Sabine with the purple hair quickly grew bored with the sight of an operating gas grill and came to sit in the shade with Gwen. They hadn’t spoken much since she’d arrived. She was sure the woman was perfectly nice—Adrienne was a good judge of people—but Gwen just didn’t know what they had in common to discuss.
“When are you due?” Sabine asked before taking a sip from her beer.
“Mid-October,” Gwen said, although watching the other woman made her think the day couldn’t come soon enough. Of all the lifestyle changes she’d had to make, the hardest had been giving up her favorite beer. She didn’t drink much, but there was just something soothing about popping the top on a cold one after a long shift, plopping onto the couch and watching a few hours of reality television on her DVR.
“My son will be two in October, so I understand where you’re at. Do you know what you’re having yet?”
Gwen tried not to look too surprised to learn Sabine was a mother. Imagining her own mother with purple hair was just impossible. “A little girl. I had the ultrasound last week.”
Susan and Robert had been over the moon in the doctor’s office. It was hard to see the fuzzy image on the screen from her vantage point, but she tried not to be too disappointed. This was their baby after all, not hers. They did give her a copy of the latest ultrasound picture to show off. Unfortunately, it was in her purse on her bed when she needed it.
“Do you have any names picked out yet?”
The more pregnant Gwen became, the more of these questions she had to field. It had been easy when no one could tell she was pregnant. Now, unless it was just a quick comment from a stranger on the subway, it was best to tell them about her situation before they pressed on.
“No, actually, I’m a surrogate, so the baby technically isn’t mine to name. I think her parents are considering Caroline Joy and Abigail Rose. Every time I talk to them they’ve changed it again. For now I just call her Peanut, because that’s what she looked like on the first sonogram.”
Sabine’s eyes had grown wider as Gwen talked. Apparently dropping a detail like that and carrying on without pause had thrown her off her guard. “A surrogate? Wow. I don’t think I could ever do that,” she finally said.
“Why is that?”
“Being pregnant is such a life-changing experience. Whether or not the child is yours, you’re going to bond with it. To go through months with that baby inside you and then to give it away… I just couldn’t do it.”
Gwen tried not to frown at Sabine. She probably didn’t realize how her words would affect her. But they struck a chord. Gwen had never been interested in having a family of her own. She’d spent too much of her childhood being pushed aside by her mother when a new man came into her life. She wasn’t about to do that to a child of her own. Acting as a surrogate seemed like an intriguing opportunity. Since she’d never thought she’d have kids, she’d never thought she would experience pregnancy.
Never once did she consider that she’d form an emotional attachment to another person’s child. But Sabine was right. She’d underestimated what it was like to have life growing inside her. The moment she’d felt the first flutter in her stomach, Peanut had become a real person to her. She’d gotten in the habit of talking to the baby when she was alone in her apartment. She was the one who helped Gwen pick out what she would have for lunch. The silent child had become her main companion when her crowd of bar-hopping friends didn’t know how to act around her anymore.
Gwen hadn’t really realized it until that moment, but she had bonded with the baby. With four more months to go, how much worse would it get? She didn’t even want to think about it. She was too prone to getting emotional lately.
Confused, she turned away from Sabine and found Alex watching her from across the patio. He was leaning casually against one of the white wooden posts, while either Jack or Wade, she couldn’t be sure, talked to him. But he wasn’t looking at them or even pretending to. He was looking at her. There was an intensity in his hazel eyes, but there was something different there than the desire he’d directed at her in the past. It almost felt like admiration, although she had no idea why Alex would look at her that way. She was pregnant, broke and overworked. That was no condition to admire.
“He is one sexy piece of man,” Sabine commented, still oblivious to the effect her words had on Gwen.
The comment startled Gwen into turning back to the woman beside her. Sabine’s gaze was focused exactly in Alex’s direction. Gwen had no claim to him, but the thought of him and Sabine together brought on a surge of jealousy that chased away the last of her confusing emotions. She opted to play dumb. “Who? Wade?”
“No, the guy who came late. Alex.”
“Ahh,” Gwen said, not trusting herself to comment further without sounding either bitter or jealous to the other woman’s ears.
“Pity for me, but I think he’s into you.”
That perked Gwen’s attention. Her head snapped toward him, but he had returned to his conversation. “Why would you say that?”
“Because he keeps watching you.”
“Maybe I’m just funny-looking.” She sighed.
“Nope,” Sabine said with certainty. “When you’re not watching, he’s looking at you like you’re the sweetest strawberry tart in the bakery window. He definitely wants a taste.”
Gwen subconsciously stroked her rounded stomach and shook her head. “I appreciate you thinking so, but somehow I doubt he wants to take a bite out of this.”
At that, Sabine cracked a crooked, knowing grin. “Oh, he does,” she assured.
“Well, even if that were true, my life is a little complicated right now. I’m not interested.”
Sabine laughed and shook her head. “I hardly think that matters. I’ve had my share of experience with those rich, cocky types. They get what they want, and they don’t care who they have to roll over in the process. If I were you, I’d let him have his way with you. And let me tell you something if you don’t already know. Between all the hormones and the increased blood flow, sex in the second trimester can be absolutely mind-blowing. I bet that in the experienced hands of a man like Alex, you can multiply that by ten at least.”
