* * *
Shock waves were still ebbing around Kate as she drove to work an hour or two later.
Georgia had gone ahead with her crazy scheme not to miss out on being a mother and she was choosing to do it entirely on her own.
It was still beyond anything Kate could imagine doing and she had to admire her friend’s courage and determination.
And no wonder Georgia thought that her relationship with Luke offered the perfect compromise. A partnership built on friendship and equality and trust. The idea of heartbreak or ‘interference’ seemed a million miles away.
On paper, Kate had to agree.
It sounded just about perfect.
So why didn’t it feel perfect?
Maybe she needed to take a leaf out of Georgia’s book. Absorb a bit of that courage and determination and let go of what her friend considered her ridiculous ‘rose petal and bluebirds’ mentality.
And then it really hit home.
Georgia was pregnant. She was going to have a baby and be a mother. She was choosing to create her own family and give herself the future she wanted.
The kind of future that Kate wanted, too.
The kind that was within touching distance, even. With the added bonus of someone to share it with. Someone who would care about her and support her and...and be an amazing father.
Georgia was right.
Luke was right.
Friendship was what mattered.
And this was as perfect as it was ever likely to get.
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘I CAN’T SEE any monsters.’
‘Neither can I.’
‘It’s beautiful...’ Kate snuggled closer beneath the arm around her shoulders as she stared out at the glimmering expanse of Loch Ness. ‘Bit cold, though.’ She glanced up at a leaden sky. ‘I think it’s going to rain very soon.’
Luke didn’t seem to hear her warning. He was shading his eyes with his free hand despite the lack of sunshine. ‘Look...did you see that?’
‘What?’
‘There... No, there... I saw something.’
‘Something long and smooth?’ Kate’s lips were curving upwards. ‘Bit like a giant serpent, perhaps?’
‘Exactly. You saw it, too?’
‘No. And neither did you.’ But the glint of mischief in Luke’s eyes made her smile widen. Made her feel suddenly, inexplicably, enormously happy.
‘Ah, Katy...’ His sigh was theatrical. ‘You know me too well.’
But Luke was smiling, too, holding her gaze, and Kate could feel something in the moment change. Maybe it came through the arm still slung over her shoulders. Or maybe it was simply the way he was looking at her. Was he about to kiss her? When the touch would be about something very different from sex?
She felt her heart skip a beat. If he did kiss her right now, it would give her hope that there could be more to this than a ‘friends with benefits’ thing. There was certainly something much deeper than amusement in that gaze. A familiarity laced with the sheer pleasure of each other’s company perhaps. A connection that felt—in that moment—unbreakable.
Had Luke, at some subconscious level, recognised the shift in Kate’s attitude to their relationship? That she was on board with the resurrection of their pact? That she realised now that what Luke could offer was actually better than the fairy-tale of being head over heels in love with someone who felt exactly the same way?
She couldn’t hold the eye contact, however, in case he could see that this was a deliberate choice to hide how she really felt.
What she really wanted... So much that it sent a tiny shudder through her body.
‘You’re freezing.’ Luke moved, taking Kate with him as he turned towards where they’d parked the car. ‘Let’s find a pub and feed you.’
The crackling fire they found to sit beside a short time later was such a change of scene that Kate found herself pausing before she dipped her spoon into her very welcome bowl of hot soup.
Here she was, warm and being cared for. Would she really rather still be standing beside a romantic, misty lake—being kissed senseless by someone who also hadn’t noticed how cold it was?
She could almost feel Georgia poking her. No, of course she wouldn’t. That was the stuff of idealistic, teenage girls. It wasn’t real life.
‘You don’t feel like soup?’ Luke had noticed her hesitation. ‘Want to order something else?’
‘No. Soup’s great. I was just thinking.’
He grinned. ‘Did it hurt?’
‘Has anybody ever told you that sometimes you lack a certain maturity?’
His nod was solemn. ‘Quite often. What were you thinking about?’
‘Georgia.’ The honest response slipped out.
‘Oh...she was put out to find me in the house when she got home the other day, wasn’t she?’
‘Not at all. She’s got more important things than my love-life to think about at the moment.’
‘Like what?’
‘She’s...um...pregnant.’
‘So she does have a boyfriend.’
‘Not exactly.’ Kate bit her lip. The pregnancy wasn’t a secret given that everybody would know about it soon enough. But the intentional conception and the determination to keep the baby’s father out of the picture was definitely a private matter and Kate would never betray her friend. Even to someone she trusted as much as Luke. ‘What makes you think that?’
‘Something Matt said. I guess she might have told him that there was someone else. I also think that he might have been a bit disappointed.’ Luke’s glance was quizzical. ‘I got the impression they quite liked each other.’
‘Mmm. Me, too.’ Kate was concentrating on her soup now. Had the chosen target already been identified amongst the crowd of contenders at the competition when Georgia had told Matteo that there was someone else? It was just as well she hadn’t chosen Luke’s friend as her sperm donor. Imagine how complicated that could make things?
