The Baby That Binds Them by Stella Bagwell

Author:Stella Bagwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-03-05T18:41:15+00:00

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The next evening, darkness had already fallen as Luke approached the town of Wickenburg. The spattering of lights stretched across the desert horizon and merged into the starlit sky.

Normally, Luke would’ve been soaking in the beauty of the night, but he was too busy pondering a slew of self-directed questions to notice much more than the oncoming traffic.

What was he doing, anyway? How could anything good come out of seeing Prudence again? He’d survived for more than a month without seeing her or talking to her. It hadn’t necessarily been easy, but he’d managed to hold himself together. Then a five-minute visit in her office had caused a major breakdown in his struggle to maintain a cool distance from the woman.

Yesterday, when he’d taken hold of her hand, he’d had to wage a war with himself to keep from kissing her. If it hadn’t been for the fact that they’d been at her workplace, he would’ve done more than kiss her. He would’ve locked the door and made love to her on the desk or floor or anyplace they could manage. How did he think he was going to keep his hands off her tonight? Moreover, why the hell should he?

You know why, Luke. This thing you feel for Prudence is different. It’s more than fantastic sex. She makes you feel needed and wanted. She makes you happy. And the more time you spend with her, the more you want. It’s that simple.

Simple? There wasn’t anything simple about it, he shot back at the inner voice. But for tonight, he was going to try to forget all the questions and doubts. Tonight, he was going to be just like any normal man spending time with a beautiful woman. And to hell with keeping his distance.

Five minutes later, he turned onto a quiet residential street and drove slowly until he spotted Prudence’s house number posted on a small gate that led through a low adobe wall. Beyond it was a rambling stucco painted desert pink and trimmed with dark brown wood.

After parking his truck alongside the street curb, he walked through a small front yard landscaped with red yucca, agave and a single saguaro cactus that wasn’t yet old enough to have an arm. A feat that he’d been told took at least fifty years.

A walkway of stepping-stones, neatly edged with white rock, led to a ground-level porch furnished with lawn furniture made of bent willow and decorated with brightly colored cushions. A dim porch light illuminated a brown wooden door covered with an old-fashioned wooden screen door.

After punching the doorbell, he glanced over his shoulder to the houses across the street. In one driveway, a child-size basketball hoop had been erected at one end of the concrete pavement, while in the yard next to it, a tricycle and a gym set made it obvious that children lived there.

From what he could see, it was a quiet, family-type neighborhood. Just the sort that fit Prudence’s lifestyle.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as both doors swung outward and Prudence stood on the threshold, smiling at him.

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