An Act of Persuasion - By Stephanie Doyle Page 0,50

becoming the only underwear that fit. She looked down to see what he saw and the round bump that was now her stomach was glaringly obvious.

“It’s huge,” she moaned.

“It’s not. It’s a little mound.”

“I’m a porker already and it’s only month four.”

“It’s barely there. It’s not like your stomach was exactly flat before.”

That took a moment to process. “Are you saying I was fat before I was pregnant?”

He huffed and mumbled something about women under his breath. “You were not fat. At all. But if memory serves, and trust me it serves me too damn well these days, you had a little...a gentle roundness to your belly.”

“You are so dead.”

“I mean, come on, Anna, you have to admit it’s not like you could bounce a quarter off the damn thing.”

“You need to stop. Right now.”

He opened his mouth then shut it again.

“That’s right,” she nodded. “We’ll just pretend this didn’t happen.”

“I liked your stomach,” he said quietly. “I like it better now. Can I touch it?”

Could he touch it? No! Again, weird. Ben Tyler touching her stomach...that was filled with his baby that he put there because they had sex. Sometimes it was hard to remember that night because she thought about how she had been with him and what she’d done with him that she’d never done with anyone before. Almost like it hadn’t really been her.

Then other times it was impossible to forget. How easy it all felt. Like they had been doing it for years.

“Please.”

Anna held her breath and gave a tight nod. She leaned back a little on the table to give him access and watched his large hand descend on her lower belly. Skin touched skin. She could feel the warmth immediately and it seemed to heat up her whole body like he was some faith healer laying hands on her and she was being cured.

Then he started to make slow circles with that hand, pushing a little against her flesh, stroking a lot until his fingers dipped under the waistband of her embarrassing underwear. She looked at him, ready to question what he was doing but his face was intent on the place his hand covered.

Color rose in his cheeks and she could see his nostrils flare. Not that he was the only one impacted by his touch. Her heart started to pound heavier and her legs shifted in reaction to his touch. She could feel herself grow damp and she thought about what it would be like for him to slide those fingers a little lower, just a little lower...

“And how are we today?” the doctor asked as she entered the room.

“I’m the father!” Ben announced while he jerked his hand out of her panties.

The small and serious looking OB/GYN smiled. “Let’s hope so.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“DO YOU WANT TO HEAR the heartbeat?” the doctor asked Ben.

“Yes, please.”

Ben watched Anna lean back again and tried not to think about what he really wanted to do between her legs. It was almost unseemly given their current surroundings. He’d been worried since their date over the weekend that he was somehow losing his connection to her. After they had woken from their rest he’d sensed a change in her. A certain distance. Like every time she looked at him now she was reassessing her feelings for him. Examining them in some new light.

Maybe entirely rethinking her claim that she loved him.

She was probably right to question her emotions. He couldn’t recall one moment during their long working relationship when he’d done anything to merit her love. He was a fair boss. Yes, they were friendly with one another. Probably spent more time together than other employers did with their employees outside of work. He could honestly say the bounds of their relationship had transcended beyond that of merely professional. Certainly even more so when he’d gotten sick. He’d depended on her then. Leaned on her in a way he never had with another person before.

But love? Had he been love-worthy? He never remembered her birthday, she always remembered his. His Christmas gifts to her were typically impersonal gift cards, while hers were always thoughtful. She’d found an out-of-print copy of a book that detailed spying strategies during the American Revolutionary War including those of Nathan Hale. The guy who regretted only having one life. Ben had loved that book.

She gave him six weeks of Italian cooking lessons once, because he’d made an offhand comment about wanting to learn how to make pasta. He had, in fact, learned