Following behind and unable to keep her eyes off the intriguing juggling act going on behind the rear pockets of his jeans with the rise and fall of a derriere that was easily one of the best she’d ever seen.
Then they reached the cottage and she barely managed to raise her gaze before he caught her, veering around him to open the front door.
“I can take that stuff now,” she said, replacing the toy dog she’d been holding tight to her chest and reaching for the box.
This time Ben gave it over to her and she expected that once he had he would say a simple good-night, turn and go back to the house.
But instead he waited for her to cross the threshold and still he stayed standing just outside the door.
“I haven’t told you how much I appreciate you coming here and helping the way you are,” he said then.
“It’s no big deal.”
“It’s a big deal to me. And a big help. And not something you had to do. And I want to say thanks.”
Clair suddenly had a flash of memory that had eluded her before that moment. A flash of memory of Ben walking her to her room at the bed-and-breakfast when they’d left the reunion. Of him beginning to say goodnight to her.
But kissing her instead.
And continuing to kiss her all the way into the room.
And despite the fact that the kiss itself wasn’t vivid enough in her mind to recall any details, that flash was enough to stir some of the same feelings she’d had at the time.
Feelings that had made her want him to kiss her.
Feelings that made her want him to kiss her again right at that moment….
Which she didn’t think he had any intention of doing and for a split second she couldn’t remember what, exactly he was doing.
Until she forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying again just as he said, “So, thanks.”
For coming back to Northbridge and helping him with the school—that was what he was doing, he was thanking her.
“You’re welcome,” she finally said, as if her mind hadn’t just drifted backward in time and into dangerous territory.
“Well, welcome or not, I still owe you big for this.”
“No, you really don’t,” she assured him.
But Ben merely smiled so sweetly it erased all the hints of bad boy she’d seen lurking around the edges and said, “I really do.”
For a moment he looked at her very intently and those thoughts of him kissing her flooded right back into her head.
But they still didn’t seem to be in his because then he said, “I’ll let you get some rest,” and took a step backward. “Good night.”
“Good night,” Clair responded, closing the door almost too quickly.
But she couldn’t help it because the image of that other good-night they’d begun to say was still haunting her.
And so was the feeling of wanting him to kiss her.
And that just wouldn’t do.
Not when she wasn’t sure whether she was back in Northbridge to let him know he was going to be a father.
Or back in Northbridge to help with the school and then disappear from his life forever without telling him at all.
Chapter Three
“What’ll it be?” Clair muttered to herself late Wednesday afternoon as she looked over the clothes she’d laid out on the bed. “The unisex camp shirt and the loose cargo pants? Or the skintight tank top and the butt-hugging black slacks? Hmm…”
The day had been packed with meetings during which Clair had introduced Ben to the wholesalers her father had used for foodstuffs, supplies and linens. Accounts had been set up, orders hashed through and submitted and arrangements made for deliveries to begin.
Now that it was all accomplished and Clair was back in the cottage, she’d had a refresher shower and shampoo, and she needed to dress for a family dinner at the Walker home. The dinner was for Ben and Cassie’s older brother Ad and his new wife Kit, who had just returned from their honeymoon. But Clair was torn about what to wear.
She was also thinking a lot about the fact that not only had Ben invited her, he’d also insisted that she go. And made it clear that he genuinely wanted her to.
But that wasn’t why she was excited for the evening to come, she thought as she stared at the two outfits she was trying to decide between.
Ben was the only member of the Walker family Clair hadn’t gotten to know through her friendship with Cassie. He was the only one who wasn’t there during the many times she’d visited or had a meal there or spent the night.
But since Clair had left Northbridge, she hadn’t had contact with the rest of the family, either. Once she and Rob had left town, they hadn’t returned. Rob’s family had moved to California about that same time and because Clair and her father had originally come from Denver—and because that was where her mother had been laid to rest—her father had opted for visiting her rather than having her visit him. That way he could always spend some time at the cemetery.
Upon his own death, her father had left firm instructions that he was to be buried beside his wife without anyone in attendance but Clair and her husband. So even though she’d received many bouquets of flowers from people in Northbridge—including the Walkers—it had been ten years since she’d last set eyes on anyone but Cassie, who had visited her in Denver or met her for a few girls-only vacations.
That made tonight’s dinner the first time Clair was going to see the other members of the Walker family in ten years.
And so Clair told herself that looking forward to the evening and worrying about what she wore were only due to that fact. That they had nothing to do with Ben.
But still, as she stood there debating what to wear, it was Ben she had in mind.
And images of his eyes popping out of their sockets when he saw her.
Which was ultimately why she opted for the white body-hugging tank top that showed off her pregnancy-induced, almost-two-sizes-bigger bust and the black slacks that had garnered wolf whistles from construction workers when she’d worn them last.
But just to make herself feel a little less like she was choosing that particular top and pants to wow Ben, she also decided to wear the peek-a-boo white shirt over the tank top as a bit of camouflage.
And because this was a family dinner, she reminded herself. Not an intimate dinner alone with Ben.
Although that would have been nice.
But an intimate dinner alone with Ben was not why she’d come to Northbridge. Besides helping with the school, she’d come to sort through things. To make a decision.
A big decision.
Clair put away the camp shirt and the cargo pants, realizing as she did that her water glass needed refilling—drinking more water than usual seemed to help the intermittent bouts of nausea that pregnancy was also causing.
She left her bedroom, passing the bathroom that separated her room from the one that had belonged to her father, and went through an archway into the living room. Then she headed to the small kitchen at the rear of the house.
The four rooms—five if the bathroom was counted—were all that made up the cottage. But it was a cozy bungalow, and Clair didn’t mind being there again the way she’d been worried she might. It was actually kind of nice to be in a place that reminded her of her dad.
Well, for the most part. She did try not to think too much about what her father’s reaction might be to her unplanned, unwed