by Susan Crosby
Ted sprang up. “Where is she?”
“The ladies’ room, sir.” He pointed. “Through there and to the right.”
Ladies’ room? How was he supposed to help her there? “Did she ask for me?”
“No, sir, but she is apparently having some difficulty—”
Ted took off running. He didn’t hesitate when he got to the restroom but slammed the door open and rushed in. He found her on a small sofa, crying like he’d never seen anyone cry before. It broke his heart.
“Sara Beth,” he said softly, soothingly.
She went silent for a moment. “Go away.” She started crying again, trying so hard not to that her whole body shook.
“I’m not going away.” He looked around for some tissue, found a box and passed her a few, then he sat beside her.
The door opened. A woman looked inside, saw them, then backed out.
“You’re in the ladies’ room,” Sara Beth told him, wiping her eyes.
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“Dr. Armstrong is my father.”
He almost didn’t catch what she said. She had the tissues pressed to her nose and wasn’t looking at him. After a moment the words sank in.
“Is that what your mother told you today?”
She nodded. “I said I wouldn’t tell anyone, but you’re a doctor. You have to keep secrets.”
He didn’t remind her that she wasn’t his patient and this wasn’t a medical issue, because it didn’t make any difference. He would never share her secret.
“So, Dr. Armstrong was using his own sperm to help impregnate the women who came to the clinic?” he said. “That’s happened before, unfortunately.”
“No, Ted. They had an affair,” she whispered.
Ted felt his jaw drop. Because she started to cry again, he wrapped his arms around her and didn’t let go as she told him the whole story, including how she’d gone to see Emily Armstrong.
After a while, a knock came on the door, and the manager came in, saying that if they needed a private place, he could let them use his office.
They decided to return to where the limo waited for them. She clutched the bouquet, but barely made eye contact with Ted.
The driver took them to a building on Park Avenue.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Rourke’s penthouse. He’s out of town. In Boston, actually. He said we were welcome to use it tonight….” Of course, Ted had thought they would be celebrating.
“I didn’t bring anything with me to stay over.”
He’d had fun buying something red and lacy, but now didn’t seem to be the time to bring it up. “It doesn’t matter. You must be tired.”
She nodded, although her spirits seemed to be on the mend. He took advantage of the moment, in case he was right.
“One question first, please, then I won’t bring it up again.” Tonight, anyway. He wrapped her hands in his. “Do you love me?”
She didn’t say anything for a few seconds, then finally, as if she was in pain, “Yes. With all my heart.”
Relief struck first, then he dug for patience, usually easy to find. “Then why can’t you marry me?”
“If I’m pregnant, we’ll talk about it again. Maybe I should take a test. It might give us an answer.”
“I don’t want to know. I don’t care. It doesn’t make a difference to me if you’re pregnant or not. I want to marry you, no matter what. Right now.”
She swallowed. He thought he’d finally gotten through to her, until she said, “Have you thought about your parents?”
“What? What about them?”
“They have big plans for you. They want you to marry a woman of your own kind.”
He almost laughed. “My own kind?”
“You know what I mean. Not the daughter of—” She shook her head. “I’m so used to not knowing half of my parentage. Now, instead of thinking I was conceived scientifically, I have to remember I was conceived when my father cheated on his wife. What do you think your parents will think of that?”
“It’s none of their business. That’s what I think.”
“Well, I think they love you and want you to marry the right person.”
Her logic, or lack thereof, was starting to make its own kind of sense. “So, let me get this straight. You love me, but you won’t marry me, even though I don’t care whether you’re pregnant or not, because you think my parents might disown me or something?” He waited for her to confirm it. When she didn’t, he cupped her face, making her look into his eyes, willing her to see what was in his heart. “Marry me. Tonight. We’ll take Rourke’s jet and fly to Las Vegas. I want to have the right to show that I love you in public. And if you happen to be pregnant already, I’d rather no one know we jumped the gun. Not for me, Sara Beth, but for you, and our child, if there is one. Let me protect you from the gossip, please. Marry me tonight.”
“Okay.” Her voice was breathless and full of joy. “I love you, Ted.”
He grinned and finally kissed her, said he loved her again, then dug into his pocket for the ring. He slipped it on her finger, pressed his lips to the soft skin above it, then tucked both of her hands in his lap.
“We’ll need witnesses,” he said.
“Lisa.”
“Will you be able to handle that, knowing what you know now?”
“She’s both my best friend and my sister. She’s the only one I want to stand up with me. How about you? Chance?”
“Yeah.”
She took a deep breath. “Our parents.”
He shook his head.
“We can’t not invite them, Ted. If I were a parent, I would be so hurt not to be invited to my child’s wedding. It’ll be their choice. They can say no, but we can’t leave them out. What kind of beginning to our marriage would that be? Your parents would blame me for denying them the chance to see their only child get married. My mom would blame you. It could take a long time to soothe those particular hurt feelings. At the very least we have to tell them before it happens, not after.”
He thought it over, saw the hopeful look in her eyes. “My parents are in Toronto.”
“I can’t believe you’re making excuses. That suggests to me that you do think they’ll object to—”
“No. I don’t, Sara Beth. I just want to get married without making a big production of it.”
“I wouldn’t call this wedding a big production.”
