Close to Her Heart

by C. J. Carmichael

  *

  The next Friday evening the three friends gathered at Eliot’s place. Though she never would have admitted it out loud for fear of hurting Miriam’s feelings, Dani loved getting together at Eliot’s the best. For a man, he had a great ability to make a house feel like a home, and everything in his condo—the furniture, the pictures, even his collection of Native American sculpture—reflected some facet of his personality.

  Plus, he had an amazing CD collection.

  Dani squirreled into her favorite corner of the sectional as he whipped together his latest virgin cocktail creation while Miriam transferred the appetizers she’d picked up at Pike’s Market onto a special blue plate that Eliot had pulled out and insisted she use.

  For a straight guy, Eliot had great taste.

  Assuming he was straight. Dani realized he hadn’t mentioned any new girlfriends for some time now. When he handed her a peachy-colored drink in a fancy glass garnished with a slice of apricot, she popped the fruit into her mouth then decided to try the direct approach. “So, what’s new with you?”

  He seemed surprised that she’d asked. “You mean besides breaking up families and skimming off my share of the communal property?”

  “You make your job sound so appealing. Have you ever thought of career counselling?”

  “No. But I might just go into marriage counselling one day.”

  “That sounds interesting.” Miriam set the tray of artfully arranged tapas on the cocktail table. “I take it you’re trying to talk more of your clients into staying married?”

  “I wish I could tell you the whole story. Unfortunately that wouldn’t be ethical.”

  “Ethics are so boring.” Miriam rolled her eyes as she sat.

  “Tell me about it,” he agreed, taking a spot between them.

  “So if you can’t talk to us about your work, let’s talk about your love life.” Dani nudged him with her toe. “You don’t seem to be taking as many personal phone calls these days. Dry spell?”

  “I haven’t had a date in—months,” he said, looking more surprised than anyone. “I must be losing my touch.”

  “Or maybe you’re saving yourself for our Green Card Wedding.” Miriam raised her eyebrows suggestively.

  Eliot gave her a look that suggested not in a million years. He was so clearly not interested, that Dani felt a little sorry for Miriam.

  “I suggest you try reconciling yourself to being Canadian. Lots of people would love to live in Canada,” Eliot said reasonably.

  “But it’s so cold.”

  “I don’t think the climate in Vancouver is much different from Seattle.”

  “But—I love my condo. And Pike’s Market. And you guys don’t live in Vancouver.”

  “He’s just being a tease.” Dani had been listening to the exchange quite certain that some of it was in jest, but not all. “Of course you can’t move to Canada. We’d miss you too much. Maybe you could marry Mr. Bowman.”

  There was silence for two seconds and then Eliot burst out laughing, followed shortly by Miriam. Soon, all three of them were wiping tears from their eyes.

  After that, they played a marathon of Kings Cribbage. Eliot was on a winning streak and eventually, Miriam and Dani had to concede and name him victor. They settled back into the soft pillows of the sectional sofa, while Eliot made them chai tea and pulled out a package of apricot and cardamom biscotti.

  “You spoil us,” Miriam said, accepting a mug with one of the biscotti arranged artfully on the side of the saucer.

  Dani agreed. It was one of the reasons she loved coming to Eliot’s best. Neither she nor Miriam ever served dessert on their nights to host. Hopefully she could stay awake long enough to enjoy hers. She couldn’t stop yawning and her eyes were beginning to burn.

  After he sat down to join them, Eliot noticed. “You’re exhausted.”

  “No,” she said, out of politeness, but she’d barely spoken the word when another yawn overcame her. “Sorry. I’m such a party pooper.”

  “Hey. You’ve got a good excuse.”

  She’d put her feet up on the sectional and he reached over to squeeze one of her feet. It was a simple gesture—something a brother or a friend might do without thinking. But Dani felt a zap of something sexual between them. Here then gone so fast she wondered if she’d imagined it.

  “So what are you doing for the rest of the weekend?” Eliot asked.

