But that was before there was a baby. It was possible that when she told him he would be over the moon with happiness about this new life.
She clung to that hope the way a Titanic survivor held on to the lifeboat.
There was a knock on Sam’s office door which she’d been both anticipating and dreading. “Come in.”
Suddenly Mitch was there and her heart started to pound. Normally that was a direct result of her intense reaction to him physically and in every other way. But not today.
She had something to tell him that would change everything and the jury was out on whether or not the change would be in a good way, or a bad one.
He smiled and she felt the power of it down to her toes.
“Hi,” he greeted her, lifting his hand in a wave. “I haven’t seen you since Thanksgiving.”
“I know. I—” What? Missed him? Absolutely. More than she could say. She’d been avoiding him? That, too.
“Mom wanted me to thank you again for inviting her. She had a good time.”
“I’m glad. That must mean the two of you are communicating?”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, we are.”
“Good.” She was grateful for the small talk and the chance just to look at him, all casual, sexy masculinity. She wanted to enjoy this moment, the easy camaraderie laced with sexual pull.
“The receptionist said you wanted to see me.”
Did he need an excuse? This was a hell of a reason. “Yeah. Have a seat.” God knew she was glad to be sitting down.
“Okay.” He shut the door. Then he moved farther into the room and rounded her desk, reaching a hand down to pull her to her feet.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to kiss you.”
He touched his mouth to hers and instantly she started to sizzle. Then he pulled her into his arms and it was a place she wanted to stay forever. The solid warmth and strength of him felt so good. Safe. And safe wasn’t a feeling she’d known very much in her life, so she liked it. The need to feel safe was especially powerful since finding out she was going to be a mother. She had to tell him he was going to be a father.
With an effort, she broke the kiss. “Mitch, we can’t—”
“I fired you, remember?”
“I know. It’s not that. There’s something I have to say and when you look at me like that I can’t think straight.”
His grin grew wider and more smug, more rife with male satisfaction than usual. “I like the sound of that.”
“Just so we’re clear, that wasn’t meant in a good way. Please, listen—”
“Me, first.”
He lowered his mouth to hers again and the soft kiss felt too good for words. She automatically opened to him and he took advantage of the invitation. His tongue swept inside and dueled with hers, teasing and caressing until her heart pounded for all the right reasons.
He rubbed his hand up and down her back creating sparks everywhere he touched. Her breasts, more tender and sensitive than she’d ever known, were nestled against his wide chest and the sensation pooled liquid heat in her belly.
His other hand gently squeezed her waist, then slid lower to cup her rear and press her more firmly against his hardness. He wanted her. If he wanted her enough, there was a chance that it would be okay when she told him…
With an effort, she pulled her mouth from his and struggled to catch her breath. “Oh, boy—”
He was breathing hard, too. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“Mitch, we have to talk. Really. I’m serious.”
“When you say it like that…” He sucked in a breath. “Okay. Shoot.”
She stepped away from him and pointed to the chairs in front of her desk. “Go sit over there.”
“I like it better over here,” he said, brushing his finger over her lips.
“Me, too. But the arrangement isn’t especially beneficial to meaningful conversation.”
“Talk is cheap and highly overrated.”
When he reached for her again, Sam was sorely tempted to let nature take its course. If she wasn’t susceptible to his particular brand of charm, the unexpected combination of curtness and caring, she wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place. Two things stopped her from going with it. This was her office and the wrong place for getting personal.
The second was that the next time she was with Mitch, she wanted it to be for all the right reasons, with everything out in the open. She didn’t want it to be about putting off telling him what she had to tell him.
She rested her hands firmly on his chest to keep him at bay. “Please sit.”
He stared at her for several moments, then backed away and sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly. “What’s going on, Sam?”
She stood as tall as possible, straightened her blazer, then said, “I’m pregnant, Mitch.”
He didn’t exactly recoil, but his body swayed away from her. “This is a joke, right?”
“I’m not kidding.”
Finally he sat down. “A baby?”
“Yes,” she whispered, slowly lowering herself into her desk chair.
Right off the bat this wasn’t going the way her fantasy had. She’d pictured his surprise turning to excitement, elation, unbridled joy. Then he’d pull her against him, lift her off her feet to swing her around, after which he would be properly horrified that he might have hurt her or the baby in his enthusiasm for fatherhood.
It was a cliché; it was stupid. But how she wished that’s what he’d done. Considering the dark intensity in his expression, she would settle for shock instead of surprise, which would be an improvement over his current look. It wasn’t at all happy. If she had to pick a label, anger came pretty close. His silent stare was making her crazy.
“Please say something.”
“You’re sure?”
“I saw the doctor and she confirmed it.”
His eyes hardened as he shook his head. “I can’t believe this.”
A subtle way of saying she was lying? It felt a lot like an accusation, like a blow to the chest, and seemed to knock the air from her lungs. She shook her head. “I swear, it’s the truth.”
