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  “A second chance?”

  “Yeah. A second chance to let you be yourself with me.”

  “I already can.”

  “Can I be honest with you?”

  “I thought I was letting you be honest with me.”

  He ran his hand along the back of his neck. “You’re right. You’ve let me be honest, and lots of times I was honest, but most times I walked away before I got to my real feelings.”

  She caught his gaze and he didn’t even flinch. He was vulnerable, raw, probably the most honest he’d ever been and if she rejected him now he’d never be this way with anyone again. He’d spend the rest of his life the same way she would spend hers. Alone. She had the opportunity for the perfect punishment. Or the opportunity to prove to him that they could do this. That they could rise above their mistakes.

  She opened the door a little wider. “Well, don’t walk away this time.”

  “You’re taking me back?”

  “Only if you promise never to pull away again.”

  “That I can promise. But I can’t promise that I won’t sometimes be grouchy, bossy, a slave driver, a hard core negotiator and maybe even arrogant.”

  “Gee, you make life with you sound so tempting.”

  “It should be. Because I’m driven and driven people are winners. And I know you want to be a winner, too.”

  She laughed.

  “You said you wanted me to be honest, so I’m being honest. If we want to, you and I can make Seven Hills the name that’s on everybody’s lips at Belmont. We can take the world by storm because I’ve got the knowledge and the confidence, and you’ve got the farm.”

  She swallowed. Was he telling her he wanted her for her farm?

  “You’ve also got looks, charm, imagination and guts. Guts enough to marry somebody like me and toss it in the faces of anybody who looks at us twice.”

  Her gaze jumped to his. “You want to marry me?”

  “I didn’t think you wanted to live in sin.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Then come here,” he said, opening his arms and Ashley jumped into them. He kissed her and she melted, the way she always did. The way she always would.

  He pulled away and smiled at her. “Now we’re about to face our next dilemma as a couple.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Should we go get Ruthie from my parents…Or spend the next few hours here…alone?”

  She grabbed his hand and led him into her home—their home. “Oh, honey, we’ve got the next eighteen years to spend with Ruthie. The rest of this morning is ours.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-5516-9

  ONE MAN AND A BABY

  Copyright © 2006 by Linda Susan Meier

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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