  “I’m expecting a delivery from Pottery Barn tomorrow morning, so I’ll be setting up the baby’s room. I had the painters in last week so the room is ready.” She laughed as her baby suddenly started moving. “I think Junior’s pretty excited about it, too.”

  “Can I feel?” Miriam asked cautiously.

  “Sure.” Up until now Miriam had seemed almost grossed out whenever she’d invited her to feel the baby moving.

  “Me, too?”

  “Of course,” she told Eliot. But when he placed his hand on her belly, she felt the sensation again and knew she hadn’t imagined it earlier. She was, for some unknown reason, developing an attraction to one of her best friends. Pretty odd for a woman who was seven months pregnant with another man’s child.

  *

  The next morning Eliot waited until the Pottery Barn deliverymen had left Dani’s before heading over himself. She opened the door dressed in her pregnancy jeans and a pretty pink blouse, and dirt encrusted gardening gloves.

  “I’m here to make sure you don’t do any heavy lifting,” he said.

  “No need. They assembled the crib and change table.”

  “Right. And you told them where to put them. And now that the men are gone you’re wondering if the crib wouldn’t look better against the other wall.”

  “You think you’re so smart. The frustrating thing is that you’re right.” She laughed and opened the door wider.

  The first thing he noticed was the sliding doors to her balcony were open. She followed his gaze.

  “I was repotting the English ivy when they got here.”

  “Ah. That explains the dirty gloves. I was beginning to question your fashion judgment.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “I really think the ivy is much happier. Want to see?”

  He didn’t care too much about plants—not even the ivy which had been a gift from a happy client, Eliot had neglected to the point of near-death.

  To make her happy, though, he went to see the ivy. The plant did look rather green and happy sitting in its new terra cotta pot, which didn’t seem all that much bigger than its old one. When he pointed out this out to Dani she explained that the plant would go into shock if she transplanted it into a pot much bigger than the old one.

  “I never knew that.”

  She shrugged. “Mom loved to garden. I’ll probably never put to use half the things she taught me. But I know enough to doctor a few sickly houseplants back to life. Look at this orchid. I finally coaxed it into blooming again.”

  He duly admired the orchid, amused, and yes a little bit charmed, by how much time and attention Dani was willing to bestow on her motley collection of abandoned and forsaken plants. Her reputation had grown to the point that almost everyone in the building had brought her one of their plants at one time or another. Dani always returned them, along with a card of instructions on how to care for the plant, once they had recovered.

  “So. The baby room?”

  “Right.” She pulled off the gardening gloves she’d been wearing and set them out on the balcony before leading him to the nursery.

  The room kind of took him aback. He’d been expecting pastels. Building blocks and rainbows. That sort of thing.

  But the room had been painted in calm neutrals. There was an arched alcove in the far wall where a mural of a tree had been painted. Into this place was nestled the crib. An elegant piece of furniture, stained a dark mahogany.

  “Actually, the crib is perfect where it is.”

  “Yes. That wasn’t what I wanted to move. I’d like to try switching around t
he change table and the rocking chair. So the chair is next to the window.”

  He saw what she meant and after insisting she not lift a thing herself, set about to try the new arrangement. When he was done they both realized that the original placement had been better. Without a word of complaint, he moved everything back to the way it had been.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Hey, not a problem. I thought it would be better too.” He stood back again, taking in the room. An empty picture frame sitting on the upright chest of drawers, caught his attention. He lifted it up. “Hard to believe there’s going to be a picture of a baby in this frame in, what? Less than two months.”

  “Crazy, isn’t it?” She went to the crib, laid a hand on the bare mattress, as if trying to imagine her baby sleeping there. “Getting the room ready is really making this whole thing feel real.”

  She joined him at the bureau and opened one of the drawers. Inside were piles of tiny little undershirts, with bottoms attached. “Look at these onesies. Aren’t they adorable?”

  “So unbelievably small.” He switched his gaze to her. Saw the awe and wonder in her eyes. “And beautiful, too.”

