The Best Man's Baby by Victoria James

of the corridor start to close in on her, the odd sensation making her feel panicked, overheated. She tugged at the buttons on her collar, tearing the top two open, hoping for relief.
    When she arrived at the elevators she jabbed at the down button incessantly even though it had already lit up a bright orange at her first touch. She glanced over her shoulder; still no sign of Jake. Really, what was she thinking, that she could escape the questions? The doors opened and Claire burst through them, ready to press the door close button, when Jake appeared and dove into the closing elevator.
    She shut her eyes and shook her head. Why couldn’t she catch a break?
    “Claire,” Jake said as soon as the elevator doors swooshed shut. She stared at the numbers on the elevator panel as though she just couldn’t figure out where the ground floor button could be. Jake’s hand swooped down and pressed the large button marked with a G and she heard him sigh. She turned to look at him, knowing full well she hadn’t fooled him.
    Luckily they reached the lobby seconds later and she burst through the elevator doors before they were completely open. She felt Jake easily fall into stride beside her. Of course she wasn’t going to be able to outpace him in her heels.
    “Okay, thanks for coming to my appointment with me. See you later,” Claire said with a wave in the air. He grabbed her waving hand and grasped her palm, the heat in his grasp out-scorching the burn of impending humiliation.
    “I don’t think so,” he said.
    She pursed her lips and yanked her hand out of his.
    “You can try to blow me off,” Jake said, leaning close to her face, close enough that she could see the various shades of blue that made his eyes so spectacular. “You can deny all you want, but I will follow you around all damn day until you talk to me.”
    Claire glanced over her shoulders. No one was within earshot, but it didn’t really matter because she wasn’t about to tell him. And there was no way Jake could ever possibly understand. He stared at her, his long legs braced wide apart, his gaze unrelenting.
    “Don’t you have to go to work or something?”
    He shrugged. “This is far more important.”
    She ignored the jolt she felt when she heard the concern in his voice. She stared into his blue eyes and knew he was serious. But where did she start? She never spoke of her issues to anyone. Only Holly really knew how far her eating disorder had gotten. And Claire had recovered. But trying to explain to a man who had always been attractive, always been society’s image of the perfect male specimen… it would be impossible for him to understand. He would never be able to relate to her.
    Jake cleared his throat loudly. “As the future father of our child—”
    She looked for her keys in her purse, not looking up. “Future. We still have quite a few months to go.”
    “No way, baby.”
    Claire snapped her head up, narrowing her eyes. “That’s probably something you should know about me—I really don’t like being referred to as an infant.”
    “Infant? What? Fine ,” Jake said with a groan, holding up his hands as though he’d just been arrested. She folded her arms across her chest, grateful for the chilly spring morning temperature to cool her down.
    The sound of Jake’s phone beeping gave her the out she needed. He cursed under his breath as he glanced down at his screen. “I’ve got to answer this.”
    “You go ahead.”
    “Can you wait—?”
    “No, really, I need to take care of a few things at the shop. Listen, you answer that,” Claire said with a wave of her hand at the incessant ringing. She started to back away on the sidewalk as she spoke, leaving Jake looking helplessly frustrated. “We can chat later,” she called out over her shoulder and walked as fast as her legs would take her. It was just two short blocks down Red River’s main street to get to her shop. With each step a new snippet of the doctor’s