A Baby Between Them

Rae would drop over for a piece of honey-soaked baklava, or one of the sugar-coated kourabiedes Effie baked for Christmas, and Effie would talk. Effie always had something to say, usually anecdotes about her childhood in Greece, and Rae would sit and listen, feeling wonderfully safe and warm.

Yes, those afternoons she had felt happy.

But when Rae was sixteen, Effie had decided to move back to Greece. Her house was sold to a family with three young children; a couple of times the mother asked Rae to babysit, but she always claimed to have too much homework.

“Ready to head home?” Aidan asked.

She nodded, then sighed and untangled her bulk from the picnic bench. Once she was standing, she held out a hand to Jennifer’s aunt.

“It was really interesting talking to you, Annie.”

Annie took hold of her hand as if she didn’t intend to let go. “I have more stories to tell you. And cream for your belly. You come back and see me soon.”

“I will,” Rae promised. To her surprise, she really wanted to.

AT TWO IN THE MORNING, Rae woke up. She needed to pee. This was getting old, not sleeping through the night.

And the floor was cold. Where were her slippers? Her housecoat was on the chair where she’d left it, but the slippers were missing in action.

Rae opened her door and headed down the hall. A night-light had been plugged into one of the wall sockets, probably for Autumn’s benefit, but Rae was grateful for it, too.

From the far end of the hall, a line of light glowed beneath the door to Aidan’s room.

Why was he up at this hour?

Probably he couldn’t fall asleep. Rae could understand. When she’d found out she was pregnant, she hadn’t slept at all for several nights. It wasn’t her fault that Aidan had discovered the news so late, and Rae refused to feel guilty about it. If Aidan hadn’t deliberately isolated himself from her, he would have known.

She slipped into the bathroom, took care of business, then headed back to her room. She’d almost made it, too, when Aidan’s door opened.

He was still wearing the jeans and shirt he’d had on earlier in the evening.

“Having trouble sleeping?” he asked her.

“That last glass of water was a big mistake.” She tightened the sash on her bathrobe. Which was another mistake, since she only ended up emphasizing the roundness of her stomach. She saw Aidan’s gaze go there. Linger there.

Hey, buddy. I have a face.

“What about you?” she asked, grudgingly. “Need a sleeping pill?” She couldn’t use them in her condition, but she had them in the travel bag she always took on business trips.

“I’ll pass. One sleepless night won’t kill me.”

Despite her determination to stay tough, she felt a twinge of sympathy for him. “You’ve had a bit of a shock.”

“I’ll say.”

She waited for him to upbraid her again, for not sharing the news sooner. And if he even tried, she was more than prepared to fight back.

But in his eyes she saw more resignation than outrage.

“So,” she said. “Will you be leaving in the morning?” On the drive home he’d made it clear that he wouldn’t be staying any longer than necessary.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking about.”

He leaned a hand on the door frame and she tried not to notice how good he looked. He skied to stay in shape—skied and mountain biked. Clearly his regimen worked, because he had not gained an ounce since their night together in Philadelphia.

It wasn’t fair. If babies couldn’t be produced simply with test tubes and incubators, couldn’t the process at least require the man to gain weight, too?

“So,” she prodded. “The results of all this thinking are…?”

“For eight months you’ve been dealing with this—” he cleared his throat “—this pregnancy, on your own.”

“True.”

“It’s time I did my share.”

“Great.” She cupped her hands around her belly. “I’ll just slip this off and hand it over.”

His grin was the first sign she’d been given that he still had a sense of humor.

“I’ll bet you wish you could.”

“You have no idea.”

He realized she’d been leaning against the wall. “I’m sorry. I’m keeping you up, and you’re obviously exhausted.”

But she wanted to hear what he had to say. How he was planning to start shouldering his share of the load. “It’s okay. I’m going to have to pee in another hour, anyway. It’s hardly worth going back to bed.”

He didn’t buy it. “Come on, Rae.” He opened her bedroom door and waited at the doorway until she’d settled back into bed.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Yeah, a pedicure and a box of bonbons.”

He didn’t laugh as she’d expected him to.

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“But tomorrow you’ll be gone.”

“Is that what you want?”

The man was infuriating. It was too late for mind games. “I told you there was plenty of room in this house for two. You’re the one who decided you didn’t want to stay.”

There’d been a split second when she’d first seen him in the kitchen, when she’d had a crazy thought. He’s come for me, her foolish self had cheered. He’s finally realized how much he loves me, and he’s come to get me and take me home.

It hurt to admit to herself just how pathetic she could be. Her only consolation was that Aidan didn’t know about this weakness of hers. Her weakness for him.

And that was what really made her crazy. Even now that she knew he was the sort of man who would sleep with an employee, then move her like a pawn to a different city, she was still deeply affected by him.