by Susan Gable
He grunted. "I know that feeling."
"You do?" Her eyes widened.
"Yup." Jake guided Grace's foot into the bottom of her lightweight summer pajamas. "My mother took off when Dusty was two. Decided she'd had enough of motherhood. Left the three of us to 'find herself' with a new boyfriend. How old were you when yours took off?"
"Not even one."
So, her own mother had gone through the revolving door. That explained why she believed a man could raise a child by himself. "What about your dad?"
"Killed in a motorcycle accident when I was ten." She stared at the floor.
Jake lowered Grace to her feet and she ran off to play with her sister and a pile of blocks. He leaned back on his heels. "What happened to you then?"
She lifted her chin and looked deep into his eyes. Unspoken pain sparked briefly in hers, then a shimmer of determination replaced it. "Jake, let me ask you this. If something happens to you, will your sister and brother take care of your baby? Like it was their own?"
Your baby. That was an excellent choice of words in his opinion. "Of course they would."
"Good." She rose from the sofa. "Now, I have to go and finish cleaning the dining room. There are tiny red handprints on the woodwork." She glanced at him over her shoulder. "But once you get those two settled for the night, we need to talk."
* * *
Chapter 5
«^»
"All right, the twins are on the sofa watching a video. They'll probably be asleep in five minutes. Let's talk." Jake took the sponge from Harley's hand as she wiped the last of the pizza sauce off the wood paneling in the dining area.
Her stomach gave a little flip at the thought of what she was about to do. She cleared her throat and stood up. "Can we do this in your office? After all, it's—it's business."
An eager light flashed in his eyes. "Business, huh? All right, go on in. I'll be there as soon as I get rid of this sponge."
She entertained herself by checking out all the stuff hanging on the walls in his office. Her fingertips brushed reverently over the frame of his Bachelor of Architecture degree. A master's certificate hung next to it. This, this was why Jake Manning had the chance to hold a respected place in society. Yeah, this and the fact that he doesn't have a criminal conviction. The conviction she couldn't do anything about, but getting a piece of paper like this was something she could—would—do.
Blueprints of houses also dotted the wall, along with an impressive poster-size photo of the new hotel down on the Bayfront. But it was the picture of Jake beside a little boy with a precariously held ice cream cone that captured her attention. She lifted it from the wall to examine it carefully. Man and boy shared silly grins with whoever stood behind the camera. Why hadn't he included this photo in his daddy résumé package? "Who's this?" she asked as Jake came up behind her.
He sighed. "That's Austin, I tried to adopt him about a year ago."
"What happened?"
"Social worker decided he'd be better off in a two-parent home."
Harley looked over at him. Longing flickered in his eyes, but then he shrugged. "Nothing I could do about it."
"Social workers." She wrinkled her nose. "Get a good one, and you're lucky. Get the average overworked, underpaid, frantic one, and…" And you ended up shuffled from place to place, and in some homes that shouldn't have been allowed to take in a vicious dog, let alone a child.
While good people and good kids were separated.
She handed Jake the photo, then touched his forearm. The same tingling sensation she'd felt when she'd touched him in Ned's garage surged up her fingers. "I'm really sorry. I'm sure Austin was, too."
The picture rocked briefly as he hung it back on the wall. He straightened it, then turned and waved at the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat." He settled on the stool by the slanted table.
Harley perched on the edge of the chair. "After seeing you with your nieces tonight, I know you were telling the truth. You'll make a great father."
Jake slowly released his breath. "Good." He didn't dare say more.
"You know what my terms are. Have you thought about them?"
Thought about them? He'd dreamed about them, awakening with a hard-on that wouldn't quit. "Yes, yes, I have."
"Okay, so then you realize that marrying me is a good idea for your baby? So he or she is legitimate?"
Good idea? No. But one he was willing to concede. After all, it was a marriage on paper only. Besides, marrying her also meant his insurance would cover the pregnancy and delivery. "That's fine. As is your other, um, condition."
