Daddy's Double Due Date. Belinda Barnes

microwave,” she said, her voice unsteady, little more than a whisper. When he continued to stare at her, she pointed behind him. “It dinged.”

      “Yes, I heard it.” He hadn’t, but wasn’t about to tell her. In fact, he had been so engrossed in her mouth Hunter doubted he would have heard the civil defense sirens. With one last glance at her enticing lips, he forced himself to step away.

      “I hope water is okay,” Ashley said. Without waiting for his answer, she opened the refrigerator and leaned forward to fill two glasses from a plastic jug.

      “Water’s fine.” He tried to ignore the way her skirt hugged her slender hips and backside, but failed. Miserably. Yes, he needed water. Lots of water to put out the still-smoldering flames of desire she had ignited earlier when he’d held her in his arms. Again he wondered what it was that attracted him to this particular woman? What aroused him, had him acting like an awkward teenager on his first date? Hell, she wasn’t even his type. At six feet two inches, he preferred tall, leggy blondes who reached his shoulders. Ashley didn’t come close. And her hair was auburn, not blond. Not that it mattered.

      Her shoulder-length hair and wraithlike stature had nothing to do with why he had waited two hours on the steps, sheltered from the pouring rain. He had come for one reason—to claim his child. It was time he put his libido under lock and key and got down to business. Too much was at stake to be distracted by a pretty face. Yeah, Ashley Morgen was pretty, more than pretty. He’d spent a lot of time with beautiful women, but he had no idea what to do with one pregnant with his baby.

      Calling on every ounce of discipline, he withdrew the sack from the microwave and followed Ashley to a flowered couch in a cracker-box living room that fit her perfectly. It made him feel clumsy and out of place.

      When she arched her back again, he asked, “Rough day?”

      “You could say that,” she muttered, putting their drinks on the coffee table. “My boss suspects something is going on between you and me. When I tried to leave, he reminded me having anything to do with you is a breach of confidentiality. He’s right, you know.”

      “It’s only a breach if we talk about cases. Since that’s not why I came, there’s no problem. If you’re concerned about appearances, we could go somewhere else.”

      “No. I can’t afford for us to be seen together at night.”

      He fought the urge to smile, knowing it would probably earn him another of her frowns. “Because people would assume we were seeing each other.”

      “Exactly,” she said, eyes flashing. “And I’d be fired.”

      “Not unless Williams can prove you divulged client secrets.”

      “You’re a defense firm’s sworn enemy.”

      Hunter grimaced as he dug a burger from the sack and put it on the paper plate she handed him. “Enemy, huh?” If only he could see her as his enemy. Maybe then he would stop noticing things about her, things like the way her whiskey-colored eyes reflected her every thought, her every emotion. Somehow the idea of spending time with her didn’t seem all that wrong to him.

      She bit into a fry, closed her eyes and moaned, then licked the salt from her lips. “I didn’t realize I was this hungry.”

      Tearing his gaze from her mouth, Hunter’s thoughts scattered as he stared at the contours of one shapely leg revealed below the hem of her navy blue skirt. “You can’t worry about what other people think,” he said. “Once word gets out you’re having my baby, everyone will assume…”

      “Assume?” she asked, watching him intently.

      “That we’ve been lovers,” he said, wondering why he found the thought of them making love so intriguing.

      She stopped in midchew. “That’s absurd.”

      He did smile then. It was her panicked expression. “Is it? How do you intend to convince the entire town that we didn’t—That we haven’t—”

      “No one is going to know who fathered my baby.” She settled her plate on the coffee table and turned to face him. “I called the clinic after your visit today. They refused to identify the sperm donor. So, you can see how futile it would be to continue to claim that you’re the father.”

      Hunter withdrew the lone page from his inside jacket pocket and handed it to her. “The clinic manager called me after discovering how the mix-up occurred. It seems the initial collection container is labeled with a computer-generated number. But afterward, when the sperm goes to the lab techs for storage, they are responsible for transferring the identifying numbers onto the individual vials. One of their lab techs transposed two numbers. Since they must sign off on every step of the entire process, they were able to identify which worker did it. I’ve been assured that he has been fired.”

      “I don’t understand why they didn’t tell me all this.”

      “Initially, I imagine they were scrambling to discover how this all happened. When the clinic manager called me to explain what they’d found, I told her I was on my way to see you and would tell you myself. She may call you anyway to cover the clinic in case you decide to bring charges.”

      “Are you going to sue?”

      He had intended to, but now he wasn’t sure about a lot of things, including why he suddenly felt suing for custody wasn’t best. “I haven’t decided. The clinic has implemented a new system where they will print additional labels to remain with the initial collection and be used on the storage vials.”

      “I’m glad they took steps to keep it from happening again.” Ashley unfolded the paper and read, pausing once to glance at him. “Where did you get this?”

      He heard the tremor in her voice and knew how difficult this had to be for her. Still, this was his child, too. “I took it from your chart yesterday. I figured you would demand proof.”

      She looked once more from him to the single sheet and back again, visibly shaken. “Then it’s true.” She swallowed hard. “You really are my baby’s…my baby’s…”

      “Father,” he said, wishing she would say the word.

      Dropping the paper, Ashley rose and crossed to a set of double doors opening onto a balcony.

      Hunter retrieved the sheet and tucked it inside his pocket before following her outside into the crisp March night. She stood at the railing, rubbing her arms. The rain had finally stopped. The air smelled fresh and clean as it cloaked them in a bone-chilling dampness, and Hunter found himself wanting to hold her. “Should you be outside in the cold?”

      When she didn’t respond, he took her hand and turned her. “I’m sure what you’re imagining is horrible. I’m not entirely heartless, despite popular opinion.”

      She lifted her eyes to meet his. The heartache and fear he saw there made him long to pull her in his arms and protect her. Which was stupid, because he would be shielding her from himself.

      “This morning you mentioned wanting custody.”

      He knew he had, but now found himself unable to bear the thought of hurting her. “Yes, but I’ve had a chance to think since then and wondered if we might reach a compromise. I want to help raise this child, Ashley. I would be willing to give you money each month to help out.”

      “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, stepping back, away from his touch.

      “Hear me out,” he said, holding up a hand.

      He tried to gauge her reaction to what he had said so far. She didn’t say anything more, but didn’t move either, so he took that as a good sign. “Joint custody.”

      Ashley crossed her arms over her midsection in a defensive gesture, the same way she had done earlier. “No.”

      He doubted her spine could get any more rigid and hated upsetting her like this. Still,