“Aw, Mom.”
“Don’t aw-mom, me, sonny boy.”
“You’re good. Really. A natural.”
“Thank you. I needed a little boost in confidence.”
“Nan. You’re gonna be great.”
Elizabeth sighed. “What do you suppose bumper pads are for, anyway?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never even baby-sat before.” Jason frowned.
“Me, neither.”
He darted a quick glance over his shoulder at Ta-marra.
Smile broad, she rose to her toes and waved. Jason nodded and dipped his head to Elizabeth’s.
“Honey,” he spoke this endearment only to her and it sounded so natural, Elizabeth wondered if maybe he’d forgotten that they were only playing house, “we’ve been here for well over an hour and haven’t made a single decision. Do you suppose we should break down and ask for some advice?”
“No!” The helpless look on his face sent her into another gale of laughter. “Oh, for crying out loud. I have a master’s degree—in children’s education, no less—and you’re a doctor, for heaven’s sake. Surely we can figure this out.”
“Okay, so give me your best guess on this thing.” From the shelf he grabbed a spiky, multicolored ball that, when set on the floor, flashed and rang and buzzed and vibrated and rolled spasmodically down the aisle.
Elizabeth stared at it, and then up at him. “We need help.”
Jason nodded. “Big time.”
* * *
“I was starving.”
“Mmm. Me, too.” Jason dug the last piece of pizza out of the box and offered it to Elizabeth. “Want this?”
“Ugh. No way. I’ll pop.”
“Okay, then, I guess I’ll just have to eat it.”
“You are ever gallant.”
“Mmpfh.”
They were sitting side by side on Elizabeth’s living room floor, surrounded by all nature of baby paraphernalia and finishing up a pepperoni pizza they’d had delivered.
Elizabeth shifted to her hip, and slinging an arm over the couch cushion, lazily eyed him. He was so cute, eating pizza all sprawled out on her floor that way, his head propped up against the couch, his ankles casually crossed. He looked about as comfortable as if they’d known each other forever.
It felt as if they had anyway. It was the oddest sensation. On the one hand, there was the comfort of being with some kind of long lost soul mate, and on the other hand, the excitement of a brand-new relationship.
The attraction between them had been palpable from the outset. The moment he’d winked at her from the altar, a bond had been created.
Elizabeth filled her lungs, then slowly exhaled. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking along these lines when it came to any man, never mind a Colton, but she had a sneaking suspicion she wasn’t alone in her feelings.
Besides, he was a big boy. She guessed he could make up his mind if he wanted to hang around with a woman—a Mansfield no less.
He was smiling at her now, his lids at half-mast, his lip curled in a most sexy manner. It wouldn’t be hard to lean ever so slightly forward and bring her mouth to his. To see if his lips were really as soft and seductive as they looked.
The adrenaline that suddenly pumped through her veins at the thought had reached her son and he let loose with a healthy kick.
“Ooo!” Elizabeth patted her belly. “You settle down in there.”
“He kicking?” Jason pushed himself up on his elbows and rolling on his side, reached out and placed a hand high on her belly. “Where? Here?”
“How’d you know?”
“He’s head down, so his legs would be up here, or maybe over here.”
Elizabeth’s head grew light under his familiar touch and again, her pounding heart invigorated the baby.
“Ah!” Jason’s grin was ebullient. “I felt that!” He brought his head closer to her belly. “Do it again, buddy.”
“If he does, it’ll be a first. I can never get him to perform on command.”
Ignoring her, Jason pushed at the baby’s leg and the baby responded with another kick. Elizabeth watched with glee as Jason rolled on his back and laughed at the ceiling.
“This is a smart kid, Elizabeth. He’s going to keep you on your toes.” He rose up on his elbow and to her belly he said, “You be patient and stay where you are for a few more months, and then, when you get out, we’ll try out those Fisher-Price golf clubs I got you today.”
