“I don’t think he’s acting sick,” Daisy said a few weeks later, leaning over carefully to examine Teddy’s sprawled body on her kitchen floor. “He just gobbled up three meatballs.”

Carter was carrying in their dinner dishes from the living room where they’d just eaten spaghetti and garlic bread with an appetizer of nachos. “I didn’t say he was sick.”

Daisy put on a hand on her back as she straightened up. She was in the last trimester and was bigger now—and she felt kind of like an elephant in her sweats and oversized T-shirt—so doing things like leaning over weren’t as easy as it used to be. “I thought you said you brought him with you because he wasn’t doing well.”

“He was just acting all depressed. I didn’t want to leave him alone.”

Daisy peered down at the massive dog, who appeared completely at ease and at home in her apartment, stretched out on his side and snoring softly. “You sure he wasn’t putting on an act?”

Carter had put the dishes in the sink, and now he came over to stand beside her. “Maybe he was,” he said with a frown. “And I was worried about that big faker.”

She giggled and rubbed Carter’s back in an affectionate gesture. “You’ve got too soft a heart. What’s going to happen when this little peanut starts making big sad eyes at you? You’ll go all mushy and do anything she wants?”

Carter’s blue eyes shifted from Teddy to Daisy’s rounded belly, softening even more as they did. He reached out to curve a hand over her stomach for just a moment, and Daisy just about melted.

For the past month, things had been good with Carter. Really good. So good she couldn’t help from wondering if her former resolution to keep Carter at arm’s length was really as necessary as she believed.

The stakes were too high for her to rush into anything, but it felt like a possibility now, when it hadn’t just four weeks ago. Carter never missed a visit or a phone call with her. He seemed to have truly committed.

If she could trust him to commit to being a father to this baby, then maybe she could trust him with even more.

Maybe.

The thought made her too jittery and excited, so she kept pushing it to the back of her mind.

She wasn’t going to jump into anything. Not again. No matter how much she’d been wanting to lately.

Clearing her throat, she took a step back from him and looked over to Teddy again. “Although I’m still having trouble imagining that enormous dog strapped to the back of your bike.”

Carter’s eyes widened. “I didn’t—” He cut himself off as soon as he realized she was teasing him. Then he laughed. “I had to drive my old truck all the way out here so he could sit in the front seat. That’s how worried I was about this big liar of a dog.”

Daisy laughed too. “You’ll have to put your foot down with him. Show him who’s boss.”

Carter looked from her to Teddy, his eyes so soft and warm they made her want to melt into a puddle of goo. “I think it’s pretty clear that he’s the boss around here.”

In response, Teddy just gave a particularly loud snore and shifted positions to stretch out even longer.

Still laughing, Daisy reached over and gave Carter a soft hug before she remembered it was smarter to keep her distance from him. His body felt incredibly good against hers as he wrapped his arms around her—firm and strong and nice and warm.

She wanted to feel it even more.

She wanted it so much that she made herself step away and walk to the sink to rinse out the dishes.

Carter didn’t push, although it was quite clear he hadn’t wanted to end the embrace. He helped her out by taking the rinsed dishes and loading them into her little dishwasher.

She couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have him around all the time—to eat dinner with, to put the dishes up, to put their baby to bed.

She was fine doing it on her own, but it might be even better with Carter.

That was another thought she shouldn’t be entertaining. She really needed to get some perspective soon, or she’d be asking Carter to spend the night, take her to bed, make love to her until they were both sated and exhausted.

Her whole body buzzed at the thought of it.

Her desire was so strong that it scared her. The last time she’d given in to the desire, Carter had left her alone and naked and hadn’t called for a week.

Yes, he’d been making up for it for the past two months. More than making up for it.

But what if it happened again?

Daisy had been crushed last time.

She’d be more than crushed this time.

She’d be heartbroken.

And then her little peanut might lose her daddy.

She couldn’t let that happen.

She just couldn’t.

“What’s the matter?” Carter asked, reaching out to stroke her hair back from her face since she’d let it fall over her shoulder in an attempt to shield her expression from him.

