A Baby for the Billionaire(14)

His fingertips glided over hers before he flipped her hand palm up to stroke the more sensitive skin with his thumb.

“Are you calling me an optimist?” she asked. Her voice had a breathless quality to it that he hoped was real and not just wishful thinking.

“You always see the best in people. Me included.”

“It can be a trial sometimes,” she teased.

“I know,” he answered in all honesty.

The smile dropped from her face. “I was joking,” she said.

“I wasn’t.”

“Walker…” Her fingers entwined with his as she leaned closer. “You’re a good man.”

“I’m better with you by my side.”

The corners of her lips kicked up, but it wasn’t a happy smile. “But I’m not always at your side.”

“I know.” And every time she walked away from him it was becoming harder and harder not to call her back.

Don’t think about her that way.

His fingers tightened on hers as he stared at her. She’d always been an open book to him, and this close, there was no missing the moment something shifted in her gaze. A tremor ran through her hand as she looked up at him. An emotion swirled in her eyes he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was different than how she usually looked at him. Different in a way that made his heart beat a little bit faster.

“I should go check on Hunter,” she exclaimed, shooting to her feet so fast coffee sloshed out of her cup as she set the mug on the table.

“I’m sure the nanny has it under control,” he said as he, too, rose to his feet.

“She’s new to this.”

“We are, too.”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry, don’t you think? I’ll just be a minute.”

“If you feel you need to.”

She tossed him a smile, her gaze not meeting his, and walked forward. Or rather, she tried to. But her heel slipped on the spilled coffee and she windmilled for balance as he reached for her.

Only to find her tumbling right into his arms.





Chapter Five


Walker Beckett was holding her.

Clara blinked, trying to sort out what had just happened, but all she could think about was that one impossible fact.

One arm was wrapped around her lower back while the other gripped her waist in a hold she could feel through her yoga pants. With the island behind her, there was nowhere to go but where she was, snuggled up against him, one hand pressed flat to his chest.

He’d never touched her this way. Never been this close other than an occasional platonic hug.

But nothing felt platonic about the way their bodies were pressed together right now.

She glanced up at him, struggling to find anything to say, but when her gaze met his, the words died on her tongue. He was so close. With any other man, she could have risen to her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his. It would be easy. Such a small movement that would change everything.

And destroy their friendship.

Step away. Step back before this goes too far. Before you do something incredibly stupid.

Like kiss her best friend.

And you know where that would lead.

Nowhere good. She’d seen firsthand how casually Walker viewed his sexual relationships. The fact that Hunter’s mother was a question mark was a testament to that truth. And as much as she might want to think she was hard core enough to be as uncommitted as he was, she knew she didn’t have it in her.

But logic had nothing to do with the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

As close as they were, there was no mistaking the surprise in his expression. Nor could she miss when it morphed into a different emotion. Something far more interesting.

And forbidden.

There was no escaping the heat that rose in his eyes. The hands that had been holding her to keep her safe from falling moved. He didn’t release her, didn’t drop his hands from her body, but the touch changed until their embrace had very little to do with keeping her upright and far more to do with enjoying an exploration that had never been possible before.

His palm slid down her waist to cup her hip. The heat of his hand seared her through the Spandex, causing her heart rate to kick up in her chest. It didn’t feel like a friend holding her.

Excitement built within her. Was it not all in her head? Had he wondered about her the same way she had about him? Had he wanted to know what it would feel like to cross the line they’d both silently agreed to protect?

Her heart pounded in her ears. A pounding that she could feel mirrored by his heart as her palm pressed against his chest. As sure as his direct gaze appeared, his heart was racing as fast as hers.

Walker…

Her hands curled in his shirt though she didn’t know if she should pull him down to her or push him away. One kiss would change everything. One touch and nothing would be the same again.