Best for the Baby by Ann Evans Page A

already working someplace else?”
    “No, but I might be soon. Do you remember Heather, Sheriff Moran’s daughter? She has a shop on the square that needs some extra help for the season.”
    “My offer comes with room and board.”
    “I can’t.”
    “Why not?”
    “You know perfectly well why not.”
    “I’ve given that some thought, too,” he replied. His tone sounded so reasonable now. As though he really expected her to see his side of this. “All right, so we acted on some long suppressed feelings we once had for each other. But it’s over. Finished. You made it very clear it was a mistake and it’s not going to happen again.”
    “That doesn’t mean it would be easy to work side-by-side every day.”
    “As you pointed out, we’re adults. We don’t have to give in to those…impulses. You wanted to remain friends. This is one way to do it.”
    Her mind was doing a rabbit run. The idea had merit. It even made some sense. And no doubt about it, it would definitely be a better environment than Coachman’s Court. But there was always the possibility…. She grimaced. “I don’t know, Zack….”
    “Look, this isn’t charity,” he said in a rush, as though sensing her hesitation. “You’ll earn your pay. I could get someone else to do the job, but I don’t want to spend a lot of time interviewing designers and checking out their work. I’ve seen what you can do.”
    “How long do you think it would take?”
    “A few weeks at the most. I might have to make a trip back to Miami for business, but that shouldn’t takemuch time. There will be plenty of things to keep you busy up here in the meantime.”
    She rubbed her forehead, wishing she had time to think this over. But what good would that do? She’d spent her whole life playing by the rules, and where had it gotten her? “This is so unexpected….”
    “Have you heard from Jeffrey?”
    For a split second she was tempted to lie, but she couldn’t do it. “No,” she admitted, then added quickly, “But that doesn’t mean anything.”
    Zack’s lips thinned a little and Alaina knew what he was thinking. That Jeffrey was long gone from her life and not likely to be in touch ever again. But she just couldn’t give in to that fear. Not yet.
    She watched Zack flex his shoulders, as though trying to work out tension. “Come on, Al. You know it’s a solution for both of us. I get someone whose judgment I trust. Someone who loves Heron Cove and can help me whip it into shape. You get a better place to stay. Decent food and a way to pay a doctor. You have to admit, picking out bathroom fixtures is going to be a lot easier on the baby than being on your feet all day in some tourist trap in town.”
    “We might both go into this with the best of intentions, but suppose—”
    He came to her, took her shoulders in his hands until she was forced to meet his gaze. “There won’t be a repeat of the other night. I give you my word.”
    He said that with such quiet, simple sincerity that it took Alaina a moment or two to realize what he had said. She found herself all tangled up in those dark brown eyes of his, wondering why the heck she couldn’tjust show him the door. But the harsh reality was he was making her an offer she’d be foolish to refuse.
    As long as she kept her head.
    Which she could do.
    Couldn’t she?
    As though sensing her inner turmoil, Zack said, “So what do you say?”
    She gave him a small, hopeful smile, and jumped in, heart and soul. “I say, when do you want to start?”
     
    A LAINA MOVED BACK into Heron Cove and in no time was up to her elbows in books borrowed from Lake Harmony’s library and catalogs from the local home furnishings store. There were so many brochures and pamphlets on the kitchen table that she had been forced to start building towers of paper at one end, separating them into categories of paint, wallpaper, woodwork, furnishings, fixtures and miscellaneous decorating ideas.
    It was hard to believe