“I know we’re coming at this a little backward, but what if we actually tried dating? It seems like the sensible thing to do for our kid, and we do like each other.” His grin was lopsided as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s how we found ourselves in this position, right?”
She’d admitted to herself that she was developing romantic feelings for him. Were those feelings mutual?
Maybe not yet. He’d said he liked her and that dating would be sensible, but that was a foundation, wasn’t it? Could they try building a relationship and see where it led?
And if it doesn’t work out? They would be linked together for their child’s entire life. The stakes were considerably higher than when her brother had broken up with a waitress and made it temporarily uncomfortable to have lunch at his favorite barbecue house.
“C’mon, sweetheart,” Garrett coaxed. “Is the idea of going out with me that repellent?”
Not repellent. Beguiling.
She nibbled at the inside of her lip. Was this wise? She tried to imagine what guidance she’d give to Layla, or Justin or, years from now, her own child. Strategic retreat, or embrace the possibilities?
“All right, you’re on,” she decided. “It’s a date.”
Chapter Eleven
“I think it’s so romantic that you’re dating now!” Layla winced when a string of hot glue adhered to her finger. “Of course, most women don’t wait until they’re seven months pregnant to enter a relationship with the baby’s father, but you’re a unique individual.”
“Thanks, I think.” Arden was watching her friend in morbid fascination. So far, Layla had burned herself twice and cut herself with a pair of extra-sharp craft fingers. “It might be premature to say we’re dating since our first date isn’t until tomorrow night.”
“But you’ve talked every night this week.”
True. She’d already been mentally filing funny observations from her morning with Layla to entertain him with during their conversation tonight. “Why again are you the one who has to make these—what do you call ’em?”
“Calavera masks. For the multicultural performance the drama students are doing. I can’t tell you how thrilled I would be if the theater teacher got transferred to another district,” she huffed. “Just because she had some minor parts in a couple of movies out in California, the principal and PTA indulge her every whim. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the performance, but everyone else ends up rushing to do the work whenever she has one of these last-minute ‘brainstorms.’”
Arden laughed at her friend’s sequined air-quotes. Sparkly beads and bits of feathers clung to Layla’s glue-scarred hands.
The two women sat at Layla’s kitchen table, and a dozen skull masks covering the painted wood surface. Of the four that were already adorned, Arden had finished three of them.
“You really saved my butt, agreeing to do this,” Layla said. “I asked two of my honors students, Melissa and Phillip, to help. They’ve been dating since freshman year. They’re so inseparable, they have one of those unified monikers—you know, where people mash their names together? Philissa.”
Arden carefully brushed glitter onto the swirling pattern she’d created with glue. “So where are they?”
“Officially, Melissa remembered an SAT prep class she had to attend this morning and he woke up with a fever. Unofficially? I overheard some arguing in the hall at school. She accused him of hitting on a JV cheerleader. Note to self, don’t rely on hormonal teenage couples.” Layla stopped abruptly. “Hey! If you and Garrett make it work, your name will be Garden.”
“This is the thanks I get for spending my Saturday making arts-and-crafts skulls?” Arden asked dryly.
“What you have against gardens? Seems fitting to me.” Layla chortled. “You guys are obviously fertile.”
“You know what I just remembered? I’m supposed to be at that SAT prep class, too.”
“If you stay,” Layla declared, “you get to taste-test the batch of Mexican wedding cookies I’m baking for after the performance.”
“Done.” Arden knew from experience that her friend’s cookies were small, sugar-coated bites of heaven.
“Good, because there’s something else we have to—damn it.”
Laughing, Arden got out of her chair and reached for the hot glue gun. “Give that to me before we have to call 9-1-1.”
“I have many impressive skills,” Layla grumbled. “This just doesn’t happen to be one of them. Okay, so about this other thing I wanted to discuss? Now that you two crazy kids have registered, I want to throw you a baby shower!”
“You do?” Arden was touched.
“Duh. That’s what friends do for each other. That and make Day of the Dead masks, even though Day of the Dead isn’t technically until November first. It sounds like Garrett enjoys being involved in planning for the baby, so I thought he’d like to come. But I don’t think it should be specifically a couples’ shower, since that would count me out. And both your brothers.”
“You want my brothers to attend?” Arden asked skeptically. Colin would be visibly uncomfortable, a pall on the festivities, whereas Justin would be like a kid in a candy store, unabashedly flirting with any female guests. Too bad she couldn’t invite his ex-girlfriend Elisabeth. She and Arden had been close until the breakup.
“Your brothers are your family. I know how critical family is to you.”
That was indisputable. “Okay, so they go on the invite list. Who else are we thinking? Vivian Pike, for sure.” Viv managed the personalized print store next door to Arden’s studio. She specialized in customized stationery and cute business cards. “And Hugh and Darcy Connor.” Not only had they been the reason Arden and Garrett met in the first place, but it would also be nice for Garrett to have some friends there.
