Healed By Their Unexpected Family. Karin Baine

uh...’ She had no words. Her brain was mush, her mouth dry. It had been a while since she’d shared a bed with anyone. Longer still since she’d had this level of passion stirred up inside her.

      Despite all the promises she’d made to herself about staying away from men, and this one in particular, all she could think about was grabbing him by the hand and finding the nearest hotel room. At this stage she wasn’t even thinking of a baby, only her own pleasure. That wasn’t part of the deal.

      Jamie couldn’t believe she was considering his outrageous proposal, or that he’d made it. There was something about Kayla that intrigued him and made him want to push her buttons. When he’d first spotted her at the wedding, he’d known this was the sister Liam had spoken about fondly. The pretty blonde in the off-the-shoulder, gypsy-style floral dress had to be the woman he’d heard loved animals too much to eat them and enjoyed nothing more than meditating and clearing something called chakras. From a distance, she’d seemed so calm and serene and totally in character with the Kayla who’d been described to him. Until she’d spoken to him. Then the carefree, laid-back, spiritual doula he’d heard about had changed into a tightly wound spitfire.

      Only around him though, he’d noted. From a distance he’d watched her charm everyone else with her easygoing nature and was amused by her reaction when he was around. Her pale skin flushed a dramatic scarlet when he spoke to her and she couldn’t get away from him quickly enough. He might have taken offence if it weren’t for the surreptitious glances he noticed she kept shooting his way. Her interest in him seemed to mark a change in his behaviour too. Ordinarily he wasn’t quite so...abrasive.

      Now she appeared more open to the idea of a fling his juices were flowing. When the air between them was still so charged with sexual awareness in the middle of a coffee shop, he knew they could set the sheets on fire together.

      ‘You know, my place isn’t far from here and my car’s just outside...’ he tossed out as he finished his coffee. It was madness, yet that flash of lust he’d seen when he’d mentioned the idea was unmistakable and irresistible. As was the subconscious licking of her lips and toying with her unruly blond hair. All signs she was interested in him. Along with the fact she was yet to tell him where to get off thinking she was the type of woman who’d agree to some afternoon hanky-panky with someone she hardly knew.

      ‘Jamie, I...uh—’

      He was expecting her to turn him down, but she set down her cup with trembling hands and was beginning to lift her handbag from the floor as if she was getting ready to go with him. Jamie unhooked his jacket from the back of the chair and dug for his car keys in the pocket. This was the most spontaneous, reckless thing he’d ever done. That included volunteering to be a sperm donor for his infertile brother.

      ‘I’m so glad we caught you two!’

      At the sound of Liam’s loud Northern Irish voice, they jumped apart. As though they’d literally been caught in the act. Chance would have been a fine thing.

      ‘Actually, we were just leaving.’ He held out a hand to help Kayla up but as she glanced between the two men Jamie knew the moment had passed. For now.

      ‘You can’t go yet. I’ve only got here and Tom’s on his way. We want to catch up on all the gossip and tell you what’s happening at the clinic.’ Liam pulled out a chair and invited himself to join them. The couple had been heavily involved in a project out in Vietnam setting up facilities for medical care in impoverished areas of Central Vietnam and it would be rude of them not to stay and listen to their latest news.

      Kayla couldn’t even meet his eye now, so Jamie had no choice but to sit back down and quell the excitement that had been escalating until his brother-in-law crashed their party.

      Tom arrived shortly after. ‘Sorry I’m late. The trains are a nightmare as usual. Got held up leaving Victoria Station because of a signal failure or something. What have I missed?’

      He gave Jamie a half-hug and kissed Kayla on the cheek before pulling over another chair from a nearby table and squeezing in beside his husband.

      ‘Nothing. Unfortunately,’ he mumbled. It was difficult not to sound ticked off when these two had killed the mood and left Kayla glaring at him for saying so.

      ‘Good. Kayla thought we should meet up to discuss any qualms anyone had about the process. Is there anything we should know about?’ Tom’s question was met only with silence.

      They hadn’t got around to listing the pros and cons about the baby idea when they’d been busy flirting up a storm. Kayla didn’t strike him as the type who’d stay silent if she had a problem and, since he’d been on board from day one, Jamie didn’t see the point in making them sweat.

      ‘Nope. We’re ready and willing to get our baby-making on. Where do we sign?’ His answer clearly delighted the two men, who grasped each other’s hands.

      ‘Kayla? You’re the one who’ll be doing all the hard work. Now you’ve had a chance to talk it over with Jamie, are you happy for us to push ahead?’ Even Liam sounded nervous about his sister continuing with her commitment and he didn’t know Jamie had just propositioned her.

      Any hint of sexual attraction towards him seemed to have evaporated since she was still frowning at him for his earlier indiscreet remark. ‘Jamie has made it clear he’s not the sort of person interested in committing to this beyond his ability to fill a plastic cup. I think you should get that down in writing in case he changes his mind again.’

      Wow. He hoped it was sexual frustration causing her to lash out too. If she really believed he was the unreliable, flaky type who’d mess his brother around, she knew nothing about him at all. He’d spent his whole adult life raising and providing for his kid brother. That was why he’d no intention of marrying or having kids of his own any time soon. Now Tom was married and starting a family, Jamie was free of responsibility. He no longer had a dependant to think of with every decision he made, and he didn’t think it was selfish of him to want a little quality time for himself.

      He couldn’t be sure if she’d formed her disapproval of him at the wedding or this afternoon when he’d made a pass at her and hadn’t followed through, but it was no longer important. Once he’d done his part behind closed doors he’d walk away with a clear conscience and wouldn’t have to set eyes on her again.

      If she was as sensitive as she appeared, he’d be better off letting her despise him. There was no point in getting involved with someone who’d read more into a fling than he was willing to give. Jamie had been there, done that, and wasn’t in a hurry to repeat the experience. The same could be said about his attitude to fatherhood.

       CHAPTER TWO

      IT HAD BEEN three months since that dreaded phone call from Jamie, but she could still hear it.

       ‘I’m sorry, Kayla, there’s been an accident. Tom, Liam...they didn’t make it.’

      Her world had fallen apart with those words at a time when she should have been enjoying her pregnancy. She’d conceived on the first attempt, thanks to the assistance at the fertility clinic and not an afternoon of passion with Jamie. With their brothers’ well-timed intervention that day, she’d taken back control of her senses and avoided any further one-to-one dealings with Jamie.

      The guys had gone over to Vietnam to tie up loose ends on the project they’d been working on out there. As Tom was an architect, and Liam a builder, they’d used their skills to build a medical centre for an impoverished area they’d visited on their holidays a few years ago. This was supposed to have been their babymoon, their last trip before they settled down into family life. Heavy rainfall had caused flooding, resulting in a landslide in the area where they’d been staying. Liam and Tom had been swept away to their deaths.

      It