And he should have one of the bathrooms remodeled to include a tub that Nicki could use. Perhaps Anabel would even want to do some redecorating.

Gil was contemplating the various ways he could tie Anabel into his future when they pulled up to his house and found a black BMW in the driveway.

"Oh no." Anabel stiffened in alarm. "It"s Sh.e.l.ly"s parents. "

"So I a.s.sumed." Gil noted the older couple waiting on his porch, and smiled in antic.i.p.ation. "I wonder if my lawyer has spoken with them yet? No matter. I"m glad we"ll be able to get this settled." He parked the car and started to get out.

Anabel reached for his arm. "What are we going to do?"

"I"m going to talk to them. You"re going to wait with Nicki in her room. "

"No. You can"t just shut me outa""

"Yes, I can." Gil walked around the car to her door. The grandparents watched impatiently from the porch. "Leave it to me, Anabel. It has nothing to do with you. "

"That"s not true!"

He gave her a stern look and dropped his voice to a whisper. "You"re too emotional. You came to me, now let me handle this." He reached in and lifted Nicki out. She stretched awake, immediately slipping her thumb into her mouth. "Go to your mommy, sweetheart. "

Nicki was too tired to argue.

Anabel squeezed her close. "Gila "

He put his hand at the small of her back and urged her forward. "Trust me. Everything will be fine. "

The grandparents looked beyond rigid. With no sign of welcome, Gil said, "Mr. and Mrs. Tyree. I"ve been expecting you. "

Mr. Tyree, tall with dark brown hair showing no signs of gray, cleared his throat. "We"re here to discussa""

Gil cut him off. "We"ll talk in my den." He opened the door and ushered a miserably silent Anabel inside. Nicki, bless her heart, had her head on Anabel"s shoulder, her thumb in her mouth, watching the intruders warily.

Gil kissed both mother and daughter on the forehead. "This won"t take long." He left Anabel standing there and led the Tyrees down the hall.

"We"re here about Nicole," Mr. Tyree said the moment the door closed.

Gil ignored his opening salvo to say, "I was very sorry to hear about Sh.e.l.ly. She and I were good friends. "

Mrs. Tyree curled her lip. "More than friends. "

"Once, yes." Gil indicated the chairs. "Would you like to sit down?"

They did so reluctantly. Gil saw the weariness, the grief, still etched in their faces. Their relationship with Sh.e.l.ly might not have been ideal, but it could never be easy to lose a child.

Gil decided to end things quickly, for everyone"s sake. "Nicole is mine. Sh.e.l.ly wrote of that fact in her diary, which I have, so no blood tests are necessary. I never knew about her until after Sh.e.l.ly"s death. "

"Anabel ran to you, didn"t she?"

"Yes. A wise decision on her part. She loves Nicki as much as any mother would love a child. She wanted only to do what was best for her." He looked at each of them. "This is best for her. Nicole will be well cared for. "

"We"re her grandparents. "

"Yes, I know. Any involvement you have with her will be up to you, but you won"t, under any circ.u.mstances, try to take her away. "

Mr. Tyree stood. "You don"t even know her. "

"As I said, Sh.e.l.ly never told me about her. But I am her father and that"s something you can"t challenge. "

"You intend to keep her here, with you?"

"I realize it"s a long way from Atlanta, but arrangements could be made for visitationa""

"No." Mrs. Tyree joined her husband, standing at his side. "We have a reputation in the community, Mr. Watson. Losing our daughter was hard enough. I don"t want to have to deal with the scandal of an illegitimate grandchild as well. "

Gil"s sympathy for these people went right out the window. "If you don"t want a relationship with Nicole, why were you going to take her from Anabel?" But then he knew, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. "You wanted to put her up for adoption?"

An aged, bejeweled hand waved the air. "Anabel Truman is a gold digger. She"d have come after us for money, possibly tried to blackmail us. "

Stupid woman. "Anabel was your daughter"s roommate, but you didn"t get to know her at all, did you?"

