Their Little Princess. Susan Mallery

“Light or dark. Or would you prefer something painted?”

      She stood next to him, looking patient and completely comfortable. Was this a chick thing? Did all women have the baby gene, or was she relaxed because part of her job was bringing infants into the world?

      He allowed himself a moment to appreciate the way the overhead lights played on her medium blond hair. It fell to about the middle of her back and she’d pulled it into a neat, but fancy braid. Bangs hung down to her eyebrows, but in a soft, sexy way that made him think about wanting—

      Down boy, he told himself. He didn’t have time to get distracted. His life was one big crisis right now and he didn’t have room to add attraction to a female doctor to his list.

      “I don’t know what she’d like,” he said. “You used to be a little girl. What would have made you happy?”

      “I’m not sure babies have strong opinions on furniture, but I’ll give it a try.” Kelly turned in a circle, then pointed to a display of white furniture.

      They moved to that aisle. While Kelly read the tag and made sure the rails were the right distance apart—or whatever—he checked the construction, the quality of wood used and made sure there were no sharp edges.

      “I like it,” she said. “What do you think?”

      He shrugged. He wouldn’t have picked white as his first choice, but then his first choice wasn’t being here, either. “It’s fine.”

      But she wasn’t listening. Instead her face had taken on an expression of such tenderness, Tanner felt his blood heat up about ten degrees. Then he noticed that her longing gaze wasn’t directed at him, but instead focused on a comforter in the next display. He stared at it, blinked twice and bit back a groan.

      If he’d given a second’s thought to decorating a child’s room, he would have pictured primary colors, or building blocks, or maybe even a train. But that’s not what had caught Kelly’s eye. She’d been transfixed by a pink-and-white comforter decorated with a teddy bear in a ballerina get-up.

      “It’s darling,” she said, taking his sleeve and tugging. “Don’t you love it?” She pulled him toward the display. “They have the comforter and linens and bumper pads. Oh, look, there’s a diaper stacker. I’ll bet there’s a border print for the walls and even a valance for the window. You could…”

      Her voice trailed off. She released his sleeve and nodded. “You hate it.”

      Hate implied an emotional energy he wasn’t willing to commit to ballerina teddy bears. Kelly was a woman. She’d once been a little girl. Therefore her taste had to be better than his. With any luck, the pattern would fade in the wash.

      “It’s fine,” he said. “Let’s get it. What’s next on the list?”

      “But Tanner, you don’t think it’s cute. We can pick something else.”

      He looked at her and found himself intrigued by her height. In her heels, she was only about an inch shorter than him. He’d generally gone in for the petite types, but there was something to be said for looking a woman dead in the eye without having to tilt his head.

      “Kelly, this is fine. I’m sure she’ll adore it.”

      By this time, the sales clerk had joined them. She was a middle-aged woman with a cheerful smile. By the way she kept out of the discussion Tanner suspected she’d heard more then her share of arguments over baby accessories.

      “If you’re sure,” Kelly said, and turned to her. “All right. The white crib, the four-drawer dresser, and the three-drawer changing table. Then this bedding set with the diaper stacker.” She paused. “We can worry about the wallpaper another time.”

      Like never, he thought, trying not to picture a wall covered with ballerina teddy bears. The three of them moved on.

      They spent nearly thirty minutes in a discussion about car seats before they all agreed on one. Then they chose a mattress, crib pads, receiving blankets—although he didn’t know what they were going to receive—towels with hoods, a stroller and dozens of things he couldn’t recognize. Tanner surprised them and himself by insisting on a mobile of fuzzy animals, of which his favorite was the lion, and a matching wall hanging.

      When they moved onto baby clothing, he told himself not to watch as Kelly chose tiny shirts and nighties and wrap, sleeper things with and without feet. The store clerk carried armloads over to the cash register, then returned for more. They even bought a diaper bag, which Tanner could not imagine having to carry through the construction site. When they reached the stage of discussing bottles for feeding and the best brand of diapers, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He touched Kelly’s arm.

      “Could I talk to you for a minute?” he asked.

      “Sure.” She excused them from the clerk and led him to a corner of the store. “What’s wrong?”

      “I can’t do this,” he said. “You’re buying bottles and I don’t know how to physically feed her. Or how much. Or how warm it’s supposed to be.” He could hear the sharp edge to his voice, but didn’t think he could control it.

      Kelly looked at him for a long time, then reached in her purse for her cell phone. Tanner panicked. Was she calling the hospital to tell them he couldn’t be trusted with his own child?

      “Ronni, hi, it’s me. I’m with Tanner at the baby store.” She paused, then smiled. “Oh, he’s definitely having a dose of reality and he’s looking longingly at the door. But he’ll be fine. Tomorrow, when you drop by Tanner’s to give him the diaper changing lesson, could you also teach him about feeding and anything else he might need? You know, the first-time parent baby lesson.” She paused again, then smiled. “Clueless is a strong term, but in this case appropriate. I’ll let him know. Thanks. Bye.”

      She hung up. “That was your sister-in-law to-be.”

      “I guessed that.” He was going to complain that he wasn’t clueless, but unfortunately he was. It was pretty sad.

      “Ronni’s going to phone the hospital and arrange for them to keep Baby Malone until early afternoon. Ronni and Ryan will come over to your place in the morning. Ryan will help with whatever furniture isn’t finished and Ronni will take you through the basics.”

      Some of the tension in his chest eased. “That’s great.”

      “And as I already promised, I’m available this weekend.” She pointed to the impressive pile by the cash register. “All that isn’t going to fit in your car. I suggest we take home as much as we can, starting with the biggest things. I’ll swing by tomorrow and get the rest of it.”

      He didn’t know what to say to her. Part of him wanted to explain that while her offer was really nice, he didn’t want to put her out. But that was a very small part of his brain. The rest was doing a cheer in relief.

      “Thanks,” he said. “I don’t want to think about spending that first afternoon with her by myself.”

      “You won’t.”

      He studied her face. She was pretty enough, but not a beauty. Not at all the normal kind of woman who caught his eye. “Why are you doing this?” he asked.

      “Because I want to,” she said easily. “I think you and your daughter deserve a fighting chance and I want to give you that.”

      “Thanks,” he told her, and had the sudden urge to give her a hug.

      That would be dumb, he reminded himself. Dr. Kelly Hall wasn’t interested in him—she was concerned about the baby. As long as he remembered that, they would both be fine.

      Chapter Four

      It was a few minutes after eight the next morning when Kelly knocked on Tanner’s front door. She juggled to keep the two large coffees from spilling as she balanced the bag of bagels and cream cheese. She figured Tanner wouldn’t