Brady pulled up the hand brake and then sat for a moment without getting out. She wondered if he was having second thoughts. Since his disappearance, there was a part of her that was braced for the worst.
“Nervous?”
“No.”
Oddly enough, he wasn’t. He reflected on what she had said at the double wedding last week. If men were supposed to be naturally leery of this sort of commitment, maybe it was better that he had lost his memory. He felt as if pieces of his life were falling into place.
“Thanks for not making me wear a tuxedo.” He got out of the car and rounded to the passenger side. He opened the door for her.
Erin took the hand he offered and got out. “Didn’t seem right making you go traditional when I can’t.” She smoothed out the skirt of her dress.
He looked at the cream-colored lace dress she had selected the day before. She hadn’t said anything, but he knew she’d had her heart set on a long, white gown. Maybe they could still do that eventually. He’d heard that people renewed their vows on anniversaries.
“You look very pretty.”
She didn’t feel very pretty. She felt dowdy, but she appreciated the compliment.
“Thanks.” As he began to walk toward the church, Erin tugged him back. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? There’s still time to back out.”
She was protesting a little too much. Maybe there was more to it than he realized. Maybe she really didn’t want to marry him and couldn’t bring herself to say it. He searched her eyes for an answer.
“Do you want me to?”
“No,” she said seriously. “But I don’t want you to regret it, either.”
He looked into her eyes and knew she was telling him the truth. Still holding her hand, he smiled as he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “I won’t.”
For his sake, she vacillated a moment longer. But she had loved Brady from the moment she’d set eyes on him. She couldn’t force herself to refuse, even if it would have been noble of her.
Noble only went so far.
Taking a deep breath, she flashed him a smile. “Okay then, let’s do it.”
As they walked from the rear of the lot, Erin saw a beige sedan pulling in on the far side. She could make out two people in the front seat. The car drew closer until the driver parked right next to their car.
Gus got out of the driver’s side, as Demi emerged from the passenger’s side.
“Hi,” Demi called out, waving. She hurried to join them, leaving Gus behind to catch up. “I hope you don’t mind, but I made him bring me. I just love weddings,” she explained.
Counting Demi and the minister, there would be six of them if the minister didn’t bring his wife. “Even tiny ones?” Erin quipped.
“Especially tiny ones.” She smiled warmly at Erin. “It makes it exclusive. And afterward, I’m hosting your reception in the banquet room at Aphrodite’s. No argument,” she added when Brady opened his mouth.
Demi talked almost as fast as Erin, Brady thought. And jumped to conclusions just as quickly. “I was about to say thank you.”
“Oh.” She grinned. “That you can do.” She looked around. “Where’s the maid of honor? Gus said she was cute.”
“I said I hoped she was cute,” Gus corrected as he joined the group. He shook his head, looking at Brady. “She never listens.” Demi poked him in the ribs.
Erin looked at the main road leading to the church, searching for Terry’s car.
“Terry usually cuts it kind of close,” Erin said. Although for once, she mused, it would have been nice if she was early.
The next moment, a compact red car came barreling into the lot, screeching to a halt beside them. Terry popped up like blond toast out of the driver’s seat. The car had barely come to a stop.
“Hi, sorry I’m late,” she apologized breathlessly. “I had to speed all the way—” She took a look at Gus, suddenly recognizing him. “No, I didn’t,” she corrected herself.
Gus grinned. “I’m here unofficially,” he assured her. “I heard nothing. Especially not the squeal of tires.”
Terry flushed and laughed, then looked at Erin. “Gosh, Erin, you look great.”
Erin looked down at her hugely expanded waistline. “I feel great.”
“Not that kind of great,” Terry admonished. “Terrific great.” Helpless, she looked at Brady for support. “Tell her.”
Brady lifted his shoulders and let them fall again. “I already did.”
“Then tell her again,” Demi prompted.
Brady exchanged looks with Gus, amused. “We’re outnumbered.”
“Tell me about it. I have been outnumbered all my life. C’mon,” he urged. “Let’s get you two married.”
“Oh, wait, I almost forgot.” Terry hurried back to her car and pulled out a beautiful bouquet she had arranged. “For the bride.”
Erin took the bouquet and looked at it lovingly. “It’s beautiful.”
“And so are you,” Brady assured her. “Let’s go make a wedding.”
Erin nodded. That sounded wonderful to her.
8
Erin stood in the doorway of her bedroom, watching as Brady walked down the short hallway to the room he had been occupying for the past two weeks. It didn’t seem right for him to remain there, since they’d been married today.
She bit her lip, debating whether to say something. She didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize the mood that surrounded them.
The reception at Aphrodite’s had been wonderful. Demi had outdone herself decorating it, even though there were only five of them. She’d even had the chef bake a small, three-tier wedding cake. One of the waiters had used Erin’s camera and taken photographs to commemorate the occasion. Erin had secretly been upset that her parents and sisters weren’t able to attend her wedding on such short notice. But all the wonderful treatment from people she hardly knew helped negate the underlying sadness that pervaded her.
