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was carrying his child, and he hadn’t stopped smiling since the doctor told them. Not even when Shannon had refused to let him see her home, opting to take the El instead. Not even when he’d leaned over and pressed a big, wet kiss on the doorman’s cheek, only to have the fellow stare at him as though he’d just been released from a mental institution.
    Nothing could dampen his spirits tonight. Nothing.
    He was going to be a daddy—on Father’s Day, no less. He couldn’t wait.
    Eight more months seemed like an eternity, but he was looking forward to each and every one of them. Spent in Shannon’s company, of course, knowing they’d made a baby together.
    With the help of medical science, maybe, but they’d still created a life.
    Whistling the tune of the only lullaby he knew, he made his way into the kitchen and opened the fridge, looking for something quick and easy to fix for dinner. Normally, he would have dined out or had his secretary arrange for something to be brought in.
    But Margaret had long since gone home, and he didn’t much feel like making pleasantries with the colleagues he was bound to bump into at one of his favorite clubs.
    The only person he really wanted to see was Shannon.
    Unfortunately, she’d made it more than clear that she wasn’t interested in spending time with him outside of her contractual obligation.
    He offered to drive her home or anywhere else she needed to go, but she refused. He invited her to dinner, but she turned him down in favor of studying or waiting tables at The Tavern. It didn’t take Burke long to realize she was trying to avoid him anywhere but at Dr. Cox’s office.
    Which was no more than he should expect. Their relationship was based on a business deal, nothing more. She’d agreed to carry his child; she didn’t need to be his dinner companion as well.
    But darned if he didn’t wish she would accept even one of his invitations. Give him an excuse to spend just a little more time with her.
    And, frankly, there was no one else he could share his news with. No one other than Shannon, Dr. Cox and perhaps Margaret.
    His smile slipped a fraction as he threw a pack of low-fat luncheon meat on the counter, along with a loaf of bread, a head of lettuce and mayonnaise. Thank God for Margaret. She not only kept his office running smoothly, but stopped by his apartment once a week, too, to restock his refrigerator. Otherwise, this lettuce wouldn’t look nearly as fresh and crisp—if he owned lettuce at all.
    This wasn’t the first time he’d been struck by the knowledge that he had no family left, and no true friends. Not that his family had been so great to begin with. His parents had spent years in a loveless, contentious marriage. Burke had been a lonely, often ignored only child, many times suspecting he’d been an unplanned and unwelcome addition to that hostile relationship.
    But both of his parents were now gone. His father had been killed in a car accident some fifteen years earlier, and his mother had mourned the loss for all of six weeks before finding herself another husband to harangue, eventually succumbing to cirrhosis of the liver from too many bottles of cheap wine.
    Except for a college buddy or two whom he kept in touch with, he didn’t really have any friends, either. Acquaintances stopped by the office or called every couple of weeks to ask him for money, but he wouldn’t consider any of them actual friends.
    Everyone wanted something from Burke Ellison Bishop, he thought as he took a giant bite of his ham sandwich.
    Even Shannon was using him for her own benefit. But at least with her, he would be getting something in return. And that something was the one thing he’d always wanted—a child of his own.
    And that little boy or girl would be his chance to show that he could be a better parent than his had been to him. A chance to love and be loved. To reclaim a