She jumped from the chair to pace the room. "Okay. So how do we do this?"
"My lawyer is completing the paperwork. First, I want you to have a medical exam. We can get the name of Mel's OB/GYN, unless you have someone else you prefer."
Her face lost some of its color and she stopped in the middle of the room. "OB/GYN?" She tossed her head in apparent indifference. "No, Mel's doctor is fine. Whatever." She started walking again.
"I think I'd like you to keep staying here. That way, I have a chance to be close to the baby and bond with him before birth."
"What?" Her head bobbed a crazy pattern, not quite a nod. "You want me to stay? Here? Uh, okay. I'd like that." She halted in front of his diplomas, stealing a quick glance at them. "And I get to go to school full-time, right? You'll pay for as many credits as I can handle?"
"Well, I don't want you overdoing it. Too much stress isn't good for an expectant…" Mother wasn't really the word he wanted to use, since she wasn't going to really be a mother. "Woman," he finished.
"I'll keep working at the Quick E. Lube part-time, too."
"I don't think so." Jake came out of his chair. "I don't think a garage is the right environment for an expectant woman, either."
Her eyes revealed disappointment. "But I need the money. I have other bills to pay, insurance on my truck, stuff like that."
"I'll take care of anything you need."
She shook her head. "I don't want a handout, just the tuition."
"Look, Harley, I'm not going to argue with you. Whatever needs you have will be my responsibility. For the duration of our agreement, your problems are my problems."
This time skepticism filled her eyes.
"I'm serious."
One of the twins screeched from the living room. "Uh-oh. I'd better go check on that. We'll get things rolling, okay?" Jake reached out and touched her arm as he passed. "Thank you, Harley." It didn't seem like enough, but how did you thank a woman for agreeing to have your baby?
Jake hustled toward the living room as another screech pierced the air.
* * *
About a week later, as Jake sat in his downtown office, tires squealed on the pavement outside. He whirled in his chair, peering out the window just in time to see a car on State Street narrowly miss getting rear-ended by another. His corner second-floor office allowed a view of both State and Twelfth, and accidents were just one of the many distractions.
"Jake, you still there?"
He grabbed the receiver, deactivating the speakerphone. "Yeah, I'm here."
"Sorry to put you on hold for so long."
"As long as you stopped the clock while you did it. I'm not paying for you to talk to somebody else."
His lawyer laughed. "No, I'm not charging you for hold time. Now, I've gotten your prenuptial drawn up. All you need to do is drop by the office with your intended and sign it. You're absolutely sure this is the way you want to go, not with a surrogate contract?"
"The mother-to-be won't have it any other way."
"There are other surrogates out there."
"I want this one." Man, did he want this one. The house suddenly seemed too small, and no matter which way he turned, she was there. He occasionally found strands of her hair in the bathroom, and her toothbrush lying next to his on the counter presented a picture of domestic tranquility he found hard to ignore. He raced home from the office in the evenings
and was disappointed if she wasn't there.
Watch your heart, watch your heart, watch your heart. Dusty's words echoed in his mind. He had to admit his little brother had a point. When Stacy had gotten the offer to be a news anchor in a bigger market, she'd decided that being married to him didn't mesh with her new opportunity; he hadn't known such pain could exist. He'd believed she was content—content with her life as it was. Finding her stuff gone had been quite a shock. So had realizing he hadn't been as much in love with her as he'd thought. The new catch-phrase for it was a "starter marriage." Which actually applied now that he was facing matrimony for a second time.
"Jake? Have I lost you?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. How soon can we drop by? I want to get this done." It had already been almost a week since they'd agreed to go through with the plan.
"Come anytime, Jake. Tomorrow would be fine."
"Okay, thanks." He replaced the receiver and turned back to his computer, where the contemporary house he was designing for some very wealthy clients awaited his finishing touches. He keyed in some changes.
