Surprise: Outback Proposal. Sarah Mayberry

his chest.

      “Why would I bother?” Dom said. “You have your own ideas about me, and you obviously like them a lot more than the truth.”

      He grabbed his jacket and strode toward the doorway. He couldn’t remember ever being more furious with his father—and they’d had some rip-roaring fights over the years.

      His father held his ground until the last possible moment, then stepped to one side.

      Dom thrust the handheld unit at him as he passed.

      “Do what you like with it. You won’t hear another word from me on the subject,” he said.

      Then he marched back toward the stand. There was work to do, after all. He’d hate for his father to think his no-good son was adding shirking to his list of crimes.

      “I CAN’T BELIEVE they said no.”

      Lucy forced a small smile. “Well, they did. Apparently I’m a bad risk. No assets, no security.”

      “But you’re making a profit. And you’ll make a bigger one once you get the site up and running and you attract more business,” Rosie said.

      “Said all that. They didn’t care.”

      “Crap,” Rosie said. Then she sat straighter. “We’ll try another bank. There’s got to be someone out there with a bit of vision.”

      “Rosie, I have my van lease with them, do all my banking through them. If they don’t want to do business with me, no one else is going to step up to the plate.”

      “You don’t know that. We have to try.” Rosie pulled her cell phone from her bag. “What’s the name of that new bank, the one advertising all the time?”

      “I’ve already called the other three major banks, and two of the building societies,” Lucy said.

      “And?”

      “Like I said. No one wants to take a risk on me. And that’s before they’ve gotten an eyeful of this.” She indicated her belly.

      Rosie stared at her, clearly at a loss as the facts sank in. “Crap,” she said again.

      “Oh yeah,” Lucy said.

      A waiter appeared at their table and Rosie waved him away.

      “No, wait. I need chocolate,” Lucy said.

      “Good idea,” Rosie said.

      They both ordered hot chocolates and cake before returning to the crisis at hand.

      “There has to be some way around this,” Rosie said.

      Lucy pushed her hair behind her ear. She was tired, exhausted really, but she was hoping the chocolate would give her a much needed kick. Crawling into bed and sleeping for a day was not an option open to her right now.

      “I’ve been doing some sums. If I save my ass off between now and when the baby is due, I can put aside enough to cover my bills for three months. Ma mentioned the other day that Cousin Mario is looking for work. I thought I could offer him the driver’s job for three months. He can take my wage, I’ll live off my savings. It might work.”

      Rosie was staring at her. “What if you need more than three months? What if Mario won’t do it for what you pay yourself? Which, let’s face it, is a joke.”

      Lucy felt the heat of threatening tears, and she clenched her jaw. “I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

      “No. It’s a make-do, Band-Aid plan, and it’s not going to cut it. You need that twenty thousand.”

      “Really? Do you think?” Lucy said. She so didn’t need her sister pointing out the obvious to her, not when she was trying to be stoic.

      “We’ll lend it to you,” Rosie suddenly announced, slapping her hands onto the table so hard she made the sugar dispenser jump.

      “What?”

      “Andrew and I have got some money put aside for renovations at the office. We can put them off and lend it to you instead,” Rosie said.

      Lucy stared at her sister. “God, I love you, you idiot, but there’s no way I’m taking money from you and Andrew. Forget about it. I’ll talk to Cousin Mario tonight, get something else sorted. It’ll be fine.”

      “Listen to me,” Rosie said, leaning across the table until she was right in Lucy’s face. “That money is just sitting there. We’ve been talking about hiring an architect for years and it hasn’t happened. We’ll draw it up like a loan, if that makes you feel any better. You can pay us interest, make regular payments. We’ll be just like the bank, only nicer.”

      Lucy shook her head. “No. You’ve already taken me into your home. You won’t let me pay more than a token rent. I can’t keep taking your charity forever, Rosie. What kind of a mother am I going to be if I can’t stand on my own two feet?”

      “Exactly. And the fastest way for you to get there is to get that Internet site happening and grow your business. I know it hurts your pride, but taking a loan from your family is the best thing for you and the baby. And that’s the truth.” Rosie sat back in her chair, her case made.

      Lucy stared at her, her mind whirling.

      It was so tempting. Rosie and Andrew had the money. Lucy could stick to her original game plan. She’d already spoken to a Web site design company in anticipation of today’s bank appointment. She could go full steam ahead with her schedule and be online within a month.

      “Say yes. Be smart. For the baby,” Rosie said.

      “It’s so much money,” Lucy said. “And you guys have got plans for it.”

      “They’ll wait.”

      “What about Andrew? It’s his money, too.”

      “He loves you almost as much as I do, and he’ll understand.”

      Lucy closed her eyes. So many big decisions lately. If only she had a crystal ball. She opened her eyes again.

      “Yes. Okay. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but thank you. Thank you so much. Where would I be without you?”

      “Good girl!”

      “I won’t let you down,” Lucy said. “I promise I’ll pay back every cent.”

      “I know you will. I know where you live, remember?”

      They were both blinking rapidly. Lucy shook her head.

      “I feel like I just got off a roller-coaster. Talk about up and down.”

      “Welcome to parenthood, I guess,” Rosie said. “From what I hear, this is just the beginning.”

      They both smiled, and Lucy reached across to grab her sister’s hand, overwhelmed with gratitude and relief.

      “Hey there. Long time no see,” a familiar male voice said.

      Lucy looked up to see Dominic Bianco standing next to the table. She felt her sister’s fingers convulse around hers in reaction and had to fight the urge to giggle. Truly, Rosie’s crush on The Bianco was a hoot.

      “Dom. You’re not just finishing work for the day, are you?” Lucy asked, noting he was still wearing his Bianco Brothers shirt.

      “Something like that. Hey, Rosetta, how are things?”

      Rosie was smiling at Dom with slightly glazed eyes. “G-good. Things are good. I’m married now, you know,” she said.

      Dom’s eyebrows rose a bit at her sister’s odd segue.

      “Congratulations. When was the wedding?” he asked politely.

      “Eight years ago,” Lucy said.

      “Right,” Dom said. He looked confused, as well he