Elizabeth felt tears of joy brim in her eyes as Jason continued to talk about the future, and her son, and how he was looking forward to meeting this little boy. As he spoke, he didn’t seem to realize that he’d left his hand resting lightly, but oh so protectively, at the top of her belly.
Chapter 5
Two Saturdays later found Elizabeth and Jason standing on a tarp in the middle of her unborn son’s nursery. They were both covered in splotches of pale-yellow paint and admiring the transformation their efforts had wrought on one of the four walls.
“He’s gonna love it,” Jason predicted.
“Think so?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s warm and cheerful but not girly. I could happily live here myself.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Your legs would hang over the edge of the crib.”
He pulled her to his side and rubbed at a dash of yellow on her cheek. “Must you always be so pragmatic?”
A sunny giggle filled the air and, as her arm snaked around his waist, Jason felt his heart constrict with an emotion that he was not yet ready to name.
Her head bobbed beneath his fingertips. “I love it, too. I vote we paint the other three walls.”
“You mean we’re not done yet?”
She patted his cheek. “Hey, Martha, we still have border paper to hang and a crib to assemble. Don’t fail me now.”
Reluctantly, he stepped away from her, as he was becoming tempted to press his lips to her temple and, if she didn’t protest, to the shadow of yellow on her cheek, and then on to her eyelids, her lips....
Back to work, he commanded himself and taking up a roller, dipped it into the paint pan.
In the past eight days, he’d battled moments such as this more than once. They’d spent every evening together, prowling home improvement depots, furniture marts, kiddie-lands and wallpaper huts, under the guise of preparing for the baby. But Jason knew, for his part anyway, the real reason was because of the instant and deep attraction he felt for the baby’s mother. To him, the connection was so right, so intense, so perfect, it was almost as if their roots went back for generations.
“Jason.” Elizabeth glanced up from the line of yellow she was cutting in around the window trim.
“Hmm?”
“Would you consider coming to my school next week and talking to my class? We are doing a series on career choices, and I know a doctor would be very interesting to my kids.”
He smiled at the unconscious possession she took of her sixth graders. “Sure. I did that once last year for a class at the junior high. Brought Morty, my skeleton. He was a real hit.”
Delighted laughter bubbled from her lips and again, he fought the urge to throw down his roller and kiss her senseless.
“Oh, that sounds perfect! And maybe you could let them listen to their heartbeats with the stethoscope and try on the blood pressure cuff and take a temperature reading and all that kind of stuff.”
He shrugged and, dipping his roller, reloaded it with paint. “Okay. And that reminds me. As soon as we’re done, I want to have a listen to junior. Make sure he’s coming along okay.”
“Oh, he’s coming along just fine.” Elizabeth groaned. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to be an athlete. He seems to think my bladder is a punching bag and this morning I could have sworn he bit me.” She gave her stomach a wry pat.
Jason leaned against the wall and laughed. “That’s my boy,” he crowed and then, realizing his choice of words, glanced over at Elizabeth.
Their gazes collided like storm currents, and verita
ble bolts of lightning seemed to crash between them. For a long moment, neither of them moved. Not taking a step, he strained toward her, his eyes roving her face for a sign that he’d offended. But he found none.
Instead, he discovered a yearning that matched his own, and his heart expanded with a joy he hadn’t felt in far too long.
However, having learned some of life’s lessons the hard way, there was a chink in the perfect veneer of the moment. His pragmatic and—thanks to Angie—somewhat jaded side couldn’t help but wonder if this longing he felt coming from her was for him and the ever tightening bond that grew between them, or if she was simply looking for a way out of her single-parent predicament.
He’d fallen in love with a woman who wanted happily-ever-after for all the wrong reasons before. Was he doing it again?
Eyes flashing, he searched her face for the truth.
She was so beautiful. So vulnerable, yet there was a strength about her that drew him. He opened and closed his hands on the roller’s handle and debated taking her into his arms and kissing her, as if in doing so, he could discover the true intention of her heart.
