“He took her from my room,” Laurie whispered, sinking onto a chair beside him as the fight drained out of her. “I woke up, and my baby was gone.”
Harlan Patrick finally understood her hysteria. In a fleeting, half-awake daze, she had thought he’d taken off with the baby. It was ironic given his own fears that she’d do the very same thing if given a chance. Still, he cursed himself for not thinking to leave a note. He’d never meant to scare her to death. He’d just assumed she wouldn’t awaken before he returned.
“Darlin’, you knew she was with me,” he reminded her quietly. “You had to know no harm would come to her.”
“Don’t you see?” she replied in a choked voice. “That’s why I was so terrified.”
“You thought I’d run off with her,” he said, voicing his earlier assessment of her overreaction.
She nodded, and this time when she reached for Amy Lynn, he placed the baby in her arms. Then he tucked a finger under Laurie’s chin and forced her to face him. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and her chin wobbled.
“Listen to me,” he commanded gently. “No matter what happens between us, no matter how angry I get or how frustrated, I will never just walk away with Amy Lynn. You have my solemn vow on that. Whatever happens, the two of us will decide it together, okay?”
Her gaze locked with his. “You swear it?”
“On my honor.”
A sigh shuddered through her then. One glance at Val was all it took for the security guards and the band members to melt away, leaving the three of them alone—Harlan Patrick, Laurie and the baby. Even the friendly waitress seemed to know enough to steer clear.
“You okay?” Harlan Patrick asked eventually.
Laurie gave him a halfhearted smile. “Just embarrassed over the fuss I caused.”
He grinned. “If you’re feeling that way now, then there’s no telling how you’re going to react when you realize you’re in the middle of a public restaurant wearing nothing but a big ol’ T-shirt.”
She glanced down at herself and moaned. Then she scowled at him. “This is your fault, you know.”
He nodded solemnly. “I know. And I am sorry. The baby was hungry and I wanted to get her fed without waking you. I thought I was being clever to think of coming down here to get her bottle warmed.”
“A noble intention,” she agreed, “but then yours usually are. That’s never meant you couldn’t find some way to turn my life upside down in the process.”
He nodded at that, too. “It’s been my pleasure,” he said with a grin. “Yours, too, if I remember correctly.”
“Sometimes,” she conceded. “But we’re supposed to be responsible adults now. We have a child, for goodness’ sakes.”
It was exactly the opening he’d been waiting for. “I’m glad you can see that. I have a suggestion.”
“What’s that?”
“Let’s prove just how responsible we are. Let’s get married.”
The suggestion was made impulsively. Harlan Patrick had no idea when he’d reached any decision that marriage was the route they should take. If he was startled by the words coming out of his mouth, though, Laurie looked as if he’d suggested they go snowboarding stark naked.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” she said, hitching her chair backward to get away from him as if his very nearness was somehow threatening.
“Don’t what?”
“You are not going to manipulate me into marrying you, Harlan Patrick Adams,” she said with fire in her eyes.
“I wasn’t aware I was manipulating. I thought I was proposing.”
“In this case, it’s the same difference.”
“And you say the stubborn genes are all on the Adams side,” he taunted. “Laurie, let’s be logical for a minute. Amy Lynn is mine. I want her to have my name.”
“She already does,” she confessed in a whisper.
This time he stared. “What?”
“I put your name on the birth certificate. I never wanted there to be any doubt about that, at least. So, you see, marrying me would be superfluous.”
He grinned at the airy declaration. “Is that what you call being my wife? I could take offense.”
“You know what I meant,” she retorted with a defiant jut of her chin.
He debated arguing with her, then decided to leave well enough alone. He might have lost the battle, but the war could be won another day.
“Okay,” he conceded. “I can see I’m not going to get anywhere this morning. Just think about it. We have plenty of time to decide. I’m not going anywhere.” He shot her