Rita Herron - Have Baby, Need Beau

First, when she was little, she’d been so klutzy and messy she’d driven her own mother away. Grammy had said she was creative, and her father had laughed and bragged about her projects, but her mother had hated all the glue, glitter, paints, costumes and cooking disasters. She’d constantly complained, but Mimi had argued that her dad loved her impromptu shows, that he always ate her concoctions, no matter how bizarre they sounded. As a teenager, she’d brought home stray animals, and once she’d saved a turtle, but it smelled so badly her mother had gotten ill. Then her mother had walked out. And it was all her fault.

Her teenage years had been rocky, too—she’d bounced from one loser boyfriend to another. Then she’d dropped out of college to pursue an acting career. And this past year she’d hooked up with Joey. He’d seemed like a loner when he’d first come to Sugar Hill, and she’d fallen for his candy-coated compliments. She’d been so naive she hadn’t known he was dating her to steal from her father. She’d put her father, his business and Hannah in danger because she’d been too impulsive and trusting.

And now she’d really lost her mind. She’d taken Hannah’s ex-boyfriend to bed and actually imagined… No, she was not going to even entertain the possibility they might have a relationship. He had to get back to his analyzing and his stuffy family, and she had to return to her job as a manager of the café and practice for the audition.

Finally her tears subsided. She toweled off and yanked on the bridesmaid dress, feeling like a fool wearing a rumpled evening outfit at seven in the morning. Her only comfort was that no one would ever know she and Seth had been together.

Minutes later she patted her cheeks to put some color into them, and hoped Seth didn’t notice her red, puffy eyes. He was completely dressed, his jacket buttoned to hide the tear in his slacks, his body as stiff as a marble wall as he stood by the door. He watched her steadily, his expression closed.

She lifted her chin and asked, “Ready?”

He nodded. “Mimi—”

“No, don’t.” She held up a warning hand. “Nothing happened. And no one will ever know. Agreed?”

He hesitated and her heart did a strange pitter-patter. Finally he said in a low voice, “Agreed.”

She nodded, wondering if the roads were clear enough to drive, but decided not to ask. They couldn’t possibly stay in the hotel a moment longer. Determined not to become emotional, she opened the door, only to see a couple who looked exactly like Hannah and Jake walking down the hallway of the hotel. Their hushed voices drifted toward her from the elevator, and her stomach churned.

The couple was Hannah and Jake.

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