Outside, a siren faded into the distance. Inside, only the sound of his suddenly ragged breathing and the pounding of his pulse filled his ears.
There was no denying that something was happening between them. What to do with this knowledge remained a mystery.
For one thing, she was pregnant with another man’s child. Not that it made a bit of difference to him, but what if it did to her?
For another, they’d only known each other for a short time.
But still, there was something else.
Something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. She was harboring a secret. He could see the signs haunting the sea green of her eyes whenever the conversation would approach the deep waters of her family history. She would hedge and avoid certain topics relating to her past, and didn’t seem terribly interested in meeting his relatives.
It worried him.
He’d seen that same fear of discovery in Angie’s eyes more than once. And though Elizabeth and Angie were two completely different women, the thought of any kind of lie unsettled him. Hopefully, Elizabeth would become comfortable enough with him to tell him what was bothering her, before they got in too deeply.
Because he could feel the tension between them growing and charging like thunderclouds on the horizon.
They had a date with destiny.
* * *
With her right brain, Elizabeth corrected spelling tests on a lap tray as she lay in bed later that same day. With her left brain, she talked on the phone with Savannah.
“Wow. Sounds like you had a pretty unforgettable honeymoon. So, now that you’re back to boring old Prosperino, how’s married life treating you?” Elizabeth red-lined a misspelled word. “Are you pregnant yet?”
Savannah laughed. “It’s only been two weeks. Give me a little time.”
“That’s plenty of time. Trust me,” Elizabeth huffed.
“Speaking of being pregnant, what’s this I hear about you swooning at my wedding? I heard that Jason had to lug you back into the church. Sounds very romantic.”
“Actually, it was. You are right about him, Savannah. He is a doll.”
“Do I hear the beginnings of a teensy-weensy crush?”
“No. You hear the beginnings of a monster-wonster crush. And if you tell Harrison, I’ll snatch you bald.”
Savannah shrieked with glee. “Are you serious? You and Jason? An item? Tell me everything.”
“Well, first of all, we’re not an item. He’s merely my dream come true. And you’d better not tell him, either.”
“This is so juicy! Are you like, dating, or what?”
“I’d hardly call it dating. First of all, he gave me a ride to the hospital. Then he hung around to see if I’d be okay. Then he gave me a ride home. And then he helped me set up the nursery and today he took pity on me and flirted with me a little bit and that’s about the size of it.”
“I knew it!” Savannah nearly laughed herself silly. “I should have thought of it before! You two are perfect for each other! I bet you’re going to fall in love and get married!”
“Hold on there, Mrs. Colton. You have forgotten one small problem.”
“Elizabeth, the baby is not a problem. Jason loves kids. He’d be a great father for your child.”
“I’m not talking about the baby.”
“Then what?”
“I’m a Mansfield.”
“Oh.” There was a pregnant pause. “I’d forgotten about that. In fact, I probably shouldn’t even be speaking to you, now that I’m a Colton.” Her lilting voice dripped with playful sarcasm.
“I’m serious, Savannah. It was a big deal in the past. I’ll bet Harrison’s relatives wouldn’t have liked you, if you were a Mansfield.”
“Don’t be silly. In-laws are in-laws. They’re never going to like you.”
“Would you be serious?”
“Can I be matron of honor at your wedding?”
Elizabeth sighed. “Yes.”
And then, as they were wont to do when they were ten years old, they fell into fits of laughter and spent the next hour discussing the exact hue of Jason’s and Harrison’s eyes.
* * *
The following Monday, Jason—accompanied by Morty the skeleton—paid a visit to Elizabeth’s sixth graders and was a smash hit. From the rear of the classroom, she watched his antics and was educated right along with the children. And, when she wasn’t busy learning, she was loving.
He was simply wonderful with kids. A natural.