"I know people, Mr. Watson. And I know it requires money to support a child. Anabel is a person with no ambition, no prospects. "

"You"re wrong. She has more heart, more courage and determination than anyone I"ve ever met. "

"She"s got you completely fooled, hasn"t she?"

Shaking his head at such blind ignorance, Gil went to the door and opened it. He wouldn"t waste his breath arguing with them. "I have money, so rest a.s.sured, I won"t be contacting you for anything. "

Mr. Tyree hesitated. "We had no reason to believe you"d want to take on the responsibility ofa""

"Of my own daughter?" Gil"s tone was flat in the face of such cynicism. "Good-bye, Mr. and Mrs. Tyree. "

The older couple shared what appeared to be a look of relief, and seconds later they were gone. Gil stood there, unable to comprehend how someone could not want to take part in Nicole"s life. She was a tiny, incredible, wonderful miracle.

Anabel touched his back. "I heard them leave. "

Gil shook off his disgust and turned to face her with a smile. "Yes, and good riddance. I doubt we"ll ever hear from them again. "

Anable"s eyes widened. "Theya they won"t press for custody?"

"They would have gotten her only to give her away." He looped his arms around her waist, pulled her body into his for a hug. "But I"m the father, all right and tight and no one can challenge that. You"ve got nothing else to worry about, Anabel." He waited for her to ask him what her role would be in it all, but she didn"t.

She was probably afraid to.

Gil sighed. He"d give her a week, two at the most, to figure things out. But he"d use that time wisely. "I don"t suppose Nicki went back to sleep?"

"No. She"s busy renaming all her dolls, thanks to the characters in that Disney movie we saw. "

"Well, if I can"t engage you in a quickie, how about just necking with me a bit?" Gil noticed that her cheeks flushed with interest and a pulse raced in her throat. She reacted so quickly to him that she took his breath away. "At least until Nicki discovers us?"

"Here?"

"Mmm." He backed her into the wall. "Bedtime seems far too many hours from now. "

Anabel licked her lips. "Yeah, okay." And then she was on her tiptoes, taking his mouth, stroking his chest, and, Gil hoped, loving him just a little.

Chapter Five.

As Gil moved to the side of her, each of them sweaty and breathing hard, Anabel wondered just how long the trial run would last.

It had been two weeks since he"d sent the Tyrees on their way, and it was getting harder and harder to bite her tongue, to keep her questions and her fears and, d.a.m.n it, her love, hidden away. Especially since, by all appearances, Gil expected to keep her around. He"d offered to let her redecorate his home to make it more suitable for Nicolea"but also to suit her, as if her preferences mattered in the long run. He"d put her name on his checking account. He"d dragged her along when he met with his lawyer to show her that he"d ensured Nicole"s future, but also her own by giving her access to all his accounts.

It was like being marrieda"only they weren"t, and he hadn"t mentioned anything about it. If he wanted her to stick around, but she wasn"t to be his wife, then what? She"d done a lot to take care of Nicole, but she wasn"t sure she could be a mistress.

With a wry twist to her mouth, Anabel wondered if she could somehow exchange that service for website business. It didn"t seem likely.

Gil"s big, warm hand settled on her belly. "Jesus, I think you"ve killed me. "

Anabel turned her head to face him. It was late in the night, and Gil had just loved her twice. "Me? I was ready to go to sleep. You"re the one who doesn"t know when to quit. "

"Moderation is overrated." His laugh was rough and winded. In the next instant, he rolled to his side and loomed over her. His dark eyes were teasing, hot, filled with tenderness. "Maybe if you didn"t look so d.a.m.n gooda "

"I"m not wearing makeup. And after youra enthusiasm just now, my hair is a ratty mess. "

He nuzzled her throat with a rumbling growl. "Then maybe it"s the way you smell. "

Anabel laughed. Gil had a playful side to him that she hadn"t known about before moving in with him. But over the past few weeks, he"d grown more carefree, always smiling, always teasing. She liked it. She loved him. "I"m sweating like a pig, thanks to you. "

His hand slipped between her thighs, pressing warmly. "You"re sticky, too. But I like it." His voice deepened. "I like everything about you. "

Anabel"s heart gave an unsteady thump. He said things like that a lot. What did they mean? And how serious was he?

