to have a child. She could have one by herself. She had a decent job running the bookstore, she was responsible, healthy, and she would love the baby unconditionally.

      She’d taken care of Suzanne after their mother had died, so she knew she would make a good mother.

      Yes, she was going to believe in herself, just the way Grammy Rose had suggested.

      She’d have a baby on her own.

      There was just one little problem—she needed sperm to get pregnant.

      A headache pinched at her as she struggled over what to do. She could visit a sperm clinic and have in vitro fertilization.

      Too impersonal. She’d never be able to go through with it. And she couldn’t possibly tell her baby that she’d bought the sperm from a stranger, that she knew nothing of his father but what she’d learned from a computer file.

      What about asking someone she knew to be a donor?

      Jerry’s enthusiastic face sprang to mind, but a shudder gripped her.

      The dark-haired baby from her dreams haunted her mind.

      Grammy had said to follow her dreams. Maybe the dream had been an omen.

      And in her dream the baby had been Thomas’s baby.

      Maybe the dream meant that she was supposed to have Thomas’s baby!

      He was smart, intelligent, good-looking. If he donated sperm to father her child, she would know that the baby would be healthy, and she could assure her child that he or she had a great father. But how would she approach Thomas?

      Should she try to seduce him?

      Nervous laughter tickled her insides. She could barely talk to Thomas without making a fool of herself.

      And asking him to sleep with her would be wa-a-ay too personal.

      Although the mere thought sent a million delicious sensations curling in her belly.

      Maybe…no, she couldn’t.

      But she could ask him to make a little personal donation. After all, he was an OB-GYN. He probably dealt with single women wanting babies all the time. He’d even commented that he admired single mothers. And the fact that he was an OB-GYN might prove to be a blessing. He probably already knew doctors who could perform the procedure, and she wouldn’t have to seek help from virtual strangers.

      She’d keep the arrangement simple, too. Once she was pregnant, he wouldn’t be obligated or need to have any personal contact with her at all.

      She twisted the sheets in her hands, her stomach convulsing in a thousand knots. Now she just had to summon up enough courage to discuss the baby plan with him. And she would, she promised herself, right after she phoned her insurance company to take care of paying for the damages to his wrecked car.

      A wistful sigh escaped her, a twinge of sadness following. She wasn’t settling for less than her dream, she assured herself as she climbed from bed and headed to the shower. She was simply facing reality. If she couldn’t have Thomas, she could at least have his child. That would be enough.

      A moment of trepidation hit her as she turned on the spray of water. What would Thomas think of the idea?