Intimate Strangers by Danielle Taylor Page A

right now – and if they could move past the hurt and anger, he believed they’d most likely be rather good together.
    Truthfully, Chelsea had nothing holding her in any one place, other than her friendship with Hannah and Mackenzie. If she wanted to, she’d be free to live wherever she wanted to. Once Tiaan extricated himself from his current employment – which he had zero interest in returning to and more information up his sleeve to help him extricate himself from his contract – neither did he. So technically they could go wherever they wanted. He had enough money stashed away that they could enjoy each other’s company for decades.
    First things first. Along with Chelsea and Ruan, he would be taking a trip out east to introduce her parents to their grandson. They had one shot here to apologise and make nice with their daughter and if they didn’t, he’d never bother to push for it again. With that out of the way, they could easily get on with their lives and maybe he and Chelsea might work out.

    ~~~

    “There is no way in hell that I am allowing you to get in that…that thing again.”
    Horrified by Tiaan’s comment, Chelsea thrust her hands on her hips while glaring at him. “What the heck is wrong with my car?”
    His dark eyes swept over her little rusting vehicle. “It looks like a death trap, Chelsea! Leave it there, we’ll have it towed. I’ll get you a new one.”
    “What– where do you get off telling me I can’t have my car anymore? And why should I let you buy me a new one when a week ago, you were pretty much telling me how much you hate me!”
    Brow creasing, he shifted his weight and gently moved Ruan to his other shoulder. “Er, I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. Can I take that stupid thing back and we’ll brush it under the metaphoric rug?”
    Studying him for a moment, she then sighed, a non-verbal acquiescence to his query.
    “I just…” Squirming where he stood, he cursed beneath his breath and then touched his lips to the top of Ruan’s head. “I suppose I’m feeling horribly overprotective now. Is that normal?”
    Slightly annoyed and yet the feeling curbed by his concern for Ruan, Chelsea’s mind warred with itself for a few seconds on how to respond to him. Finally, she submitted to his request by removing the car seat from her little car and installing it into Mac and Hannah’s SUV.
    “Yes, it’s perfectly normal,” Chelsea finally replied as she backed out of the rear seat of the vehicle. “I think all new parents must feel an instant and almost insane feeling of needing to be extra cautious when it comes to their children.”
    A slight smile broke. “Good. Phew.”
    Darn, he was too adorable, eyes moving to check on Ruan every few seconds. On some instinctive level, her body – the traitor – responded to the image of her baby in the arms of his father. She never could have imagined the moment when he actually arrived and held Ruan, and now that it had occurred and he wanted to spend time with them (really, he was there for Ruan, she had to keep reminding herself), she was falling for him all over again. Just like she had that night.
    “You alright?”
    Startled, Chelsea nodded a little too swiftly. All in your head , she told herself. “I’m fine. But um, it’s not fair of me to leave my car here in Mrs. Fournier’s driveway. I’ll follow you back to the Dunlop’s and park it in the garage. Besides, I’ve got personal items in here.” She didn’t mention that she couldn’t possibly get rid of the vehicle she brought Ruan home from the hospital in.
    During that short drive, Chelsea had peered in the rear view mirror about a thousand times – or so it felt – until pulling up to Hannah and Mac’s house. Everything about him had been so tiny, smaller than he was now and Ruan was considered on the small side for his two months.
    “Fine, but keep close.” He spoke while attempting to put Ruan into the car seat, his frustration evident in