The five of them had remained in the restaurant’s banquet room and talked for hours. Terry spent a good deal of that time flirting with Gus, who flirted right back. Erin discovered that she really liked Demi, and Gus had turned out to be very entertaining. Time had passed very quickly.
When it was over, husband and wife had returned home to her condo. Erin was in a state as close to euphoria as she thought was legally allowed.
And now it was time to begin living the rest of her life. She didn’t want to be the first to make the suggestion, but in light of the fact that they were now husband and wife, she thought they should be sharing the same bed.
Erin cleared her throat. “I think,” she began, choosing her words carefully, “seeing as how we’re married now, that maybe we should sleep in the same room.”
Brady turned around without skipping a beat. Those were his sentiments exactly, but he hadn’t wanted to seem insensitive to her condition. He assumed that perhaps she preferred sleeping alone at a time like this. Obviously, he’d been wrong.
He brushed a kiss over Erin’s lips as he passed her on the way into the room. “I think you’re absolutely right.”
Entering, Brady looked around. This was the first time he’d been in her room. The first time he remembered being in her room, he amended silently. Given her personality, he’d half expected to see kickknacks and clutter on every surface. But the room was amazingly neat and spacious. Even the window seat had only pillows strategically arranged on it.
She seemed to favor white, he noticed. The bedspread was white eyelet, and there were white curtains at the windows. He felt an aura of peacefulness as he looked around. What he didn’t feel, to his disappointment, was a sense of familiarity. Not on any level.
This wasn’t the time to dwell on that, he told himself. It would come. Eventually, it would come. Brady drew back the covers and got into bed. He tucked the covers around his waist and, smiling invitingly, waited for her to join him.
Erin’s eyes traveled over the length of his bare chest. He had alwa
ys hated pajama tops. How many times had she seen him just like this? And yet, it seemed like the first time. Erin couldn’t help feeling just a little nervous.
Like a bride, she mused.
She slid into bed hesitantly, then propped herself up on her elbow. Poor Brady. “Not exactly what you had in mind for a wedding night, is it?”
It wasn’t something he had given much thought. There had been too much else to concentrate on. Had they ever discussed what married life would be like for them? he wondered.
Following her cue, he propped himself up on his elbow and faced her. “Actually, I don’t know what I had in mind for a wedding night.”
He was just being kind, she decided. Another plus in his favor. She thought of the night ahead and frowned. There was absolutely no way for her to lie down beside Brady without looking like a human version of Mount McKinley.
“Most men don’t envision their wedding night lying beside a woman who’s about to give birth.”
Brady laughed at her serious expression. “Now there you have me.”
Erin searched his eyes, trying to find the answer in them. “Do I, Brady? Do I have you?”
Why did she sound so unsure? He had married her, hadn’t he? Maybe it was a pregnant thing. Brady smiled at her reassuringly. “That’s what it says on the license.”
He didn’t understand. “I’m not interested in a license, Brady. I’m interested in what goes on in here.” She tapped his chest.
To answer, he took her hand and spread it across his chest, then covered it with his own. His heart was just beneath her palm. “You tell me.”
“I don’t know.” And then she grinned at him mischievously. “It’s beating.”
She was in it, he thought. He just couldn’t find the words to tell her. Or maybe he just wasn’t ready to say them aloud.
“Yes, it is.” He looked at her seriously. “For now, I think that’s the best I can expect. I can’t say how I feel until I know the rest of it. I do know that I’m looking forward to this baby.”
Erin’s eyes widened as she stared at him. Now that was a surprise. “Are you?”
She looked almost startled. Why? “Sure, who wouldn’t be?”
Given his previous feelings, she wasn’t convinced he meant what he was saying now. Maybe he only thought he did, or was saying what he thought she wanted to hear. Or, like their wedding night, maybe he hadn’t really given it much thought at all.
She looked for an analogy he could relate to. “You know, babies aren’t like physics books. You can’t just shove them on a shelf when you’re busy or don’t feel like bothering with them.”
He smiled at the comparison. Maybe, unknowingly, she had picked the right example, after all.
“I never shove my books anywhere, and I’m rarely too busy for them. I like having them around.” He touched her cheek lightly and felt a desire building that he couldn’t do anything about for some time to come. But he could assuage her fears. “It’ll work out, Erin. I’m not too sure how just yet, but it’ll work out.”
Now there was a first, him comforting her. It was a day of wonders, Erin mused. “I thought you weren’t an optimist.”
“I’m not.” A smile played on his lips. “But I’ve been keeping company with one.” He kissed her forehead. “They say the best traits usually rub off.”
Almost nine months pregnant and she felt desire curl in her veins like scented smoke. “Is that my best trait?”
“That…” He grinned. “And you’re a hell of a kisser.” Brady glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to Erin’s side of the bed. “I’ve got an early day tomorrow.” He needed to be in at seven. He looked at her ruefully. “I guess I should have taken some time off.” This was a hell of a time to think about that, he upbraided himself. He really was behaving like an absentminded professor.
Erin shook her head. “That’s all right. You were gone for five months. You can’t exactly take a week off now.”
