companionably against Andrew’s leg. Andrew chuckled wryly, thinking that this was probably the worst guard dog on the planet. He was much too lazy to chase off any trespassers.
“Mom just rang me,” Hannah called from across the road. “Most of the family is hanging around the grill waiting to hear from me.”
Giving the dog one last pat, he then crossed over to join her. “Did you tell your mom yet that the baby is a girl?”
She shook her head with a wry smile. “She wanted to wait and hear at the same time as everyone else. Perhaps you’ve noticed that my family likes to turn everything into an event.”
“As a matter of fact, I have noticed that.”
She pushed a hand through her dark hair, brushing it off her face. Thunder sounded again, a bit closer this time, drawing her eyes to the darkening sky. “I was going to walk over, but maybe I’ll take a cart instead. Looks like those clouds could open up any minute.”
He noted the faintest of purple shadows beneath her eyes. “You’ve had a long day,” he said, reaching out to stroke back a strand she’d missed. He let his hand linger on her cheek. She felt warm. Soft. Silky.
Their eyes locked and held. His thumb moved against her cheek, savoring the feel of her. His mouth was close to hers, and it would take only a slight movement on his part to have their lips pressed together. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, and he knew she was thinking along the same lines.
Whatever other problems they faced, the attraction between them had never been in doubt. All it took was a touch or a shared look to set it off again. He couldn’t imagine that ever changing, at least not on his part. Even tired, a little disheveled, worried and pregnant, Hannah looked beautiful to him. He wanted her. And he suspected she knew it.
He dropped his hand, knowing this wasn’t the time. “Golf cart?”
She blinked. “Um, what?”
There was some satisfaction in knowing that brief interlude had left her mind a little hazy, especially because it had taken some effort to clear his own. “You were going to take a cart to the diner? I’d be happy to chauffeur you.”
“Oh. Right.” Her cheeks a little flushed, she stepped away from him. “Sure, if you’re going that way anyway.”
“Are you kidding?” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t miss the grand announcement. Bet you a dollar your grandmother is going to brag she knew it was a girl all along, though I heard her tell your aunt yesterday she was sure it was a boy.”
Hannah shook her head. “I’m not taking that sucker bet. Of course Mimi will claim to have known all along. That’s what she does.”
Pushing that near kiss to the back of his mind to analyze later, he placed a hand lightly at the center of her back and escorted her to the green cart. They would talk again later, he reminded himself. In the meantime, he needed to decide exactly what he wanted to say to her.
* * *
Not everyone in the family was waiting in the diner—at a swift glance, Hannah cataloged her uncle C.J., her cousin Lori and her grandfather among the missing—but the others all seemed to be waiting for her. She saw Shelby helping her mother behind the serving counter, an indication of how busy they’d been because Sarah usually handled grill and check-out duties on her own. Hannah’s own mother had pitched in to wipe down tables, which meant someone else was running the store. Hannah hadn’t thought to look that way when she’d entered the building. Was Lori at the store register? Or maybe Aaron, who wasn’t here with the others? She’d heard he’d helped out in the store when Steven was hurt. Apparently her mother had been too impatient to wait there rather than in the grill with the rest of the family.
The family members not working in the diner were gathered around their usual big round table in the far corner. Maggie spotted Hannah and Andrew first, and motioned them over in excitement. “Well?” she called
“Mom just rang me,” Hannah called from across the road. “Most of the family is hanging around the grill waiting to hear from me.”
Giving the dog one last pat, he then crossed over to join her. “Did you tell your mom yet that the baby is a girl?”
She shook her head with a wry smile. “She wanted to wait and hear at the same time as everyone else. Perhaps you’ve noticed that my family likes to turn everything into an event.”
“As a matter of fact, I have noticed that.”
She pushed a hand through her dark hair, brushing it off her face. Thunder sounded again, a bit closer this time, drawing her eyes to the darkening sky. “I was going to walk over, but maybe I’ll take a cart instead. Looks like those clouds could open up any minute.”
He noted the faintest of purple shadows beneath her eyes. “You’ve had a long day,” he said, reaching out to stroke back a strand she’d missed. He let his hand linger on her cheek. She felt warm. Soft. Silky.
Their eyes locked and held. His thumb moved against her cheek, savoring the feel of her. His mouth was close to hers, and it would take only a slight movement on his part to have their lips pressed together. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, and he knew she was thinking along the same lines.
Whatever other problems they faced, the attraction between them had never been in doubt. All it took was a touch or a shared look to set it off again. He couldn’t imagine that ever changing, at least not on his part. Even tired, a little disheveled, worried and pregnant, Hannah looked beautiful to him. He wanted her. And he suspected she knew it.
He dropped his hand, knowing this wasn’t the time. “Golf cart?”
She blinked. “Um, what?”
There was some satisfaction in knowing that brief interlude had left her mind a little hazy, especially because it had taken some effort to clear his own. “You were going to take a cart to the diner? I’d be happy to chauffeur you.”
“Oh. Right.” Her cheeks a little flushed, she stepped away from him. “Sure, if you’re going that way anyway.”
“Are you kidding?” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t miss the grand announcement. Bet you a dollar your grandmother is going to brag she knew it was a girl all along, though I heard her tell your aunt yesterday she was sure it was a boy.”
Hannah shook her head. “I’m not taking that sucker bet. Of course Mimi will claim to have known all along. That’s what she does.”
Pushing that near kiss to the back of his mind to analyze later, he placed a hand lightly at the center of her back and escorted her to the green cart. They would talk again later, he reminded himself. In the meantime, he needed to decide exactly what he wanted to say to her.
* * *
Not everyone in the family was waiting in the diner—at a swift glance, Hannah cataloged her uncle C.J., her cousin Lori and her grandfather among the missing—but the others all seemed to be waiting for her. She saw Shelby helping her mother behind the serving counter, an indication of how busy they’d been because Sarah usually handled grill and check-out duties on her own. Hannah’s own mother had pitched in to wipe down tables, which meant someone else was running the store. Hannah hadn’t thought to look that way when she’d entered the building. Was Lori at the store register? Or maybe Aaron, who wasn’t here with the others? She’d heard he’d helped out in the store when Steven was hurt. Apparently her mother had been too impatient to wait there rather than in the grill with the rest of the family.
The family members not working in the diner were gathered around their usual big round table in the far corner. Maggie spotted Hannah and Andrew first, and motioned them over in excitement. “Well?” she called
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