  Eliot wasn’t a guy to play the “what if” game. But he did it then. What if Dani was my woman, and she was carrying my child? The idea didn’t freak him out. It made him feel warm and happy inside.

  Jeez. He had to get out of this room. “I was planning to go on a run this afternoon.” She’d stopped joining him about three weeks ago. Now that she was getting larger, she preferred to walk. But he missed those times alone with her. “Want to catch a movie later?”

  “Thanks but I’m planning to go to bed early. I have a long day planned at the lab and at five I’m going to my first prenatal class.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Oh, they’re supposed to prepare new parents for the birthing process. According to my sister Mattie, there’s nothing that really prepares a woman. Then again, she had twins.”

  He noticed the worry lines on her forehead. “The classes can’t hurt, I’d guess.”

  “No.”

  She still didn’t sound that keen about going. And then something occurred to him. “Do most women take their significant others with them?”

  She nodded. “If not their husband or boyfriend, then a sister or a friend. I asked Miriam but she wasn’t shy about saying no.”

  Miriam was an interesting woman. Funny and clever, sometimes kind, but not often very warm. The fact that she’d said no to Dani made him like her a little less.

  “I’ll go with you,” he offered.

  “What?”

  She seemed almost shocked by the idea. Which was a little insulting.

  “I’d like to think I’m as much your friend as Miriam is.”

  “Yes. But, Eliot. The classes are only part of the commitment—you would have to be with me for the birth of the baby.”

  “Oh.” Now he was the one to be shocked. But it didn’t take him long to wrap his mind around the idea. Since she was being firm about not telling her sisters until the baby was born, what other choice did she have?

  “I could do it, Dani. You shouldn’t have to go through something like that on your own.”

  “Since I’m going to be a single mother, I’d better get used to it.”

  Chapter Five

  August

  Eliot couldn’t wait to get out of his office. He’d finished his last appointment, caught up with his e-mail and had left his phone programed with his standard—“I’m out of the office, my assistant Paige Blythe will be happy to help you”—message.

  God bless Paige. She’d been especially wonderful today, buzzing in and out of his office. “You need to sign this before you go, and return these calls. No, leave that memo. I can take care of that tomorrow—”

  He took a final look at his clean desk top. Generally he managed to clear the deck just two times a year: before Christmas break and before his summer vacation. Some lawyers he knew liked to be this organized every day. But he would never be that guy.

  Before leaving he stopped in to say a few goodbyes, ending with Paige. “Well, I’m off. You know the drill—only phone me if it’s something urgent.”

  She nodded, her ponytail still tidy even now at the end of the day. “Have a great holiday.”

  “I intend to.” He tapped her desk. “Good luck. See you in two weeks.”

  Humming the old rock standard, School’s out for the summer, he headed for the elevator. Within seconds he was going to be free—

  “Eliot! Hang on. A call just came in.”

  It was Paige. Damn it. He’d been so close. Reluctantly he turned around. “Is it—?”

  “Lizbeth Greenway just had her baby. And her husband wants to speak with you.”

  The news caught him off guard. Made him think of Dani and the fact that in just five weeks, he could be getting a call like this about her. He shook off the reverie and went to take the phone from Paige. “Eliot here.”

  “It’s a boy,” was the first thing Nick Greenway blurted. “Liz had a boy.”

  Not we. But Liz. “That’s great!”

  “Is it?”

  Eliot could hear the anguish behind Nick’s question. Gently he responded with a few questions of his own. “Is the baby healthy? Is Lizbeth okay?”

  “Yeah. The baby’s good. Liz came through alright, too. It was tough, but so was she.”

  “Well, then. It is great, right?”

  “I guess. I don’t know.”

  Eliot sighed, frustrated suddenly at himself. He should have simply filed the divorce papers the way Lizbeth Greenwood had asked him to do in the first place. Why had he thought he could help this couple?

