Baby's First Christmas: The Christmas Twins / Santa Baby. Tina Leonard

just the two of them talking about their future and their goals.

      He’d get her to see his way eventually.

      She looked at him. He sensed a struggle.

      “Kids need schools and balance and ties to heritage,” he said softly. He gazed at her, his fingers reaching out to cover hers on the table. “The girl who has everything ought to know that.”

      Chapter Nine

      Jessie shook her head. “It’s not quite like that. I’ve worked hard for everything I have. And I’ve always felt quite ‘normal.’”

      “I’m not sure that’s the right word for you.” Zach grinned. “Maybe ‘exceptional.’ There’s the word I’m looking for.”

      “Well, it definitely seems exceptional to be having children with you,” Jessie said, feeling uneasy. “This is probably not going to be the most graceful relationship between two people, considering how we’ve started out.”

      “I’m good with it,” Zach said. “You’ll be a great mother, I’ll be an awesome dad. The babies will have interesting and varied lives.” He gave her a slow, sexy grin. “You’ve definitely made my life interesting.”

      She nodded. “Still seeing the twins?”

      He grinned again. “You’re the only woman in my life now.”

      Her brow lifted. “How do I know you’re not telling me a fib?”

      “You can trust me. But because you think you can’t, I’ll tell you a secret no one in this town knows.”

      “Part of me is curious, and part of me says knowing anything more about you could be detrimental.” Mostly to my heart.

      “That suspicious streak of yours is going to interfere with our closeness,” Zach said. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want that to happen, for the sake of the children.”

      He was going to use that angle every chance he got. “Go on,” she said, “tell the monumental secret.”

      “I have to trust you,” he said.

      “You’re stretching our boundaries,” she said. “All we’ve learned to do so far is distrust.”

      “Okay,” he said with a mock frown, “but I don’t share secrets with just anyone.”

      “I won’t dignify that with a show of curiosity.”

      “The twins live in Dallas. They’re writers.”

      Jessie blinked. “Interesting, if you like to read in bed, I guess.”

      “So suspicious,” he said, laughing. “You’re almost no fun to share a secret with.”

      “I never said I was fun,” Jessie said. “I’m just learning to embrace stability.”

      “I write western romance,” he said proudly. “They’re my critique group.”

      She stared at him. “That’s your secret?”

      He nodded proudly. “Yep.”

      “It’s a good one.” Zach with a creative, cerebral side? It was almost hard to imagine. “You know, the Gang would love to know—”

      “Hey!” He sat up. “You promised not to say anything.”

      “But it’s so juicy and scandalous,” she teased. “They’d love to know your mysterious side.”

      “We’re bonding over secrets,” Zach said. “The Gang is not to know.”

      “But they’d figure out a way to use your hobby to grow Tulips.” She grinned at him. “Imagine your face on a billboard at the entrance of the city ‘Tulips—Home Of Zach Forrester, Western Romance Writer.’ You could turn this town into a haven for aspiring artists.”

      “It’s not organic,” Zach said.

      “Maybe Duke doesn’t get everything he wants. And I might remind you, we are doing our part in the organic growth department, twice over.”

      “I should have known you’d go for the dramatic tie-down of my bachelorhood.”

      She shrugged. “So back to the billboard—”

      “I notice you care about our town.” Zach smiled. “You seem to be thinking deeply on our dilemma. This gives me hope for our future.”

      “Don’t,” Jessie said. “I could never marry a moody writer.”

      “That’s a cliché.” Zach bit into a cookie. “Just as much a cliché as women having moody times of the month.”

      Jessie opened her mouth to say she probably did, then closed it. She wouldn’t be having one of those for a while, so there was no point in scaring him.

      “You were going to say you had no moody times,” Zach said. “I’m glad for that. Only one of us can be moody.”

      “What good does it do to write if no one knows you do it?” Jessie asked.

      “I need that outlet for my soul. I can’t not create. I started out with cowboy poetry, and one day, I realized my poem went on and on. It had taken on epic proportions but wasn’t as good as The Odyssey, for example. I feared, in fact, that it was pretty much lengthy dreck. I took it to a workshop and I met the twins, and they suggested a romance, and we’ve been together ever since.”

      Jessie tried not to be jealous of other women having a piece of Zach she would never share. “Should I read some of your work?”

      He looked surprised. “Would you want to?”

      “It would be a sampling, wouldn’t it? Of your style?”

      “You’re trying to cheat,” Zach said with a grin. “It won’t work. You’re going to have to learn about me through one-on-one communication.”

      They looked at each other for a long moment.

      “Besides, I don’t think western romance is your cup of tea,” Zach told her. “I’ll tell the babies bedtime tales of cowboys and Christmas carols, though.”

      “I never heard those.”

      He nodded. “I know. I sensed that the girl who had everything might not have experienced some of the best parts of life.”

      She leaned back in her chair. “I’ve always believed that people who make lasting bonds with each other are best suited if they have similar backgrounds.”

      “We’re not exactly dissimilar. We’re both the rogue elements in our families.”

      “I wish I could refute that,” she said slowly. “Unfortunately, I only lately came into the family’s good graces.”

      Zach grinned. “The old ladies can pick a winner every time.”

      “What does that mean?”

      “It means,” he said, “that they seem to know how to find diamonds in the rough.”

      “They did not find me,” Jessie said, “I drove through this town. I don’t want to believe that my future is based on my bad sense of direction.”

      He grinned. “I’m really looking forward to this.”

      “It’s not going to work, Zach,” Jessie said honestly. “My bad sense of direction applies to maps and men. They say once bitten, twice shy, and you’ve already proved yourself to be less than trustworthy. No bonding between us, no cajoling and teasing, can change the way I feel.” She looked at him, wanting him to understand. “Everything I know tells me you’re not a good bet for my life. While I realize nothing is a safe bet, now that I’m going to be a mother, I’m going to be making the best choices I possibly can.”

      ZACH