Daisy gave him a determined smile. “Nothing.”

Carter clearly didn’t believe her. “Why are you lying to me?”

“I’m not. I’m just… I’m not. Everything is fine. I’m just a little tired, is all.”

Carter was still frowning, and there was an obvious struggling going on in his eyes—between his need to know what was going on with her and his determination to not push her too far. “Do you want us to go?” he asked at last.

She didn’t want him to go. Him or Teddy. She liked the dog, and she more than liked Carter.

But she was confused and worried and strangely terrified all of a sudden by what might happen if Carter stayed any longer tonight. So she said in a slightly wobbly voice. “Maybe so. I might just go to bed early.”

Carter swallowed visibly, but he managed to say in a mostly normal tone. “Okay. No problem.”

Daisy felt terrible as Carter got a very reluctant Teddy up, put on his lead, and got ready to leave. She walked with him out the door, down to the ground floor, and then outside.

It was after nine, and the sky was bright with stars and an almost-full moon. They walked in silence except for Teddy’s huffing as he loped slowly behind them.

Carter’s truck was an ancient pickup. Daisy wondered how long he’d owned it since it looked just as old as she was.

They both stopped next to the driver’s door.

Carter gazed down at her, his eyes deep and thoughtful and slightly worried.

“I’m sorry,” she burst out. “I didn’t really want you to leave!”

His expression changed immediately, and he reached out to cup her face. “Tell me what’s going on, angel.”

She took a couple of ragged breaths. “I don’t know. I just wanted… and that scared me… and so I thought it was smarter to…” Her cheeks reddened at this completely incoherent explanation.

But Carter must have understood it anyway. “It’s okay. I get it.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. We don’t have to rush into anything. We can take our time. I don’t want you to have any worries or hesitations about me.”

“I…” She couldn’t finish her automatic response, which was to tell him she didn’t have any worries.

Of course she had worries. She had nothing but worries.

“I was wanting you to spend the night with me,” she admitted hoarsely, not at all sure why she was saying that out loud.

Carter’s eyes went hot, and his body tightened a little. “Were you?”

She shuddered at the texture in his voice. “Yeah.”

“But you’re not sure?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure.”

He took a deep breath and let it out. Then he leaned over to brush a gentle kiss on her lips. “The next time I take you to bed,” he murmured, “I want you to be sure.”

It sounded like he had no doubts—absolutely no doubts—that it was going to happen eventually. She throbbed with pleasure and excitement as she clutched her fingers into his shirt.

He kissed her again, a little more intentionally this time. His tongue lightly ran along the line of her lower lip. “So not tonight.”

She made a silly little whimper and pressed herself against him. “Maybe…”

He chuckled and stroked his palm down her back until he was cupping her bottom. “Not tonight. I want you to be sure.”

Her growing arousal was an exquisite torture, and the flutter in her heart was even stronger. She was feeling so much she felt like she might explode with it. “Maybe I could be sure.”

He shook his head and gave her one more kiss. He said against her lips, “No, angel. You’re not sure. And the next time we’re together is going to be for real.”

If it were possible for her to explode with feeling, then she definitely would have done it right then.

“Okay,” she managed to say.

With a little groan, he pulled away and glanced down at Teddy, who was sitting on the pavement and giving them both a sad, victimized look as he waited for them to stop doing whatever it was they were doing.

Daisy stepped back, smiling as Carter loaded the dog into the passenger seat of the truck. Carter was moving a little stiffly. He was obviously just as aroused as Daisy herself was.

She couldn’t help but be pleased that she still had the power to affect his body that way.

“Good night,” Carter said, touching her belly very gently. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She nodded. “Drive safe back.”

“I will.”

She stood in the driveway until he pulled the truck out onto the road. He’d rolled down the window so Teddy could stick his huge head out into the breeze.

Daisy waved as they drove off, and then she turned back to the building.

As she walked into the main entryway, she saw Estelle Berry checking her mailbox.

Estelle was the elderly lady who lived on the ground floor. She was friendly and nosy, and Daisy liked her a lot.

