The Unclaimed Baby by Sherryl Woods

“Not a one.”
    â€œOh,” she said faintly.
    â€œNot to worry, darlin’. I would have seen all there was to see when I scooped you out of there, anyway. Besides, it was purely a professional rescue operation.” He solemnly sketched a cross across his heart. “You were just a lady in distress.”
    â€œUh-huh,” she murmured, amused by the vehement defense. “Somehow it sounds like you’re protesting a little too much.”
    â€œWould you rather I tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed myself?”
    She told herself to let it drop, to let the incident rest, but she couldn’t seem to do it. “Did you?”
    â€œNot half as much as I would have if you’d been awake and willing.”
    Her face burned at that. Okay, she’d asked for it and now she knew. The man had wanted her. That should terrify her, right? But it didn’t. For the first time in ages, she felt like a whole woman again.
    She felt alive.

Chapter 6
    â€œW hat’s on the agenda for today?” Cord asked as he flipped pancakes, while Sharon Lynn sat at the kitchen table feeding the baby.
    â€œI haven’t even thought about it,” she admitted.
    â€œIt’s too cold to do anything outdoors. I suppose we’ll just stick close to home.”
    He was shaking his head even as she spoke. “I don’t think so. We’re going shopping.”
    She stared at him in astonishment. Men hated to shop. She knew. With the possible exception of her uncle Jordan, who always dressed impeccably, not a single Adams male ever set foot in a store unless he had to. Then they bought jeans, underwear, socks and shirts by the dozens, so they wouldn’t have to repeat the traumatic experience for another year. When itcame to gifts, they were top-of-the-line catalog shoppers.
    â€œShopping for what?” she asked.
    â€œBaby supplies.”
    â€œWe have plenty of formula and diapers,” she argued. “Lizzy and Justin’s wife have passed along some hand-me-down baby clothes.”
    â€œThey’re all blue,” he noted. “That’s all wrong for our girl. She needs, I don’t know, maybe something pink and frilly.”
    Unwilling to admit just how tempted she was, Sharon Lynn regarded him with amusement. “You want to go shopping for pink and frilly girl clothes?”
    He turned and scowled as if she’d questioned his manhood. “You have a problem with that?”
    She swallowed the laugh that was threatening to bubble up and shook her head. “I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
    â€œI thought women loved to shop,” he grumbled.
    â€œWe do. It’s men who get all antsy at the mention of spending more than ten minutes in anything other than a sporting goods store.”
    â€œWhere’s the nearest mall?” he asked, as if the question alone were proof that he wasn’t like other men.
    â€œGarden City.”
    â€œHow far?”
    â€œThirty miles.”
    â€œClose enough.” He shoved a plate piled high with pancakes in front of her. “You game?”
    He sounded so grimly determined to challenge her,she couldn’t help nodding her acquiescence. “Sure.” She hesitated, then added, “We can’t go overboard.”
    â€œI’m not talking about buying out the stores, just getting a few things she really needs.”
    â€œOkay, then.”
    By four o’clock, with the baby ensconced in her new top-of-the-line stroller and Cord weighed down with more packages than Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve, Sharon Lynn insisted enough was enough.
    â€œI have to rest. There is not a single store left in this mall that we haven’t been in,” she complained. “I need something to drink. I need food. I need to get off my feet.”
    Cord grinned at her. “Can’t take it, huh?”
    â€œThe only person I know who shops with more enthusiasm and endurance is my aunt