Page 106 of Wilde Flame

“Everything’s fine with the store. I take it you haven’t seen the paper this morning. To be exact, The Daily Dirt column?”

Taking off my scarf and gloves, I stepped into the office and tossed them onto the chair in the corner, then removed my coat and hung it up. My stomach dropped a little, even as I felt relief that the store was okay. There was a time when I’d actually wanted to see my name in the local gossip column, thinking it would be fun. But since getting pregnant, it was the last thing I wanted to deal with.

“I haven’t seen it. Is it good gossip, at least?” I asked, hopeful.

Moreen crinkled her nose and shook her head. Then she held it up, and I drew in a sharp breath.

“Oh. My. God.”

“Honestly,” Moreen stated, “I’m surprised it took Janet this long to figure it out.”

I took the paper from her and stared at the picture of Caden and me. “How? Who? Why?”

It was a picture of us outside my OB’s office. I was leaning against my car as Caden looked down at me. It was an innocent photo, but the headline was the attention-getter.

“Is River Falls’s Most Eligible Bachelor Off the Market?”

The first few sentences of the article nearly had me dropping to the floor. I looked up at Moreen, then back down, and read it out loud.

“River Falls’s most eligible bachelor is off the market, ladies. Or so it appears. I just confirmed yesterday that Lilibeth Asher, owner of Wonderland Whimsy, is pregnant and expecting her first child. The father, you ask? Our very own Caden Wilde!

“I haven’t been able to confirm whether they’re dating, but I’ve learned that Lilibeth is currently living with Caden. This can only mean one thing—Caden has finally gotten over his first love, Rachel Hunter, and has decided to start a family with…”

My voice trailed off as I stared at the paper.

“It’s really not that bad,” Moreen said softly.

“She called me a hippie?” I jerked my head up and looked at Moreen. “A hippie.”

Plastering on a smile, she replied, “Not just a hippie, but ‘a flower-loving, carefree hippie.’”

I glared at her. “Because that makes it better.”

Moreen shrugged. “She could have called you something worse.”

Sighing, I walked over, sat in my desk chair, and kept reading.

“Has decided to start a family with our town’s flower-loving, carefree hippie. Everyone adores Lilibeth and, of course, her little store. We wish the happy couple all the best and look forward to getting an invitation to the…” I started to laugh before finishing, “…the baby shower!” Looking up at Moreen again, I asked, “Is she serious right now?”

“You have to understand, Janet is the town’s gossip queen, and if it isn’t her writing the column, it’s her daughter. They both have a beef with the Wildes, which I think you learned with Emeline. Janet actually thinks she can strong-arm people into doing things, or she’ll put them in the gossip column.”

I leaned back. “You’re right. I’m also surprised she didn’t find out sooner.”

“I think maybe she knew, and someone asked her to wait to print it.”

Confused, I regarded her. “You think she knew I was pregnant before this was taken?”

She nodded. “It’s a small town, Lilibeth. Janet and her family know everything that happens. The fact that your OB is in Granby means nothing. Janet has family and friends everywhere, and they keep her informed. Plus, add in Caden Wilde and…yeah. She knew, but for some reason sat on the information.”

Leaning forward, I asked, “Do you think Caden’s the reason she hasn’t posted until now?”

“I think either him or Vivianne.”

“Vivianne?” I said, with a disbelieving laugh.

“Think about it. You said Caden told you that people already knew he’d stayed with you on Christmas night. Nothing was ever said or written about it. Why do you think that is? Someone got Janet to hold off on this. The question becomes who and why?”

I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t know. But it’s out there now and there’s nothing I can do about it. I knew people would find out sooner or later.”