Countdown To Baby

Mari disappeared around the same corner Detective Collins had vanished around earlier. Cecilia was left standing in the hallway, her heart pounding so hard against her chest that she could hardly breathe.

She had no right to hurry after Mari to Geoff’s side. He needed his family now, not his temporary…what? Fling? Lover? Neither term seemed to fit.

Putting both hands to her temples, she tried to collect herself. She had a baby to deliver. She had to put her emotions aside. And more importantly, she had to resist the impulse to abandon her responsibilities and rush to Geoff, even if it almost killed her.

Chapter Thirteen

Geoff climbed out of his car very carefully Thursday evening. The walk from the car to Cecilia’s front door seemed a bit longer than usual as his aching muscles protested every step.

Confident that he looked fine, scrapes and bruises hidden for now beneath a blue shirt and khaki slacks, he held himself straight and rang the doorbell. Thanks to his helmet, there were no injuries to his head or face, but the truth was, he’d been damned lucky today.

Cecilia opened the door. Something in her expression made the smile he had donned for her benefit fade away.

“I, uh, guess you heard,” he said when she only stood there, staring mutely up at him.

“I heard.” She moved aside so he could enter.

He might have reached out to her then to give her his usual kiss of greeting, but her body language was perfectly clear: “Stay back.”

She closed the door behind him, her movements very deliberate. “I take it you aren’t seriously injured?”

He supposed there was concern in the question. She had spoken so mechanically that it was hard to tell. “A few scrapes. There was no reason for me to even go to the emergency room, but the cops insisted.”

She nodded. Her arms were crossed in front of her now, and her dark eyes were so shuttered that he saw no expression in them at all. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

He raised his left hand to the back of his neck, then immediately regretted the habitual gesture. He lowered the arm very carefully back to his side, feeling his scraped elbow throb in rhythm with his heartbeats.

Perhaps she was angry with him for some reason. There was only one way to find out for sure. “What’s wrong, Cecilia? Are you annoyed because I didn’t call you? Because I knew you were busy, and my cell phone was smashed in the wreck, and I wasn’t really hurt, anyway….”

Deciding he sounded like a babbling idiot, he shut up.

Cecilia seemed to rouse from her reverie then. Blinking a few times, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I worked late this evening, delivering a baby who decided during the latter stage of labor to take his sweet time coming out. I haven’t been home long enough to start dinner. How about if we order pizza again? Or if you want to head on home and soak in a hot bath, I’ll understand.”

Because she sounded suspiciously hopeful when she made that suggestion, he asked, “Do you want me to leave?”

Her look of surprise in response to the blunt question was patently false. “No, of course not. I just thought you’d—”

“I don’t need a hot bath,” he said, deciding to pretend as though everything was completely normal until she relaxed enough to tell him what was going on. “Pizza sounds fine. In fact, I’ll order. What kind do you want? Veggie?”

“Sure. Okay. Veggie.”

She was definitely not acting like herself, he thought as he placed the order. Should he pressure her to tell him what was wrong or give her time to volunteer the explanation?

He decided the latter was probably the best plan. He never liked being nagged to talk when something was bugging him. So he really should give Cecilia some space.

But, being the impatient sort that he was, he barely made it back across the room before he asked, “So, did you have a bad day at work?”

“Not bad, particularly. Hectic.”

“You must be tired.” Could that be the explanation? Simple exhaustion. If so, he had just the remedy. A night of lazy pampering would do them both good.

“Yes, a bit.”

He lowered himself gingerly onto the couch, then patted the cushion on his right side. “Then let’s just kick back and relax and you can tell me all about it.”

She made no move to sit down. “Actually, I think I would like some coffee. Do you want something? Juice, maybe?”

He stifled a sigh, telling himself again to be patient and let her take her time. “I’m okay for now. Thanks.”