by Leanne Banks
"I hear it's different when deciding where to go for dinner, what color to wallpaper the walls and who gets which section of the paper first. Or who's going to get up in the middle of the night when the baby is crying and change the messy diaper."
"I did change some messy diapers," he told her.
"In the middle of the night?"
"We had a nanny for that." He met her gaze. She'd given him something to think about. Nicola often did that to him. That ability to make him think and reflect was part of what fascinated and frustrated him about her. For now, he had to get some other questions answered. "What did you think of all the red and white roses at Adam and Selene's wedding?"
"They were beautiful and a nice tie-in for Christmas," Nicola said.
"What are you favorites?"
"Flowers?" She shrugged. "I love the mixed bouquets with unusual colored roses and other flowers. I'm not a straight red-rose kind of girl."
"What about the wedding cake?"
"That was gorgeous, amazing. Black and white, chocolate and vanilla to suit both tastes. Very clever."
"My favorite is Boston cream pie," he said.
"Really? I would've guessed apple. You ordered it so often during the campaign."
"Apple is my second favorite."
"My favorite cake is Mississippi Mud, not at all appropriate for a wedding, but that's okay because when I make it, I don't like to share it."
He laughed. "You selfish little thing. How often do you make it?"
"About once a year. Otherwise, it's—"
"—Skittles," he finished for her, enjoying the look of surprise on her face.
"And you're a mint or antacid cruncher, depending on whether or not you overindulged in barbecue."
"You're too observant," he told her.
"Maybe, but I am observing that we've gotten off track here. What's next on the list?"
"Gifts for the Angel Tree, but I can give that to my—"
"No, no. I love that. I have to shop for two of my angels myself. How many did you get?"
"Ten," Abe said and watched her eyes widen.
"Ten?" she echoed.
"I told you that I can give that assignment to my assistant."
She shook her head. "Is this what you do every year? Pull ten of these off a tree and give your assistant the money to go buy the gifts."
He shrugged. "Yes. Ten seemed a fair number in light of the other holiday donations I give."
"Oh, ten is very generous," Nicola said. "Ever thought about doing the shopping yourself?"
Not in a million years, he thought, but caught himself before he said it aloud. "Not until now. Will you help me?"
"You would actually go out in the mass of humanity and go shopping for your Christmas angels?" she asked, incredulous.
"I will if you will," he said.
* * *
At Nicola's suggestion, they went to Wal-Mart at midnight. Abe glanced around in amazement at the number of shoppers in the store. "I didn't know Wal-Mart was open past midnight."
"All night until Christmas," Nicola said with a grim smile. "You can shop here twenty-four hours a day if you want."
Abe shuddered. "Sounds like a nightmare to me."
"The reason we came at midnight is because neither you nor I like to wait in line, and due to all the crowds we dealt with during the campaign, we'd like a little break from hordes of people."
"Smart woman," Abe said in approval, wondering if they could speed shop and then he could get her home to her town house and join her in bed. "Where are the lists?"
"Here," she said. "You do the boy toys. I'll do the clothing and girl toys."
"Okay, when I get done with mine, I can help you with yours."
They went their separate ways and Abe selected the toys for the boys. He threw in a few extras that looked like fun then went looking for Nicola and found her in the infant department looking at baby clothes and baby booties.
"Isn't this adorable?" she asked, pointing to a red velveteen dress with gloves and booties.
"Cute," Abe said. "Get it. What do you have for the little guys' clothes?"
Nicola pulled two outfits from the cart and Abe made a face.
"What?" she asked, looking at the outfits again. "What's wrong?"
"They're too sissy looking," Abe said.
"They're red. They're Christmassy," she protested.
He shook his head. "Red velvet. Sissy. Blue or green would be better. And whatever you do, don't pick satin. You'll give the poor kid a complex."
Nicola's lips twitched. "I never would have guessed you would be opinionated about baby clothes."
"I'm not," Abe said, pulling out a blue velvet outfit that he felt was a reasonable compromise. "I just think it's good to start out with gender appropriate clothing. No need to confuse anyone from the beginning. Half the time babies are bald, so it's already hard enough to tell the difference. What else?"
"Receiving blankets," Nicola said. "Male or female?" he asked.
"That can't possibly matter with blankets," she said.
"Don't argue with me. We're going to make sure that nobody mistakes our girl babies for boys and our boy babies for girls."
"Ours," Nicola echoed, giving him a strange look.
Abe nodded. "Our angel babies." The way she was looking at him made him feel twitchy on the back of his neck. They selected baby blankets. "So, we're done, right? I got the bicycles and other stuff. The service department will put the bikes together and we can pick them up in two days."
"All except books," Nicola said, shoving her cart down another lane.
"Huh? There aren't any books on the list," Abe said, following after her with another cart.
"I know, but I always like to make sure each child gets a book. Reading is so very important. I sometimes even tuck one in for the mother."
Abe felt his heart soften and slid his hand behind Nicola's neck. "I would have never guessed you'd feel so maternal for people you don't even know."
He felt her stiffen and pull slightly away.
"People are capable of all kinds of things. It's best not to pigeonhole. Here are the books." She began to make her selections.