She was right. “Okay, I do see your point. So, it looks like we have a lot of phone calls to make.” He touched her hair. “Are you upset about not having the big, white wedding? Is it something you’ve dreamed about?”
“Maybe a little, but that was a girlhood fantasy. The reality is just fine.”
“You are one incredible woman,” he said.
She smiled and kissed him. “Don’t you forget it.”
It was the strangest, most wonderful whirlwind of Sara Beth’s life, full of joy and surprises. First came the phone calls to Boston. Lisa whooped so loudly that Sara Beth had to pull the phone away from her ear. It was so hard not to blurt out that they were sisters, but Sara Beth had talked it over with Ted and decided to keep it to herself for now. Maybe the right time would come, but it wasn’t today.
Chance came next but he’d been called in for a difficult delivery of triplets, plus he had no one to cover for him. He was disappointed that he couldn’t attend, but promised to throw Ted a postwedding bachelor party.
Sara Beth called her mother next, inviting her to join them at the airport, to fly to the wedding, to be part of it. Sara Beth had held her breath, waiting for a question or an “Are you sure?” It never came. She said she’d be there with bells on.
Ted hadn’t called his parents in front of her, and all he said was they’d try to make it. Sara Beth wanted to delay the event until they could, but Ted slowly shook his head.
Sara Beth refused to be hurt for herself, but she was sorry for Ted.
Ted’s friend Rourke Devli
n insisted on coming along and being the best man. When he climbed onto the plane, his plane, Sara Beth recognized him, remembered seeing him at Shots with Ted and Chance, solving that mystery. Then a new intrigue began as Rourke and Lisa made eye contact and went still for a few seconds. Lisa glanced away first, but Sara Beth caught them sneaking looks at each other the whole flight to Las Vegas.
It didn’t matter that their flight landed in the middle of the night. The city was lit and teeming with tourists. They checked into the Bellagio, had something to eat, got a few hours of sleep, then Sara Beth, her mother and Lisa shopped for a wedding dress, finding a stunning white sheath scattered with a few beads to give it sparkle.
She felt beautiful.
At high noon, she linked her arm through her mother’s and moved to the top of the aisle, ready to marry the man she loved, who looked at her with such love in return that it stopped her stomach from churning.
Then she saw his parents sitting in the front row, and joy filled her, warm and satisfying, completing her beautiful day. They stood, were smiling at her, as was Ted, who’d changed his tie to one she’d bought him covered with teddy bears. She carried the bouquet he’d given her in New York.
The processional music started. Lisa gave her a thumbs-up. Rourke cupped Ted’s shoulder and said something that made him smile. Holding hands, Ted’s parents eyed him as Sara Beth and her mother came down the aisle, Ted smiling at her. She beamed back.
He was right. Whether or not she was pregnant, this was good—perfect, in fact.
The ceremony was short but memorable, their I-dos followed by a kiss she would always remember. They didn’t walk back up the aisle but greeted everyone where they stood. Got hugs from Lisa and Grace. Congratulations from Rourke.
Then Ted’s parents approached.
Penny took Sara Beth’s hand. “All his life, I’ve been wondering who he would choose, hoping he would find his soul mate, as I did mine. You make him happy. I’ve never heard him sound so carefree, and he’s obviously so much in love. Thank you for bringing that to him.” She kissed Sara Beth’s cheek.
“Thank you,” Sara Beth whispered, close to tears. “He’s truly a gift in my life.”
“Sara Beth,” Brant Bonner said.
She waited, not expecting anything but kind words now. Still her pulse pounded in her ears as she waited for what he had to say.
“I know I didn’t have the privilege of watching you grow up, like I did my son. I’ll bet you were a beautiful, mischievous child.” He smiled and looked to Grace for confirmation, receiving it in a nod and return smile.
“I know you didn’t have a father around to make your life easier in ways that fathers can. But I want you to know that I’d be honored if you called me Dad.”
Tears started to fall from Sara Beth’s eyes, blurring her vision. “Thank you. Yes, I’d like to do that. Dad.”
Everyone laughed a little shakily, then Brant pulled something from behind his back, a soft brown teddy bear with a red heart sewn on its chest. “Welcome to the family, daughter.”
Sara Beth reached for it, this amazing symbol, such a small thing to bind people together. “You told him how much I ached for a father,” she said to Ted, brushing at her tears. “About the teddy bear.”
“Yes. And I won’t apologize—” Ted emphasized.
She put a hand to his mouth, stopping the words. “No one’s ever done what you’ve done—anything so kind, so thoughtful, so loving for me—and that’s saying a lot, Ted, because I have a lot of great friends, and a wonderful mother.”
Their guests had walked away, giving them a moment. “I am the luckiest woman alive. I love you so much.” She went up on tiptoe to kiss him.
And the absentminded scientist gave her his single-minded attention, a silent promise that she would always come first.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5001-1
THE DOCTOR’S PREGNANT BRIDE?
Copyright © 2010 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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*Wives for Hire
**Back in Business
*Wives for Hire
*Wives for Hire
††The McCoys of Chance City
††The McCoys of Chance City
‡The Baby Chase
†Behind Closed Doors
†Behind Closed Doors
†Behind Closed Doors
†Behind Closed Doors
†Behind Closed Doors
†Behind Closed Doors