Thinking of Garrett made her question the timing. In late October, he would be in the hospital. If he decided to through with the donation, she had no idea what the potential timetable for the transplant was. If they were going to have this shower, sooner might be better than later.
“Layla, I know it doesn’t give people much notice, but if we keep it on the casual side, is this the type of thing that could be put together in a couple of weeks?”
“Are you kidding?” Her friend swept a hand majestically over the table. “Last-minute rush jobs are my specialty. As long as I don’t have to hot-glue anything for your party, we’re golden.”
* * *
GARRETT COULDN’T REMEMBER the last time he’d been nervous picking a woman up for a date. After all the time he’d spent with Arden, it was insane to feel nervous now. No more insane than taking the mother of your child on a first date. Maybe “sane” wasn’t really their thing.
He parked his truck in her driveway, thinking that his dad was partly to blame for his anxious tension. Before Garrett had left the Double F, his father had resumed hounding him about marrying Arden, urging Garrett to hurry.
“I don’t get why you’re dragging your feet,” Brandon had scolded. “She’s a great gal, and you know it. Do you want your kid to be illegitimate?”
Why not? Garrett had thought sourly. I was.
Garrett had always assumed he’d get married someday. He just wanted to find the right person, the way his parents had. It was sobering to think that, as many years as they’d been together, as much as they loved each other, Caroline had been unfaithful. How could a relationship between two people with such a solid foundation go so wrong? He was glad he and Arden were going to give a relationship a try, but that didn’t mean he was naive. He knew there were bound to be mistakes and regrets lying in wait for them.
Which was hardly the right attitude to begin their date.
He pasted a polite smile on his face that became a real one as soon as she opened the door. God, she was lovelier every tim
e he saw her. He suddenly wanted to kick himself for not bringing flowers.
Her gaze swept from his head to his feet, and she beamed at him. “Wow. You clean up well. Not that you aren’t equally attractive in a coat and cowboy hat, but...wow. Am I underdressed?”
“No. You’re perfect. And my clothes aren’t that dressy.” Okay, he’d swapped his usual jeans for black slacks and got a haircut yesterday, but it wasn’t like he’d shown up in a tie.
She wore an ankle-length maternity dress in deep green. The color made her eyes damn near mesmerizing.
“You look gorgeous,” he told her as he stepped inside. The words weren’t very suave or creative, but there was enough ragged appreciation in his voice that she couldn’t doubt his sincerity.
“Well, I’m glad we were both in the same ballpark. When I told you to surprise me with our destination, I didn’t realize I was making my wardrobe choice so difficult.”
“You could have called to ask for hints, like whether we were going to be outside or whether the venue was formal.”
“That felt like cheating somehow.” She tilted her head. “So where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Hugh and Darcy are meeting us there.” Part of him worried that adding another couple made the evening less romantic, as if he wasn’t trying hard enough, but he wanted Arden to get to know the Connors better. He liked the idea that they could look in on her if Garrett were unable to come to town for long stretches.
“Don’t let me forget to tell them about our shower! Official invitations will go out later.”
He frowned. “Shower?”
“Ah, I jumped ahead—sorry. Guess I temporarily forgot to invite you to the baby shower. It’s on my list of things to talk about tonight.”
He laughed. “You have a list?”
“Um...” She stared at the floor. “I’d like to say that was a figure of speech, but if someone were to check the memo section on my phone, they might find actual bullet points. You don’t understand what pregnancy brain is like! I had to fill out a form the other day, and I blanked on my own address. So, yeah, I may have jotted down a few reminders of things that happened this week I thought you’d get a kick out of. It made me feel calmer, like I had some backup ammo in case we hit any awkward silences. Does this make me sound like a lunatic who doesn’t know how to be spontaneous?”
“It makes you sound well-prepared and thoughtful.” Qualities that were going to make her a great mom. Scratch that—qualities that made her a great person. They’d been so fixated on the pregnancy lately, their excitement for the baby, that he had to remind himself to stop and just enjoy her. Starting with tonight.
He stepped behind her to help her into her coat and resisted the urge to pull her body back against his. Her soft curves were tempting, but this was their first date and he wanted to be on time for meeting the Connors. “Ready to have a wonderful time?”
* * *
ARDEN WAS SO busy absorbing her surroundings that she didn’t hear the hostess the first time she offered to take their coats. “Oh! Yes, please.” She shrugged out of the red wool jacket.
She and Garrett had arrived first. They were spending their evening at a dinner theater called the Twirling Mustache Tavern. Arden had been here once, years ago, to see a musical with Natalie. But the Tavern was actually known for its uproariously over-the-top melodramas. Audience participation was strongly encouraged.
Theatergoers were expected to cheer loudly for the hero, yell catchphrases along with the actors and greet any romantic moments with a synchronized “aww.” But according to the playbill she’d been handed, the villains got the lion’s share of the attention. Patrons could not only boo and hiss when a mustache-twirling bad guy tied a heroine to the train tracks or evicted a little old lady from her farm, but each table was also given a huge bucket of popcorn they were supposed to throw at the stage during evil deeds. House rules asked that customers only throw the popcorn, and not the actual bucket. It all sounded like a blast and, despite her emergency list of topics in case of awkward silence, she doubted silence of any kind would be a problem.
