The Bachelor's Baby Dilemma

“No doubt he does.” If she were in his position, she would feel the same way. She gave him a second to clear his thoughts, then asked, “Are you ready to see the guesthouse?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

She opened the gate, focusing on the sale of her property. “The tenant moved after I put it on the market, so it’s vacant now. But if you decide to rent it out between now and when Meagan comes home, finding a new tenant will be easy. I’ve never had any trouble keeping it occupied.”

“I probably wouldn’t rent anything out for a while. I’ve got too much else to think about.” He glanced at the landscape. “You’ve done a great job of maintaining all of this.”

“Thank you.” The courtyard showcased a three-tiered fountain, next to a stretch of grass with plants and flowers. She ushered him inside. “It’s one bedroom and one bath.”

“I’d need to turn it into a two-bedroom.”

“There’s plenty of space for an addition. The people I bought it from considered making it bigger. They even looked into getting the permits.”

“That’s good to know.”

She held back while he wandered around, letting him get a feel for it.

Afterward, he said, “It’s really nice. I think Meagan would like it. But I still have to see the main house, so I’ll reserve my judgment until after you show me everything.”

Candy nodded. She didn’t expect him to decide on the spot.

Still standing beside the window, he gazed out at the fountain. “It seems so surreal.”

She knew he meant his situation, not the setting. Caught up in his reflective mood, she asked, “Has Meagan chosen a name for the baby yet?”

He turned around, the water framed behind him. “Ivy. Ivy Ann Quinn.”

“That’s pretty. I like the way it sounds.”

“Ivy Ann is from a book about a princess Meagan read. All little girls should be princesses, right?”

“Definitely. But they don’t all have to be beauty queens.”

“You were Miss Teen Los Angeles when we were going out.” He said it softly, as if he were taking a romantic trip down memory lane.

To combat the gentleness in his voice, she replied, “I was always Miss Something-or-Other.” Her mom had forced her into competitions at a very young age, and if Candy didn’t win, she got pushed even harder. “Big bouncy hair, frozen smiles and glittery ball gowns.” She winced at the image it created in her mind. “What a nightmare.”

“But you still worked your tail off to make your mom proud.”

“What can I say? She relished that environment. She also loved bragging about her tiara-topped daughter to her friends.” To emphasize her point she made a crownlike circle with her hands, lifting it ceremoniously onto her head.

“I was guilty of bragging, too. Telling my buddies how hot my Miss Teen girlfriend was. But I shouldn’t have done that, I suppose. Especially since I knew how much you hated being in those pageants.”

She lowered her hands. “I hardly ever admitted that to anyone.” But she’d confided in him. She’d trusted him with her secrets back then. “You were good at listening.”

“And now you’re listening to me talk about my problems.”

“You just need to settle into the idea of being an uncle.”

“I certainly never expected it to happen like this, with Meagan being a single mom.” He shrugged. “But marriage doesn’t make much sense to me anyway.”

It shouldn’t have made sense to her, either. But Candy wanted to get married again someday. She wanted to get it right next time. “Some couples are happy. Dana and Eric are.”

“Then they’re lucky. Because I don’t think it works for most people. After Ella died, my dad had the nerve to tell my mom that he’d never loved her.”

Feeling as if she’d gotten the wind knocked out of her, Candy clutched her middle. After she’d miscarried, Vince had said the same thing to her.

After a bout of silence, he said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be laying my mom’s old troubles on you. What’s done is done, and she’s gone now.”

Yes, his mother was gone, but Candy remained, affected by what he’d said. But before her emotions got the best of her, she lightened her mood, rather than dwell on things that couldn’t be undone.

She felt especially better when Tanner glanced over and smiled. He just had that way about him.

“Ready to show me the rest of the place?” he asked.

“Yes, of course.” Together, they headed for the main house, with Candy returning his smile.

Chapter Two (#ulink_a72c8f05-48cc-5989-b3f2-8de6ff0db951)

As the tour continued, Tanner tried to fix his attention where it should be, but he was having trouble concentrating on what Candy was saying. Something about the house being built in the 1930s? About it being a renovated bungalow with three bedrooms and two full baths?

Mostly he was noticing her. She’d always reminded him of an exotic creature, with her long-limbed agility and catlike wariness. She was beautiful, but she could be skittish, too.

They’d dated for six months. They’d been inseparable but they hadn’t gone to the same high school. She’d attended an all-girls academy, an environment that made her shy around boys.

As a beauty queen, she’d hidden behind the persona she’d created. But she was different in real life. Even now, he could see fragments of the girl she’d once been: the awkward manner in which she tugged at her clothes, the way she broke eye contact.

He couldn’t help but be intrigued by her. Her chestnut-colored hair was sleeker than it used to be, worn straight and falling softly to her shoulders. Her clothes were simple: a fitted T-shirt paired with black leggings—or whatever those impossibly tight things were called. Her lean, athletic shape wasn’t hard to miss. And with her being a yoga instructor, he suspected she was beyond flexible. But she’d always been able to get into bendy positions. In the talent competition of the pageants, she used to perform modern dance.

The girl with the sugary name.

He used to call her all sorts of silly things: gumdrop, taffy, peanut brittle, gummy bear, lollipop. But his favorite had been cotton candy, especially when she wore pink. Did she still wear that color? Or had she outgrown it? Seventeen years had passed. A lifetime of memories.

She led him through the back door and into the kitchen, and he suspected that this was her prized room in the house, with its butcher-block island and bright white appliances. An antique cart in the corner was crowded with spices, pots and pans, old salt and pepper shakers, and other culinary knickknacks.

No doubt she liked to cook. It even smelled like cookies. It appeared as if a candle was creating the fresh-baked aroma, but it still struck him as homey, with the desired effect being the same.

She definitely seemed domestic. Even at a young age, she’d been marriage-minded. Back when they were together, she’d been determined to save herself for her future husband. She’d thought it was a romantic notion. And now she was divorced.

He wondered about the type of guy she’d married and what had gone wrong, but he sure as fire wasn’t going to ask her, no matter how curious he was.

His thoughts continued to be scattered as Candy walked him all over the house, pointing out architectural details and decorative features.

Once they were in the second guestroom, she said, “This could be Ivy’s nursery. It’s already painted in pastels.” She motioned to the walls. “Lilac trimmed in yellow.”

He checked out the color theme, and she smiled, quite sweetly, as if she was picturing the baby snuggled up in this room. Seeing her expression gave him comfort, reminding him of how special she was. “Did I ever thank you for being there for me? When everything happened?”

“You were my friend. My boyfriend. I wanted to help you through it.”