His Lover's Little Secret. Andrea Laurence

and get their food before their toddler started to revolt. Sabine tried to keep her focus on Jared, making sure he was eating small bites and not getting ketchup everywhere. It was easier than looking at Gavin and trying to guess what he was thinking.

      Things were still very up in the air between them. He was being nice to her. More polite than she expected, under the circumstances. But once the test results came back, Sabine was certain that things would start to change. Gavin had sworn he wasn’t about to snatch her baby from her arms, but she was more concerned about it happening slowly. A new apartment in the city. A new school for Jared. New clothes. New toys. Even if he gave up the idea of marrying for their child’s sake, things would change for her, too. He’d insist she stop working. He’d give her spending money. Suggest they just move in with him.

      And when the time came that she decided to move out, she was certain he’d see to it that Jared stayed behind in the stable home they’d created for him there. She’d be unemployed and homeless with no money of her own to fight him for custody.

      These were the thoughts that had kept her quiet throughout her pregnancy. The same fears that made her hide Jared from his father. And yet, she found herself smiling as she watched Jared and Gavin color on the kid’s menu together. There was a hamburger with legs dancing on one side. Jared was scribbling green across the bun. Gavin was more cautious, making the meat brown and the cheese orange as he stayed between the lines.

      That was Gavin for you. No matter what he did, he always stayed between the lines. He never got dirty. Or screwed up anything.

      Opposites attracted, but they were polar to the point of near incompatibility. A lot of Sabine’s clothes had paint splattered on them from her art. She embraced that life was messy. You had to eat a little dirt before you died. Gavin was polished. Tailored. You couldn’t find a speck of dirt beneath his fingernails.

      How had she ever thought that dating Gavin was a good idea?

      Her eyes drifted over his sharp features and thick, dark hair. His broad shoulders and strong jaw. In truth, that was why she’d let herself indulge. Gavin was a handsome, commanding specimen of a man. Every inch of him, from his large hands attempting to clutch a tiny crayon, to his muscular but trim frame, radiated health and power. He was interesting and thoughtful. Honorable and loyal to a fault.

      If she’d had to get pregnant, her instincts had sought out a superior male to help her propagate the species.

      Somehow, even that most scientific of thoughts spoke straight to her core. Her appraisal of Gavin had shot up her pulse. She felt a flush rise to her cheeks and chest. The heat spread throughout her body, focusing low in her belly. She closed her eyes, hoping to take a private moment to wish away her desire and regain control.

      “Do you need to do anything else in the city before I take you back to your place?”

      No such luck. Sabine’s eyes flew open to see Gavin looking at her with a curious gaze. “You don’t have to take us back,” she snapped. She wasn’t certain she could take being so close to him in the car. At least not at the moment. “We’ll take the subway.”

      “No, I insist.” Gavin paid the check and handed his crayon over to Jared.

      “Gavin, you have a two-passenger roadster with no car seat. You can’t drive us home.”

      He smiled and fished into his pocket, pulling out the ticket for the garage attendant. “Not today. Today I have a four-door Mercedes sedan...”

      Sabine opened her mouth to reiterate the lack of car seat when Gavin continued, “...with a newly installed combination car seat that Jared can use until he’s eighty-five pounds.”

      Her mouth snapped shut. He was determined to undermine any arguments she might make. Sure, it was harmless when it came to rides home from dinner, but what about when the decisions were important? Would Gavin find a way to make sure he got his way then, too? He’d always seemed to win when they were dating, so she wouldn’t be surprised.

      Tonight, Sabine didn’t feel like arguing. She waited with Jared while Gavin had the attendant retrieve his car. Admittedly, it was nice to just sit in the soft leather seats and let Gavin worry about the stressful exodus of traffic into Brooklyn. No running down stairs to the train platforms...no crowded, B.O.-smelling subway cars...

      And when he pulled up right in front of her building and parked, trimming several blocks from her walk, she said, “Thank you.”

      “For what?”

      “Driving us home.”

      Gavin frowned slightly at her. “Of course I would drive you home. There’s no need to thank me for that.”

      Sabine glanced over her shoulder and found Jared out cold in his new car seat. “I think he likes it,” she said. She glanced at her watch. It was a little after seven. It was earlier than Jared usually went to bed, and he’d probably beat the sun to rise, but that was okay. If she could get him upstairs, change his Pull-Up and take off his shoes without waking him up, she’d consider it a victory.

      They got out of the car. Sabine walked around to the other side, but Gavin had already scooped up the sleepy toddler in his arms. Without waking, Jared put his head on Gavin’s shoulder and clung to his neck. Gavin gently ran his palm over the child’s head, brushing back the baby-soft strands of his dark hair and resting his hand on Jared’s back to keep him steady.

      Sabine watched with a touch of tears distorting her vision. It was sweet watching the two of them, like carbon copies of one another. It was only their second day together and already she could see Jared warming up to Gavin.

      Gavin carried Jared through the building and into her apartment after she unlocked the door. Sabine led the way down the hall to the bedroom. Flipping on the lights, they were greeted with calming mint-green walls, cream wainscoting and a mural of Winnie the Pooh characters she’d painted above the crib. Her double bed was an afterthought on the opposite wall.

      She slipped off Jared’s shoes. His soft cotton pants and T-shirt would be fine to sleep in. She gestured for Gavin to lay him on the crib mattress and made quick work of changing him.