He studied her carefully. Lord, she was acting strange. Since it was after 1 a.m., it took no time to get through the checkout. He glanced at the variety of books—animal books, touch-and-smell baby books, Harry Potter and baby and child care. "Hey, what's with the baby-care books?" he asked. "Don't you think they know how to take care of a baby if they already have them?"
"This will be a great reference if something unexpected comes up. I'll pay for mine separately," she said.
"No," Abe said, pulling out his credit card. "You did the shopping. I'll do the paying."
"I'm perfectly able to—"
"I know you are," he said. "You're perfectly able to do anything you want or need to do, but I'd like to take care of this. Okay?"
She blinked at him. "Uh, okay. Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said, and they bundled up the bags and walked to his car. Her silence bothered him. He loaded the bags into his trunk, opened the passenger door to help her in then got in on his side. He closed the door behind him and looked at her. "What in hell is going on with you?"
She bit her lip. "What do you mean?"
"I mean when you got all bent out of shape when I complimented you on how maternal you were being."
She lifted one shoulder in a semishrug. "It didn't feel like a compliment. I know I've been wrapped up in my career, but there's more to me than that." She paused. "I'm not just career-girl Barbie."
"I didn't think you were," Abe said.
"Well, it sounded like it," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
He shook his head. "Nic, I'm having a hard time following you lately. You tell me you think we should keep our relationship professional, but you admit you have feelings for me. You tell me you're not interested in marriage then get upset when I make a comment about your maternal urges. Help me
out here."
She took a deep breath and nodded her head up at the sky and gave a half smile. "There's a full moon. Maybe it's bringing out the witch in me."
* * *
It had to be her hormones, Nicola thought as she entered the town house with Abe hauling in bags of toys and clothes and books. One minute, she wanted to hiss at Abe for making an idle comment on her maternal leanings. The next minute, when she saw his big hands holding blue baby booties, she wanted to hug him.
Nicola mentally rolled her eyes at herself. "Thanks for bringing them in. I can handle it from here. I just separate them based on the list and take them to the Angel Tree drop-off and we're done. Thanks so much."
Abe frowned. "I'm not letting you carry all these bags by yourself. We can divide the gifts now and take them in two days when I pick up the bicycles." He opened the bags. "I have pink baby blankets here."
"That would be Carmelita," she said.
"Tonka truck, make that two Tonka trucks," he said.
She thumbed through the lists. "Will and Eli."
And so it went until Abe had emptied all the bags and arranged the gifts in twelve piles. "You have an extra baby-care book," he said.
"We can give that to Carmelita's mother," she said quickly and made a mental note to put it in her nightstand.
Abe stood and grinned. "Looks like Santa has been here."
Her heart tripped over itself. "I guess he has. No white beard or fat belly on this Santa, though." She couldn't resist the urge to kiss him, so she did. Lifting on tiptoe, she pressed her mouth against his. The brief kiss she had planned suddenly turned into something longer, hotter and more wicked.
"What was that for?" he asked when she pulled back slightly.
"Must've been the shopping," she said, kissing him again, sliding her tongue over his when she thought about him and his crazy opinions about what kinds of clothes babies should wear. It shouldn't turn her on, but it did.
"Let me get this straight," he murmured against her mouth. "You're turned on by a midnight shopping trip to Wal-Mart?"
She slid her hands under his cashmere sweater. "I know. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Better run while you can."
"No way," he said, tightening his arms around her. "Can't say I understand it. Tiffany's, I could get that, but Wal-Mart?"
She laughed against his throat. "It wasn't Wal-Mart. It was how generous you were, and the fact that you got into it, even with your silly opinions about the color of receiving blankets."
"They're not silly," he said then groaned. "Lord, your breasts feel good." He took her mouth and gave her a lengthy, thorough kiss that made her head spin. "Tell me you're not too tired."
"I'm not," she said. "I took a three-hour nap this afternoon."
She was being shameless, but heaven help her, she couldn't remember feeling this turned on, and it wasn't as if she could get pregnant. Already done that. Nicola had used up all her energy for denying her feelings for Abe. At least until he left for D.C. The lure of uninhibited, unprotected sex with Abe was too much.
She dropped her hands to the belt on his slacks and undid it. She unfastened buttons and slid her hands inside his briefs to cup him in her hands. Huge and hard, he let out a long hiss at her touch.
"You're moving fast, sweetheart. If you keep touching me like that, I'll be inside you in no time."
"Promise?" she said, and watched his eyes light with fire.
His mouth fastened to hers, he eased her down on the floor and pulled her sweater over her head. She tugged his over his head. He undid her bra with disconcerting speed.
"You do that very fast," she said breathlessly.
"Does it bother you?" he asked.
"I'm not sure I like thinking about how much experience it required to develop that speed."
Abe laughed and dipped his mouth over her nipple. "When I was a teenager, I swiped a bra from the laundry and practiced on my desk chair."
She smiled at the image. "Okay, that doesn't bother me as much."
"But I want to bother you, Nic." He slid his hands down to the top of her jeans and unfastened them. "I want to bother you as much as you bother me."
