Susan Mallery - Saying 'Yes!' to the Boss

“Oh, yeah. And those diagrams. One of my friends talked about the birthing process as having too many fluids and I have to say, I agree with her.”

Some of his tension eased as he smiled. “You only have to do it,” he said. “I may have to watch.”

“Oh, sure. Because watching is so much worse than passing something the size of a bowling ball through something else the size of a pea.”

His smile turned into a grin. “I’m not ready for this, either. I knew you were pregnant, but until this appointment…” He wasn’t sure how to explain.

“The baby wasn’t real.”

“Right.”

She sighed. “For me, either. It was a concept. Kind of like knowing the holidays are coming, but avoiding malls and shopping. A baby. There’s going to be a real baby. I’m not ready for this. At least you’ve done it before.”

“I haven’t had a baby. Jimmy was six when my mother died and then my grandfather took over. I’m only responsible for the last ten years of life.”

Which had been, Dev acknowledged, a total disaster. If only he’d handled things differently, Jimmy wouldn’t be dead right now.

“So neither of us knows what we’re doing,” she said as she started walking toward the foyer. “I hope no one tells the baby.”

As they walked toward the exit, he spotted a large open kiosk filled with different brochures.

“Maybe they have some information over there,” he said, turning in that direction.

“Or classes,” Noelle said. “We could take a class. That would be great. I helped my mom with Tiffany a lot, but I don’t remember very much of it.”

They each started grabbing brochures. Noelle spotted a clipboard.

“Here’s a parenting seminar for kids of all ages. Oh, look. The baby one’s starting in a couple of weeks. We could take that.”

“Sign me up,” Dev said, wanting to take all of them right now. He could still hear Jimmy yelling at him that he wasn’t his father, and then running out of the house.

Dev had tried, but his best had fallen way short of his brother’s needs. Even after the fact, looking back, he couldn’t figure out where he’d gone so wrong. He was determined not to repeat those mistakes with Noelle’s baby, but if he didn’t know what they were, how could he avoid them?

They left the center and headed toward the parking lot. Ten feet from Dev’s car, Noelle came to a stop and looked at him.

“I can’t do this,” she said frantically. “I mean I really can’t. I’m not ready to have a baby. I’m too young and inexperienced. I’m panicking. You need to talk me down.”

“I’m older and I’m panicked, too, so get in line.”

“What? But you’re so together.”

“Not about this,” he told her.

They stared at each other. Between them, they probably had every brochure ever printed on the subject of child birth and child rearing. They each had a couple of books, along with lists of resources.

She drew in a deep breath. “Okay, so we should probably calm down. The baby won’t be here for seven more months. We’re smart and capable. We can prepare.”

Her words made sense. “Plus it won’t expect much when it’s born. Food, clean diapers, a place to sleep.”

“Exactly. So we’re fine.”

They dropped their bags, brochures and lists into the trunk then got into the car. Before he started the engine, he glanced at her.

“How many classes did you sign us up for?” he asked.

“I think three. Maybe four. They’ll call to confirm.”

“There were three baby classes?”

She cleared her throat. “Well, no. One of them was for toddlers, but I thought…”

The panic faded and when it did, reason returned. One corner of his mouth twitched and he imagined what they must have looked like, frantically grabbing every brochure and stuffing them into bags.

“Good thing they don’t charge for the literature,” he said, fighting laughter.

Her eyes brightened with humor. “That would be some bill. I’d have to go back to work.”

“Or we could sell some furniture.”

They were both smiling now. She started to chuckle.

“Okay, I’ll admit it—I totally lost it. But you did, too.”

He held up both hands. “I agree. I am not ready to be a father.”

“Same here. The idea of a child using the ‘m’ word gives me the willies.”

He stared into her beautiful face and touched her cheek. “You’ll be a great mom. You have all the qualities.”

“Thanks. I feel the same way about you being a dad.”

Before he could tell her he’d already failed at that, she added, “If I had to totally freak out over this, I’m glad it was with you.”

“Me, too.”

There was something about her smile and the way she gazed at him. Something that drew him closer until, without planning the move, he pressed his mouth against hers.

The kiss started out simply enough. Just lips touching. He continued to stroke her cheek, but that was okay because he meant it to be a friendly, comforting gesture. Nothing about the action was supposed to be sexual.

Then she shifted closer and tilted her head slightly. The invitation was clear and irresistible. Fire exploded inside him, fueled by a need that he could barely contain.

Before he could tell himself he shouldn’t, he touched his tongue to her lower lip. Even as she put her hands on his shoulders, she parted for him.

Despite his growing desire, he moved slowly, wanting to give her time to back away, or at least give him a good hard slap. He traced the inside of her lower lip, feeling her smooth skin and tasting her sweetness. When she didn’t pull back, he gently touched the tip of her tongue with his.

Delicious, exquisite torture, Noelle thought as Dev leisurely deepened their kiss. If she’d been a little more sure of herself, she would have taken things into her own hands, so to speak, but this was their first real kiss and as he’d been the one to initiate it, she figured he could set the pace.

In a way, moving so slowly was good. It gave her time to explore his shoulders and back, to feel the lean muscles there, and the heat of his body. She could breathe in the scent of him and imagine what it would be like if they kept on kissing.

At last he swept into her mouth and claimed her. She sighed in appreciation as he explored her mouth, leaving behind excited tingling everywhere he touched. One of his hands dropped to her shoulder, the other settled on her waist where the weight was oddly unsettling. She had the oddest urge to move closer and maybe nudge his hand higher. She was so shocked to realize that she wanted his hand on her bare breast that she pulled back.

They stared at each other. His dark eyes were bright with a light she hadn’t seen before. Passion, she wondered. Did he desire her?

What was up with her body? She’d kissed before—lots of times. But she couldn’t recalling feeling quite so…melty afterward. And the breast thing? Where had that come from? Jimmy had been the first. It hadn’t been that big a deal. She’d never imagined feeling his fingers on her bare skin.

Just the thought made her break out in goose bumps. As she rubbed her bare arms she realized that the light was fading in Dev’s eyes. It was replaced by something that looked like concern…or worse…second thoughts.

He was going to apologize, she thought desperately. No. She couldn’t stand that. The kiss had been too good.

“I’m starved,” she said with a bright smile. “It’s nearly noon. Do you have time to grab lunch before you head back to work?”

He blinked at the change of topic. For a second she thought he was going to push forward and insist on discussing the kiss, but then he smiled.

“Sure. What are you in the mood for?”