turned to see a familiar petite blonde looking up at him. “Hey, Hannah. How are you?” He hoped he’d gotten her name right. For some reason he had trouble keeping Bree’s friends’ names straight.

She smiled at him. “I’m fine. Just surprised to see you.”

He forced a smile. “Not as surprised as I am to see all of you.” He nodded in Bree’s direction. “So how did you end up here?”

“The chef, Pinar Garcia, is our client. We’re here to decide whether we should help finance her new restaurant.”

That made perfect sense. Maybe this meeting between Bree and him had been accidental all along.

“So how did you hear about the pop-up?” she asked. “Do you know Pinar?”

He shook his head. “No, we’ve never met. But, apparently, she takes the same yoga class as my mother. Pinar gave her some tickets for tonight.”

“Ah, I see. And your mom coerced you into coming,” she surmised with a grin.

“That about sums it up. When she came into my restaurant today she admitted to having an ulterior motive.”

“An ulterior motive?” Hannah cocked her head to one side.

He nodded. “She’s become a matchmaker, hoping for grandchildren. Right now, she’s got Pete and Pinar in her sights.”

Hannah laughed. “Good for her.” She glanced around the room and then back at Nick. “You said your restaurant? Are you a chef or the owner?”

“Both.”

Hannah nodded. “Where is it?”

He swallowed the last sip of his watered-down soda now that the ice had nearly melted. “It’s called The Fresh Pantry and it’s in Old Town. We serve American classics with a twist, using fresh, local ingredients. Meat loaf, steaks, fried chicken, pastas. Then we have things like spaghetti and tacos that have become Americanized.” He shrugged. “You get the picture.”

“Sounds great. We’ll have to come by.”

He took a business card from his wallet and held it out to her. “When you call for a reservation, make sure you mention that you’re a friend of the owner.” He smiled, wondering if she’d bring her friends, including Bree, with her. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that after tonight’s run-in. “How’s the food here?” he asked, instead. “I haven’t had any yet.”

“Delicious.” She took his arm. “Come on, let’s get you some.”

He allowed himself to be led, but abruptly stopped when the crowd separated and he came within a few feet of Bree. Roxie and Amber stood with her. From the concerned expressions on their faces, he inferred that something was wrong with Bree.

“Do you need some air?” Roxie was asking her. That’s when Nick noticed how pale Bree was.

She didn’t answer as her eyelids fluttered closed. She began to crumple to the floor and would have injured herself on the hardwood if Nick hadn’t stepped forward quickly to catch her.

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_5722b823-a638-5847-b35d-c92ce6c0f472)

BREE BLINKED A few times. Nick’s face was right in front of her. “What happened?” She turned away from him to glance at the people surrounding her. Roxie, Hannah, Amber. Behind them was a different backdrop—not the restaurant she’d been expecting. An office, judging by the desk and computer over Nick’s shoulder. She was pretty sure he’d carried her to wherever she was now because he still held her in his arms. “Where am I?” She avoided turning toward Nick again because that would put their faces only inches apart.

Hannah took a step closer and put a hand on Bree’s forearm. “You passed out, Bree.” She glanced at Nick and then back at Bree. “If not for Nick catching you—”

Bree turned her head in Nick’s direction without thinking. “You caught me?” She blinked, wishing he would stop gazing at her with those intense brown eyes. This close to him she could see tiny flecks of gold. They triggered memories she preferred to keep filed away. “How?” She paused. “How could you have caught...? Weren’t you on the other side of the room?” She realized too late that her comment might be construed to mean that she’d been keeping an eye on him.

Which, unfortunately, had been true. She’d had an innate urge to keep track of his movements.

Nick’s mouth was moving now, but she had trouble understanding his words because she was so enamored with the way his lips moved. He was saying something about seeing her legs begin to fold.