Desire Collection: October 2017 Books 1 - 4. Maureen Child

What changed your mind?”

      “NCT can do without me for one day. We’ve all three been cooped up since Friday. A road trip sounds like fun. You can tell your brother not to worry about picking you up.”

      “I hate to burst your bubble, but how exactly are we going to get there? Your Mercedes is in a drugstore parking lot under a mound of snow, and there’s still the matter of the car seat.”

      “Out of curiosity, how did you envision us traveling when you first invited me to go with you?”

      “Truthfully?” She grimaced. “I thought you would say no immediately, so it was a moot point.”

      Her answer bothered him. She could see it in his eyes, but he recovered quickly. “Well, I guess the joke is on you. I’m coming, and I’ve got the transportation problem solved. I’ve ordered a vehicle with a regulation car seat already installed.”

      “A car?”

      “A vehicle.”

      “As in...?”

      For a moment, he looked like a kid caught cheating on his homework. “I requested a Hummer. It will be delivered at four this afternoon.”

      Dani gaped. “A Hummer? Are you serious? Why would you do that?”

      Nathaniel shrugged. “It’s a virtually indestructible vehicle. Look out the window, woman. The melting has started, but it won’t be gone in an hour. Nobody in Atlanta knows how to drive in the snow. It’s dangerous to be out and about. Besides, all that water has to go somewhere, which means flooding. Peaches may not be mine, but I have a responsibility to keep her safe until the investigator gets some answers. I want to keep you safe, too.”

      “And you want to drive a Hummer.”

      His sheepish grin acknowledged the truth of her accusation. “Is that so bad?”

      “My brother will go nuts. I hope you don’t mind sharing. He’ll have the two of you careening all over Hall County.”

      “There are worse ways to spend an afternoon.”

      “Good grief.” She muttered the words beneath her breath as she got out of bed. At five this morning after visiting the bathroom, she had donned her nightgown before getting back under the covers. Her mental state required some kind of armor, even if it was flimsy silk and even if the silk had been purchased by the man on the other side of the bed. Now she added the robe and belted it. “Shall I fix us some breakfast?”

      Every bit of humor left his face. His eyes darkened and his jaw tightened. “What I’d like is for Ophelia to reclaim her baby so I can spend a few more hours in bed with you. Last night was amazing.”

      “Hush,” she said. “Not in front of Peaches.”

      He stared at her so intently her nipples beaded beneath two thin layers of silk. Nathaniel noticed, of course. “She doesn’t understand a thing I’m saying. Nor does she know how badly I want her to take a long, morning nap.”

      “Stop it, please. You’re embarrassing me.” Her cheeks felt sunburned. Why did the man in the bed have to be so sexy, so charming, so funny, so everything?

      “Fine,” he said. “Go scramble a few eggs if it will make you happy. But don’t expect me to forget about sex. Not after last night.”

      If Christmas Day had been long and lazy, Monday was anything but. Since the holiday fell on Sunday, most of Atlanta had Monday off, which meant traffic was lighter than usual on the interstates. That helped road crews who were trying desperately to restore order. Unfortunately, even that advantage was negated by the dozens of wrecks all over the city. Dani and Nathaniel took turns listening to the radio, scouring online news sites and occasionally, catching breaking-news updates on TV.

      Peaches was inconsolable for most of the day. She did, in fact, have one tiny tooth poking through on the bottom with a second one soon on the way. “No wonder she’s cranky,” Dani said after lunch. “Poor thing is miserable.”

      Since they didn’t want to get out twice, Dani made a list and Nathaniel placed a phone order to the same pharmacy/discount store where they had first gathered supplies for the baby. This time Dani included infant acetaminophen and a fluid-filled teething ring that could be frozen. They needed something to comfort the poor child.

      While the grown-ups took turns packing overnight bags, the baby slept for no more than ten minutes at a time. Dani, frazzled and exhausted, began to wonder if this trip to Gainesville was a good idea after all. On the other hand, her parents would be crushed if she cancelled at this late date.

      Nathaniel loaned her a small suitcase. She managed to get all of the gifts he had given her folded neatly inside. The family lunch would be extremely casual, and she had told Nathaniel as much. The jeans she chose to wear from her new mini wardrobe, however, were superchic, as was the long-sleeve top in shades of purple and mauve and silver. Never had she spent this much money on items that were essentially a knock-around wardrobe.

      The outfit must have been flattering, because Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed and his neck flushed when he saw her. “You almost ready?” he asked.

      Dani nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I think we’re just waiting for the drugstore order and we’re good to go.”

      Nathaniel handed her the baby. “I’m going downstairs to sign for the car. I’ll load the delivery straight into the back.”

      “You won’t need all that for one night.”

      “Doesn’t matter. I’ve got plenty of room in the Hummer.”

      She laughed. “You love saying that, don’t you?”

      His wicked smile made her stomach flip. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

      When the front door slammed behind him, Dani nuzzled Peaches’s soft cheeks and tried to remember everything she needed to pick up at her apartment. Thanks to Nathaniel’s largesse, it was mostly only the presents for her family.

      Thirty minutes later, they were on the road. Dani had worried about Peaches’s safety, but the car seat was top-of-the-line and installed correctly. The baby settled down once they were in the ridiculously large and noticeable vehicle, perhaps from the novelty of being outside.

      The huge amounts of melting snow did indeed create a nightmare. Not only that, but Nathaniel was forced to dodge vehicles that had been abandoned Friday night. The side trip to Dani’s apartment took far longer than it should have. She shared the top floor of an old Victorian house in the Piedmont Park area.

      “This is nice,” Nathaniel said, surveying the tree-lined streets and charming architecture.

      “I won’t be long at all.”

      “Don’t you need help?”

      “No. I’ll be fine.” She didn’t want Nathaniel inside her home, even briefly. It was going to be hard enough to root him out of her life without the memory of his presence inside the one place that was her peaceful sanctuary at the end of a long day.

      She was gone fifteen minutes, maybe twenty. “Sorry,” she said as she carefully placed the sack of gifts in the back and climbed into the front of the vehicle. “I had to water a couple of plants.”

      “No worries.”

      As Nathaniel negotiated the newly created obstacle course to get out of town, Dani texted back and forth with her mother. Finally, she shut off her phone and tossed it in her purse. “I hope we make it to Gainesville and the hotel in one piece.”

      He shifted into a lower gear to tackle an icy hill. “We’ll make it,” he said. “And we’ll celebrate in bed, little elf. Frankly, it’s all I’m thinking about at the moment. That and trying not to smash up this tank I’m driving.”

      “I thought it wasn’t smashable,” she quipped, goading him for no good reason.

      He