by Rita Herron
Hannah frowned. "Mimi, did Seth tell you that?"
Mimi hesitated. Oh, hell, might as well get everything out in the open. "Well, no, not exactly. But he didn't want you to know we'd been together."
"He probably thought it would be awkward," Alison offered.
"He said we were a mistake," Mimi continued.
"That doesn't mean he's in love with me." Hannah took Mimi's hands and coaxed her to the sofa. "Listen to me, sis. Seth and I had a long talk at the hospital before I married Jake. Seth admitted that he realized we were just friends, that we weren't meant to be together."
"Really?"
"Really. The passion wasn't there, not the way it is with Jake."
"Seth looks at you that way, Mimi." Alison rolled her eyes. "Actually it's pretty disgusting to watch, but I think he really has the hots for you."
Hannah's eyebrows shot up. "That's great, Mimi. I think you and Seth would be wonderful together. I know you'd be good for him."
"But we're complete opposites."
"Sometimes opposites attract," Alison said.
"Seth needs someone to bring out the fun side of him," Hannah added. "To make him laugh."
"But what if he's always comparing me with you?" Mimi said, finally voicing her biggest fear. "You know, in bed?"
"Seth and I never slept together," Hannah said. Mimi's eyes widened, and Hannah continued. "The chemistry just wasn't there. I think we both knew it. That's one of the reasons I called off the wedding."
"Really?"
"Really. So if you have feelings for him, don't be afraid to take a chance. Go for it."
Did she have feelings for Seth? Mimi gripped her sister's hands. Although the reason Seth might be pursuing her still plagued her, a spark of hope suddenly ignited within her. "Still, I couldn't marry Seth, not just because of the baby."
The silent truth hung between Mimi and Hannah—they had overheard their parents' horrible argument the day their mother had deserted them. Hannah opened her mouth to protest, but bit down on her lip, apparently conceding Mimi's point. Even Hannah couldn't deny the reality of how their forced marriage had ended. If Mimi married Seth for the wrong reasons, she would only be repeating the cycle.
"Maybe he's really in love with you," Alison said.
"Yeah, you are awfully lovable," Hannah added with a grin.
Mimi glanced first at Alison, then at Hannah, almost afraid to hope. But Hannah was right; she shouldn't let fear hold her back. Maybe the next time she and Seth were together, she'd look for some sign that he really cared, that he wasn't simply trying to be responsible.
* * *
As soon as Wiley left, Seth pulled out his laptop and typed up his plan to win Mimi. They'd have to sign up for childbirth classes—would Mimi want natural childbirth?—and fix a room for the baby. He had two extra bedrooms; maybe he'd go shopping and buy baby furniture and surprise her. And names—they'd have to think of names. Did Mimi hope for a girl or boy?
His talk with Wiley flitted through his mind, and he realized be was once again jumping the gun. What had Wiley said? Romance. He'd never been good at that. Surely there were books out there to help him with romance, too. He was nothing if not a researcher. Quickly accessing the Internet, he pulled up listings on an on-line bookstore and browsed the titles. To his amazement, he found a wide selection ranging from tips for romantic dates to tips for incredible sex. Wow. He'd never noticed them before. He scanned the contents and ordered two of the tamer sounding books, then decided what the hell—if Mimi thought he was boring, he'd order one of the sex-tip ones, and maybe he'd pick up some pointers. After completing the order, he returned to his list.
Romance. Flowers came to mind. He'd order roses for her tomorrow. Maybe they were clichéd and unoriginal, but they always worked in the movies. And perfume—he'd ask Hannah the name of that exotic fragrance Mimi wore, the one that had made him dizzy the first time they'd been together, then he'd pick up a bottle. And he'd get her some bubble bath, too.
He pictured Mimi lying in a sea of bubbles, her naked skin glistening with water droplets, her wild hair spiraling around her damp face, her cheeks glowing pink from the beat of the bath, him climbing into the water beside her, dipping his hand to stroke her secret places, tasting the salt of her skin, ducking beneath the bubbles to—
He jerked upright, the images so vivid his body reacted in accord. He wanted her with an ache that hammered through his very being. Wanted her the way he'd never wanted any woman before.
