“Talk to the peanut guy,” she was saying. “He always packs up early. Like he’s going to beat the traffic. Tell him if he does that this time, he’s not coming back. Remind him I can get fifty peanut vendors to replace him with just a phone call.”

She smiled at Raoul. “Hi. Where’s Peter?”

“Riding bumper cars with Denise.” He sank down on the grass next to her chair. “I was just rescued by middle-aged women.”

“What are you talking about?”

He told her about the women who had stopped by and how Bella, Denise and their friends had taken care of the situation.

“That’s sweet,” she said, amusement dancing in her eyes. “The big bad football player rescued by older women.”

He winced. “This isn’t good. I’m capable of taking care of myself. But I just stood there and let them do all the talking.”

“Did you think they would allow it to happen any other way? You’re one of us now. We take care of our own. It’s just like the food everyone brought over after I lost the baby.”

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Don’t freak. It’s adorable.”

He wasn’t amused. “You can’t tell my friends.”

“What will you give me if I don’t?”

“Anything.”

She laughed.

He enjoyed the sound, and looking at her. She was lovely, with her large eyes and laughing mouth. Her tumbling curls bright in the sun. She was the perfect combination of attitude and kindness.

It wasn’t just her, he thought, glancing around at the crowd enjoying the Fall Festival. It was the town. He’d lived in a lot of different places and while he’d always enjoyed the cities, he’d never felt connected to the community. Not like here. A few people recognized him, but the most they wanted was an autograph.

While he wasn’t happy that he’d been rescued by a bunch of women, he knew the significance went beyond their gender and age. It was that they’d seen the problem and acted. They’d stepped in—as if he were their responsibility. He’d moved to Fool’s Gold to find a place to settle, and what he’d found instead was home.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

NORMALLY, AFTER A DAYLONG EVENT, like the Fall Festival, Pia would be exhausted. But as she’d spent exactly half her day just sitting, she felt rested and ready to party at the town’s dinner-dance. Well, in a very quiet, protect-the-babies kind of way.

She finished applying mascara and leaned back to check her makeup in the mirror. She’d taken Dr. Galloway’s advice about stairs and taken the two flights to come back to her place to get ready. All her clothes were here, along with her serious makeup. Raoul was going to pick her up and take her to the dance, then back to his place.

She fluffed her hair, then tightened her robe around her waist. The big question was what to wear.

Sometime in the last day or so, she’d gotten a case of serious bloat. Her pants were tight and no matter how much lemon water she drank, she couldn’t get her belly to go down. There were a couple of dresses she knew wouldn’t fit. But she had one that had an empire waist. The style was forgiving and—

She stopped in the doorway to her bedroom. Her mind replayed her last thoughts, then she started to laugh. She wasn’t bloated, she realized. She was pregnant. Talk about an idiot.

She touched her stomach. “I’m hoping you two weren’t thinking your mom would be a rocket scientist, because that’s simply not going to happen. Pregnant. You’d think I would have grasped that by now.”

She crossed to the full-length mirror on the back of her closet door, then opened her robe. When she turned sideways, she saw the rounding she’d thought was too much water.

“How are you two doing?” she asked, lightly touching her stomach. “Everything okay? I’m fine. Still sad, but recovering. It’s going to be okay. I want you to know that. I’m going to take really good care of you both. I promise.”

There wasn’t an answer, which was probably good. Voices from inside her body would scare the crap out of her. But she felt a sense of peace—a knowing. The rightness of what she’d done settled on her. She was having Crystal’s babies. More important, these were also her babies. They might not have her DNA, but they were growing inside of her. She was nurturing them with every beat of her heart. When they were born, she would be their mother in every sense of the word.

“It’s going to be great,” she whispered.

She went into her closet and pulled out the black dress. The bodice was lightweight velvet, with a deep vee. The skirt began just under her breasts. That fabric was lighter, more flowy, ending just above her knee.

She’d already rubbed a shimmering body lotion on her bare legs. Now she hung the robe on a hook and reached for the dress. After slipping it on, she secured the side zipper. She stepped in front of the mirror to see if it worked.

“Oh my.”

While she’d had br**sts since she was about thirteen, they’d never looked like this, she thought, staring at the cl**vage filling the vee of the dress.

“At least now I know what I’d look like if I got implants.”

Fortunately the dress had a short jacket. She pulled that on and saw it hid virtually nothing. Raoul was simply going to have to endure.

She’d chosen a medium-heel black sandal. She’d barely slipped them on when she heard a knock at the front door.

“Come in,” she called as she walked to the living room.

The door opened and Raoul stepped inside.

She’d never seen him in a suit before. The dark, tailored fabric fit him perfectly, skimming over impossibly broad shoulders. He was elegant and handsome and hers.

The latter admission was as difficult to believe as the pregnancy had been. Were they really going to get married?

His gaze swept over her, starting at her shoes and working his way up. When he reached her chest, she saw him tense. He crossed the room in two strides, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her with a passion that had her trembling in her heels.

His mouth moved against her, claiming, enticing, promising. Heat poured through her.

Without thinking, she grabbed his hands and lowered them to her chest. He pushed aside her jacket and cupped her eagerly, finding her already tight ni**les and rubbing them.

Fire shot through her. She was wet and ready in seconds. She shrugged out of her jacket and fumbled with her zipper. He undid it for her, then pushed down her dress to her waist. Then her bra was gone and his mouth was on her breasts.

The feel of his lips and tongue, the stroking and sucking, nearly brought her to the brink. Her breath came in sharp pants. Need threatened to drown her. She hung on to him to keep standing.