‘Is she happy about it?’
‘About what?’
She got a slightly bewildered glance this time. ‘About being pregnant. Being a solo parent.’
‘Ah...yes, I think she is. Her biological clock starting sounding an alarm a while back.’
Luke reached for another slice of the crusty bread in the basket. ‘How’s your clock?’
‘Ticking. No alarms bells yet.’
‘But you want kids?’
Kate nodded slowly. ‘Yeah... I would certainly like to think of a family in my future.’
Luke caught her gaze. ‘Me, too.’ He smiled at her. ‘How many?’
‘At least two.’
‘Girls or boys?’
‘One of each?’
‘Perfect.’ Luke was smiling again. ‘When do you want to get started?’
‘Um... I hadn’t thought quite that far ahead.’ The next few months were enough to be dealing with. How things would pan out between herself and Luke. And now, watching Georgia go through each stage of this pregnancy until she was holding her newborn baby in her arms.
Kate caught her breath. Imagine that...
‘The rate of complications goes up after you hit forty,’ Luke said, matter-of-factly, dipping his bread into his soup. ‘So does the ease of conception.’
‘True.’ Kate took another spoonful of her soup, marvelling at how they could be having a conversation like this and eating their lunch as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.
‘So you probably want to have both of these well-planned babies before you hit the big Four-Oh, yes?’
‘I guess.’
‘And nobody gets pregnant on their first attempt.’
‘I think Georgia did.’
‘Do you know how rare that is? Some perfectly normal couples take a year to conceive.’
‘Right. I’ve done the maths.’
‘Oh?’
‘Two kids, with the apparently ideal gap of two years between them and preferably born before you hit the next decade. Allowing for a possible year for conception that brings us to...ooh, let’s see...right about now.’
Kate’s spoon settled into her almost empty bowl with a distinct clatter. She was doing her best to fully embrace the idea of committing to a long-term relationship with Luke even if he wasn’t—and possibly would never be—in love with her, but this... This was a huge new step along that track.
‘You want to try for a baby?’
‘Why not?’ Luke reached across the table and caught her hands. ‘We’ve proved this can work, haven’t we? We like each other—a lot. The sex is...well, it’s amazing for me.’
The skin contact of his hands on hers was enough to send tingles up Kate’s arms to spread throughout her entire body. The extra squeeze only accentuated them.
‘For me, too,’ she murmured. Hopefully no one else in this quiet country pub was near enough to be overhearing this conversation.
‘Do you remember what I told you the night we made that pact?’
‘I have to admit that parts of it a bit blurry. It was a long time ago, Luke. And we’d both had a lot to drink.’
‘Yeah...oddly, though, I remember a lot of it very clearly. I remember telling you that you were my best mate and I loved you to bits.’ Luke’s voice was also low. Intense, even. ‘That doesn’t seem to have changed. Right from when I saw you at the rally, it felt like things were just the way they always were between us. We both want the same things out of life. So...why not?’
‘Um...’ Oh, help. He’d said the ‘L’ word and, even though it had been delivered under the guise of friendship and was therefore perfectly acceptable, it was doing weird things to Kate. It was exactly what she’d dreamed of hearing but...but not like this...
For one horrible moment she thought she might cry.
Luke was watching her, a furrow between his brows. ‘Is it because we’re breaking rules, Katy? Your rules?’
Kate swallowed hard. ‘We’re talking about the rest of our lives, Luke. About...about a family...’
‘Ah... I get it.’ Luke nodded slowly. ‘It’s too much to think about having kids together if we’re not married, right?’ He smiled at her. ‘It’s okay. I know I said I’d been there and done that and I was over the whole marriage thing but I really only meant picking your partner by the crazy, totally unreliable, ‘falling in love’ business. I’m happy to marry you. It’s just a visit to a registry office to sign some papers after all.’
Kate couldn’t breathe. This had morphed into a proposal? One that was so far from being the romantic declaration she would have wished for herself, it triggered a sharp and totally unexpected pang in her chest. Was it actually physically possible for a little bit of your heart to break?
‘You guys all done?’ The cheerful voice of the waitress was a rude reminder that this wasn’t the place for a conversation like this.
Except...maybe it was.
Like everything else about this relationship, it was based on common sense and openness and trust and there was nothing wrong with any of those things. Quite the opposite. Okay...maybe this wasn’t the way that Kate had wanted it to happen but she was going to end up with exactly what she’d dreamed of, wasn’t she? A future with someone she loved with all her heart.
A family. Maybe a lot sooner than she had expected.
Summoning a somewhat shaky smile, she nodded at the waitress.
‘Thank you. Yes, I think we’re all done.’
But when the plates had been cleared away and Kate caught Luke’s gaze, ready to agree that a registry office wedding would be fine by her, she couldn’t do it.
As friends, this idea of creating such a strong partnership that they could raise a family together was acceptable.
But marriage? A wedding?