He wouldn't wait until tomorrow. He'd do some on-line shopping and have the flowers to her by breakfast. He'd get new underwear for himself, too, some of that skimpy stuff she'd think was exciting, instead of his normal white briefs. Maybe a few pairs of colorful men's bikini briefs or some silk boxers—he supposed he could suffer wearing them if it impressed Mimi.
But he'd search for an on-line store that sold them, so he wouldn't have to embarrass himself by actually going into a store to buy them. After all, a man did have his limits—even for romance.
* * *
Chapter 14
« ^ »
"Thank you for the flowers." Mimi covered the phone to hide her sneeze, hoping to avoid telling Seth about her allergic reaction to roses. After all, he'd been so thoughtful to send them to her at the café.
"I'm glad you received them. I hope the florist did a good job."
"They're beautiful." Another sneeze. "Yellow's my favorite color."
"That's good to know," Seth said, his voice teasing. "I'll make a note of it."
Mimi laughed and waved at a familiar customer, grateful the morning rush hour had passed so she could take a break.
"I'm glad you told your family about us." Mimi perched a hip on a stool, looking for the signs she hoped to find, signs that he cared about her.
"And that I'm the father of the baby."
She tried not to feel disappointed at his statement. "They took it better than I thought."
"Even Hannah?"
The bell jingled behind her, announcing another customer, but she didn't bother to look up. The other waitress could handle the customer. "Yes, even Hannah. You were really worried about her reaction, weren't you?"
He hesitated. "I didn't want her to think I'd used you, Mimi. That I'd been careless with her little sister. She's pretty protective of you, you know."
Mimi smiled, some of her fear dissipating. He sounded sincere. "Yeah, she is. She's been as much a parent to me as a sister."
Someone cleared her throat behind her, and Mimi glanced over her shoulder to see her mother. A small, tight smile flitted across Mrs. Hartwell's face. Mimi closed her eyes and mentally groaned. What was her mom doing here?
"Can I see you later?" Seth asked.
"I … I don't know. I have to go."
"Why, is something wrong?"
"No, just a customer."
"Have you been busy this morning?"
"Swamped. My feet are killing me."
"Are you sure you feel up to working? If you want to take time off and rest, if you, um, need the money, I'll take care of things."
Mimi gaped at the phone. Had she heard Seth correctly? He was offering to let her leave work, maybe quit, and he'd pay for her, like some … some…
"You don't need to be on your feet all day, so you could just resign," he continued. "I make a good salary here at the hospital."
Anger sliced through Mimi again. If she'd been looking for signs, he'd just handed them to her. He saw her and the baby as a package deal, a debt he needed to take care of. Well, she might need his help later, logically of course, but she was self-sufficient right now. She stifled a sneeze and shoved the roses to the end of the counter. "No, thank you, Dr. Broadhurst. I like my job and I have no intention of becoming a kept woman." With a sigh of disgust, she slammed down the phone, blinking back tears as she turned to see what her mother wanted.
* * *
Seth let the phone slide from his ear, his mind reeling. What the hell had just happ
ened?
One minute she'd been all sweet and nice, thanking him for the flowers, and they'd actually been talking about things, actually making headway in their rocky relationship, then the next she'd snapped his head off. He'd simply been trying to be considerate again, thinking of her condition, wanting to take care of her. Why would wanting to relieve her of one area of stress make her angry?
A knock jerked him from his troubled thoughts and he called, "Come in."
Eleanor Bainbridge stepped through the door. "Hi. I've been trying to catch up with you. I wanted to see if we could get together."
Seth noticed her smile and realized she was interested in him. Flattery spiked his pride. But even though Eleanor was attractive, he felt absolutely no spark of attraction to her. "I've been pretty busy," he said, trying to maintain a professional tone. "Is there something specific you needed?"
"No, I wondered if you had time to show me some fun spots in town."
