Again her calmness bothered him. He almost preferred her in-your-face demands. She had retreated from him. He moved toward her. “You have this all wrong. I still want you as much as I—”
She shook her head as if she were embarrassed. “I understand,” she said. “I’m big now.”
Michael pulled her into his arms. “Dammit Kate, don’t put words in my mouth. I know what I want and I want you. You being pregnant with my baby just multiplies the feeling. Do you have any clue how sexy it is knowing I helped put that baby in you? If I weren’t afraid of hurting you, I’d show you on that desk right now.”
He kissed her at the same time he deliberately placed his hand on her belly. Roiling with too many emotions, he took her mouth, hard. A moment passed and he felt a trace of wetness on his cheek, then tasted a salty tear. He pulled back and saw the tears on her cheeks, and he had the sinking godawful sense that he was going to lose her.
Ten
T hree weeks later Michael sat in his office at six o’clock at night. He was nearing the end of negotiations, he could feel it. He just hadn’t quite figured out how to get a little more leverage for CG in this deal. The shark had already made surprising concessions.
The phone rang and he narrowed his eyes at it. He almost chose not to answer it, but thought of Kate. She only had three weeks until her due date and he damn well wasn’t going to miss the birth of their child.
“Hawkins here,” he said.
“Hawkins is supposed to be here,” Kate said.
The pseudo-snooty tone in her voice made him smile. Since the day she’d visited him in his office, there was still a slight uneasiness between them, but it hadn’t stopped him from making love to her. Michael was determined to remind her frequently that she belonged with him.
“I’m nearing the end of this,” he told her.
“Yes, but the end is not going to happen tonight. I need you to come home now,” she said.
His chest tightened. “Is anything wrong?”
“We discussed this. You told me if I need you to come home for any reason all I have to do is ask. I’m asking.”
“I want to know the reason,” Michael said, wondering if he would be making a trip to the hospital tonight.
“You will when you get home,” she told him, and hung up on him.
Michael pulled the receiver away from his ear and stared at it in surprise. The woman had hung up on him. She’d never done that before. Pique warred with worry. He replaced the receiver in the cradle, grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. Providing his wife wasn’t ready to give birth, he planned to have a little discussion about phone etiquette with her as soon as he arrived home.
As he pulled into the driveway of their new home, he noticed the lights on the Christmas tree were illuminated. It gave him a warm feeling knowing Kate was waiting for him, but at the same time he told himself not to count on her. He secretly wondered if she might leave him if he lost the company. He rejected the notion, but a doubt remained, bothering him like a sore tooth.
Pulling into the garage, he stopped and got out. He frowned when he looked through the kitchen door and saw darkness. His trickle of worry turned to a stream. He pushed open the door. “Kate?”
“Surprise!” a group of voices chorused. The light flashed on and Michael gaped at the small group before him. He saw the head of personnel and his wife, two guys from the legal department, Dylan and a redhead, Justin and Kate. It took him a full moment before he remembered it was his birthday. After his mother died, he hadn’t celebrated it much because it fell so close to Christmas.
Kate smiled and stepped forward. “Happy Birthday, Michael.”
“How did you—?”
“You forgot it was your birthday, didn’t you?” Kate asked, shaking her head. “This makes me feel a little better about the ultrasound,” she murmured under her breath.
Justin walked up to join in. “Your wife here looks like she’s about to pop.”
Michael slid his arm around Kate. “Yeah, she looks beautiful.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kate’s lips twitch. “I’m providing my husband with a tax exemption,” she said, speaking Justin’s language. “By the way, Michael and I have been discussing names and we’re thinking of using yours if it’s a boy.”
Justin’s expression was a mixture of surprise and bewilderment. “Is that so?”
“Yes, we’re also considering you as a candidate for godfather.”
Justin’s eyes grew wide. “Godfather!”
“Yes. Michael said you might be reluctant, but I told him I have this feeling you secretly love children.”
Justin looked like he’d been poleaxed. The sight was so comical Michael couldn’t prevent a chuckle.
Kate glanced up at Michael with a secret gleam in her eye. “Excuse me while I get you something to drink.”
“Godfather,” Justin repeated after she left and cleared his throat. “I may not be the right guy for the job. No offense, Michael, but I don’t like kids. I didn’t even like being a kid when I was one. Maybe Dylan—”
Dylan walked into the conversation, eyeing Justin with suspicion. “Maybe Dylan what?” he interjected.
