Read My Best Friend's Baby for Free Online Page A

Griggs' toupee
counted as a life form of its own. Whipping off her T-shirt, she
whirled to fling it into the hamper, then slid open her mirrored
closet doors.
    Moe yowled outside and her bedroom door
opened. Nick's head emerged around the edge of it. "Something's
buzzing in your bathroom. Are you cooking up another batch of punk
rock haircolor, or what?"
    Chloe flung her arms across her naked chest.
He didn't even blink. She might as well have waved her arms in the
air and tap-danced, for as much attention as he paid to her
appearance. Keeping her arms tight over her chest, she slowly
turned to face him. His expression didn't change one iota.
    Not even half an iota.
    Her body felt as heated as a toaster glowing
red, just before it turned the toast to a slab of coal. That would
be her heart if she wasn't careful. Ruined and crumbly.
    "Fun-ny," she said. "It was only that one
time I tried those red stripes, and that was years ago. Now I'm
sticking with my natural hair color."
    Nick looked at her expensively-streaked
layered cut. "Uh-huh. That's you, nature girl," he deadpanned. "Do
you want me to turn off the timer for you?"
    He was utterly, completely, oblivious, Chloe
realized with a sinking feeling. Even half-naked she couldn't
dredge up any non-platonic interest from him.
    Any child they might have created together
deserved more than a lovestruck mama and an indifferent daddy.
She'd already been around that block—wearing the kid's diapers
herself. She couldn't let history repeat itself.
    Knowing Nick, he'd feel obligated to ‘do the
right thing,' no matter what his feelings were for her. She really couldn't tell him the truth.
    "The timer?" he asked again.
    "Timer?" She fought the urge to drop her
arms and flash him, just to get some sort of reaction. "Oh! The
timer! No, thanks. It'll turn off by itself in a minute."
    He shrugged. "Okay. You'd better hurry up,
or Mr. Griggs will reschedule you again. I don't know why you don't
just go to one of the bigger banks in Phoenix or—"
    "I'll be ready," Chloe interrupted, hoping
to forestall the inevitable, familiar avalanche of financial
advice. Turning, she concentrated on pulling one of the few suits
she owned from her closet without giving Nick a thirty-four B-sized
eyeful in the process.
    "—or Tucson for your loan." His gaze flicked
over the red suit and matching pumps she threw on the bed, then he
crossed his arms and added, "You know, Red and Jerry would probably
let you make payments directly to them for a while if that's what
it takes. I'll bet—"
    "No favors." She added a halter-cut,
pale-colored bodysuit to the pile. Arizona in April demanded the
coolest clothes possible.
    "Chloe—"
    "And no help, either." She turned her back
to Nick while she sorted through the beads and bangles and
multi-hued earrings jumbled together in her jewelry box. "I can do
this on my own. There's no point involving Red and Jerry before I
know I've got the bank behind me. I don't want to get their hopes
up—"
    "—And then disappoint them," Nick finished.
"I know, I know."
    Holding a gold hoop to one ear and a faux ruby-and-pearl stud to the other, Chloe turned. "Which
do you think looks best?"
    His mouth dropped open.
    Wowsers, that was some kind of reaction to a
pair of earrings. Note to myself: ask Nick for jewelry opinions
more often .
    Wait a minute ... his gaze was a whole lot
lower than her ears. In fact, now that she looked closer, she
realized he wasn't even in the above-the-neck neighborhood. His
dark-eyed gaze was aimed lower than that, closer to her ... omigod, her naked breasts ! Shrieking, Chloe hugged
her arms over her chest, barely registering the cold kiss of the
earrings still in her hands.
    Nick whipped sideways, hiding his face by
propping his arm on the door jamb. "Uh, they both look great to
me."
    Both what? Both breasts or both
earrings?
    Scratch that—she probably didn't really want
to know the answer to that one.
    "I meant the earrings," Nick added.
    "I