He dipped his mouth again to her nipple and drew it into his mouth while he unzipped her zipper and skimmed his fingers beneath the edge of her panties to the part of her that was already swollen.
Her heart hammering, her body blazing from the inside out, she shimmied to push down her jeans. "I think it's safe to say you bother me."
He stroked her and stroked her until she didn't think she could stand it anymore. She tugged his slacks down and pulled at his tight buttocks. "Inside. I want you in—"
"Let me get a condom, babe," he said.
"You don't need one," she said breathless and impatient for him.
He gave a second look. "You're on something?"
She swallowed a knot of guilt. "I've been to the doctor."
One second later, he thrust inside her and they both sighed with pleasure.
"You feel so good," she said, wiggling beneath him. "I want more. Do me more."
Abe made a sound halfway between a prayer and a curse and began to pump inside her.
She stretched and undulated in rhythm with him, loving the way he felt inside her, rubbing her intimately, filling her. She loved the way his hard body felt over hers. He was the father of her baby. He was the sexiest man in the world to her, and for this moment he was hers, all hers.
* * *
Eight
« ^ »
The next morning, Nicola practically had to shove Abe out the door. Pulling her against him, he dropped kisses onto the side of her neck. "We had a late night. It's early. Let me take you back to bed."
Nicola felt a rush of arousal at how thoroughly Abe had made love to her the night before. Biting back a groan, she pulled away. "You need to leave. It's not good for your car to be parked in my driveway all night into morning. You never know when the press is watching."
"The election's over," he said, reaching for her again.
Nicola stepped aside. "You won, so they're still watching. You've fascinated them. They'll be insatiable now," she said, reaching up to touch the hard line of his chin.
"I think I'd rather make you insatiable," he said, his gaze sexually possessive.
Oh, you do, she thought. "Stop plying me with your charms. Not fair. You're forcing me to be the sensible one."
"Okay, let's be sensible," he said. "Let's go away for the weekend. Just you and me."
Nicola's heart jumped and she gasped. "Oh, that's sensible," she said in mocking agreement. "And were you planning to register under the name John Smith?" She shook her head. "What is with you? All of a sudden, you're throwing caution to the wind." She bit her lip and wandered away from him. "You're not acting very senatorial," she said in a light voice.
She felt him step behind her and loop his arms around her waist. "I told you. I want a relationship with you, Nic. I'll do anything to keep you."
Including marrying me and helping to raise our child? She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Maybe it's because you're getting ready to make a lot of changes. Going from private life to public life and moving to Washington, D.C. won't be easy."
He sighed. "I don't know what it's going to take to convince you that I want you, but I'll do it, Nic. You'll see."
Her chest tightened with a combination of stupid hope and inevitable disappointment. She felt as if she was free-falling with no parachute. She closed her eyes and reined in her emotions. It was dirty, but she was desperate. "Number one on the list of convincing me is for you to scoot back to your mansion right now," she said, stepping away from him.
He looked at her and shook his head then slid his finger over her nose. "I don't know why you're running, sweetheart, but I'm gonna catch you."
* * *
On Wednesday afternoon, Abe insisted on joining her to deliver the Angel Tree gifts. Nicola had labeled and bagged them. After they picked up the bikes, they went to the drop-of
f station at the mall.
Abe allowed Nicola to carry a light bag while he carried two bicycles.
"I warned you it would be crowded," Nicola said. "You'll be lucky if you don't get out of here without getting half a dozen requests for photos."
Abe laughed. "I'm in jeans, a sweater and I even put on a cap. No one will look twice."
Nicola shook her head. "For such a shrewd man, you're incredibly naive."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean people are going to look at you regardless of what you're wearing. You're one of those men who capture the attention of both men and women. Men, because they can sense you're powerful. Women, because, well…" Her gaze fell over him meaningfully. "That's obvious."
He leaned closer to her. "I love it when you look at me like that. It makes me think I have a shot at getting you under my spell despite the fact that I'm almost twenty—"
Nicola dropped her bag and covered her ears. "If you say that one more time, I'm going to scream."
He stopped and lifted a dark eyebrow.
Another woman would have been intimidated. Nicola refused to be. "I think we can safely say we have put the age issue to bed," she said in a low voice.
His gaze dipped approvingly over her. "I think going to bed more frequently would solidify your case."
She bit her lip and tried not to smile. She absolutely shouldn't encourage him. Lord forgive her, but she couldn't resist. "From my observation, going to bed solidifies a lot more than my case."
"Agreed," he said with a wolfish grin. "All the more reason to go to bed."
Nicola felt the stares of curious onlookers and cleared her throat. "People are looking. We need to move."
They deposited the first gifts to the Angel Tree station, which was situated across from Santa Claus, and returned to the car to bring more. Abe finagled a cart from an employee at a department store and brought the rest of the gifts. The huge pile of gifts was attention getting. Nicola glanced around at the people staring at the gifts and Abe. "One, two, three—"
"Isn't that Abraham Danforth, our new state senator?" someone from the Santa line said.
"Bingo," Nicola said and smiled at Abe.