Justin tugged at his collar. “I was just suggesting some alternatives for the godfather of Kate and Dylan’s baby.”
“Me?” Dylan asked.
“Hey, I took a turn with the best-man thing. It’s your turn now.”
“It can only be my turn to be best man if you get married.”
Justin shook his head adamantly. “Absolutely—”
“Sorry I’m late,” a blond woman said as she entered the room and laid eyes on the three men and the redhead standing next to Justin. Her gaze lingered an extra second on Justin before she looked back at Michael. “Happy birthday.”
Michael frowned, unable to recognize her instantly. There was something familiar about her.
“The cookie girl,” Justin said.
“Alisa Jennings,” Michael said, feeling a pang of nostalgia. “How did—?”
Alisa reached forward and gave him a quick, warm hug. “Your wonderful wife. We met just before your wedding. We performed a little mission impossible work to get some photos of you copied.”
“Photos?” he echoed.
“For the wedding reception,” she said, then laughed. “Just like a guy. You must not even have noticed.”
For the life of him, Michael couldn’t remember seeing pictures at the brief wedding reception. He’d been too busy keeping an eye on Kate to make sure she didn’t run.
Dylan stepped forward and kissed Alisa’s cheek. “I heard you were engaged,” he said smoothly.
She turned cool. “I was,” she said. “I’m not now.” She appeared to glance over his shoulder at the redhead behind him. “Alisa Jennings,” she said. “Lovely dress.”
“Thank you. I’m Vanessa.”
“And you,” Alisa said, turning to Justin. “I hear you’re spinning straw into gold with the stock market.”
“Slight exaggeration,” he assured her in a rare humble moment. “Did you bring any cookies?”
She lifted her hands. “Fresh out.”
“What are you doing in St. Albans?” Michael asked.
“I’m a translator for a company performing a merger with a French company.”
“And your art?” Dylan asked.
She hesitated. “In my spare time,” she said, and Michael noticed she didn’t meet Dylan’s gaze. “I need to thank your wife for inviting me,” she told Michael.
“She’s probably at the bar fixing me a drink.”
Alisa smiled. “You got lucky,” she said and headed for the bar.
“I think I’ll get a drink, too,” Vanessa said.
“Great legs,” Justin said with a sigh after the women left. “I have to say the cookie girl has grown up very nicely.”
Dylan stared after her.
Justin nudged him. “Hey, didn’t you two have a puppy-love thing?”
Dylan nodded. “Teenage crush. We met again briefly while we were in college.”
“Oh really?” Justin said, his tone full of innuendo.
“Can it, stock stud,” Dylan said in a rough voice, surprising Michael.
“Here are the photos,” Alisa called from the other side of the room. “On the buffet.”
Curious, Michael made his way to the buffet. Arranged on top stood a collection of photos of him as a child. An odd assortment of emotions hit him as he studied them. In most of them, he looked lost. He remembered feeling lost and trapped. He remembered how helpless he’d felt when other people made life-changing decisions for him without his consent.
“Cute guy, huh?” Kate said from behind him.
Frowning, he shrugged and turned away. “I guess.”
He felt her studying him. “You surprised me with this,” he said.
“That was the idea,” she said with a mock-solemn nod. “A surprise party.”
“I’ve never done much celebrating on my birthday,” he told her.
“Then I guess we have a lot of making up to do. We can start with the cake. Think about your wish.” She guided him over to the table where the cake was lit with candles. “Wish fast, the candles are melting on the cake.” She turned to the small crowd. “Time to sing.”
Surrounded by friends singing a slightly off-key rendition of the birthday song, Michael stood in front of a cake decorated with white frosting that said Happy Birthday Michael.
He felt incredibly silly. And heaven help him, he felt special. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this way. He felt almost like that kid he’d seen in those photos on the buffet. Funny how a little surprise birthday party could throw a grown CEO for a loop.
Later, after the guests left and he and Kate had gone to bed, he watched Kate as she slept. Although she was uncomfortable, she tended to fall asleep quickly these days. She just didn’t stay asleep. Restless and unwilling to wake her, he carefully rose from the bed and wandered into the den. He turned on the Christmas tree lights.