They explained to the hostess that friends would be joining them shortly and were escorted to a table for four very close to the stage.
“I don’t know how well you got to know them when they hired you for the wedding, but I think you’ll really like Hugh and Darcy. Although, word of warning?” Garrett said. “Darcy is a dedicated—one might even say, zealous—bird-watcher. If the subject happens to come up, we may be hearing about it for a while. Like, until November.”
Arden chuckled. “So no mentioning birds, even in passing.”
“To be extra safe, we probably shouldn’t order the duck or chicken. But other than that one tiny quirk, the Connors are great.”
“It would be pretty hypocritical of us to judge anyone for being quirky.” She gave him a rueful smile. “We’re not exactly the poster children for normal. How many men take a woman home to meet his parents before he’s even been on a date with her?”
He brandished a piece of popcorn at her. “Are you saying I’m abnormal?”
“Psst!” Hugh Connor stopped at their table, his voice a faux whisper. “I know you said you were out of practice at this, buddy, but generally speaking, it’s not chivalrous to throw things at your date.”
Behind him, Darcy was nodding in agreement. “I suppose you could make a possible exception for rose petals, but even then she might find it odd.” She craned her head around her husband and waggled her fingers in hello. “A pleasure to see you again, Arden.”
It turned out that Darcy and Hugh were regulars at the Tavern, and they recommended some of their favorite entrees. The food was delicious, but Garrett’s smiles throughout the dinner were far more tantalizing than anything on the menu. Arden had enjoyed her time at the Double F with Garrett and his family, but there was no denying that being around his parents had caused him stress. Here in the presence of an old friend, no secrets to be kept or emotional baggage to overcome, Garrett was relaxed and witty.
What am I going to do? The more she saw of Garrett, the more she discovered to love about him. Her heart went out to the taciturn cowboy who was struggling with his sense of loyalty to each parent. But her heart absolutely melted for the charming date who knew all the right things to say and never failed to signal the waitress if Arden’s glass of water was even close to getting empty. He was gallant and funny and caring. She couldn’t think of any qualities she might want in a man that Garrett Frost didn’t have in abundance.
Except maybe forgiveness? Against her will, she recalled how icy he’d been when Arden had tried to broker peace between him and his mother. While he seemed to be making gradual progress, it was slow. How long would it take his anger to fully dissipate? And what about Arden herself? He’d asked the other night if she’d do things differently, and he hadn’t seemed pleased with her answer.
But those were needless worries. For now, they were having a fantastic evening together, and there was no reason to dwell on negative issues he might be well on his way to resolving.
During a particularly “dastardly” scene in the play, Garrett heckled the villain louder than anyone else in the audience, mercilessly pelting him with pieces of popcorn since he was at such close range. Without ever breaking in dialogue, the actor stepped down from the stage and upended the bucket of popcorn on Garrett’s head. Arden and Darcy both burst into laughter, and Hugh choked on his beer.
Garrett laughed as hard as any of them, and the amusement in his silvery eyes gave her hope. He didn’t look like a man consumed with anger.
Once the play ended, Darcy asked if they wanted to join her and Hugh at a coffeehouse that was open late and featured independent musicians. Arden thanked her for the invitation but admitted she was tired, then told the Connors she looked forward to seeing them at the baby shower.
“Did you, um, want to come in for a drink?” she asked breathlessly.
He shook his head. “No drink necessary, but the gentlemanly thing would be to see you safely inside.” The wolfish grin he gave her beneath the front porch light made her think gentlemanly wasn’t what he had in mind.
Once they made it to the foyer, he tugged her into his arms, his lips greedily claiming hers as if he’d been waiting to do this all night. She certainly had. Exquisite sensation blossomed inside her, hot and liquid. He speared his tongue into her mouth, making her light-headed with pleasure. When he pulled back, she almost whimpered in protest.
“I promised myself I would kiss you good-night and leave,” he confided.
“Already?”
“If we keep this up, sweetheart...” With a groan of surrender, he took her mouth again. Her jacket hit the floor, and his hand slid down from the curve of her shoulder to cup her breast. She sucked his lower lip in fervent approval.
And the baby picked that moment to kick—although it felt more like a cannon blast than a foot motion.
Arden could feel her cheeks reddening as she stepped back. Way to kill the mood, Junior.
Garrett’s eyes glowed with humor. “Is that kind of like the kid walking into the room and catching his parents making out?”
“Pretty talented, considering ours can’t even walk.” She managed to laugh in spite of her frustrated libido.
He palmed her cheek. “I should go.”
“You don’t have to. We spent the night together at the ranch,” she reminded him.
“Not after kissing like that, we didn’t. I stay, you might not get much sleep.”
Sounds good to me. She knew her need for him was clear on her face—not to mention pulsing through other parts of her body.
HER SECRET, HIS BABY Page 15