The Best Man's Baby Read Free Page B

in midair between them, each brother left holding one side.
    Claire saw Amanda’s eyes zero in on her and watched with satisfaction as the woman’s sinewy body tensed, like a cat sensing someone encroaching on her territory. Oh no, honey, not only am I encroaching, I’m claiming my throne . Claire’s eyes locked with Jake’s blue ones and the panic she read in them made all of this oh so worth it. She forced herself to turn her lip upward, hopefully pulling off a Mona Lisa-type smile. She strode over to Jake, her strappy sandals clacking confidently on the flagstone patio.
    Claire clutched her precious piece of evidence in her right hand, holding it like a knight would hold a sword, ready to pierce his opponent through the heart.
    Jake opened his perfectly chiseled mouth. “Claire.”
    “Welcome home, daddy.” She stabbed the positive pregnancy indicator stick through his hamburger with enough force that it could have killed the cow had it still been alive.
    She didn’t wait, didn’t stop for a reaction. She just kept on walking.
    As she burst through the iron gate leading to the street, her legs trembled while adrenaline propelled her forward. Her shins ached, her head throbbed, and her throat burned with unshed tears. She heard her name echo, painfully loud in the quiet street, but there was no way in hell she was going back there. She heard loud male voices. She heard Holly yelling out after her. She heard Octopus Barbie screaming something about the fact that the indicator must have pee on it. She cringed at Holly’s voice, yelling at Jake. She heard Quinn’s loud cursing.
    But she didn’t hear anything from Jake.
    And then a loud crash ripped through the air.
    Jake’s beer . That almost brought a smile to her lips. Almost. But the tears finally won out over the smile as she furiously pounded the lock release button on her car key. She whipped the door open, threw her purse inside, and scrambled to get in before she lost all control.
    Just a few more seconds, just hold it in for a few more seconds.
    Blindly, she turned the ignition and pulled away from the curb, letting the sobs loose, and they pummeled through the open gates, taking with them no prisoners. Claire tried to stay focused on the road as tears washed over her face.
    She wept at her own stupidity in thinking Jake had feelings for her, and she wept for the bitter finale to her fantasies of Jake Manning.

Chapter Two
    The deep rumble of a motorcycle approaching and stopping made Claire freeze for a moment, her pruning shears about to snap the head off a plump pink peony. She looked down at her watch. It had taken Jake exactly one hour to make the ten-minute drive from Quinn and Holly’s house to hers. So what had he been doing for those last fifty minutes? Trying to explain to Amanda that he and the boring florist had a one-night stand? And that Claire was a complete idiot?
    After she’d gotten home and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, she had wandered out to the gardens in her backyard. The plan that had seemed genius in Holly’s kitchen now felt rather drama-queen-ish for her. And now, thanks to her impulsive little performance at the barbecue, there was the added complication of her mother. Because now the news was out. It was just a matter of time before the small-town gossip circle would make its way to Mrs. Holbrook. Her insides churned at the idea of telling her mother. And her heart broke a little more at the thought of having to tell her father over the phone, because she knew her mother would tell him if she didn’t. He didn’t need to be distracted from his missionary work in Africa with news like this. She’d hoped she could wait until her father returned and then break the news, but her impulsiveness destroyed that idea.
    She didn’t bother standing up when she heard the wooden gate swing open. Her chest constricted painfully, as though her mind hadn’t made it clear to her heart that they were done idol-worshiping Jake