“That’s because I’m not.” She didn’t want to lead him on or shove him away. Patrick was due to call her over the weekend to update the baby status. If Katie could hold off Dean until Savannah was out of the closet…

“I’m not either.”

“I need to think. And I can’t do that with you by my side.”

“All right. I can accept that.”

Good. One hurdle down.

“There’s just one thing I want you to do when you’re thinking,” he said.

“Oh, yeah…what’s that?”

He took her lips with his and tilted her head back. The taste of coffee and jam laced his tongue as it took its sweet time playing with hers. Katie’s eyes fluttered closed and thoughts of thinking drifted away.

Their slow morning kiss ended too soon. “Think of that.”

Dean sure knew how to stack the cards in his favor. It would be impossible to close her eyes and not think of him.

“Go to work, cowboy.”

He winked, kissed her forehead, and sauntered to the door. Yep, he’d certainly developed a certain swagger since the last time he’d shared her bed.

She liked it.

“Have a beautiful day, darlin’.”

Katie kissed her finger and waved in his direction. “’Bye.”

She took her time finishing her coffee and eating her toast.

And she thought.

Denying her attraction, her emotions, when it came to Dean felt like a waste of energy. She didn’t have a deep reserve of energy.

She’d walked away from him, and everything he wanted in life when she found out she couldn’t have children. Yet here she was with a child counting on her every single day.

No. There had to be a better reason to stay away from Dean than a dysfunctional…no, the doctor had called it an inhospitable uterus.

There was always the question if Dean could accept Savannah and what he would do when he found out about her.

“I’ll have to think about everything later,” she told herself.

After a quick shower and packing a small bag with fresh clothes, Katie made her way out of the hotel. She stopped at the reception desk. Naomi had a younger woman beside her watching every move she made.

“Hi, Naomi.”

“Miss Morrison, hello. Have you met Tammy? She’s new with us.”

Katie put on her most congenial smile. Most new employees tripped over themselves when they found out she was a Morrison. Katie always did her best to be as unassuming as possible. “Hi, Tammy. How are you liking it here?”

“I love it. Thanks for asking.”

“Good, good. Listen, Naomi, I need you to be alert to any phone calls coming in for me.”

Naomi picked up a pen and waited for Katie to continue.

“If Patrick Nelson or a Ben Sanderson call, have them call my cell. Oh, and Dean Prescott.”

“I can do that.”

“Good.”

“Tell housekeeping I left my laundry in the bedroom closet and be sure and send the red dress to the dry cleaners.”

“Will we expect you this evening?”

Katie glanced at the time on the clock behind the desk. “No. I will check in tomorrow.”

“Very good. Have a nice day, Miss Morrison.”

“You, too, Naomi. Nice meeting you, Tammy.”

The women said good-bye and Katie left the hotel with a smile on her face. Between the amazing sex and a good night’s sleep, she couldn’t wait to spend the day playing with Savannah. She missed her daughter.

Chapter Sixteen

He sent flowers. Two dozen long-stem pink roses. Roses that would match the frilly bra and panties Katie had worn last night.

Flowers had been off limits before…when they’d met in secret.

Not this time.

Dean wasn’t going to hide…this time.

He smiled after getting off the phone with the florist. Dean escaped into the mess of his day but didn’t mind any of it. The temporary power pole had gone down and sparked a small fire. Luckily, he had a security guard on site at night who had managed to take down the flames with a fire extinguisher. The power company and the fire department then needed to repair and sign off on the broken pole, which took the whole morning.

One full pallet of roofing material escaped its binding and blew all over the site. Dirt covered every surface. Even three of the Porta-potties had tipped over. Now that was a mess. Two windows, one standard and one bay, broke when some kind of debris flew through them.

He called in a couple of guys and lent a hand securing the material that might be a problem again overnight. The forecast of Santa Ana winds and red flag warnings wasn’t going to be lifted until early Monday morning. Outside of the immediate issues, Dean saw no need to fix everything until after the wind stopped. He called the portable john guys and asked them to come by and upright the toilets.

Feeling gritty from working in the dust-coated wind all day, Dean made his way home while singing along with the radio. Damn he felt good.

At home he checked his messages and heard only the men from the job site when they’d attempted to get a hold of him that morning. Nothing from Katie.

Did she like the flowers?

Of course she did. She might not admit it, but she’d enjoy them anyway.

Don’t most women call and thank a man for flowers after they arrive?

Then again, she wanted time to think. Thinking didn’t include talking to him about flowers sent just hours after he left.

Dean took a long, hot shower and scrubbed the dirt from his hair. Hair that needed some quality time with a pair of scissors. After his shower, he made himself a simple sandwich and chased it with a beer.