  “Look, Nick. If you want to sort out your feelings, you should call a therapist. If you want legal counsel about leaving your wife, you should get yourself your own lawyer. But if you want my advice as a man, Lizbeth is still your wife and she’s just been through a pretty major ordeal. Focus on what she needs for the next few days. And worry about yourself later.”

  There was a stunned silence, then Nick mumbled a few words and hung up.

  Eliot went to hand the phone to Paige, but she was clapping.

  “Well said, boss.”

  Eliot blinked. Then smiled. “You think?”

  “Oh, I do. All the time. Now get going on that holiday. You deserve it.”

  *

  Dani pulled out her suitcase to pack for her holiday. The past four weeks had been stressful and she needed the break.

  Fortunately, she could leave with a clear conscience, since just last night she’d completed her prenatal sessions. The classes had been interesting, and helpful to some extent. But she’d felt like such an odd-man-out being the only expectant mother without a partner.

  A few times she regretted turning down Eliot’s offer. But when she thought about the unexpected sexual jolts she’d begun experiencing in his company, the way she’d started to notice and appreciate his lean, muscular body—she knew she’d been right to turn him down. Hormonal fluctuations from her pregnancy had to be causing this new attraction toward a man she’d always considered just a friend.

  But she certainly didn’t want to put herself to the test by having him give her back rubs, and coach her breathing.

  No, she was going to be fine giving birth on her own. And she wouldn’t be alone, of course. There would be nurses. And her doctor. By now she’d had so many appointments, Gwen Fong seemed more like a trusted friend than her OB.

  What did have Dani a little anxious was the prospect of spending two weeks at the cottage with Eliot. Was it a smart plan given these unexpected new feelings of hers? But Miriam would be with them. So, it would be fine. And anyway, every day she was growing larger, more awkward and uncomfortable. Surely soon, she’d be beyond any sort of sexual reaction, at all.

  From a work perspective, Dani was satisfied, too. She’d put in long days at the lab all July knowing she wouldn’t be coming back until after the baby w
as born. She’d completed the long to-do list Jenna had given her, updating all her files, backing them up and filing a copy with Jenna for good measure.

  Dani could tell her boss wasn’t sure she’d be coming back after the baby was born. She wished she could reassure Jenna somehow. Yes, she was about to become a mother. But she also loved this job. Furthermore, she believed the research they were doing was going to help parents raise healthy, successful, well-adjusted children in the future. Who wouldn’t be motivated to go to work every morning with a goal like that?

  Out of a desire to leave her office in perfect order, and to reassure Jenna about her commitment to their work, Dani stayed late every night before her holiday. Her body was exacting a price for the long hours. Back aches and swollen feet being two of the most annoying. But she didn’t mind putting in the effort, knowing her reward would be two glorious weeks of relaxing at the cottage, reading and sleeping as much as she liked—with the occasional game of Kings Cribbage or Scrabble thrown in.

  What lay beyond the holiday—a few weeks of final preparations, then the birth of her baby—Dani couldn’t really imagine. Her life was going to be so different, but how it would feel, and what it would be like, she had no idea.

  Including whether Adrian would play any role at all in their child’s life.

  She hadn’t heard from him since he’d left on holiday with Ava. As far as she knew he was still visiting family. Didn’t it occur to him that her due date must be approaching?

  Not that she expected him to come to the hospital with her and hold her hand. But, yes, Dani finally admitted to herself the night before her holiday as she was packing her suitcase, she had nursed a tiny hope that he might want to be there with her.

  With her open suitcase on her bed, Dani perused her clothing choices. She didn’t have much to pick from. Hardly anything fit. She wasn’t sure she had the nerve to wear a bikini now that she was eight months pregnant. But she’d seen models on the covers of magazines doing it, and since she hadn’t bought a maternity bathing suit, she added the least skimpy of her bikinis to the small pile of T-shirts and sundresses she’d already selected. For the cool evenings she had a hoodie and a windbreaker, both of which fit only if she didn’t zip them up.