âGod, woman, you do turn me inside out. You always have.â
âIâm sorry. I didnât mean to send mixed signalsââ Alaina stammered.
He traced her lips. âYou turning me inside out has always been a good thing. We may have argued about a lot of issues, but we always connected on a physical level. I meant it when I said I wouldnât pressure you to take this faster than youâre ready.â
âThatâs good to know. The attraction between us is ⦠problematic.â
âWe were married for years. Even if your brain doesnât remember, I believe that on some level your body does. Weâll just take things slow until your mind catches up.â
He offered her another piece of dark chocolate. Her fingertips gingerly brushed his as she took it. Another confusing jolt of desire burst through her.
âWhat if my mind doesnât ever catch up?â
A devilish smile spread across his lips. âThen weâll start over.â
* * *
A Christmas Baby Surprise is part of Mills & Boons Desireâs No 1 bestselling series Billionaires and Babies: Powerful men ⦠wrapped around their babiesâ little fingers
One
Alaina Rutger was living her childhood dreamâa family of her own. Her charismatic husband was driving her home from the hospital with their infant son strapped into a car seat. She had the perfect life.
If only she could remember the man whoâd put the four-carat diamond wedding ring on her finger.
A man who called himself Porter Rutger. Husband. Father of her child. And a man whoâd been wiped from her memory along with the past five years of her life.
She tore her eyes away from his broad shoulders and coal-dark hair as she sat in back with their baby. Her baby. Alaina tucked the monogrammed red blanket over the infant as he slept, one foot in a booty, the other in a cast that had begun the repair on his clubfoot.
Another person she didnât remember. Another heartbreak in her upside-down world. A week ago, sheâd woken in the hospital with no memory of the man sitting by her bedside or of the blue bundle in the bassinet.
Waking up from a coma had felt a lot like coming to after the worst hangover ever, her head throbbing so badly she could barely move. But a quick look around showed her a hospital room rather than a bedroom.
And a hot man sleeping in the chair, his dark hair rumpled. His black pants and white button-down wrinkled.
Her own Doctor McDreamy?
âHello,â sheâd croaked out, her throat raw for a sip of water.
McDreamy bolted awake quickly. âAlaina?â He blinked, scrubbed his hand across his eyes in disbelief, then shot to his feet. âOh, God, youâre awake. I need to get the nurse.â
âWater,â she rasped out. âPlease, a drink.â
He thumbed the nursesâ call button. âI donât know what the doctors will want. Maybe ice chips. Your IV has been feeding you. Soon, though, I promise, whatever you want, soon.â
The nurses? Doctors? He wasnât Doc McDreamy? Then... âWho are you?â
He looked up from the control panel of buttons slowly, his eyes wide with disbelief. âWho am I?â
She pressed her fingertips to her monster headache. âIâm sorry, but I feel like hell. What happened?â
âAlaina...â He sank slowly into the chair, his voice measured, guarded. âWe were in a car accident.â
âWe?â She knew him?
âYes,â he said, leaning closer to cover her hand carefully. âAlaina, my nameâs Porter and Iâm your husband.â
The shock of that revelation still echoed through her.
Once the nurse and doctor had checked her over Porter had further explained theyâd been in a car wreck a month prior, after picking up little Thomas from the adoption agency. Her husband... Porter. Porter Rutger. God, she still struggled to remember his name. Porter told her the baby had a birth defect and had spent the past month going through surgeries while sheâd been in a coma from the accident.
Too soon, before she felt ready to handle this life sheâd landed in, it was time to leave the hospital. Sheâd been told many first moms felt that way.
But not all new mothers had amnesia.
Her throat burned with bile and fears that hadnât abated since sheâd woken from the coma a week ago thinking it was November, only to find it was December.