He moved one hand between her legs, slipping under her panties and finding her center with one sure stroke. He rubbed that place hard, as if aware how close she already was. Around and around, his mouth still on her breasts, her hands on his shoulders, her legs shaking so hard she wasn’t sure she could stay standing.

She came without warning. One second she was riding the wave, the next she was shivering and convulsing, rubbing herself against his fingers, gasping out his name. The contractions faded and the world righted itself.

She straightened, as did he. They stared at each other. Then his mouth curved in a very satisfied male smile.

“You look good,” he said. “Did I get a chance to mention that?”

She was still dealing with aftershock. Where had that orgasm come from? Fifteen minutes ago—five minutes ago—she would have sworn she wouldn’t have a single sexual thought ever again. Or at least not until after the babies were born.

She paused to take stock of her body. Except for the lingering sense of well-being, she felt fine.

She smiled at him. “You didn’t.”

His gaze lowered to her bare breasts. “Those are new.”

“You like?”

“The other ones are great, but these will be fun, too.”

She stepped out of her shoes. “Your turn.”

He hesitated. “We probably shouldn’t.”

She could see his erection straining against the fabric of his pants. “Dr. Galloway said it was fine. That the babies can’t see anything.”

She reached for his belt. “How about we get you almost all the way there and you finish inside me? Everybody wins.”

Wanting and concern battled. “I don’t want to put you or them in danger.”

“Me, either.”

She unzipped his pants and withdrew him. He was hard and thick and when she ran her hand down the length of him, his breath hissed between clenched teeth.

He moved closer and kissed her. She gripped him in her hand, moving up and down in a steady rhythm. As they kissed deeply, she moved faster. He touched her breasts, using his fingers to lightly toy with her nipples. Arousal began again inside of her. She felt the need building.

“Raoul,” she breathed.

He must have heard the desperation in her voice because he dropped one hand to her thigh, then moved it between her legs and found her center.

The sure touch pushed her closer. She felt him tense.

She quickly pushed down her panties. He pulled them the rest of the way off and drew her to the sofa.

“Now,” she said and guided him inside of her.

He thrust in slowly, carefully. She felt the restraint in his hard muscles. She grabbed his h*ps to pull him in. He withdrew and she whimpered. Another thrust. He slipped a hand between them and found that magical spot again. It only took a second for her to feel the shuddering beginning again, deep inside.

She breathed his name and lost herself in her release. He pushed in again and shuddered.

They clung to each other, breathing hard.

When she could speak, she asked, “Was that okay?”

He kissed her lightly. “It was great. There’s something to be said for going slow. How do you feel?”

She knew he wasn’t asking about her afterglow. “Good. Really good.” There was no way to explain it to him, but she had a sense of certainty. A knowledge that everything was going to be all right from now on.

She glanced at the kitchen clock and gasped. “We’re going to be late. We have to hurry.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He stepped back and was dressed in a matter of seconds. It took Pia a little longer, but they were out the door in less than five minutes.

At the bottom of the stairs, he pulled her close and kissed her again. She let herself feel the warmth of his embrace, the safety she found in his arms and knew that somewhere along the way, she’d gone and fallen in love with him.

THE DINNER-DANCE WAS HELD at the convention center. Tables had been set up in the center, with the dance floor up by the stage. A local DJ would provide the music during dinner before the live band arrived at eight. Dancing went on until midnight. There was a cash bar, plenty of tacky decorations and balloons floating on the ceiling.

“Impressive,” Raoul said as they walked in.

She laughed. “You’re mocking our efforts.”

“I would never do that. It’s charming.”

“Small-town America at its best.”

They wove their way through the crowd, stopping to talk to people they knew. Pia was aware of all the unfamiliar men in the crowd. It was odd to have so many male strangers around. During festivals, most of their visitors were families.

Dakota greeted them.

“You look beautiful,” she told Pia. “Positively glowing.”

Pia did her best not to blush. She had a feeling that any glow came from making love with Raoul rather than the pregnancy, but there was no need for anyone to know.

Raoul must have been thinking the same thing because his hand tightened on hers.

“Thanks,” Pia said. “You look great, too.”

Dakota turned, showing off her blue dress. “I’m dateless, so I’m only here for the dinner. Then I’m heading home to my small, spinster life.”

Raoul looked around the room. “There are plenty of single guys. Go find one.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not this week. I’m not in the mood. Nevada and Montana are coming over and we’re having a chick-flick marathon. They’re both staying the night.” She raised her eyebrows. “Besides, compared with you, they’re just not that interesting.”

“Oh, please.” Raoul didn’t look the least bit impressed.

Pia laughed. “If I see anyone special, I’ll send him your way.”

“Please don’t.”

They parted and continued to their table. Pia spotted a tall, thin man talking to Mayor Marsha. He was gesturing wildly, talking quickly, although it was impossible to catch any part of the conversation over the other talking in the room.

“Let’s go see what that’s about,” she said, pointing.

They walked between tables and reached Marsha just as the man moved off. The mayor gave Pia and Raoul hugs, then sighed.

“I’m getting too old for this job,” she said. “Do you recognize that man?” She pointed at the guy she’d been talking to.

“No,” Pia said.

Raoul shook his head.

“I didn’t recognize him, either,” Marsha said. “Which insulted him deeply. Apparently he’s some Hollywood-producer type.”

“As in movies?” Pia asked.

“As in reality television. According to him, we’re hot right now.”

“Lucky us,” Pia muttered.

“That’s what I said. He wants to do a show about the bachelors coming to Fool’s Gold. He’s going to get me the details in the next day or so.”

A reality show? “Is that something we want in town?” Pia asked.