The back of her throat burned and her eyes stung with the bittersweet poignancy. He would make a funny, kind and understanding father. If she only could, Elizabeth would move heaven and earth to have met and married Jason first. To be carrying his baby.
Angie had been a fool.
The rest of that week Elizabeth spent her free evenings with Jason, prowling rummage sales for baby furniture that would fit her budget. After much rigorous searching, they found a slider rocker in excellent condition at an elderly woman’s garage sale that Elizabeth planned to reupholster in a durable tapestry. At the Salvation Army they found a matching dresser and chest of drawers set that only needed a fresh coat of paint and some new knobs.
A woman who lived just down the street from Elizabeth offered her old changing table and even explained its various uses. And, though it had scribble marks and needed a new mattress pad, it would be perfect, once it was painted to match everything else.
Now and again, Jason would find an odd or an end at one sale or another that he’d decide he couldn’t live without and he’d cart it off, eliciting a promise from Elizabeth that when they were done decorating the nursery, they’d tackle his place. Elizabeth was thrilled by this idea, as it would give her even more time with Jason.
At one point, when they were dragging the old wicker club chair that he’d found at a yard sale back to his place, Elizabeth had her first glimpse of his living space and had to agree that it desperately needed a woman’s touch.
“How long have you lived here?” Elizabeth asked, as she entered his spacious oceanfront condo.
Jason came in behind her, carrying the wicker chair, which he dropped in front of his fireplace. With the exception of his unexceptional couch, it was the only piece of furniture in his living room.
He shrugged his shoulders. “A little over a year now, I guess.”
“Over a year?”
“Yeah. Why?
“It looks like you haven’t finished moving in yet.”
Tilting his head, Jason bestowed her with a self-deprecating grin. “I know. Angie was going to decorate after we were married. When I called the wedding off, I couldn’t figure out if I was going to stay or not and—” he threw his hands up in a helpless gesture “—since decorating isn’t exactly my forte—”
“You haven’t gotten around to moving or staying,” she said, finishing his sentence.
He sighed. “Yep.”
“It’s a beautiful place.”
“Not as nice as yours.”
“Yeah, right.”
Slowly, Elizabeth turned and allowed her gaze to drink in the panoramic view of the spectacular Pacific Ocean that lay outside his impressive expanse of windows. Just beyond his deck, a beach stretched out to meet the surf that, at this twilight evening hour, was reflecting gold and blue light. A dog chased a Frisbee off in the distance and some children struggled to get a kite off the ground without benefit of a breeze.
Inside the condo, his ceilings were high, the walls white and the floors a cherry hardwood. It was striking. And given the neighborhood, undoubtedly very expensive.
“No, really,” Jason insisted. “I love your place. It’s homey. Cozy. Filled with your personality. This place is...I don’t know, it lacks something.”
“Furniture,” Elizabeth said, dryly.
Jason’s laughter echoed in the room, and she reveled in the relaxed and happy sound.
“Come on.” Taking her hand, he led her across the gleaming floor that cried for Turkish throw rugs and into the kitchen. His arm swept the state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances and the cherry-wood cabinetry. “This is the room where I never cook.”
“Too bad,” Elizabeth murmured. “Seems a terrible waste.”
An island with a black marble countertop contained an elaborate grilling system that would have a gourmet cook drooling and, on the side that faced the ocean, a row of black-and-stainless-steel chairs invited guests to sit and visit.
“Tell you what. Help me get a bunch of kitchen gewgaws and cooking stuff, and I’ll prepare you a meal you’ll never forget.”
She tossed him a saucy grin. “I hear ptomaine poisoning is unforgettable.”
“True, but look at it this way.” He arched a roguish brow. “I’m a doctor.”
Elizabeth reached out to punch him and, grabbing her hand, Jason tugged her into the dining room.
“This is the room where I never eat.”
“No wonder. You don’t have a table.”
“That’s part of the reason. Remind me to have a table delivered before I cook you dinner.”
“Chairs, too?”
“Right.”
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