Have Baby, Need Beau. Rita Herron

hurry.” Alison hugged her grandmother and strolled from the room, leaving Mimi with no choice but to accept the ride and take the hope chest with her.

      But what the heck. Seth sounded so forlorn. He might be depressed about Hannah’s marriage. Maybe he needed some company. She’d cheer him up just like she did when she took in a stray dog.

      “SO, WHY DIDN’T YOU WANT to take the chest with you?” Seth asked as he hoisted the bulky wooden box.

      Mimi caught the opposite end, the two of them shifting and juggling it sideways to fit through the front door. “What makes you think I didn’t want to take it?”

      “The look on your face,” Seth said. “What gives?”

      “It’s tradition for the grandmother of the Hartwells to give each granddaughter a hope chest when she’s getting married.”

      “You’re getting married?” Seth asked.

      Mimi shrugged at his incredulous tone. “No, never—the very reason I don’t see the need for a hope chest.”

      “So you’ve sworn off men because of that creep Joey?”

      “No, just commitment. I want a guy to have fun with.”

      And he wanted a woman to settle down with. They were complete opposites. Not that it mattered.

      Still, somehow she looked vulnerable….

      Mimi wobbled and accidentally slammed the chest into his side. He gritted his teeth to hide the pain shooting through his ribs. “Just angle it a little more to the right and I think we’ll have it.”

      “Sorry,” Mimi said softly.

      Vulnerable, hell. She was a walking danger zone. Especially with that throaty voice.

      Mimi caught her bottom lip with her teeth as she tried to follow his instructions, at the same time not letting the wooden doorjamb scrape the delicate gold embossing. For someone who didn’t even want the chest, she certainly seemed determined to keep it from harm.

      “Watch out for ice on the steps,” Grammy warned. “That sky’s so dark it reminds me of ’eighty-two when that blizzard knocked out everyone’s power for days.”

      “I hope you’ll be all right here, Grammy.” Mimi looked worried. “Do you want to come to Sugar Hill with us?”

      “Heavens, no,” Grammy said. “I’ve got plenty of wood and canned food here to last me. And my buddy Winnie will be by directly to spend the night.”

      Seth’s foot hit the slick wood and he wobbled, throwing Mimi off balance. She stumbled forward, almost taking out Seth’s eye with the corner of the chest. He exhaled, thinking he’d be black-and-blue all over before they finished. Finally they both steadied themselves. He inched his feet along so he wouldn’t fall as they descended the remaining steps and crossed the front yard.

      Mimi’s grandmother was right. The sky was black, the snow falling so thickly the dirt road was already blanketed. With the sun fading and the temperature dropping, the roads would ice over, making driving dangerous until the few snowplows available could be resurrected to clear the streets.

      “There’s Winnie now.” Mimi’s grandmother waved at an elderly lady in hot-pink sweats exiting a blue sedan. Seth wanted to offer his assistance, but he had his hands full. Instead, he nodded a greeting and veered sideways, leading Mimi down the dirt road toward his car. Mimi’s grandmother yelled goodbye and ushered her friend inside. Snow crystals dotted Mimi’s curly auburn hair and clung to her eyelashes. She must be freezing in that slinky rose-colored bridesmaid dress. Her breasts were practically spilling out, her nipples puckering against the satiny fabric.

      “Where the heck did you park? Sugar Hill?” Mimi asked.

      “No, but I arrived late, so I had to park down the hill.”

      “You could have moved your car up to the house,” Mimi said.

      Seth winced as his foot hit a rock. “You seemed in a rush to leave, but if you want to set this thing down, I’ll go get it.”

      “It’s not that heavy,” Mimi said. “And I’d hate for the chest to get wet.”

      “You’re awfully protective of something you don’t want.”

      Mimi frowned at him as if he was a moron. “My grandmother did have it specially made for me. Don’t you have any respect for family tradition?”

      So, she had a sappy side to her, just as he’d suspected. Mimi was much more emotional than Hannah had ever been—that is, until the day Hannah had canceled their wedding. “My family isn’t the sentimental type. What’s in here, anyway?”

      “I don’t know. If it’s like Hannah’s, it’s Pandora’s box.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “When Hannah opened her hope chest the night before her…er, your wedding, her whole life went crazy.” Mimi blew her bangs from her eyes and averted her gaze.

      “You mean her hope chest had something to do with that weird dream, the reason she canceled the wedding?”

      “The ring was in her hope chest. It had that silly legend to it…”

      They both eyed the gold chest with distrust.

      “Look, Mimi, we still have a ways to go down the hill. Let’s set it down and I’ll go get the car.” He blinked snow from his eyelashes and stumbled. His foot caught on a raised tree root and he lost his balance. He slid, yelping and trying to gain control.

      His feet flew out from under him and the hope chest crashed down on his legs. Mimi toppled, too, landing on her stomach across the hope chest. Her arms cycled out by her sides as she struggled not to dive into the snow, and one fist smacked his eye. She rolled away and plopped into the cushiony snow beside him, anyway, and the latch to the chest suddenly sprang open.

      It took them both a moment to realize what had happened. Seth pushed the chest aside to the ground. Mimi jumped up, shivering from the cold. The snow had dampened her dress, causing the silky material to cling to her voluptuous body. The damp bodice accentuated the fullness of her breasts, and the neckline dipped precariously off her shoulder, giving him a glimpse of luscious cleavage and creamy skin.

      He stood and slapped the snow off his suit, dragging his gaze from her tempting body. He absolutely could not allow himself to be attracted to Mimi Hartwell. She was his ex-fiancée’s sister, for heaven’s sake. Plus, she was definitely the wrong type of woman for him. Mimi stared at him, and he noticed that the corner of the chest had ripped a hole in the crotch of his pants. He plastered his hands over his nearly visible privates and froze.

      They both jerked their eyes from each other and spoke at the same time. “I’ll go get the car.”

      “Go get the car.”

      He clutched the front of his pants together with his hands and hauled himself down the hill, praying Mimi hadn’t noticed his burgeoning arousal.

      MIMI GAPED AT SETH’S departing back, shocked to see he’d been turned on by her klutzy moves. The man must miss Hannah terribly and be completely desperate. Of course, he was a man, and his physical reaction had probably been simply that, a male reaction, not real attraction, or the man wouldn’t be running down the icy drive as if a hungry lion was chomping at his heels.

      She shivered. Her feet were wet and starting to get cold inside the dress shoes. The top of the chest stood open, the contents fairly begging to be examined. Curiosity won over her fear of superstition, and she peeked inside. Hannah’s life had gone berserk the day she’d opened her hope chest.

      What in the world had her grandmother put inside hers?

      Chapter Two

      Had Grammy Rose also given her an heirloom ring to wear so she would dream about her future husband?