Light Her Fire (Private Pleasures 2)

“Dinner. My place. Tomorrow. Wear something pretty.”

“You want me to come to dinner tomorrow night?”

“Yeah. Is that a problem?”

She swallowed and shook her head. He got the distinct impression the prospect made her nervous, but she said, “No. Um. I’d love to.”

“Great.” He got out of the truck, came around to the passenger side, and helped her out, relieved to see that her steps were steady as he walked her to her door.

Once there, she reached into her purse for her key. “Should I bring anything??

??

He turned her to face him and slid his hand down her back, nudging her closer. Then he kissed her lowered eyelids, the tip of her nose, and brushed his lips over hers so softly she sighed.

“You bring everything I need just by showing up.”

…

Melody crossed Main Street and headed toward the office. The morning sun shone so gloriously, she couldn’t help tipping her head back to enjoy the warmth on her cheeks. She usually looked forward to arriving at the office, but this morning she kept finding excuses to dawdle. Before the day was over she’d have an answer to the biggest question of her life, so far, and she honestly didn’t know what she wanted the answer to be.

Okay, yes, the logical, pragmatic part of her insisted “not pregnant” was the result to hope for, but a crazy, illogical, and highly un-pragmatic part of her secretly wished for…well…everything.

Last night had only fueled the fantasy—not the disaster of the party, but Josh stating in no uncertain terms he couldn’t get enough of her, which might be his way of telling her she was special to him, or possibly even that he loved her. She knew she loved him, and the intensity of her feelings fueled the crazy, illogical, and highly un-pragmatic fantasies all the more.

She picked up her pace. Stalling wouldn’t solve anything. The lab results usually arrived first thing in the morning. An answer was probably waiting for her at this very moment.

So many times during the past week she’d swallowed the words, “I might be pregnant,” telling herself prudence dictated she not force a difficult conversation on them unless it proved necessary.

But saving him from a false alarm didn’t fully account for her silence. Now that the wait was almost over, she could admit her real reason had less to do with prudence. If she shared the news with him, he might propose, and the crazy, illogical, un-pragmatic part of her longed to know he’d proposed because he wanted to marry her, not because they were going to have a baby. Nobody’s happily-ever-after fantasy involved a proposal motivated by duty and unplanned circumstances. It involved unqualified “I love you”s and pledges of forever motivated strictly by the heart.

She sighed and yanked her head out of the clouds. Time to grow up, wake up, and give up on the dream, but he’d asked her to come to his place for dinner tonight, and she couldn’t help hoping maybe he was planning something.

The sound of high heels clacking down the sidewalk behind her caught her attention. She turned to find Ginny running after her. The redhead slowed and smoothed a hand over her bangs.

“Oh, hey, Mel. Heading to work?”

“As I do most mornings around this time.”

Ginny drew closer and whispered, “Will the lab results be in by now?”

“They should be.”

“Thank God. The uncertainty is killing me.”

She turned to Ginny. “I can only imagine.”

Ginny stared straight ahead, unfazed by the sarcasm. “Looks like we’re not the only ones on pins and needles.”

Roger sat on the granite steps leading to the medical office. He waved when he saw her and got to his feet. “Hi, Mel. I was in the neighborhood this morning, and I thought I’d swing by and see if you had any news—”

“I don’t know yet. Come on up.” She led them up the stairs and to the office, frowning as she stuck her key in the lock and realized the main door to the suite was already unlocked.

“Ellie?” she called as she stepped through the door.

“Yes,” her boss called from the reception area. “I came in a little early, because I had to know if you were”—her voice broke off as she stuck her head through the reception window and saw Roger and Ginny—“going to help me with that…paperwork.” She eyed Melody uncertainly.

“Apparently I forfeited my HIPAA rights somewhere around the time I sent Roger into Dalton’s to buy me a pregnancy test. It’s okay, Ellie, spill.”