“She said she had news.”
“We could wait and hear it in the morning,” he suggested, clearly eager to get up to his place where they could finish making up in bed.
Lauren was tempted, but determined not to give in. “Oh no you don’t. We have news of our own to share. You need to let Grady know what you’ve decided about Midnight.” She wasn’t taking any chance that he’d try to wiggle out of it by morning.
He scooted her off his lap and stood up. “Let’s get this over with then.”
When they walked into the kitchen, Karen beamed at them. Grady stared at them with a dazed expression.
“Okay,” Lauren prodded. “What’s the news? Obviously it’s put Grady into shock.”
“We’re having a baby,” Karen announced without preamble.
“Oh my gosh, that’s wonderful,” Lauren said, rushing across the room to gather her friend into an embrace.
“Congratulations,” Wade said, shaking Grady’s hand.
Grady still looked as if he’d been poleaxed. Lauren chuckled and planted a kiss on his cheek. “It can’t be that much of a shock. Surely, you do know how babies get made. And it’s not like the two of you aren’t always sneaking off to be together.”
Grady stared at her, then looked back at his wife. “A baby? You’re sure?”
Karen nodded, regarding him with amusement. “The doctor confirmed it when I was in town today. And if you don’t get over here and kiss me, I’m going to get on the phone and call your grandfather. I know he’s been waiting to hear this news.”
“Waiting? He’s been pestering me ever since our wedding day,” Grady said. He scooped his wife out of her chair and twirled her around, then set her back on her feet, his expression suddenly worried. “That was probably a bad idea. Maybe you should sit back down. Do you need anything? Can I get you something to drink? Something to eat? Maybe you should rest.”
Karen regarded Lauren with a frantic expression. “If this is what it’s going to be like around here for the next seven months, I’m moving out.”
“He’ll settle down,” Lauren soothed, then shot a warning look at Grady. “Won’t you?”
Karen shook her head. “Why do men insist on being so blasted overprotective? We’re not fragile little creatures.”
“Tell me about it,” Lauren said with a pointed look toward Wade.
“Hey, it’s not the same thing at all,” Wade protested. “Having a baby is perfectly natural. It’s not as scary as seeing a woman you love dancing around under the flying hooves of a horse.”
His comment brought all conversation to a complete halt. Lauren’s mouth gaped. When she could finally gather her wits, she said, “Did you just say you loved me?”
“He did,” Karen confirmed eagerly. “I heard him.”
“Sounded that way to me, too,” Grady added, clearly amused by the turn of events.
“I didn’t…” Wade’s protest trailed off. “Okay, fine. I admit it. I love you.”
Lauren grinned at him. “What a gracious way to put it. My heart’s all aflutter.”
He scowled at her. “I can still take it back.”
“You can try,” she teased. “But I won’t believe you. The die is cast.”
“Of course, we haven’t heard where you stand on the subject,” Grady pointed out.
Wade regarded her with evident fascination. “Yes, by all means, let’s hear how you feel about it.”
“Are we talking love in general?” she inquired, watching Wade’s increasing frustration with amusement.
“Whatever,” he said.
“Or how I feel about you specifically?” she added.
“Maybe you’d like to be alone again for this,” Grady suggested. “Karen and I have something we could be celebrating upstairs anyway.”
“All that celebrating is how she got pregnant,” Lauren reminded them. “Besides, I want to share a toast with the expectant couple, once Wade and I resolve this little matter of who loves whom.”
She was about to tell Wade exactly how she felt about him, when the phone rang. All four of them stared at it in dismay, but eventually Karen grabbed it.
“Yes, she’s right here,” she told the caller, then made a face as she handed the phone to Lauren. “Jason.”
Wade went perfectly still as Lauren accepted it. Because she couldn’t bring herself to face him as she talked to her agent, she stepped outside.
“Jason, how many different ways can I say no?” she asked, not even trying to hide her annoyance.
“I just hate to see you making a huge mistake like this,” he said. “I don’t want you to wake up in a few months or a year with regrets.”
She glanced through the screen door and saw Wade sitting there stiffly, his face looking as if it had been carved from granite. Karen and Grady were making a halfhearted attempt to engage him in conversation, but his gaze was riveted on Lauren.
“No regrets,” she assured Jason. “Not one. If anything changes in the future, I’ll get in touch with you. In the meantime, scratch me off your client list.”
“If I do that, I can’t promise I’ll be able to do a thing for you,” he said. “It’s a fast-paced business, Lauren. People forget.”
“Not if I’m half as good as you’re always telling me I am,” she retorted.
“Then your decision is final?”
“Isn’t that what I’ve been telling you for weeks now?”
Jason sighed. “Okay, then, I’ll take you at your word. If you change your mind, call me.”
“I won’t change my mind,” she said with conviction. Whatever happened with Wade, she was more certain than ever that her home was right here in Wyoming. Hollywood seemed a million miles away and a lifetime ago.
Slowly she hung up and went back inside, a smile plastered on her face. Wade didn’t return it as she sat back down beside him.
“Lauren, you were just about to tell us—Ouch,” Grady said, scowling at his wife. “Well, she was.”
“I think the moment’s lost for right now,” Karen said. “But I definitely want that toast you promised, Lauren.”
Lauren dutifully lifted her glass of tea and tried to recapture at least a little of the celebratory mood from earlier. “To the new little Blackhawk. He or she is coming into