Mrs. Witherby had specifically requested—no, demanded—a cupola. Jake grimaced. It threw off all the lines. He'd repeatedly pointed it out to both Witherbys, but they'd been adamant. Well, they were the clients, and the clients were always right, even when they were ridiculously wrong. The fees he charged them would pay for Harley's fall semester tuition. So, he wouldn't include this house in his folio. There were plenty of other buildings he was proud of—buildings he could use to attract future clients.
A tapping on his office door diverted him from the design. "Come in."
Harley waltzed in, stunning in a pale yellow T-shirt dress. It clung to her curves and set off her emerald eyes. She dropped into one of the chairs alongside his desk and crossed her legs, dangling a sandal off her toes. It was a far cry from her normal work boots, jeans and T-shirts. He'd never seen her look more feminine.
"I hope you're happy," she said.
"Happy?"
She shuddered. "I just came from my appointment with the OB/GYN."
He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh, right. I'd forgotten about that."
"Too bad I didn't forget." She scowled at him.
"And?"
"And I'm perfectly healthy, and the doctor sees no reason we shouldn't be able to conceive a child. He did remind me that it could take six months to a year, and that given your age, if we don't conceive within a year, we should take 'appropriate action.' His words."
Jake leaned back in his chair. "Six months to a year just to conceive?" That was far too long. He'd already realized that the longer he stayed in contact with her, the more danger he could be in. The very last thing he wanted was to fall in love with her.
Damn it, why did she have to be so likable? "It didn't take Dusty and Kate that long, or Mel, either, for that matter."
"And they're all younger than we are."
"I'm thirty-five, for crying out loud! You're twenty-seven. Since when is that ancient?"
"Look, don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger. And hey, it wasn't you on that damn table today, so give me a break." She shuddered again. "I hate doctors."
"I guess you'll have to get used to them. We can swing by my lawyer's office and take care of the prenuptial, and we'll get this show on the road."
"Careful, you'll make me think you're either eager to get rid of me or eager to get me into your bed."
The way her voice dropped on the word bed sent a bolt of desire coursing through him, one that made him grit his teeth. It'd been a long time since he'd taken a woman to his bed. Two years, two months and seventeen days, to be exact. But who was counting?
He turned his chair back to face his computer, saved the final changes to the Witherbys' house, then started burning a backup CD. "Tell you what, since you had such a terrible day, why don't I make it up to you by taking you out for dinner? Seems the least I can do."
"Sounds good to me. How about the Peninsula for the sunset afterward?"
He looked at her sharply. "I thought that was your favorite quiet time? You told me you liked to spend it alone."
"That's true. But I wondered if you'd like to take a break from analyzing things to just enjoy something for a change."
"I suppose I could give it a try." Jake took the backup disk from the computer and slipped it into a plastic case. Crossing the room, he placed it in the drawer of a metal filing cabinet. "Okay, let's go."
* * *
The wind stirred her hair, fanning it into her face. Harley tucked the strands behind her ear, wishing she'd put it in a ponytail before coming down to the beach.
Gulls whirled overhead, their piercing cries carried away by the breeze off Lake Erie. The clouds began their nightly show of colors, the reds and golds appearing first. Harley slid her bare feet deeper into the sand and closed her eyes. Peace, an elusive thing in her muddled life, embraced her like a long-lost friend. The trees rustled behind her, soothing, calming.
Jake exhaled loudly and stirred restlessly beside her.
She opened her eyes and turned to look at him. Still wearing his powder-blue, button-down shirt, black circle-and-star tie, gray dress slacks and black split-toe oxfords, he looked as out of place on the beach as she would at a gala ball in her mechanic's coveralls.
She shook her head and moved to the edge of the blanket at his feet. "You're not getting into the spirit of the exercise, Jake. You really need to loosen up." She tugged on the laces of his shoes, untying both at once.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm loosening you up. Close your eyes and listen to the birds, the water, the wind." She peeled off his socks, then rolled the bottoms of his pant legs up three turns. Pushing aside the blanket, she pressed his feet down. "Feel the sand."
