The Christmas Bouquet Read Free Page A

pressed.
    “I missed a couple of periods,” she finally admitted, her expression chagrined. “I was stressed out. I didn’t think too much about it. Then I had a couple of bouts of morning sickness this past week and it dawned on me I might be pregnant. I guess I’m not such a great diagnostician, after all, huh?”
    He allowed himself a small smile. “More like a woman in denial, I imagine.”
    She sighed. “Denial was lovely,” she admitted.
    Noah could understand why she might think that, but with reality setting in, there was no more time to waste. “So, you’re about two months along?”
    “Something like that. I think the baby’s probably due in December.”
    “Sweetheart, I know you’re not exactly overjoyed about this. You need to open up with someone.”
    “I just told you, ” she said.
    “But right now, I suspect you’re thinking of me as the enemy,” he told her. He scrambled for an alternative. If she didn’t want to talk to her mother or Nell O’Brien, then perhaps her sister. Weren’t twins supposed to have an extraordinarily strong bond?
    “Couldn’t you talk our situation over with Carrie? Get some family backup before you spill the news to everyone else? Would that help?”
    She looked horrified by the thought. “Good heavens, no! If Carrie knew about us or about the baby we’re expecting, every O’Brien in Chesapeake Shores would know by the end of the day. The situation would spin out of control.”
    “Are you absolutely sure they don’t already know that something’s up?” he asked. “With us, anyway.”
    “Did you not hear what I just said about my stepfather and my grandfather?” she asked impatiently. “If either of them had a clue, you’d be a dead man.”
    Noah couldn’t believe she was right about their likely reaction. “Come on, Cait. You’re in your twenties. You’ve been away at school for years now. Surely they can’t believe there’s never been a man in your life.”
    She finally smiled, the tension in her shoulders visibly easing. “Well, they knew about Ronnie Jessup in fourth grade,” she told him. “That was after we moved from New York to Chesapeake Shores. He sent me a dozen valentines that year. Grandpa Mick immediately wanted to have a talk with his parents, but Nell stopped him. And my mom managed to keep Trace from following me to my high school prom. I’m pretty sure Grandpa Mick was lurking around somewhere in the shadows, though.”
    Noah laughed, then realized she was serious. “They’re that protective?”
    “Carrie and I were the first grandchildren. Grandpa Mick might have gone a little overboard. While I can’t imagine building my entire life around dating the way Carrie has, she might have had the right idea. She’s trained them to deal with it. I was the responsible, serious one. I was in love with my books. I probably lulled them into a false sense of complacency thinking I’d never do anything outrageous. This is going to come as a huge shock to them.”
    “Oh, boy,” Noah whispered, then regarded her with a renewed sense of determination. “Sweetie, we need to get this over with. Neither of us is on duty this weekend. It’s the perfect time to go to Chesapeake Shores.”
    “But I have to study,” she protested.
    He met her gaze. “With all of this on your mind, do you actually think you’re going to be able to concentrate?”
    “I can always concentrate,” she insisted.
    Noah thought that actually might be true, but he shook his head. “Cait, I won’t have your parents or anyone else thinking I’m reckless and irresponsible or that I’ve treated you carelessly. That would be a terrible way to be introduced to any family, but especially to one as protective as yours. I want them to like me or at least to accept me.”
    “Noah—” she began.
    Since a protest was undoubtedly coming, he cut her off. “I know how much you love and respect your family. If you’re determined to stay here and avoid this, go