Gwen’s jaw dropped open, but she didn’t have the words to respond. Instead, she shifted her gaze back to Alex. This time he was watching her, and his obvious, heated appraisal was enough to send a surprising surge of desire down her spine.
Well, hell. She hadn’t counted on him still being attracted to her. That certainly complicated things.
Willpower, she reminded herself as she sucked in a deep breath and began fidgeting with her bracelet. She was on a man-break, and Alex was just the kind of man who had necessitated the break to begin with. Her attraction to him was nothing more than hormones and months of celibacy conspiring against her. But she could fight it. She had to. It didn’t matter what Alex wanted. He couldn’t just snap his fingers and get his way.
And yet, as she looked at him across the patio, Gwen was fairly certain her celibacy streak was on the verge of coming to a wild, passionate end.
Three
By the time Gwen had taken the last bite of her dinner, she thought she might literally burst. She’d recently regained her appetite, and everything tasted so good, she couldn’t help herself. She’d had a grilled chicken breast and a cheeseburger in addition to the array of sides Adrienne had prepared. She was stuffed.
At least for an hour or so.
Given that Alex was watching her with his predatory gaze the whole time, she probably should’ve curbed her ravenous appetite and picked delicately at her food, but Peanut would have her way. After a rough first trimester living on saltines and lemon-lime soda, the hunger and the ability to keep it down were welcome. Even if the extra pounds were not. The doctor said she was right on track with her weight gain, but after a lifetime of trying to get smaller, not bigger, it was hard to change how she thought about things.
After they were done eating, several of the lad
ies started rounding up dishes, and the guys went inside for what promised to be a rowdy and high-stakes game of poker. Gwen scooped up her plate and a nearby bowl of potato salad and followed the other women into the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” Helena chided, snatching the items away from her the moment she crossed the threshold into the house. “You need to rest.”
Gwen frowned. “I’m pregnant, not paralyzed. If washing dishes is hazardous to my condition, someone needs to tell me, because I’ve been doing it the whole time.”
“Of course not. But take the opportunity to relax for once,” Adrienne said, brushing past her with a platter and another bowl. “We can handle it.”
The cherry-and-granite kitchen was quite large, but even Gwen realized that the four women already in there were bumping elbows and dancing around to clean up. A fifth one with a protruding belly probably wouldn’t be much help.
With a sigh, she snatched one of her favorite peppermint candies from the bag she left on the counter, turned, and went back outside. The sun had set, but the sky was still bright with orange-and-red hues streaking across it. Beyond the pool and the expansive lawn that extended on both sides of the house, she spied the boathouse and pier that led out into the harbor.
A walk would probably help things settle, she decided. She slipped out of her sandals and kicked them to the side, then headed across the perfectly manicured lawn. The blades of grass were soft and cool, welcoming the bottoms of her feet to sink into them. It was a beautiful evening, one like she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Along the tree line, she could see the blinking dance of fireflies as they appeared for the night. The breeze coming off the water was warm and salty, mingling with the scent of freshly mown grass.
It reminded her of her home in Tennessee. There, of course, the water was the creek that ran behind her grandparents’ house, but the grass and the flashing lightning bugs were just the same. She had the urge to climb into the tire swing her Paw-Paw had hung for her and sway for hours, as she used to.
For a brief moment, Gwen was overcome with homesickness. She loved Manhattan—the energy, the excitement, the culture. But it had never felt like home to her. It made her wonder if she ever would’ve left Tennessee if it hadn’t been the only way to get away from her mother. Following a guy she barely had lukewarm feelings for wasn’t very smart, but it was a sure ticket out of her mother’s clutches.
In the end, she and Ty went their separate ways, but she had gotten what she wanted from him—about six hundred miles of breathing room and her very own apartment, albeit tiny.
Gwen reached the pier and opted to walk out to the edge and watch the water. The occasional boat would sail by and send a ripple across the surface, but for the most part, the water was calm and still this time of day. At the end of the rough, wooden planks, she sucked in a lungful of ocean air and sighed.
She enjoyed getting away from the chaos more than she’d expected. There was a serenity out here that seemed to sink into her bones and force her muscles to unknot. Even Peanut had settled down and stopped squirming around. It was a shame she wasn’t in the right tax bracket to live out here. She’d have to take a job as a live-in nurse for some old, rich Hamptons resident to do that. Unfortunately, caring for an entitled hypochondriac didn’t really work for her.
Perhaps, after the baby was born, she should give some more thought about going back to Tennessee. That would probably make it easier on everyone with no awkward, obligatory visits. Robert and Susan could just take their baby and continue life as it was before their accident, and Gwen could return to the life she knew and start fresh.
The black, still waters around her beckoned. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in a body of water that wasn’t chlorinated, and she wanted to put her feet in it. Easing back, she sat on the boards and pulled her dress up to her knees. The water was cool and refreshing as she slipped her bare feet in to just above the ankles.
