The Baby Agenda Read Free

he was holding on to her. “I kind of wish I could go home, ’cept… ex cept I don’t want him to catch me slinking out. You know?”
    â€œIs he really worth the heartburn?”
    â€œI thought so,” she said sadly.
    â€œHave you been seeing him long?” Will didn’t actually want to know; he didn’t want to talk about the scumbag at all. But he also didn’t want her to go back in, and he couldn’t think of anything else to talk about. Sure as hell not the local building trade, since as of Monday morning he was no longer president of Becker Construction.
    â€œI don’t know,” she said in answer to his question. “A month or six weeks.”
    Will slid his hand down and laced his fingers with hers. It was almost more intimate than a kiss, he thought, looking at their clasped hands. There was something about being palm to palm.
    She didn’t seem to notice that they were holding hands now.
    â€œI just want to forget about him,” she declared. “And Graziella. ”
    There it was again, the name as abomination.
    Will laughed. “Definitely forget them. Talk to me. Did you grow up around here?”
    She turned to look at him instead of the ballroom. “Uh-uh. Montana. Missoula. You?”
    â€œI’m a local boy.”
    â€œSo your family is here?” She seemed bemused by the idea.
    â€œYeah. Not my parents, they’re gone. My mother when I was a kid, and then my dad and stepmom in a plane crash when I was twenty. One of those freak things, a sightseeing flight—” He stopped. Sharing long past tragedy wasn’t the way to get the girl.
    Not that he was trying to get her. Not when he’d be winging to Africa a week from now. He just wanted to enjoy her for a little longer.
    â€œBut I have two brothers and a sister,” he continued.
    â€œFrom Dad’s second marriage.”
    She nodded her understanding.
    â€œThe youngest just graduated from college. My sister, Sophie. She’ll be going to grad school come fall.” He smiled. “And that’s more than you wanted to know, I bet. Do you have sisters or brothers?”
    Moira shook her head. “There was only me and my mom. I didn’t really even know my dad. My parents split up when I was two.”
    And her father was a jackass who hadn’t bothered to make time for his daughter, Will diagnosed. He really, really wished he could see her face better. Once again, she sounded a little sad, but he might be imagining things. He was surprised to realize that, for the second time tonight, he was feeling protective and angry on her behalf.He thought he’d worn out all those instincts getting his siblings safely raised.
    â€œHave you ever been river rafting?” he asked, at random, determined to lighten the conversation.
    She made a little gurgle of amusement. “I can’t swim. So no.”
    â€œYou can’t swim?” Will repeated. “How is that possible? Doesn’t every kid take lessons?”
    â€œNot this one.” She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it. “And I’m not about to start now,” she finished with a hint of defiance.
    â€œSo, is taking the ferry across the Sound your worst nightmare?”
    â€œNo, the ferry is okay. I keep a close eye on the lifeboats. Now, those I wouldn’t like, but it’s a comfort that they’re there. My worst nightmare…hmm. Sailing cross the Atlantic.”
    â€œ The Perfect Storm wasn’t your favorite movie?”
    â€œI never have liked horror movies.”
    He found himself smiling at the description. Standing here this way felt good. Somehow they’d come to be closer together than they had started. His much larger hand enveloped hers. Their voices were low, as if they were lovers murmuring secrets to each other.
    â€œWhat’s your worst nightmare?” she asked.
    Will had to think about that. He didn’t