“This can’t be happening—”
“It was just that one time. The first time—” Desire had been all-consuming. Nothing else had mattered except being with him. “We didn’t use protection. Obviously you’re shocked. I understand.”
His mouth thinned. “You couldn’t possibly know how I feel.”
Sam knew he was thinking about how his ex-wife had betrayed him. At a time in his life when everyone had needed a piece of him she’d cheated and made a mockery of their marriage and left a scar on his heart.
“I didn’t do this on purpose,” she said. “And I didn’t do it all by myself.”
His gaze snapped to hers and, if possible, went even darker. “Oh?”
“No.” She folded her trembling hands together and put them on her desk. “You were there, too.”
“Yeah.”
“Were you thinking about protection?” she challenged.
“You’d been in a relationship. I figured you were on birth control.”
“Was in a relationship. Past tense. That night—With you—There wasn’t much discussion about anything,” she said miserably. “You’re just as responsible for this as I am.”
“I remember.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “What do you expect from me?”
Cold seemed to roll off him in waves and seeped clear through her, making her shiver. How she wanted the warm safe feeling back. “Excuse me?”
“I’m guessing you’ve suspected for a while.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Thanksgiving. You didn’t eat much. No wine. You had symptoms, then, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“And you didn’t say anything. What kind of game are you playing?”
“This isn’t a game, Mitch. Not to me.”
He s
hifted on the chair and leveled a glare at her. “Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I’d planned to. On Thanksgiving. But you talked about your marriage and the bad stuff—”
“Is this a chick thing? Because that’s no excuse.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she protested. “The timing was wrong. We’d had a nice holiday and I didn’t want to spoil another one for you. I decided to wait until there was confirmation.”
“Now you have it. Is it mine?”
She’d just told him it was his, that she hadn’t been on the pill, that he’d been there, too. Which meant he believed she was trying to deceive him. The heat of anger burned through her and it was almost a relief from the cold. “I can’t believe you’d ask me that, you arrogant bastard.”
“It’s a natural question.”
“Not for me. I know you went through a lot, but that doesn’t give you the right to accuse me of something so ugly. I’m not like your ex. I don’t lie. I’m carrying your child and I thought you had a right to know. My mistake.”
He stood and looked down at her. “So, I repeat. What do you expect from me?”
“Not a damn thing.” She stood, too, and met his gaze without wavering. “I said what I had to. Now get out of my office.”
Without another word he left.
Sam sank into her chair, shaking so badly that her legs wouldn’t hold her up. This wasn’t good for the baby, but she couldn’t seem to stop. Some conflict coach she was. There were a dozen different ways she could have handled that situation. But as much as she believed in using the right words, the reality was nothing she’d said would have helped because she was incapable of being rational.
Against the odds and her better judgment, she’d fallen in love with Mitch Tenney. Under those circumstances, it was impossible to be logical.
Chapter Thirteen
The E.R. was too quiet.
Mitch lounged at the nurses’ station feeling restless and uneasy. He much preferred being too busy because now he had time on his hands. Too much time to think about how he’d treated Sam when she’d told him she was pregnant. If he could have been a bigger ass, he wasn’t sure how.
It had been a week since that day in her office, when she’d dropped the baby bomb. If she hadn’t waited so long to give him the news, things might have gone better, but probably not. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he’d implied she was trying to pass off another guy’s baby as his.
The whole scene was like a train wreck that played in slow motion, over and over in his mind. He’d been deliberately acting like the arrogant ass she accused him of being before ordering him out of her office. He’d wanted out of there, but it was the last relieved breath he’d drawn in seven days.
He’d called her but she wouldn’t talk to him. And why should she?
Mitch had felt rage and betrayal when his wife had told him the whole truth about what she’d done to their baby. But now he hated what happened even more because the unimaginable manipulation was responsible for his knee-jerk reaction and unjustified attack on Sam. She didn’t deserve that.
He realized the computer keys behind him were quiet and Rhonda, the E.R. nurse/manager, was staring at him.
“What?” he said.
She folded her arms over her ample breasts. “You look terrible.”
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment,” she shot back. “And your attitude lately stinks.”
“If it wasn’t politically incorrect, I’d say bite me.”
“See, that’s what I mean.” Her brown eyes narrowed on him. “You were making progress in that area, but recently there’s been a noticeable relapse. The mumbling to yourself is new.”
“And your point is?”
“What’s going on with you, Mitch?”
Before he could tap-dance around the question, she looked down and reached for the pager at her waist. She met his gaze. “The paramedics called a few minutes ago. They just arrived with a pregnant woman. I’ll go check it out.”
He nodded. “Let me know when I’m up.”
She disappeared down the hall and Mitch missed her acid tongue because he was all alone with his thoughts again. He sat down at the computer, but before he could go online, he heard someone behind him.
When he saw Rhonda, he said, “That was quick. False alarm?”
“It’s Sam,” she said.