Looking out, she realized, as she had every time the idea of moving home hit, that going back to Tennessee really wasn’t an option, as nice as all this seemed. For one thing, her romanticized memories of home would never hold up to reality. Paw-Paw and Gran were dead, and their old farmhouse and cornfields had been leveled to put up a housing subdivision. Returning would mean an apartment in Knoxville, which was a pretty sizable city, especially when the University of Tennessee, her alma mater, was in session.
And for another thing, she’d have to deal with her mother. She wasn’t a powerless five-year-old girl anymore, but the less angst Gwen had to handle, the better.
Cheryl Wright was a desperate single mom on a never-ending quest for love.
When her relationships were going well, Gwen had been in the way and would get shipped off to her grandparents. When the relationship fell apart, Gwen would come home and take care of the house, as her mother was too distraught to get out of bed for days at a time. As Gwen got older, she was really more of a housekeeper than a daughter, although a housekeeper wouldn’t have to hear about how she was the reason her mother couldn’t keep a man.
Ever the expert, her mother had given Gwen an earful when she’d told her she was moving to New York City with Ty. He was a no-good loser just like her father, she’d warned. Of course, her mother was probably more concerned about who would make her dinner than Gwen’s emotional health. Either way, it didn’t matter. Gwen was gone and she couldn’t go back.
With a sigh, she gazed across the harbor at a sailboat passing through. The mast was lined with white lights that twinkled across the surface as it moved. The boat called to her and made her want to swim out to it. Maybe she could convince the captain to take her on as first mate and she could just sail away from her problems. It seemed like a solid enough plan. That’s what she’d done by coming to New York, minus the boat.
And that was why returning to Tennessee would feel like a defeat. Even though it would have nothing to do with Ty, her mother would get too much satisfaction from telling her she was right. Her life in Manhattan was hectic, but exciting. She worked at one of the top hospitals in the country and got to help so many people. She’d built a life for herself here over the past five years. She had friends. She was happy. At least until recently.
About a year ago, after another failed and mostly pointless relationship, she’d started having this nagging feeling that something was missing from her life. She didn’t know what. Gwen had never wanted to chase the marriage and family that eluded her mother. But at the same time, whatever she was doing wasn’t working, either. She was content, most days, but never really happy.
That’s what her man-break was all about. A year off from the roller coaster of her dating life. Her hope was that, by the time it was over, she’d have a better idea of what she wanted. With four months left in her pregnancy, she was still pretty clueless on that front.
“You know, I hear sharks like to come up into these cooler waters and feed on the toes of pregnant women. It’s a delicacy in their culture. Like sushi.”
Gwen would’ve been startled, but she’d heard the faint tread of his footsteps on the planks of the pier. She didn’t bother to turn around and look at him. “No. Everyone knows they all go to Florida for the holiday. It’s like a buffet down there. Nothing hits the spot like a suntanned boogie boarder.”
“Hmm. Quantity over quality, then.” Alex sat down alongside her, crossing his legs to keep his khakis, loafers and argyle socks from getting wet. “What are you doing out here all by yourself?”
“I got banned from the kitchen by the other ladies, so I went for a walk and ended up out here. Why aren’t you in there playing poker?”
Alex shrugged and looked across the harbor. “It’s not really my game. I might as well just hand them each a couple thousand dollars and be done with it.” With a smile he turned to her. “I’d kick their asses at racquetball, though.”
Gwen smiled back. She’d always thought of Alex as more athletic and outgoing, so she wasn’t surprised he
could whip a bunch of corporate types at any kind of physical activity. His endurance was incredible. She blushed at the thought and hoped the rapidly darkening evening would disguise it. She didn’t want to give him any more encouragement.
“So, how have you been lately? Aside from pregnant and all? We didn’t really get to talk much earlier.”
“I’ve been okay.” She shrugged dismissively. “Work always takes up a lot of time. Preparing for the baby was a big deal, too. Lots of doctor visits and paperwork. It’s a lot more complicated than just getting pregnant the old-fashioned way.”
“And not nearly as fun, I’d wager,” Alex said, leaning conspiratorially into her.
Gwen sighed. “No, not at all. Sadly, it’s been so long, I can hardly draw much of a comparison.”
Alex wrapped an arm around her shoulder and tugged her against his side. “Why has my lovely Gwen suffered such a long dry spell? I find it hard to believe.”
“You flatter me,” she said, shaking her head. “For one thing, they pumped me so full of hormones to get ready for the surrogacy that a man could’ve held a door for me and gotten me pregnant. Sex was out of the question. It was also the wrong time to start up anything serious. Do you wait until the third or fourth date to tell a man you can’t go out next week because you’ll be busy getting pregnant?”
“The fourth, definitely.” Alex grinned. “But now that the deed is done, aren’t you free to try dating again?”
Gwen couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “In theory, but dating? Do you see this?” She looked down and pointed at her stomach. “This is man-repellant. And I’d be afraid of the men that are interested in me at this point. They might have some creepy pregnancy fetish, and that’s the last thing I need.”
Alex put a finger under her chin, tipped Gwen’s face up to him and pinned her in place with his intense gaze. “Let me assure you that nothing about you is repellant, and I’m most certainly a man.”
More Than He Expected Page 4