She crawled back up to his side. Her hands shook as she reached for his tie. Did she dare? Just do it. After all, the man intended to make a baby with her. Removing his tie was a little thing in comparison. She worked her fingers into the knot and pulled.
His eyes flew open and he caught her hand. "What are you doing now?"
She swallowed hard at the dusky look he gave her, then ran her tongue over her lips. "Still loosening you up?"
"Actually, I think you're tightening something," he murmured, caressing the back of her hand.
The contact sent a flash of pure fire up her arm and down into her stomach. She pulled harder on the tie, got it free and dropped it to the blanket. The buttons at the top of his shirt challenged her quivering fingers, but she finally managed to open them. His caress traveled farther up her arm, distracting her from the task. "There," she whispered. "That's better, isn't it?"
He shifted closer to her. "Yes. Much." He grasped her gently by the forearms and drew her to a seated position. "That's even better."
Harley could see the setting sun reflected in his eyes. She could see other things, too: a tenderness, an echo of the compassion she'd seen when Ned fired her … and desire.
She trembled, unsure of herself. What was this knot in her stomach, this tightness in her chest? It was more than a physical response; that much she knew. But surely it wasn't … love? Was this what it felt like? Had she really begun to fall for him?
What kind of idiot falls for a man who only wants a surrogate? A woman to give birth to his child? All right, so he was tender, and compassionate, and he'd believed in her innocence at the garage. Still, he'd already made plans to remove her from his life.
Harley sighed. Goodbyes she knew how to handle. Perhaps she should just enjoy this while it lasted. A small piece of heaven was better than some people ever got, and definitely more than she'd ever had before.
She closed her eyes again and leaned in toward him.
Jake recognized her intention immediately, and despite a stab of apprehension, followed suit, closing his eyes and easing forward to meet her.
First contact was soft, hesitant.
The warmth of her lips drew him deeper, and he wrapped his arms arou
nd her and pulled her against him. The pounding of his pulse in his ears overwhelmed the cry of the gulls, the sounds of the water. Her tongue danced along the edge of his lips, and he opened his mouth to let her in.
Passion, more powerful, more heated, than he'd ever experienced, grabbed him and dragged him under, a strong current he should have struggled against, but didn't. He'd willingly drown in her arms.
Her hands slid around the back of his neck and she ran her fingers through his hair, pressing him deeper, urging him onward. The kiss took on a life of its own and the world around them came to a sudden halt.
After what seemed an eternity, she pushed her palms against his chest. They both gasped for air, eyes now open and gazes locked. The desire in hers rattled him, though he was sure his own must hold the same smoldering fire.
"Holy…" she breathed.
"Smokes," he finished for her. "I think we might want to move that wedding day up."
* * *
Chapter 6
«^»
Harley's wedding day ranked right up there as another one of those should've-stayed-in-bed days. She couldn't escape the courthouse fast enough. She scrambled out the heavy glass doors and onto the sidewalk.
The hot end-of-July sun reflected off the windows across the street, making her squint. Midday traffic crawled, someone's brakes screeched, and she winced at the rotor damage the fool was probably causing; the sounds of people laughing and talking surrounded her. She couldn't breathe.
Her husband finally caught up to her. "I'm sorry, Harley."
"It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me. I just had no idea."
She flipped open her purse and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, shoving them onto her face before she turned to him. "It's done. That's all that matters."
"The judge I wanted was on vacation, and if I'd known Judge Ephraim had been the one to sentence you, I would've made sure—"
"I said it's okay. Let's just forget it." Easier said than done. Her stomach tightened as she recalled the sneer on the judge's face. He hadn't forgotten her any more than she'd forgotten him, and he'd made it his business to ensure that her groom knew all about her criminal record before he read the vows. Thank God she'd talked Jake out of asking his family to attend the ceremony. As it was, the two secretaries they'd snagged to act as witnesses had goggled at her when the judge launched into his lecture about her past. Why did it seem that no matter what she did to start a new life, the old one popped up to haunt her?