She never ceased to amaze him. “And you’re all right with that?”
He looked relieved, she thought. The old Brady had expected her to make concessions. This one was surprised by them. She slid her hand over his. “You’re beside me, Brady. I’m all right with everything.”
“You’re one special lady, Erin Lockwood.” He liked the sound of his name following hers. “Did I ever tell you that?”
For some, Erin thought, that would have been a rhetorical question. For Brady, it was one he wanted an answer to.
She shook her head, savoring his remark. “Not until now.”
He looked down at her ring. She had opted for a plain, simple band, but there was nothing simple about her. He touched it lightly with his fingertip. “I was pretty slow.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She thought of the things that had drawn her to him. “You were kind of endearing in your own way.”
Given the evidence, he hadn’t arrived at the same conclusion. “I worked long hours, didn’t take you dancing even though you wanted to go.” He had seen that much in her eyes at the wedding reception last week. “Didn’t tell you what you needed to hear—” He looked at her, mystified. How did a man get to be so lucky? “Why did you stay with me?”
She had already told him. “Because I loved you.”
That didn’t answer his question. He had to know. If he knew why she had remained, maybe that would be the key to understanding himself. “Why?”
Not everything had an answer. “Because I just did,” she said softly. Amusement shone in her eyes. “You can hypothesize and explore a thing to death, but in the end there’s that tiny X factor.” She couldn’t explain it any better than that. “It’s either there, or it’s not. If it’s there, you love someone.” She ran her fingers lightly along his face. And she did. She loved him very, very much. “If it’s not, nothing you can do will make it be there.”
He still didn’t understand. But then, he was beginning to think that approaching this logically wasn’t the way to go. He smiled at her fondly. “Sounds like a lot of illogical double-talk to me.”
She laughed, kissing him. “It would. To you. But it works for me.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Maybe it works for me, too.” Nestling her against him, Brady lowered his mouth to hers.
Instant fireworks. Instant desire. The kiss flowed through her like overheated lava and made her wish she wasn’t so pregnant. She ached to make love with Brady the way they used to. The way they hadn’t nearly frequently enough.
She wound her arms around his neck, bringing him closer, losing herself in the pleasure his mouth could create for her. Erin sighed with frustrated contentment as he kissed first one lid and then the other, working his way along her jaw and pressing a kiss to her throat.
The magic was very much there.
“I am really looking forward to this baby,” Brady murmured against her lips.
He wouldn’t be, she thought. If he remembered who and what he had been, he wouldn’t be. Her heart raced, accelerated by the wonders his lips were generating. “Why?”
“So we can really get this marriage under way.” Pregnant or not, the sexual pull he felt toward her was enormous. It was one he had no intentions of fighting once the baby was born. But it went beyond that. Maybe it wasn’t logical, but he did feel as if she was his soul mate. As if they were meant to always be together.
Banking down the demands desire had created within him, Brady settled back on the bed. He curved his arm around her, resting his head against hers. “I might not be able to make love with you tonight, but at least I can hold you until we both fall asleep.” To her everlasting pleasure, he did.
Erin stood shifting from foot to foot at the front door. She frowned self-consciously as she looked at Brady. He had curtailed her quick getaway. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
He had come home from work to find Erin on her way out, a pillow tucked under her arm. She was going to her Lamaze class. Brady relieved her of her pillow, asking for five minutes, ju
st long enough to grab an apple and get ready.
“Don’t have to what?” He checked for his car keys. He wondered if he had been this absentminded before the mugging. “Come to the class?”
She shrugged carelessly. She didn’t want him feeling obligated to accompany her. She didn’t want him feeling obligated about anything at all. That wasn’t the cornerstone upon which she wanted to build her marriage. “The class…and the delivery room.”
He found his keys right where he’d put them, on the coffee table. Brady turned around to look at her. “Why, don’t you want me there?”
She let out a frustrated sigh. Lately, as her due date approached, she was getting edgier and edgier. “No, it’s not that. I just don’t want you to feel that you have to do any of this.”
Brady had always been a stickler for obligations and responsibilities. To her, that sounded too much like being shackled. The last thing she wanted was for Brady to feel imprisoned by her or anything connected to her. She wanted him to do exactly what he was doing, but because he wanted to, not because he had to.
Can’t have your cake and eat it, too, she thought ruefully. Just having him along should have been enough to make her happy. B
Brady tucked her pillow more securely under his arm. “Well, if I’m going to be in the delivery room, I should know what’s going on.” He looked at her, waiting for her to challenge him. “That’s only logical, right?”
She bit her lip. The other classes had all taken place during her lunch hour, but the instructor had had a conflict and rescheduled this last one in the evening. She’d come this far on her own. And it had been damn lonely.
“Yes, but-”
He opened the front door and held it for her. “Don’t argue with me, Erin. Just get in the car.” Brady led the way to the Volvo, but she hesitated at the door. “Now what?”
She toyed with the handle. “Are you doing this because you feel you have to?”
The 7 Lb., 2 Oz. Valentine Page 10