“What? With the paramedics?”
She nodded. “She’s bleeding and—”
He didn’t wait for more, but took off at a run and found her in trauma bay two. Half-sitting up in the bed, she had an IV going and looked pale, scared.
“Sam? What’s wrong?”
The question was automatic and not the least bit professional. He didn’t feel like a doctor; he was a guy concerned about a girl. After looking at her paperwork for pulse, respiration and blood pressure, the numbers danced in front of his eyes without sticking in his brain. The last notation was that the patient’s physician would meet her at Mercy Medical.
“Mitch, I didn’t mean to come here—” She ran her tongue over her lips. “I started spotting. I called Dr. Hamilton—”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
Her eyes widened then were filled with hurt. “You’re not my doctor.”
“You’re pregnant with my child. You should have called me so I could—” He stopped. What could he do? Panic more than he was already?
He saw trauma patients all the time but he’d never lost it like he had just now. Sam wasn’t just another patient. She was Sam. And she was pregnant with his child.
On the white cotton blanket covering her from the waist down, Sam’s fingers curled into a fist. “I called my doctor, Mitch. Transport by ambulance was her way of being overly cautious. I tried to talk her into another E.R., but this is the closest—for her and me. She’ll be here soon, so don’t concern yourself with me.”
Don’t concern himself? That advice was way too late. He was already concerned for her. “Did you fall?” When she shook her head, he asked, “Any cramping?”
“The bleeding just started. It’s not that much, but I got scared—”
The door opened and Rebecca Hamilton walked in. Mitch had seen her in the E.R. before. She nodded at him. “Hi, Mitch.”
“Rebecca.” He ran his fingers through his hair.
“Hi, Sam. How are you feeling?”
Sam let out a relieved breath. “Hanging in there. The ambulance was great fun. There’s nothing I like more than being the center of attention. It’s even better when burly men carry you around.”
“Sass and sarcasm. Both positive signs.” Rebecca smiled. “The ambulance comes under the heading of better safe than sorry since you were planning to drive yourself to the E.R.—”
“What?” Mitch couldn’t believe he’d heard right. Why hadn’t she called him. “You’re bleeding and you were going to drive yourself?”
Rebecca looked at him. “I can take it from here, Mitch.”
That was a subtle way of saying get the heck out. He shook his head. “Sam is my—We’re—” He looked at Sam, but she showed no sign that she intended to bail him out. “It’s my baby.”
“Good to know.” Rebecca nodded, but her doctor face never budged. “If you’ll step outside, I’d like to take a look at my patient now.”
“Sam, let me—”
She shook her head. “I’d like to handle this privately, with my doctor.”
Both women stared at him and he finally walked out, but he paced the hall and wore a new path in the floor outside her door. It was killing him not to know what was going on in that room. A little knowledge was a dangerous thing. Pregnant women could have complications. What if something happened to Sam? Or the baby? God, he hated not being in control, not calling the shots. What if—
Before he could finish that thought, the door opened and Rebecca stood there. “Come on in, Mitch.”
He moved close to the bed and started t
o reach for Sam, but she curled her fingers into a fist again. He looked at Rebecca. “Is she all right, Doc?”
“The bleeding has stopped. That’s a good sign.”
“And?”
“Sam’s blood pressure is normal.”
“So what’s going on with the baby? What caused the episode?”
“Sometimes early in a pregnancy it just happens. That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything wrong.”
“That’s good.” He glanced at her but she wouldn’t look at him. “So what now?
“Sam knows what to do.”
“I’d like to know, too.”
“Since when, Mitch?” Sam asked, her voice all sharp edges.
“She needs to take it easy,” Rebecca interjected. “Stay off her feet. Take care of herself and her baby. No stress.”
“Done,” he said.
“Wait a second.” Sam glared at him. “This isn’t your call to make.”
“Watch me,” he said. “You’re not lifting a finger until the doc says it’s okay.”
“So now you’re convinced it’s your baby?” Sam asked.
He winced. She had a finely tuned sarcastic streak going, and it was aimed directly at him. Although he couldn’t blame her. “I screwed up.”
“No?” She gasped, but it was exaggerated and mocking. “The mighty Mitch Tenney made a mistake and is actually admitting it? The world has gone mad.”
“Sam, take it easy—”
“The key here,” Rebecca said, “is rest and relaxation. Whatever tension is between you two needs to go on a back burner for now.”
“Excellent advice, Doctor,” Mitch said. “I will see to it that Sam gets all the R and R she can stand.”
“Good.” Rebecca smiled as if he’d just passed some kind of test, then reached for the pager hooked on the waistband of her pink scrubs. “Gotta go. I have a patient upstairs in labor and she’s ready to have her baby.”
“I’m glad you didn’t make a special trip here for me,” Sam said.
Mitch was pretty glad she’d been there, too, because he wouldn’t have been much good. “Thanks, Rebecca.”
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