Everything but the Baby (Harlequin Superromance) by Kathleen O`Brien

chapter in her history book. Just hold your nose and get started, honey, Loretta would say. The first is the worst.
    â€œYou sound surprised. But I did tell you I’d call,” Lincoln reminded her.
    She somehow managed not to snort—was he implying that he always did whatever he promised to do? It was a little too soon to be trying that tack, especially with her.
    â€œAnyhow,” he said quickly as if the thought had occurred to him, too. “I ordered you a Caesar salad. They’re good here. I hope that’s all right.”
    â€œOf course.” Boy, he really was in a hurry, wasn’t he? She wondered if he had a date with Janelle Greenwood later. The anxious feeling crept back in. “You know what I like.”
    â€œGood. Well, then, I think we should talk, don’t you? About what you said yesterday.”
    She nodded. “I meant what I said, Lincoln. Every word of it. I love you. I want to prove that to you. Just tell me how.”
    Behind his neutral expression, he was studying her. His fingers thrummed against the tablecloth, which was a thin cotton designed to look like a brightly colored beach towel.
    â€œI know it won’t be easy to make you trust me again,” she went on, feeling her way, trying to read his body language, the tiny, involuntary muscles in his face. “But I have to try. When I think of how strong our—”
    She almost said “love” again, but decided against it. She’d always possessed the WASP reserve her father instilled in her, even when she and Lincoln had been in bed together. If she started shouting gooey love talk from the rooftops, he’d know she was acting.
    â€œWhen I think how strong our feelings were, I can’t help hoping that you want to try, too. Surely you don’t want to lose all that, just because I made one mistake?”
    He began to answer, but just then a Jet Ski at the edge of the marina powered up, filling the air with noise and the smell of gasoline. The two excited teenagers aboard shrieked an adrenaline-soaked sound, circled once, then roared out to open water.
    Lincoln watched them go, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if the clamor and the stink offended him. A tiny ripple of relief, the first she’d felt since the jilting, made its way through her veins.
    Maybe she had been lucky, after all. She might have to face loneliness again. She might have to postpone the family she longed for. But at least Amanda Anne and Michael Joseph would not have this man for a father.
    As soon as the words formed in her mind, his expression changed completely, leaving her to wonder if she’d misinterpreted it all along. He smiled at the diminishing Jet Ski, then turned to her.
    â€œThey’re fun, aren’t they? Maybe, if we stay here a while, we should rent one. Although it’s been a whilesince I’ve driven one of those things. I’ll probably break every bone in my body.”
    She felt confused. This smile was the one she remembered—playful, self-effacing, lighthearted. Its warmth radiated toward her and she felt her own lips smiling instinctively in return.
    â€œLet’s risk it,” she said. “I’ll bet we wouldn’t break all our bones. And even if we did, it would be worth it.”
    â€œWould it? That doesn’t sound like you, Allie,” he said softly. “You weren’t ever much of a risk-taker.”
    â€œI know. But look what playing it safe cost me. It cost me the man I planned to marry.”
    â€œAllie—”
    â€œLincoln, please believe me.” She leaned forward and put her hand over his. He was wearing the signet ring she’d given him yesterday—a good sign, surely. Its heavy gold face was cold against her warm palm. “I’ve learned from my mistakes. I’ve learned that some risks are worth taking.”
    The waitress set two large bowls full of Caesar salad on the table and placed a bread bowl in between.