Tonight, she was wearing pink curlers in her hair and a magenta bathrobe. She gave Daisy a bright smile. “Good evening, dear.”

“Good evening, Mrs. Berry. How are you?”

“Exhausted. It’s way past my bedtime.”

Daisy knew from past experience that the old woman liked to go to bed around eight. “Have you been out and about today? You’re only getting your mail now?”

“Yes. I was shopping in Norfolk with my grandnieces. We had a lovely time, but it takes forever to drive home.”

“Oh, yeah, my, uh…” Daisy trailed off, confused about what she should call Carter. He wasn’t her boyfriend, so what exactly was he? Unable to think of anything else, she gestured toward the parking lot. “Carter lives in Norfolk.”

Estelle nodded as if this were information she already knew. “Yes. I saw you with your young man just now.”

There was a slight note of disapproval in the woman’s voice, and Daisy wondered how much of the kissing she’d seen.

Or maybe she just disapproved of the kind of man Carter was, like so many other people in town.

She hoped not. She hated feeling like Carter somehow wasn’t good enough.

She knew very well he was.

All she said was, “He’s not really my young man.”

Estelle shook her head and tsked her tongue. “Of course he is. I understand modern arrangements, but I don’t understand why young people today insist on lying to themselves. If ever a young man could be yours completely, that young man is.”

Daisy flushed hotly at the words, although she really liked the sound of them. She had no idea what to say.

“It’s too bad he lives so far away,” Estelle continued, as if she were unaware of Daisy’s self-consciousness. “Is he planning to move closer?”

“I… I don’t think so.”

“Well, you should ask him about it. Maybe he’s waiting for an invitation. If he’s going to be a daddy to your baby and keep kissing you like that, then he shouldn’t live so far away.”

Evidently, Estelle believed this concluded the conversation because she nodded again, bobbing the pink curlers, and then turned around and walked toward her unit down the hall.

Daisy stood where she was for a minute, both hands on her belly.

She wondered if Carter wanted to live closer.

She wondered if he was waiting for her to ask him about it.

She wondered if he could ever fit into Preston, if he’d be willing to change that much? Maybe, if he did, people around here wouldn’t look at him as such an alien.

Maybe it was a possibility. Maybe he would think about moving closer.

She wondered why she loved the idea so much.

***

The following Saturday, Daisy was sprawled out on the couch with her head in Carter’s lap.

Teddy had come along again today, and he was snoring in the corner and occasionally passing gas.

Daisy was feeling good.

Really good.

Carter was massaging her scalp, and she was having trouble not moaning in pleasure.

She wondered whether there was any chance he would treat her so well after she wasn’t pregnant anymore.

He treated her really well.

She’d given a little groan as Carter’s strong, skillful fingers moved down to the nape of her neck. The massage seemed to be loosening her inhibitions because she usually wouldn’t have groaned like that.

“That’s so nice,” she said huskily. “You’re really good at that.”

“Good.” Carter sounded amused but also a little thick, the way he sounded when he was getting aroused.

She loved the idea that he might be getting aroused—by her, even pregnant and dressed in baggy, unattractive clothes.

“You must have had a lot of practice.”

“Not really,” he said. “I’ve never done this before.”

“Really? You must be naturally talented. This is so, so good.”

“Good.”

“It’s too bad you don’t live closer,” she heard herself babbling, even though she had absolutely no intention of bringing the subject up. Her inhibitions must be completely down. “You could give me head massages every day.”

There was a strange pause from Carter before he asked, “You think you need them every day?”

“If they’re as good as this, then I definitely need them every day.” She knew she should just drop the subject of his moving closer because she’d sensed a strange reaction from him. But for some reason she continued, “But you’re really far away for daily head massages.”

There was another pause, slightly longer this time. Then he said lightly, “You could always move to Norfolk and get massages every day.”

She frowned. “Why would I want to live in Norfolk?”

“For the head massages.”

She gave a little giggle. “That’s not reason enough to live in the city. You could move to Preston instead. We could get you a nice job, and you could buy a nice house, and you could turn into a nice Prestonian.”

