Gina might see her big brother as a pain in her backside, but she had no idea how lucky she was to have somebody who cared about her and her well-being.
Colette shoved these thoughts aside. She rarely thought about what she’d never had, instead focused her thoughts and energy on attaining what she wanted. She’d learned at a very early age that she could depend on nobody but herself.
She placed a hand on her tummy, wondering if even now, at this very moment, a little soul was inside her. How she hoped, how she prayed that the artificial insemination had been successful. This child of hers would have all the love, all the care, all the dreams that nobody had ever taken the time to give to Colette.
She frowned sleepily. Funny, she wondered where Tanner and Gina’s parents were in all this. Neither of them had mentioned what their parents wanted. In fact, in the weeks that Gina and Colette had worked together, lived together, she hadn’t mentioned any mother or father.
It wasn’t her business, she told herself firmly. Just as Gina’s life wasn’t her business. And no matter how handsome, no matter how charming Tanner Rothman was, within days he’d be back at his ranch living his own life and she would continue hers…hopefully anticipating the birth of the child who would fill her world with love.
With this pleasant thought in mind, Colette fell asleep.
It was just after eight the next morning when she left the apartment to walk the three blocks to her shop. It was a gorgeous spring day. The sun was already up, shining down warmth on her shoulders, and the scent of sweet flowers rode the air from a nearby truck stand that sold fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Although the shop didn’t officially open until nine-thirty, Colette liked to get there early in the mornings. She always stopped into the local café for fresh bagels, then went on to The Little Bit Baby Boutique and made a pot of coffee.
She enjoyed the quiet time before customers began to arrive, and often the bagel breakfast was all that sustained her through the day. Usually the store was too busy for her to take any kind of a lunch break.
As usual, the café was busy with clerks and office workers whose businesses were located in the down-town area. Colette went directly to the counter, where “to go” orders were placed.
“Hi, Johnny,” she said, greeting the heavyset older man behind the counter.
“Hey, doll.” He grinned at her. “The usual?”
She nodded, then remembered that it was possible Tanner would spend part of his day at the shop. “Why don’t you double it.”
Johnny raised a grizzled gray eyebrow as he placed the fresh bagels into a paper sack. “What did you do? Skip dinner last night?”
She laughed. “You know me, Johnny, I rarely miss a meal.”
“Here you go, doll. Take it easy.”
She took the bag of bagels he handed her, then paid him his amount due. “Stay out of trouble, Johnny,” she said.
“That’s one thing an ex-con always tries to do,” he replied with a teasing grin.
She smiled and whirled around to leave and ran smack dab into Tanner Rothman’s broad chest. He grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her and grinned down at her. “Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” she replied, and quickly stepped back from him, far too aware of the clean, masculine scent of him and the hard muscle of the chest she’d just made contact with.
“Headed to the store?” he asked.
She nodded. “I always stop here for Johnny’s freshly baked bagels before going in. I bought extra this morning if you’d like to have one.”
“Sounds good. I was wondering what time you all normally got to the store.”
“I usually get there by eight-thirty or so. Gina doesn’t come in until noon,” she explained.
They left the café and started walking down the sidewalk toward the baby boutique. She tried not to notice how utterly devastating he looked in his tight, worn blue jeans and a short-sleeved dark blue T-shirt that exposed powerful forearms and deepened the hue of his eyes.
However, it was difficult not to be aware of Tanner’s potent sexuality and handsomeness when they passed several women on the street and they openly stared at him with admiring eyes.
“The guy who runs the café is an ex-con?” he asked.
Instantly Colette knew he was thinking all kinds of horrors about a dangerous criminal in the neighborhood and his innocent little sister. “Thirty years ago Johnny robbed a couple of houses. He got caught, served eighteen months and apparently came out of prison a changed man. Besides running his café, he’s now a member of the chamber of commerce and is involved in several community groups working to prevent crime.”
She stopped at the door to her shop and withdrew a set of keys from her purse. She unlocked the door then turned to face him with a teasing smile. “You can’t use ex-con Johnny as a reason for Gina to go home.”
One corner of his mouth turned upward in a sexy smile that caused heat to flood through Colette. “Am I that transparent?” he asked.
“In this particular instance you were,” she replied and turned to open the door, needing something else to focus on besides the inviting heat his smile had evoked in her.
“Welcome to the Little Bit Baby Boutique,” she said as she flipped on the overhead lights, then relocked the door as he stepped in behind her. “If you want to come on back to the office, I’ll make us some coffee.”
As they walked toward the back of the store, Colette was aware of his gaze darting here and there, taking in the displays, the furniture and various items they passed.
Colette was proud of the layout of the store. She’d spent long hours and utilized all her marketing training in order to create a store that would be comfortable to shop in and displays that would encourage spending.
“What’s all this?” he asked as they passed a large area at the back of the store that was empty except for several sawhorses and some tools.
“I’m having a little kiddy area built back here. It’s going to have little benches and tables with books and puzzles. Lots of my customers come in with children, and I thought it would be great to have a place for those children to play while their parents shopped.”
“Very thoughtful,” he said.
She grinned. “Business thoughtful. Parents tend to spend more time shopping if they don’t have children whining or hanging on them. And the more time people spend shopping, the more they are apt to spend.”
She gestured him into the business office. She’d always believed the office at the back of the store was large, but the moment Tanner followed her in, she felt as if the interior had significantly shrunk.
“Please, have a seat.” She motioned him to the chair in front of her desk, then went to the corner where there was a sink and a counter with the coffeepot on top.
It took her only moments to prepare the coffeepot and turn it on. She sat down at her desk, fighting a sudden, irrational nervousness as the scent of the fresh brew filled the air.
It had been easy to spend time with Tanner the night before with Gina there. But at the moment she felt ill at ease, and was far too aware of him not as Gina’s brother, but as a very sexy, single man. A man who, according to Gina, didn’t have a girlfriend because he was so stubborn.
He didn’t speak until they each had a cup of coffee before them and she had opened the bag and offered him a bagel. “I assume from your store that you like babies,” he said.
“I love