The Secretary's Secret by Michelle Douglas Page B

stumbled. Was that it? Did he think she would take his baby away from him the way his ex-wife had?
    She turned to stare at the door. If that were the case… She bit her lip. She had to get him to un-think that as soon as she could.
     
     
    Alex glanced around as Kit emerged from the hallway door and carefully closed it behind her. Keeping it closed kept the worst of the dust out of the bedrooms.
    Last week, Alex had moved a camp bed and his clothes into the spare bedroom. The nursery. It shared a wall with Kit’s bedroom. He wasn’t sleeping well. One wall didn’t seem like much of a barrier and at night, whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see was Kit’s glorious nakedness. It made him ache and burn.
    Just like her impersonal politeness made him ache and burn. He missed their easy-going banter, the connection that had once existed between them. Telling himself it was for the best didn’t help.
    Grinding his teeth together, he ordered himself to focus back on the sanding, but before he could he caught an eyeful of the way her breasts pressed against the cotton of her simple shirtdress and he found he could barely move let alone get back to work. Her curves had become curvier in the last few days and only a saint could deny noticing.
    Both he and Kit knew he wasn’t a saint.
    Kit glanced behind him. ‘Ooh, no hole!’ She pointed and moved towards it.
    ‘Don’t touch. It’s still wet.’ He’d only just finished plastering it. He glanced back at her, tried to keep his eyes above neck level. ‘How’s your work coming along?’
    Her lips turned down and he could’ve kicked himself for asking. He didn’t want her thinking he was checking up on her or anything.
    She wrinkled her nose. ‘Slow.’
    She thrust out one hip and surveyed him. Her legs went…all the way up. He gulped. She hadn’t been wearing that dress at lunchtime. Just as well too. With the memory of that much bare skin on display he’d have made a mess of the wall.
    ‘Wanna go fishing?’
    That jerked his eyes back to her face. The beginnings of a smile played around the corners of her mouth. He’d do a lot to turn it into a full-blown smile.
    ‘Fishing?’
    She shrugged as if it was no skin off her nose whether he said yes or no, but that smile no longer threatened to come out and play.
    He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and then back again. He should stay as far away from this woman as he could. ‘I’ve never been fishing.’
    She rolled her eyes. ‘That’s not what I asked. Would you like to give it a go?’
    Did he? He didn’t know. The thought of spending the rest of the afternoon skiving off with Kit sounded great. Too great if the truth be told. He should resist it, wrestle her house into shape and then get the hell out of here. ‘Where?’
    ‘On the breakwater.’
    He stared at her blankly. Her hands flew to her hips. ‘Alex Hallam, haven’t you explored even the tiniest bit since you’ve been here? Haven’t you had a look at the beaches or the lake or anything?’
    He knew where the hardware store and the supermarket were. He didn’t need to know anything else. Besides, he’d had too many other things on his mind—like Kit’s pregnancy—to play tourist.
    Garbage! All you’ve done is avoid thinking about Kit’s pregnancy. In fact, he suspected he’d rather staple gun his hand to the wall than talk about pregnancy and babies.
    So he’d concentrated all his efforts on her house instead.
    Not on the fact that he was going to become a father.
    And not on playing tourist.
    In case Kit hadn’t noticed, he wasn’t precisely in holiday-maker mode.
    She shook her head, almost in pity. ‘C’mon, all work and no play is making Jill a very dull girl.’
    She eyed him up and down. It made his skin go tight and hot. Her eyes skittered away and he watched as she swallowed once, twice. ‘What you’re wearing will do fine, unless you’d rather change into a pair of board shorts.’
    He shook his head.