Fortune's Christmas Baby by Tara Taylor Quinn

Author:Tara Taylor Quinn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-09-13T16:19:20+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Lizzie told herself not to get too excited. There was no happily-ever-after for her and Stella and Nolan. She knew that.

But if he was truly thinking about getting a place in Austin, giving up his “band time” over to “Stella time,” did that mean that he was planning not to tell his family about them, ever?

Why? she wondered. Weren’t they good enough?

As hurt as she was by that—for Stella’s sake more than her own—she was also relieved. If he’d leave her with uncontested custody and the freedom to raise Stella full-time, she’d agree to live in a thatch hut on the prairie. Stella would have the benefit of knowing her father—of having a biological relative in the background in case something ever happened to Lizzie—and they could all just get on with their lives.

It was a near-perfect plan.

And it left her feeling...flat. Used.

Nolan Fortune—if she was truly spending time with the millionaire, not his alter ego—had spent the past couple of days showing her he was a good man. Aware. Considerate. Conscientious. For a guy who said he spent his days wheeling and dealing high finance, he was sure aware of the feelings of those around him. Or her feelings at least. He was doing everything he could to respect her wishes, to give her what she needed. Maybe that was what made him good at his job. It also made him a companion that hung around in your heart even after he was gone.

A companion a girl would fall in love with if she spent too much time around him.

She couldn’t go that route again. She hadn’t been enough for him the year before—enough to compel him to give her a way to stay in touch, or enough to be driven at least to be honest with her.

And she wasn’t enough for him now, either. Stella was. And that was what she had to remember.

“Will you at least think about letting me provide a home for you and Stella here in Austin? With a room for me to stay in twice a month or so?”

She’d bet it would be nicer than a thatched hut if he was planning to stay there, too.

“Before I even agree to think about it there’d need to be some clear understandings,” she said as they rounded the last corner that would take them out of the hills and onto the last long stretch through a lovely state park to the train station. Clinging to the carrier with both arms, she told herself she had no reason to feel so alone. So insecure.

She was Stella’s mother. Nolan was respecting her position completely, letting her set their pace, their boundaries. She was hogging the baby. She knew that. He’d rubbed Stella’s back a time or two more when Lizzie had been holding her, but that was all. It was wrong, the way she was hoarding their daughter. Yet she couldn’t seem to let go, even a tiny bit.

If she gave him anything, would he

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.