He kissed her mouth. "Do you like blue?"

The sudden change in topic threw her and she shrugged. "Sure, why?"

Again, Gil dropped to his back. "That"s the color of your new minivan. I"ve been meaning to pick one out, but then it seems that between work and playing with Nicki and keeping you satisfied in the sack, I kept putting it off. Today during my lunch I went to a few dealers anda""

"You bought me a minivan?" Anabel knew she should just say thank you, that the new vehicle was really for Nicki"s safety. Whenever she left the house, Gil insisted she take his car. But his highhandedness was about to drive her insane.

"Yeah. We"ll junk your vana"if the junkyard will take it, that is. Not that I mind sharing my car with youa" He twisted to see her. "Would you want your own car, too? I mean, for when you get out without Nicki?"

Her jaw locked. "I don"t go out without Nicki. "

"You haven"t up till now because you couldn"t. Not that my family wouldn"t be great as baby-sitters, but I can understand why you"re not comfortable leaving Nicki with them yet. "

He didn"t understand at all. If Gil didn"t need her to watch Nicki, he wouldn"t need her for anything. "She"s already been through so many changes, Gil. And she doesn"t know them that well yet. "

"She will soon. G.o.d knows, they come around often enough. "

Too true. All of Gil"s family was delighted with Nicole and she with them. At least twice a week Pete came to visit, and he was quickly spoiling Nicole with gifts. Sam and his wife Ariel doted on her, as well. And Belinda Watson, Gil"s mother, was over the moon with her new granddaughter.

Gil reached for her hand and twined his fingers with hers. He did that a lot, she realized, held her hand, touched her face, gave her small, tender kisses.

"I"m going to interview some baby-sitters tomorrow. "

Slowly, Anabel turned her head on the pillow so she could see him. "You"re going to do what?"

"I want someone to come in during the day to give you a break so you can do your work or just go out, or soak in the tub. Mom recommends her beautician if you want to go geta whatever it is women get at those places. A manicure or facial or something. But don"t change your hair. I like it. "

Anabel"s temper snapped. He was trying to phase her out. Little by little, her role in Nicki"s life had diminished. Lately, Gil read to her more nights than not, and he"d become a regular hand at baths and pull-ups and everything else that affected Nicki"s life. He was an excellent fathera"but d.a.m.n it, she was Nicki"s mother.

She was.

With fear lodged in her throat, Anabel pulled her hand away and sat up in the bed. She kept her back to Gil so he wouldn"t see her ravaged expression. "What about me, Gil?" Was she relegated to bed warmer only? And if so, how long would that last?

She felt his stillness, what she perceived as empathy in his tone. "What about you?"

Her heart burned in her chest. "When I first came here, I made you ana offer. "

"To sleep with me, I know." One finger trailed down her spine. "I love having you in my bed, Anabel. "

She squeezed her eyes shut. "That"s not the offer I mean. "

The bed shifted as Gil sat up. He scooted around until he was beside her, one arm braced on the mattress behind her. For long moments, he just stared at her profile. "I don"t need to marry you to keep Nicole. "

There it was, the awful truth she hadn"t wanted to face. "She loves me. "

"A lot." She heard the smile in his tone, felt the love he had for Nicole. "You"ve been an incredible mother. "

"I"ve done my best." But maybe her best wasn"t good enough. No, she couldn"t think that. Gil was a good man, a considerate man. Maybe he didn"t want to marry her, but he would never keep her from Nicole. She knew that.

Problem was, she wanted them both. Forever.

Gil remained silent.

"Ia I know we"re very different." Could she convince him that their differences complemented each other?

"Remarkably so. "

"But we both love Nicole. "