She was definitely babbling now, trying to use the teasing thought of him as a Prestonian as a cover for what had seemed like his reluctance to live any closer to her. He would obviously know she was teasing.

Whatever else Carter was and could be, he would never be the kind of small-town guy she’d described.

But maybe he could change a little.

She really wanted him to be closer.

The pause was much, much longer now. Then he finally gave a dry huff. “Right. Don’t get your hopes up.”

She felt like drooping inside at his response. She was hardly expecting him to up and move and change his whole life just for her. But if he was really serious about being a father to their baby and getting closer to her, then surely it would occasionally cross his mind that moving wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

She shouldn’t expect too much though.

After all, she still hadn’t slept with him again. How could she expect him to change his whole life for her when she wasn’t willing to give her body to him?

She wasn’t going to be silly.

She was going to be mature and reasonable and give him the same kind of space he’d given her.

She shouldn’t have brought up this subject at all.

She really wished she hadn’t since the mood felt wrong between them now.

“I was just teasing,” she said at last, in a different tone. “I don’t think you could really turn into a Prestonian.”

“I know you don’t.”

She turned so she could see his face, although she didn’t have the energy to sit up. “Are you mad for some reason?”

“I’m not mad.”

“Okay.” She swallowed. He didn’t seem mad exactly, but something didn’t feel right, and she wasn’t sure how to fix it. “I just like when you come to visit, is all.”

His face softened, and she was finally able to release the breath she’d been holding. “I like to come to visit too.”

She smiled at him and readjusted so he could keep up the head massage.

After all, it was too good to give up just because they’d had some sort of little misunderstanding.

In another minute, she was feeling really good again, and she was barely conscious of a knocking on the door to her apartment.

When she processed the sound, she called out, “Come on in.” It wasn’t likely to be anyone but Chloe.

It was indeed Chloe, and she strolled into the apartment in a tiny purple dress with no straps and heels higher than anything Daisy herself owned. She looked gorgeous with her long, bare legs, graceful neck, and wild hair.

“How do I look?” Chloe asked, walking into the living room and doing a catwalk turn for them.

“Beautiful,” Daisy told her. “I guess you have a date?”

“Oh yeah. I’m planning to have a really good time tonight.”

“Well, don’t tell me about it. I don’t want to be worrying about you all evening if you’re going to be doing something crazy.”

Chloe gave her a wicked grin. “It’s definitely going to be crazy, so I guess I won’t tell you.”

“But call if you need me,” Daisy added. “Anytime.”

“I will.”

“And don’t do anything stupid.”

“I never do.”

Daisy wasn’t sure this was true, but Chloe seemed to mostly know what she was doing.

For the first time, Chloe seemed to notice how Daisy’s head was in Carter’s lap. “Was I interrupting something interesting here?”

“He was giving me a head massage,” Daisy explained.

“Oh. That’s a disappointment.” Chloe’s eyes glinted in amusement. “I was hoping you were up to something naughty.”

“It’s not a disappointment to me. When was the last time a guy gave you a head massage?”

“Never,” Chloe admitted. “But I’ve had other kinds of—”

“Don’t tell me!” Daisy interrupted.

Both Carter and Chloe chuckled at this, and Chloe gave them a grin and a wave as she left, promising to tell her all the juicy stuff tomorrow.

“She’s crazy,” Daisy said after her friend had left.

“Yeah. But she seems like a good friend.”

“She is.” Daisy paused. “It would be nice to be able to wear a dress like that.”

“You won’t be pregnant forever.”

Daisy snorted and managed to haul herself up into a sitting position. “It’s a nice thought, but I couldn’t wear that dress even if I wasn’t pregnant. I have too much going on in the boob department to keep it on.”

Carter’s eyes drifted down to her boob department—which was much bigger than it used to be. “I’m definitely not complaining about your boob department, angel,” he said huskily. “I’d take you over Chloe any day.”

Daisy couldn’t help but smile.

It was hard not to love a man who thought you were sexy, even very pregnant and wearing an old T-shirt.

It was hard not to love him at all.

Maybe one day he would even want to live closer to her and not just see her on the weekends.