A Crazy Kind of Love by Maureen Child

just picked out and—
    Conversation.
    Talking would keep him too busy to think about what might have happened if they hadn’t been in a damn showroom full of unctuous salesmen. Hell, even having her irritate him was better than this quiet that gave his mind too much room to wander.
    He had to say something—anything. Otherwise, he’d be admitting that the kiss had taken on a life of its own in his mind.
    “So.”
    She jumped, startled, and looked at him as if she’d forgotten he was there. Pushing her hair back out of her eyes, she held it down at her nape with one hand and snarled, “What?”
    Lucas ignored her battle attitude—in fact, he was grateful for it. An angry Mike he knew how to deal with. “You never said. Earlier. When you were talking to your friend. You never said why you were so anxious to get away.”
    “Not anxious,” she argued. “Ready.”
    “Fine. Ready. Why?”
    She blew out a breath and shifted her gaze past him to stare at the ocean, stretching out to the horizon. He spared a quick look, too, and saw the wide, golden path lying across the dark blue surface of the water as the sun slowly slipped from the sky.
    “No biggie, really,” she said after a long minute or two. “It’s just—Carla’s sister-in-law Tasha just had a baby girl, her other sister-in-law Beth had a boy a couple months ago, now Carla’s pregnant. Hell, even
Abbey’s
pregnant again.”
    Confusion reigned, but then he’d started this conversation. “So?”
    “So, nothing. It was just hormone overload, okay?” She turned and fixed her gaze on the road in front of them. “I’m tired of hearing about babies. It’s like everyone in Chandler is baby nuts. That’s all Sam can talk about as she and the Weasel Dog try to make another one—”
    “Weasel Dog?” he asked.
    “Long story,” Mike said, brushing that aside. Then she added, “And hey, I love Emma. My niece,” she added by way of explanation. “Sam’s daughter, and it’s great that she’s back in the family—”
    “Back in?” Lucas asked. “Your niece left the family?”
    “Long story,” Mike said again, and Lucas had the feeling that everything about this woman would eventually be a long story. There was nothing simple about her. Nothing understated. Everything about Mike Marconi was over the top. Her hair, her eyes, her laugh, her sexy, rough, low-pitched voice.
    She threw both hands up and her hair flew out aroundher face in the rushing wind. “But God, does
everyone
have to get pregnant at once? Is there something in the water?”
    He squinted into the sunlight. “Remind me to keep bottled water at my house.”
    “Oh yeah. You’re in real danger.” She laughed suddenly and he was amazed again at her changeability. Mike’s moods could shift so quickly, a man had to be wearing a seat belt just to avoid whiplash. “All those women coming and going from your place must really worry you.”
    Insulted, he cocked an eyebrow and glanced at her. “I’m not as big a loser as you seem to think I am.”
    “Yeah?” she asked, turning in her seat again to smile at him. “You’re a scientist, aren’t you?”
    “And that’s spelled
l-o-s-e-r
?”
    “Please. Have you
seen
a picture of Einstein?”
    A short bark of laughter shot from his throat. “He was married
and
had affairs.”
    “A prince of a guy.”
    “Not a prince. But hardly a virgin.”
    She lifted one index finger. “Didn’t say you were a virgin.”
    “Gee, thanks for that.”
    She nodded regally, like a queen briefly recognizing a peasant who just happened to stumble across her path. “I figure you must have gotten lucky at
some
point in your life.”
    The knot of lust that had held him in its grip since the furniture store eased back and irritation simmered to life again. Damn if the woman didn’t provoke all manner of emotions in him. “Thanks very much.”
    She waved a hand. “I’m just sayin’—”
    “Saying exactly what?”
    She sighed. “Looks like we’re