That was too bound up in her head and her heart with the concept of celebrating love in public. Of making pledges in front of others that were heartfelt and genuine. And...okay, maybe it was immature. Silly, even, but the traditions were significant, too. The white dress. The vows and the music and the party afterwards. An aisle to walk slowly down as you got closer and closer to the person who mattered more than anyone else in the world. Someone she was totally and absolutely in love with—who felt exactly the same way about her...
Perhaps it was a stretch to think of a ‘quick visit to a registry office’ as a wedding but it would be the only one she would ever have, wouldn’t it? But if she was patient, maybe one day Luke might feel differently? Might see her as more than a friend or the potential mother of his children? That would be when she would want to consider a wedding—not now...
And...maybe knowing that a baby was a possibility would be a trigger for Luke to feel differently?
As he’d pointed out himself, it could take a long time to get pregnant so maybe giving up the protection they’d been using would be the first step to encourage Luke towards that change.
Her gaze slid away from his.
‘We don’t need a wedding, do we? Or a piece of paper to legitimise things?’ Somehow, she even summoned a shrug. ‘It’s not as if we needed a written version of the pact to make it work.’
A quick glance showed how surprised Luke was looking. Impressed, even?
‘That’s true.’ His smile had that cheeky edge she loved. ‘Hey, if you’re prepared to break the rules, count me in. But...’
‘But?’
‘I don’t know... You might change your mind. It’s a break with tradition that seems more like something I’d do than you would.’
‘Maybe I’m getting older and wiser.’
‘Hmm. And maybe you might change your mind. Why don’t I see what’s involved? How much paperwork it might take. Just in case.’
Another shrug was easy to find. ‘Sure. But only if you want to. I’m not that bothered.’
‘And the baby thing? You want to give that a go?’
Would it be totally irresponsible to take a risk like that? To break such big personal rules in the hope that the odds were in her favour and that it would take enough time for Luke to have some kind of epiphany when the possibility of becoming a father became increasingly real?
Kate was still riding the wave of that last shrug. ‘Why not? It’s not going to change anything anytime soon, is it? When—or if—it happens, I’m sure we’ll be ready for it.’
* * *
‘I’m late.’
‘So am I. And there’s no way I’m going to get these pants done up.’ Georgia was struggling to get her buttonhole near the button but there was an obvious gap of a couple of inches. ‘What am I going to do? I’m never late to work.’
‘No. I mean I’m late...’
Georgia let go of her waistband, her eyes widening. ‘You don’t mean late late?’
Kate could only nod.
‘How late?’
‘A week.’
‘That’s nothing. Could be stress.’
‘I’m as regular as clockwork. And it fits.’
‘Fits with what?’
‘When we decided not to bother with protection any more.’
Georgia’s mouth was as wide as her eyes now. ‘You planned this?’
‘Not exactly. We both thought it would take ages. It never happens the first time.’
‘It did with me.’
‘I know.’ Kate stared at Georgia’s unfastened waistband. Would her belly be expanding inexorably like that in a few months’ time?
With a baby growing inside her?
The thought
was mind-blowing.
Confusing. Scary. But there were definitely tendrils of excitement trying to take hold.
‘Okay.’ Georgia’s breath came out in a decisive huff. ‘First of all, you need to find out. I’ve got a spare test kit or two in my room.’ She grinned at Kate. ‘I bought a bulk supply.’
‘I could get a blood test at work.’
‘Don’t you want to know now?’
‘I’m not sure.’ Kate’s gaze drifted back to Georgia’s current problem. ‘I reckon a safety pin would do the trick for now. Can you find a bigger pair at work?’
‘Yes. But don’t change the subject. Have you told Luke?’
‘Not yet. I’m seeing him tonight.’
‘Maybe you could do the test together?’
‘Sounds like a fun evening.’ Kate bit her lip.
Would Luke be as shocked as she was at the possibility of life changing so dramatically in the near future? She’d certainly know how committed he was to the idea of taking the pact to the ultimate conclusion, wouldn’t she? Whether or not the test was positive, she’d see exactly how he really felt about it in a heartbeat. In the moment he raised his gaze to hers, having looked at that little window on the stick.
‘But it’s not a bad idea.’ Kate smiled at Georgia. ‘How ’bout you find the kit for me and I’ll find you a safety pin?’
* * *
No way...
It couldn’t be this easy, surely?
To have found the perfect partner and then to plan on starting a family and have it happen just like that?
He was going to be a father?
Luke didn’t need the odd prickle behind his eyes to tell him how huge this was. The emotion was so overwhelming he couldn’t think of a thing to say when he raised his gaze from the stick to look at Kate.
But maybe he didn’t need to say anything. Kate was looking pretty misty herself. And...vulnerable?
Had she thought he might not be happy about this? Freaked out, even?
With the stick still in his hand, he gathered her into his arms and held her tightly. Then he pressed a kiss against her hair.
‘I should have known.’ He smiled. ‘Set you a challenge and you have to exceed all expectations, don’t you? Do better than anyone else.’
The Doctor's Wife for Keeps Page 10