âIâm still not sure why you came to me about the pregnancy, Sierra. Iâm not sure what you want.â
Sierra was afraid to admit what she wanted. She was afraid to admit that making love with Ben Barclay had wiped away everything that had gone before. Had made her lose herself. Had encouraged her to dream again.
âI told you because you had a right to know. If you want to walk away, thatâs fine. Iâll raise this baby on my own.â
âThatâs not going to happen,â Ben assured her. âI intend to be a full-fledged father. Weâll figure this out, Sierra. It will just take some time.â
Figure out how involved they were going to be in each otherâs lives? Figure out if he wanted to be involved in the pregnancy?
Figure out if one night could have been filled with more than desire?
âI only came here today becauseâ¦because Iâm pregnant.â Sierra Girardâs blue eyes were wide and vulnerable as her words echoed in Ben Barclayâs office.
One thought flashed through his mindâthey hadnât used a condom. That oversight had been a first for him.
âWhy did you leave without a word?â he asked, feeling as if sheâd punched him in the gut with her announcement. Six weeks ago theyâd met at a party and had ended up spending the night togetherâ¦well, most of a night.
Her wavy brown hair fell across her shoulder as she looked down at the purse in her hands, then back up at him. âI left in the middle of the night because we got caught up in the heat of the moment. Because neither of us was looking for what happened. You told me your work was your lifeâ¦that your job as assistant district attorney took all of your waking hours and many of your sleeping ones.â
Pregnant. Sierra was pregnant! Ben was suddenly angry at himself and angry with her.
His expression must have shown some of what he was feeling because she murmured, âI never should have come.â Turning, she left his office, slipping quickly into the hall.
Instinct made him move like lightning. He grasped her arm.
They both froze, startled once more by the electricity that had drawn them together.
Finally Sierra pulled from his hold. âThis isnât your problem. Itâs mine. I just thought you might like to know.â
He and Sierra had started talking at the engagement party of mutual friends. That night her smile had curved around his cynical defenses, breaking down barriers that had been cemented in place for years. Desire had exploded, burning away common sense. After theyâd had sex, work exhaustion had caught up to him. Heâd fallen asleepâ¦and sheâd disappeared.
A colleague walked down the hall and tossed Ben a quizzical look.
âCome back inside,â Ben suggested, purposefully keeping his tone calm.
When Sierra hesitated, he added, âYouâre not going to pull a vanishing act on me again.â
âYou could have gotten my number from Camille or Miguel if you wanted to reach me,â she chided softly.
Had she wanted him to search her out?
Why would he want to pursue a woman whoâd left without a word or a note? Why would he want to pursue a woman, period? They all left. He knew that too well. His mother had deserted his father, along with him and his two brothers. And after Ben had hit thirty and decided coming home to a woman would be better than returning to an empty apartment, heâd started dating Lois. However, a year and a half later, sheâd broken off their relationship because he was too dedicated to his work. Sheâd been seeing someone else at the public relations firm where she worked while he was working! âLoveâ only had meaning to him in how it related to family. There was no such thing as happily ever after or vows that lasted forever.
Intrigued by Sierra as he had been since theyâd met, he asked, âDid you leave that night so Iâd chase you?â
âNo,â she protested so quickly he almost believed her. Then she went on, âI donât tumble into bed with a man every time I go to an engagement party. That nightââ
She stopped to gather words that seemed to elude her. âIâd never done anything like that before! I was confused afterward. When you didnât bother to get my number and call, I knew you werenât interested.â
Sierra Girard was so beautiful in an innocent, twenty-four-year-old kind of way. He was only thirty-five, but the eleven yearsâ difference seemed more like thirty to him right now. Heâd seen things she couldnât imagine in her worst nightmares. The folders on his desk were full of pictures he hoped sheâd