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CHAPTER ONE

Sondra dressed with care, knowing Jake planned to take her to a fancy restaurant this evening It was their fourth date in the teeks since she had discovered her pregnancy, and he had et married

She still couldn’t help snorting aloud every ti e? To a man she hardly knew? It had been preposterous, and she hadn’t budged on her determination to avoid that outcoreed to date him as a compromise

Dating Jake was a diverse experience Their first three outings had all been different—a movie and fast food; an afternoon at Coney Island; and a day out on his yacht, sailing the harbor as they talked and ate pasta he’d cooked himself

Tonight was daunting, and she didn’t knohich bothered her ant restaurant that costJake again in any circuoing to go back to bed with hi to do, because passion clouded her judgment when it came to Wallace Whitcomb Jacobi, but it was difficult to remember that when she was too close to him

Sondra was honestly surprised that Jake had been such a gentleman on their previous three dates She had braced herself to fight him—and herself—every seductive step of the way, but the most he’d done was hold her hand It was a relief, but also disappointing

As she stared at herself in theto her tuht-blue dress, she accepted he had probably stopped finding her attractive Being pregnant had changed everything It was good that he viewed her as the ht?

Right That didn’ta bit that he had moved on so quickly Sondra rolled her eyes at herself in theherhandstands of joy while she was still flexible enough to do so It woulda friendly, amicable, and non-romantic relationship with hiether as partners—that much easier to attain

Had she been a little te a coat of red lipstick to her full lips,to look away Yes, she had been te Jake’s wife, the center of his universe, and his cherished coo for that?

That was precisely why she had said no, aside from the more practical reason that they hardly knew each other It would have all been an illusion She was sure Jake meant ith his offer, and he considered it the honorable thing to do, but he didn’t love her In her heart, she kneould treat her well, but any love would be an illusion They both deserved better than a ht about by shared irresponsibility

Dating had seeet acquainted and build a friendship She knew Jake was expecting their relationship to be ive in to that is, and when the liaison failed, hurt feelings on both sides would onlymore difficult

Her doorbell ringing interrupted her reverie, and Sondra cursed quietly as she swiped on a layer of rabbed her purse and wrap on her way to the door She threw it open in a rush “Sorry, I was finishing…”

Sondra trailed off as the sight of Jake in a tuxedo burned into her retinas Oh, god, he was just toohor to feel his against it Soed a feeble smile, and slipped out into the hallway He closed the door behind theed the deadbolts before they headed down the stairs

“This neighborhood ht not be the safest place for you, Sondra” Jake put his hand on her lower back as he directed her toward a long li up a third of the street and parked blatantly in a no-parking zone

She frowned “It’s as safe as anywhere in the area It’s not a hovel” A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the places she had lived with her mother after her father’s death When her mother had been flush with support by a wealthy s could be nice, but they had just as often been in a filthy, dangerous apartment, sometimes squeezed in with several others

“I didn’t say it was I’m just worried about you The location isn’t central to your doctor, you have to clihts of stairs with no elevator, and there’s no real security The buzzer on the intercom doesn’t even work”

She couldn’t argue with that It was all true, but it still felt like a putdown “I’ve worked hard to afford this place, Jake There are no better aparte, and I couldn’t leave my roommates like that They depend on my share of the rent”

He nodded “Yeah, I get it, which is why…” Trailing off, he assisted her into the li in beside her It wasn’t until the driver closed the door that he spoke again “I bought you an apart”

Her eyes widened “You did what?”

Jake sighed “Please hear et too worked up”

With a glare, she crossed her ar a point of not speaking He couldn’t stop her fro with annoyance at his high-handed tactics

“You don’t want to rush into h his hair, disheveling the artful style “We’re getting acquainted, and we’re having a child together I would appreciate you accepting my offer to allow me to be closer to the baby when he’s born and to facilitate our relationship”

She had to bite hard on her tongue to snap they didn’t have a relationship Could she really ether They were having a child, which would ensure they would always be connected on some level, since Jake wanted to be in the baby’s life It was naïve to say they weren’t having soht, but out of e”

His eyes narrowed “Do you really think I’ your rent, Sondra?”

She lifted a shoulder “I

’d prefer if you did actually Besides, my roommates—”

“Are welcome to move in with you The apart room off the master bedrooe them rent or let them live there for free It doesn’t matter to me, because the apartment would be in your name and all yours”

It was too generous She couldn’t possibly accept Could she? Moistening her lips, she sue toshe typically avoided like the plague when it related to herabout my mother yet”

He nodded, looking a little confused, but not interrupting

“She was a scam artist and a professional ets, and she deliberately got pregnant withheard the full story years later fro her father as always “Instead, he sued her for custody and raisedthat time, and I never saw her until Daddy died”

He frowned “I’m sorry”

She nodded and pressed on “She slithered out of the ork after his passing and claimed me I suspect it had more to do with my trust fund Not that Daddy ealthy, but he was coh to have left hed heavily, trying to fight the surge of bitterness that ca the ht future

“It was gone within a year, and she was back to her old tricks My s from them Other times, she participated in con jobs I know she’d been in prison off and on In fact, the last I’d heard she is serving time for her part in a bank robbery”

He took her hand “I don’t care about what your mother did It doesn’t affect how I feel about you”

Sondra quickly steered the conversation back to the direction she had intended, wanting to avoid all talk of emotions “I hope that’s true, but that wasn’t why I told you I a of which to be asha the way she sca an apart the same path”

He scowled “You didn’t get pregnant deliberately”

He spoke with such certainty that she couldn’t help feeling touched by it Sondra nodded to confirh it wasn’t necessary