Breathless by Bonnie Edwards

felt heat rise from her neck to her hairline.
    Belle laughed, low and husky, a woman who knew the signs. “I thought so. Is there talk of marriage?” Her eyes went sharp again, the consummate businesswoman.
    “He’s mentioned it.”
    She frowned. “Make certain to marry him. Promise me again.”
    Again? This was dangerous ground. “Why marriage?” she shrugged. “You don’t care about all that.”
    “But our father does. And since he raised you with his wife, and not like me with Mama’s wild influences, he’ll expect you to marry. You shouldn’t disappoint him. The scandal would probably reveal me as his daughter too. The whole thing is a house of cards, Stella. Our lives will be ruined.” She stood and paced the wide floorboards.
    “Marry Colt and he’ll come to Europe with us. When we come back with a baby, they’ll think it’s yours.”
    Blue could only hope to stay here that long. An adventure! Intrigue! Her heart thudded faster, and she felt almost as alive and excited as she did in the sack with Colt. Delicious man.
    Blue’s body had been so ill for so long, she’d never considered having a child. She wouldn’t have lived long enough to have a family. This chance to raise Belle’s baby with a good man at her side seemed like an offer from heaven itself.
    “Next time he asks me, I’ll accept. It shouldn’t be difficult, he’s a good man.” She raised her eyes to the ceiling and sent up a silent prayer that this charade among Stella, Blue, and whatever force, for good or evil, could continue forever.
    “Papa will be pleased one of us will make good. And this will keep his name clear of scandal, will allow me to see my child as it grows, and keep me in business.”
    “If I didn’t have strong feelings for Colt, I would have to refuse.”
    Belle slammed to a halt. “Which reminds me. Why have you changed your mind about him?”
    Blue tilted her chin in a gesture that seemed right for the woman she’d learned Stella to be: fearless, adventurous, and kind. “He’s proven to be a much better man than my stubborn mind allowed me to see at first glance.”
    Belle eyed her shrewdly. “All right. We’re agreed, then.”
    “How soon do you want to leave?”
    Belle slid her hand across her belly in a common gesture of maternal love. “No later than next month.”
    “Fine. We’ll tell Colt about the baby after a wedding date is set. He’ll have to know about our father, and all the reasons for keeping our secrets, or he won’t agree. I think I know him well enough to know that about him.”
    She only hoped she could find a way to guarantee she could live out Stella’s life. She eyed her “sister.” Belle would be devastated to learn the woman she knew as Stella wasn’t actually Stella. If Blue did manage to stay in this time, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before she felt true sisterly affection for the madame of Perdition House. Maybe that would be enough for both of them.
    “How can you leave the business for months?”
    “Felicity will take it over for me. She’s the only one I’d trust to keep the house running smoothly. The gentlemen like her and the captain’s not the jealous sort. Besides, we’ve been friends since we were children together in Galveston. The captain knows more about me than you do.” She smiled softly, the picture of maternal wisdom.
    “Will you tell Felicity why you’re leaving?” It was a test to see how secret this baby would be.
    “No one but you, Colt, and I will know.”
    It should be simple enough to have Colt deliver the baby when the time came. With that out of the way, she felt a stirring of excitement. She rose and hugged Belle. “We’ll raise this baby together, Belle. You’ll be the most loving auntie any child could have.”
    Then they had a sniffling good cry together.
     
    Two days later, Colt rushed through the checkup on Mr. Henderson’s appendectomy. Satisfied with the way the incision was healing, he returned home, only