Laura Marie - Baby's First Christmas

Jessie looked at him. “I seem to be eating more lately.”

Her eyes widened. He glanced down the length of her body, admiring her pretty red coat, her winter boots and pantsuit of some soft fabric which went well with her whiskey-colored hair. “You look great to me,” he said. “If you’re eating more, it’s certainly going in the right places.” Her breasts looked great, he thought. Her figure was curvaceous, perhaps a bit curvier than he remembered, but heck, at the time he hadn’t been paying as much attention to the form as the opportunity to…his gaze shot to hers. “Everybody seems to eat more during the holidays.”

She nodded slowly, her eyes holding his.

His heart began to beat hard in his chest, nearly stealing his breath, almost painfully choking it from him. “You wouldn’t be trying to tell me in your refined way that you’re…eating more because you’re eating for two, would you?” he asked, his whole body tensing as he watched her eyes.

Her gaze dropped for just an instant, but in that instant he knew that he had followed in his brother Duke’s footsteps. “I’ll be damned,” he murmured, trying to sort out how he felt. Delighted, devastated, shocked, scared—

“Actually, three,” she said quietly, her eyes moving back to catch his.

He blinked. “Three what?”

She shrugged. “I’m eating for three. Me, and the twins. Merry Christmas, Zach.”

JESSIE WATCHED as Zach sat heavily, his gaze locked on hers. Helplessness washed over her.

“So much for your method,” he said. “I could have said no, I could have worn a raincoat, but I fell for you like a starving man for food.”

She walked out the front door, keys in hand.

Catching her hand, he turned her toward him. “What’s your hurry? Looks like we’re going to be spending a lifetime together, City.”

“It’s so annoying when you call me that,” she snapped, wishing she felt more relieved now that he knew but only feeling guilt. “My name is Jessie.”

“And a wonderful name it is, gorgeous.” He kissed her on the lips, surprising her so much she didn’t pull away. “We’ll be naming the twins together.”

She hadn’t thought that far ahead. Names had not been high on her list of priorities—figuring out how to tell Zach had been first. “You could take one, and I’ll take the other.”

“Nah.” He gave her stomach a mischievous eyeing. “Two? How are they both going to fit in that little tiny tummy? Two of my big, strapping sons?” He put a hand on her still-flat stomach. “If they’re anything like Duke and me, they’re going to be fighting for space constantly.”

“This topic just doesn’t feel as light to me as it seems to be for you,” she said. “I’m still trying to make sense of it. Just the stress of having to tell you—”

The last two weeks of planning, worrying and stalling had finally worn her down. Tears burst out of nowhere, running down her face before she could compose herself.

“Uh-oh,” Zach said. “That’s the main difference between pregnant women and pregnant cows, I guess. Emotions.”

She wiped at her face quickly. “I could tell you were a sensitive male the first time I met you.”

He wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “You’re cute when you spring a leak.”

Jessie moved away from him. “Could you direct me to my car, please?”

“I could, but you’ll probably tell me a few more things you’re keeping from me. You’re kind of like a firecracker that way. If I wait long enough, information just explodes—”

“Zach,” she said, “are you in shock?”

“Yes.”

She sighed. “I thought so. I’ve been a bundle of nerves because I knew how mad you’d be.”

“Well, I am mad,” he said, “but I’m not going to be upset in front of the children.”

“The children?”

“Yes.” He put a protective hand on her stomach. “They need to know from day one that they’re loved, anticipated and cherished. Our family is very close, in our own oddly special way.”

She looked at him. “So the reason you’re acting so nonchalant is that you’re faking it for the children?”

“Faking it doesn’t sound right.” He touched her carefully constructed eyelashes. “From now on, I don’t want you wearing any more of this goo around me.”

“I make my living with this goo,” she said, and he nodded.

“I make my living with bulls and things, but I’m not going to make you look at them all the time. I prefer natural skin on my woman.”

“Zach, I am not your woman. I will never be your woman,” Jessie said. “I don’t even know you.”

“That’s going to be a problem,” Zach said, “since I am your prince charming. Your knight in shining armor.”

“I don’t need the platitudes of fairy tales,” she said hotly, making Zach laugh.

“Okay, we’re stuck with each other for life,” he said. “How’s that for relationship lingo? When we’re at the boys’ soccer matches, we’ll introduce each other as ‘this is the person I’m stuck with forever.’ People won’t talk, I’m sure. Not in Tulips.”

He wasn’t going to make her life easy. Racing ahead into the future, thoughts of Zach made her brain whirl. Ever since the thin blue line had shown up on her pregnancy test, and the super-shocking news of a double pregnancy had been confirmed by her doctor, Jessie had been holding her breath. Trying to think how to tell a man she barely knew that he was going to be a father. She hadn’t thought of baby names, nor soccer games, nor what the two of them would be to each other. She’d dreaded having to tell him, but since she knew his worst fear—that he’d be a father and his children would never know him—she wanted him to know as fast as she could tell him. Dealing with all the other consequences she’d put on the back burner.

He had the pot on the front burner, turned to full boil. Strangely, he didn’t seem to mind the heat. “I thought you’d be scary about this.”

“I’m going to be scary in a little while,” Zach said easily. “When I have to tell Pansy and Helen, I’ll probably be at my worst. They’re going to be so pleased.” He gave her a wry glance. “My brother the sheriff says he wants the town to grow organically, which is not quite what the Gang wants. They’re going to love the fact that they’re getting two little organic sprouts out of one Forrester. They’ll say it serves me right, and then smile into their fragile little teacups.”

“I don’t understand.”

He shook his head. “Just be prepared for the Gang to give you a very large baby shower.”

“I don’t want that,” Jessie said quickly. “Can’t we come to an agreement about this?”

A frown crossed his face. He stared down at her, his brows knit tightly together. “Agreement?”

She swallowed. “Um, a custody agreement?”

“No,” he said, his gaze like dark glass, “and never talk like that in front of the children again. Ever.”

ZACH WAS MORE SURPRISED than he let on to Jessie about his impending fatherhood. But he wasn’t surprised this was happening. The moment he’d seen her, he’d known she would change his life—and she had.

They didn’t even know each other, and what he did know about her signaled a bumpy road ahead. She was flighty. He was methodical. She was spoiled. He was hardworking.

Those differences were just the beginning. He looked at her, imagining her with a big, round belly, and wanted to rub his hands with glee. Twins! It was a Christmas miracle as far as he was concerned, and he wanted this new phase in their relationship to start well. He wasn’t saying one thing to upset her. “Were you planning on telling Helen and Pansy? Is that why you really wanted to go into town?”