The Baby Invasion (Destiny Bay-Baby Dreams) Read Online Free

“Let’s go be nice.”  

    Scott was sitting on the couch wondering why he’d come. There were two children staring at him. One was hiding behind the velveteen-covered chair, peering from around the side as though Scott were surely the enemy. The other was sitting at his feet, looking him over with unabashed curiosity, touching him now and then with one chubby finger, then drawing it back and gurgling happily.  
    He looked up with relief when the women re-entered the room and he immediately jumped up to help Cathy with the tray.  
    “Thank you,” she said, and, about to say something back, he looked down into her eyes.  
    They were huge and blue and there was a mystery there that caught at him, throwing him off base and making him forget what he’d been about to say. Instead, he stood where he was and stared at her a little too long, until she said, “Is something wrong?”  
    “No,” he said quickly, feeling like a fool. He slumped down onto the couch again, trying hard to regain his usual savoir-faire. Every time he looked at her he was more and more intrigued.   What was it about this woman that was doing this to him?  
    Her silver-blond hair shimmered around her shoulders like sunlight and her rosebud mouth looked sexy and kissable and her long, tanned legs looked gorgeous in those short shorts. But hey, come on. It was nothing he hadn’t seen before.  
    And yet ... and yet… . .  
    There was something about this woman that tugged at something within him.  
    “So you live in the house behind us,” she said at last, opening a conversation but doing it gingerly.   “And yet you’ve been gone most of the week.”
    He nodded.   “I’m a flier.   I was a pilot in the military for a long time and now I’m a pilot for a commercial airline.   That means I spend most of my time somewhere else.”
    “Ah, so that’s it.”
    He nodded.   And then, since they were asking questions…
    “Is your... husband around?” he asked, then winced at his obviousness. Still, he had to know and she certainly hadn’t been forthcoming on the issue.  
    “No,” she said, glancing quickly at the children. “He’s not.”  
    “Oh.”   WeIl, that didn’t help much, did it?  
    She got up to let Barnaby outside, and he craned his neck to look at her hand. She wasn’t wearing any jewelry at all, so he still couldn’t be certain. He tried to formulate another way of asking more specifically, but before he could find the words, the little girl spoke.  
    “Our daddy’s gone,” she said matter-of-factly. “Mommy isn’t married anymore.”  
    “Beth!” Cathy gazed at her daughter in perplexed horror as she came back to sit down. She’d never known Beth to be so forward before. This missing daddy thing was bothering her more than she’d realized if her little girl was ready to throw her mother into the arms of the first decent-looking man to walk through the front door.  
    Beth shrugged, looking apologetically at her mother. “Sorry, Mama,” she said softly, burying her face on her mother’s shoulder.  
    Cathy hugged her girl and whispered, “It’s okay,” into her tousled hair, then turned back to Scott.  
    She wanted to turn cold and brush him off, but somehow she couldn’t force it. She hesitated, unsure of what to do.   There was an openness about the man, a warmth she seemed to automatically respond to, as though she’d known him for a long time. She felt an instinctive trust, although why that was, she couldn’t imagine.  
    She’d promised her daughter she would try to be nice to Scott, and to tell the truth, that was turning out to be easier to do than she had thought. Maybe they could be friends. Wouldn’t that be nice? But friendship required honesty. She had to be very clear on where things stood.  
    “I’m divorced,” she admitted, her blue eyes wide and honest. She patted Beth and set her free. “And I’m very busy raising my three children on my own. I have absolutely