"I'm sorry, but I'm pretty booked now." He hesitated, wondering if he should mention he had a girlfriend. Except technically Mimi wasn't his girlfriend. She was … the mother of his child, his future wife. No, it seemed premature to introduce her that way.
An enigma would be the most apt description. Or the woman who was driving him crazy.
"All right, then. If you do free up some time, give me a call."
Another tap and Hannah Hartwell—no, Hannah Tippins appeared in the doorway. Eleanor dropped a card on his desk with her phone number scrawled on top. He opened his mouth to explain to Hannah but had no idea what to say.
"Can we talk for a minute?" Hannah asked.
Dr. Bainbridge flitted her hand in a wave. "I'll see you later, Seth. Don't forget to call when you have time."
Seth nodded and pushed the papers around on his desk, aware of Hannah's astute gaze. "Come on in, Hannah. I've been expecting you."
Eleanor closed the door behind her and Hannah folded her arms across her chest. "What's up with her?"
"Nothing."
She raised a brow. "Really?"
"I'm not interested in Dr. Bainbridge, Hannah. Lord knows, I've got my hands full with … with your sister."
Hannah smiled that understanding smile, and he realized now the reason they'd been friends. They understood each other—which was the opposite of the relationship he had with her sister.
"Mimi told me about you two," Hannah began.
"I don't want you to think I used her."
She held up a hand. "You don't have to explain, Seth."
"But I want you to believe me. It just happened. One minute we were talking and she was telling me about Joey, and we were in the car all alone…" He jumped up and paced in front of his window, running a hand over his neck. "And I kept smelling that damn perfume of hers—it makes me crazy—and then we got stranded and we ate dessert, and she's just so damn sexy, the way she eats chocolate, and then we danced and… God." He dropped his head into his hands. "I'm babbling. I can't believe it, I'm actually babbling."
Hannah laughed. Not a soft little giggle, either. She threw back her head and laughed hysterically.
He raised his head and frowned at her. "What the hell's so funny?"
She covered her mouth in an attempt to control herself, but more laughter sputtered. "I…"
He continued to frown at her. "I'm glad my misery's so entertaining."
She finally gained some semblance of control, but her eyes danced with mischief. "You're in love with her, aren't you."
"Huh?"
She pointed a finger at him. "You, Dr. Seth Broadhurst, the unflappable, methodical, scientific, list-making, genius psychiatrist, are in love with my little sister."
He gulped. In love with Mimi?
Sure, he liked her and she was sexy and probably the kindest, warmest-hearted real person he'd ever known, and he grew hot and all mushy just thinking about her.
Dear Lord. Could she be right? No, Seth Broadhurst was too levelheaded to fall in love, not the Hollywood kind of love, anyway. He ran a hand through his hair. "I do care about Mimi, Hannah. I'm not sure I'd call it love, but I want to try to make a relationship work for the baby."
Hannah tapped her chin with her finger. "And that message came through loud and clear to Mimi?"
He winced.
Hannah walked over and gave him a hug, pulling back to study his face. "Deny it all you want, Seth, but I do think you love my sister. You just don't realize it yet. And I couldn't be happier for you. Mimi's wonderful, but she's always selling herself short. I knew one day someone special would come along and see how fantastic she really is."
Seth simply stared at her. He'd never been in love before … and no, he wasn't now. Hannah must still be so caught up in her new husband she was romanticizing the situation.
But he had been acting foolishly lately—buying wild underwear, reading books about romance. Babbling nonsense. Now she had him psychoanalyzing himself. He had to focus on the issue at hand—the baby.
"Personal feelings aside, there's still a major problem," he said.
"I know. The pregnancy."
"No." He shook his had emphatically. "I won't let anyone call our baby a problem."
"Good." Hannah grinned. "Then what's the problem?"
"Mimi doesn't want me."
"I wouldn't bet on that," Hannah said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I have a feeling she may be madly in love with you, too. She just doesn't know it yet, either."
"No, you don't understand. Everything I do is wrong. Just this morning I sent her a dozen yellow roses—"
"You sent her roses?"
