Curtis slammed the front door of Cynthia 's house when they arrived after dinner at his parents ' house. She turned and glared at him with anger brewing in her eyes.

"Was that necessary? "

"Sorry, guess I have a little adrenaline running through me. " Curtis ran his hands over his head and rested them on the back of his neck. He could feel the tension in his shoulders and it ran across his chest. "Too bad the gym isn 't open. "

Cynthia tossed her purse on the couch. "I 'd offer to take care of that for you, but since I know it 's a woman who has you so worked up, I think I 'll save my offer for another day. "

Curtis dropped his arms and she crossed hers over her chest. "Did you think I didn 't notice how worked up you got over Simone? Oh, she 's got you all tied up in knots. "

"Well she worked me over. "

Cynthia dropped her arms and her eyes softened. "She got into your heart. "

"Bite your tongue. " The woman was delusional. What was wrong with the women in his life?

She laughed and shook her head as she moved toward the kitchen. "Men are dumb. "

There were still towels lining the floor where they had sprayed each other and to catch any leaks from the dripping faucet. She gathered them up and headed to the laundry room.

Curtis followed her and when she dumped the towels into the washer she turned back around and ran right into him.

"What 's with you? " She nudged him out of the way. This time she headed for the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. She held it out to him and he waved it off. "So are you staying or what? "

"I didn 't think there was much of an invitation. "

"There is always an invitation. But I think tonight it 's just a sleep over. Your head is in the clouds and your mind is wrapped around that little French lady. "

"French, maybe. Lady? That 's a stretch. " He jammed his hands into his pockets and leaned back against the counter. "Did you see how she reacted to Zach when he announced the baby? "

"So. It 's no secret she 's always liked Zach. Even I know that and I 've only been around him a few times. "

"She liked him when they were kids, Cynthia. " He took the bottle of water out of her hands and drank from it before handing it back to her. "She 's not in love with him. "

"I don 't think she acted as if she wasn 't happy. "

"No, but she should have been the first one out of her seat to hug him and congratulate them. "

Cynthia sipped from the bottle. "I told you she got you all worked up. " She finished the water and threw the bottle into the recycle bin. "You watched her all night long. I 'll bet you even know what she left on her plate. "

He winced. Of course he did, she hadn 't touched a thing. In fact, he didn 't think she looked well at all. It was probably nerves. After all, having dinner with the Keller family for the first time was probably nerve wracking, no matter what your relationship was with the people at the table.

Cynthia moved in closer to him and placed her hand on his chest. She looked up at him and batted her lashes. "I 'm going to bed. Why don 't you go home and get some sleep. I 'm off tomorrow. You? " He nodded. "Good. You 're going to meet me at noon lunch. And we 're going to sort out what 's going on in that head of yours. "

"I don 't think that sounds like fun at all. "

"Curtis Keller, I 've spent more time with you than any other woman has in the past three years. You 're one of my dearest friends. " She tapped her fingers against his chest. "That woman has wrapped herself so tightly around your heart you 're going to explode. We 'd better figure out what you 're going to do about it. "

"I don 't want to do anything about it. She doesn 't deserve it. "

She wrapped her arms around his neck and settled a friendly look on him. "Don 't you suppose there 's a reason she came back to Nashville? "

Again, he winced. Yeah, she wasn 't the kind to just decide to move somewhere without an ocean to escape on. Something was up and he figured he 'd better find out what. After all, if Simone Pierpont was up to something, it could seriously affect his sister and her family. He couldn 't let that happen.

Simone paced the floor in her bedroom. She 'd been embarrassed by her reaction when Zach announced that they were expecting another baby. Of all people she should have jumped up from her chair and kissed his cheek and sq1ueezed his wife. That was protocol for something like that. Instead she 'd sat there.

She dropped into the oversized chair by the window and let her head fall back. Maybe no one else had noticed her reaction. Oh, that was just foolish to think that way. Curtis had noticed.

Well things were certainly different now. She couldn 't stay with Zach and Regan any longer. Certainly she couldn 't tell them about her predicament now that they were ecstatic to have their own baby. Her father had pushed her away. She 'd dishonored him -embarrassed him. There was no crawling back to him, and her mother -well she wasn 't even sure where her mother was at the moment.

First things first, she needed to get a job, find a place to live, and then, and only then, could she tell Curtis about the baby. She needed to prove, to herself and to him -and the rest of the world -that she could handle this responsibility. Indeed she was old enough. Somewhere in her private schooling and her etiquettes classes she had to have been taught how to take on the world without a butler and a chauffeur.

When her father saw his grandchild he 'd want to accept her back. Her world would return to normal. Curtis would want her too. He wasn 't the kind to turn away family.

Thoughts of his parents and his brothers and their wives clouded her mind. Curtis Keller might never turn her and their baby away, but would he ever love her as the other men loved their wives?

Tears stung her eyes and she let them fall. She hated the way she thought. Having her baby wasn 't some tool to get a man, or regain her wealth. Hadn 't that been what her mother had done?

No. She 'd make a life for herself first. If it was just her and the baby, so be it. Women did it all the time. She could do it too.

The tears began to dry up and there was a sense of pride swelling in her chest. Simone Pierpont was somebody, not just some heiress with a yacht and a stunning wardrobe. She 'd prove that she could make it on her own and provide for another.