Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)(36)

“I wasn’t thinking.” He glanced at Charlie to make sure the dog was okay, then returned his attention to her. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. Think of it as an involuntary reaction. Like a sneeze.”

“I was being cute and you had to kiss me?”

“Something like that.” His mouth twisted. “I mean it, Shelby. It was a mistake. We’re doing something good here. I don’t want to screw that up. We still have several months left in our experiment. Let the kiss go.”

He knew she was thinking, but had no idea what. While he mostly regretted what had happened, part of him simply couldn’t. He’d needed to kiss her for a while and now he had.

“Okay,” she said at last. “It never happened.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She slipped on her glasses and faced front. “Let’s get going. The sooner we get done spending a bunch of time in nature, the sooner I can get back to being warm.”

“There’s the spirit.”

Before he could say anything else, her cell phone rang. Shelby reached for her pocket.

“I’ll have to tell Kipling that the new towers are working great. I know they were put in for the search-and-rescue folks to have reception way out here. He’ll be so proud.” She glanced at the screen. “Speaking of my brother.” She pushed a button. “Hey, Kipling, we were just—”

Her body stiffened. “Now? Really? Okay. We’ll be right there.” She looked around. “We’re out cross-country skiing, but I’m sure Aidan knows a quick way back. We’ll see you at the hospital as soon as we can get there. Uh-huh. It’s going to be okay.”

A dozen disasters crossed Aidan’s mind, but he didn’t ask anything. Instead he waited until she’d hung up. She smiled at him.

“Destiny’s in labor. I have to get to the hospital. Not only to be there when she’s born, but because I’m taking Starr home with me. Tell me you know a shortcut.”

“Always. We’re about ten minutes from the car.”

She groaned. “Well, crap. You’ve been skiing me in circles.”

“In case you hurt yourself.”

“Always the planner. Okay, Mr. Mountain Guide. Get me back to civilization.”

*

SHELBY HELD THE perfect baby in her arms. The little girl was warm and tiny, with her eyes tightly closed. Everything about her was magical—the way her impossibly small starfish-like hands moved, the slight puckering of her exquisite rosebud mouth. If God was trying to send a message saying that Shelby needed to get on with her life, He was getting through loud and clear.

She wanted this. Wanted to be holding her own baby. She wanted tears filling her own eyes, the way they filled Destiny’s. She wanted her own husband looking at her the way Kipling looked at his wife. They were happy. No, not happy. That word was far too small for what they were obviously feeling.

“That baby looks good on you,” Aidan said with a smile.

She laughed softly. “I can’t believe you said that. You’re not freaked out by this whole thing?”

“Why would I be? Not my baby.” He raised one shoulder. “Although I have to admit, it’s more tempting than I thought it would be.”

Shelby leaned toward him. “Want to hold her?”

Aidan backed up so fast, he nearly knocked over a chair. He held up both hands, as if surrendering. “No way. I’m not that guy.”

For a second, Shelby wanted to tell him he was exactly that guy. That he would be a great father. But she knew the thought of it terrified him. Talk about getting stuck. Still, a girl could dream.

She turned back to her sister-in-law. “She’s amazing. You’re so lucky.”

Destiny wiped away tears. “I know.” She smiled at Starr, her fifteen-year-old half sister. “You hanging in there?”

Starr nodded, even though she looked a little shell-shocked. It was one thing to know there was going to be a new baby in the house and another to actually see her an hour or so after she’d been born.

Shelby made a mental note to make sure she and her honorary niece talked that night. Starr would be staying with her the first couple of nights after the birth. Just to give the new parents time to settle in. Shelby wanted to use the time to make sure Starr was adjusting all right to the sudden change in circumstances. While Starr was excited to have a baby niece, a newborn would sure change things.

Kipling grinned at the teen. “You must have friends who can give advice on having a baby in the house.”

Starr smiled back. “Yes. They said to be gone when it’s time to change the poopy diapers.”

Later, after Kipling had dropped off Shelby and Starr at her place, Shelby led the teen into the guest room.

“You doing okay?” she asked. “For real?”

Starr sat on the bed. “It’s really strange. I knew Destiny was like having a baby. I mean how could you look at her and not know. But when she had Tonya, it was all so...”

“Unexpected?” Shelby offered. “Real?”

“Yeah.”

Shelby sat next to her and hugged the teen. “You know that the baby is going to get a lot of attention from everyone. Not just your sister and Kipling, but the whole town.”

Starr nodded. “I know. She’s small and cute.”