Page 17 of A Baby for the Billionaire Cowboy

Uh oh. Xander hadn’t thought about how it would look if he showed up with Daisy. Now he’d better introduce her whether or not he wanted to chat with Lucas and his wife. “This is Daisy. We’re not, um, together that way. She’s helping out at the ranch. In the office, not with the livestock.”

Lucas winked at Daisy. “No, I don’t guess you’d want to be wrangling cattle right now.” He jerked a thumb toward his other side. “My wife, Sandy.”

Sandy leaned forward and stretched her arm across Lucas toward Daisy. “Charmed. How far along?”

“Thirty-four weeks.”

“Feels like about a million years, don’t it?” Sandy laughed.

Maybe Xander had been worried over nothing. Sandy might just want to meet another pregnant lady and commiserate. Should he offer to switch seats, so the women could talk more easily?

Before he decided, they called Sandy and Lucas back. Xander sagged with relief. He avoided making eye contact with anyone else until they got called back.

The appointment went well enough, although the doctor kept asking Xander questions even though Daisy gave all the answers. Finally Xander said, “Daisy is the one you need to ask about that. Pretend I’m not here.”

The doctor frowned. “You’re both responsible for the health and well-being of this child.”

“No.” Daisy’s face was red. “He’s not the father. Just a friend.”

Xander nodded, ignoring the slight sting ofjust a friend. He knew what she meant, and anyway, it was a privilege to be her friend.

The doctor blustered for a minute but finally got back on track and let Daisy speak for herself.

As they passed through the waiting room afterward, it seemed like the crowd had doubled and they were all staring at Xander and Daisy. It was probably his imagination though. He simply felt self-conscious being in an obstetrician’s office. He sighed in relief as they stepped out of that doctor’s office into the foyer of the building that held various medical offices.

“I’m sorry,” Daisy whispered. “I should’ve realized people would assume you were the father. Although I’m quite sure I’ve told that doctor at least twice that the father was not in the picture.”

“It’s okay.” Xander wasn’t sure what else to say. Had the doctor assumed Xander was the father but had avoided his responsibilities until now? Was that why he talked to Xander so much, to try to get him involved? Or to scold him for not knowing everything about what Daisy was going through?

It was hardly an insult to suggest he was Daisy’s husband, but Last Stand wasn’t a big town, so Xander had assumed everyone knew about the pregnant young woman who’d fled to her aunt’s house and now worked for the Tomlinsons. But Daisy didn’t leave the ranch that often, and Xander hardly ever did, except maybe to go to the tractor supply. Rhonda might be keeping her mouth shut about her unwed great-niece.

Someone popped up from a bench in the foyer and stepped in front of them. “Xander Tomlinson?” The young woman’s loud voice echoed in the empty hall.

Xander instinctively took a step back. Daisy looked from one of them to the other.

“It’s one of the billionaire bachelor brothers!” the strange woman said, as if announcing it to an audience.

Xander glanced around but didn’t see anyone else.

“Tell me, what kind of woman does it take to get one of the billionaire bachelor brothers to settle down?” She smiled coyly, one hand twisting in the short skirt of her sundress.

Xander’s mouth opened and closed. He’d been accosted by some aggressively flirtatious women since they’d won the lottery, but the attention had faded after the first few months. His brothers were all involved in serious relationships now though. Did that mean Xander would be stalked and pestered as the only brother still available?

“That’s a very rude question,” Daisy said.

The woman looked at Daisy’s belly and said slyly, “I suppose you would say so. But come on. Everyone wants to know your secret.”

“What?” Daisy looked to Xander for help.

“We should be going.” He didn’t know what was happening, but he knew he wanted out of there.

“How did you keep this quiet for so long?” the woman asked. “Obviously you’ve been together for a while.”

“Oh! No, we’re not... we haven’t...” Daisy trailed off and looked at Xander.

He felt like his body was on fire. Too bad it wasn’t, or he could burn up into ash and avoid this whole conversation.

“You’re not a couple?” The woman stepped closer to Xander and trailed her fingers down his arm. “So you are still single and on the prowl?”

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