"Yeah." Seth shrugged, slightly embarrassed. "I know it's clichéd, but it always works on TV."
"Flowers are sweet," she admitted with a grin. "But unfortunately Mimi's allergic to roses. I'd better order some topical cream for her. She can't take her normal allergy pills with the pregnancy."
"Good grief, I sent her something that could hurt her."
"Relax, she has a simple sneezing reaction and a few hives. It's no big deal."
Seth slapped his leg in frustration. "Why didn't she tell me she was allergic? I would have sent the damn things back and ordered something else. I'm calling the florist right away. I'll send her mums or—"
"She's allergic to those, too."
"Well, what isn't she allergic to?"
"Lilies. She loves lilies."
"Okay, I'll send her a hundred lilies. Hell, I'll start her a whole garden." He reached for the phone, but Hannah stopped him.
She was laughing again. "You want to know why she didn't tell you about her allergy?"
"Because she thinks I'm an imbecile?"
"No, because she was impressed and she's too much of a softy to hurt your feelings."
His chest automatically swelled. Finally he'd done something right.
He chuckled sardonically. "Well, she certainly wasn't worried about my feelings when she hung up on me."
"Why did she hang up?"
"She was talking about how busy the place was and how her feet were hurting, and I suggested she take time off work, that I'd pay for her to stay home so she could rest."
"You did what?"
"I offered to support her. I am the father of this baby and I don't think she should be waitressing during the next few months."
Hannah winced. "Uh-oh."
"I know I goofed. I just don't know exactly what I did wrong. I was only trying to take care of her, but she got so emotional." The very reason he and Hannah had been such good friends was that Hannah was calm and rational. But there had never been that passion with her, with Mimi the passion was everything.
Hannah patted him on the back. "Seth, sit down and let me explain something about Mimi…"
Seth listened to his second lesson on women from another Hartwell. Really, he thought, when Hannah had finished explaining Mimi's logic, they should teach a class on understanding women. Maybe he'd look for a book on the Internet tonight, a basic one for the emotionally and roma
ntically impaired, something like Understanding Women for Dummies.
* * *
"So, mother, what brings you here?"
Mrs. Hartwell studied Mimi, her eyes steady. Her mother had obviously overheard her comment about Hannah being like a mother, but Mimi wouldn't—no, she couldn't—apologize for speaking the truth.
"I think we should talk," Mrs. Hartwell said.
Surely her mother didn't know… "I'm working now."
Mrs. Hartwell glanced around the nearly empty café. "It looks as if the other waitress has things under control."
"I'm the manager, Mom, not just a waitress."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize."
"You wouldn't. Maybe we can get together some other time?"
"I'd like to talk to you now." Her mother reached out to touch her, but Mimi stepped away. An instinctive reaction. She hadn't seen her mother in years, and now she wanted to chat like friends?
"I can't imagine what's so important."
"You are what's important." Her mother's voice sounded firm. Almost motherly.
Mimi's breath caught. But her mother didn't have an ounce of mothering instinct in her. "Why now when I'm at work? Why not when it's more convenient?"
"I thought this place might be more neutral. I wasn't sure you'd welcome me into your apartment." Her voice quivered slightly. "You really are important to me, honey."
Mimi felt herself wavering. She was too damn softhearted; she'd get hurt again. "I never was before. None of us were."
Mrs. Hartwell sighed shakily. "Okay. I deserved that. But I still want you to hear me out."
Mimi hesitated, then finally conceded. She might as well get it over with, although she did not need to deal with this today, not on top of everything else. Besides, she had enough interfering family members; she'd been expecting to see her dad in here all morning. He and her sisters would probably set up shifts to watch her the next few months.
"Mimi?"
"Let's take a booth. Can I get you some coffee?"
Her mother ordered a cappuccino, and Mimi chose a fruit juice from the refrigerator and joined her in the far corner, taking her time to study her mother as she sat down. She looked serious, worried even. Less standoffish. Maybe because she was wearing simple black slacks and a purple sweater, instead of one of her expensive tailored suits.