His shoulders trembled. Tears welled in his eyes and one lone drop trickled down his cheek. How could he have ever doubted this woman? How could he have even considered the possibility that she had deliberately trapped him by getting herself pregnant?
“I haven’t done a damn thing to deserve your love. I’ve fought you every inch of the way. Every moment since we met, I’ve wanted you and at the same time I’ve been trying to figure a way to change you into what I thought was the ideal wife for me.”
“And have you?” She reached up and wiped the tear from his cheek.
“Have I figured out a way to make you over into the ideal wife? Hell, no!” He squeezed her hand. “I don’t want you to change, honey. I’ve become rather fond of the real Paige Summers, you know.”
“You want me just the way I am?” she asked.
“Just the way you are.” He swallowed hard, trying desperately to hold back his tears. “Haven’t you figured it out yet, Paige? I finally have. You are so much a part of me that I’d die without you.”
A large, heavyset nurse, with a hypodermic needle in her hand, entered Paige’s room. “Would you step outside for just a few minutes, Mr. Montgomery? What I have to do won’t take long, then you can come right back in.”
Jared brushed his lips across Paige’s. “I’ll be right back.”
He closed the door behind him, then leaned against the wall. His stomach muscles constricted, his chest ached and his big shoulders shook as tears streamed down his face. Dear God in heaven, if anything happened to Paige, he wouldn’t want to go on living. She had become as important to him as the air he breathed.
Paige wanted their baby—their precious little Angela—as much as he did. Maybe even more, if that was possible. What would it do to Paige to lose their daughter? She was such a loving, caring person, so filled with goodness and the pure wonder of life.
He had to be strong. Strong for Paige. If the contractions didn’t stop and Angela was born prematurely, they would have to face the real possibility that she could and probably would die.
Balling his big hands into tight fists, Jared raised them toward heaven, threw back his head and moaned, long and low and deep. An agonized and angry but silent cry tore from the very depths of his soul.
Please God, please let Paige be all right and spare our precious little Angela. I love Paige and I swear that I’ll spend the rest of my life making her happy.
The nurse emerged from Paige’s room. “You can go back in now, Mr. Montgomery. Ms. Summers is doing just fine. She should be asleep shortly.” She patted Jared on the arm. “Think positive thoughts.”
He nodded affirmatively, then when the nurse walked down the empty hallway, he wiped his face with his fingers and cleared his throat.
When he returned to Paige’s room, she opened her eyes and lifted her hand. Sitting down beside her, he took her hand, brought it to his lips and pressed his mouth into the center of her palm.
He held her hand, stroking her wrist, until she dozed off into a peaceful sleep. He pulled another chair up in front of him so that he could prop up his feet. Leaning against the bed, he laid his arm alongside hers and threaded his fingers through her fingers.
Paige slept through the morning, waking when the clatter of lunch trays broke through her sedated fog. Something big and heavy weighted down her hand. Jared’s hand. He sat beside her asleep, his head resting on his shoulder.
When she tried to remove her hand from his grasp, he grunted, tightened his hold and eased open one eyelid. Peeping at her, he smiled, then yawned.
“Hello,” she said.
Releasing her hand, he lowered his feet to the floor and straightened up in the chair. “Hello, yourself, beautiful.”
Paige giggled. “I’ll just bet I’m beautiful. No makeup. My hair’s a mess and I’m wearing this—” she lifted the front of her hospital gown “—designer outfit.”
“Honey, you are the most beautiful woman in the world just the way you look right now.”
Paige grabbed his hand and laid it over her stomach. “I haven’t had any more contractions. What time is it?”
Jared checked his watch. “Eleven-fifty-two. That means it’s been—”
“Over eight hours since my last contraction.” Opening her arms, she reached for him, drawing him close when he embraced her gently. “Oh, Jared. Maybe…maybe everything is going to be all right.”
“Paige, I know that I promised I’d never ask you again, but—”
“It’s all right,” she told him, sliding her hips over to make room for him. “Sit down, Mr. Montgomery. There’s something I want to ask you.”
Easing down on the bed beside her, he continued holding her in his arms. He lowered his head and captured her lips in a tender kiss. She sighed.
“Jared?”
“Yes?”
“Will you marry me?”
Jared’s mouth fell open. He gazed at her in total disbelief. “Repeat the question.”
“Will you marry me?”
“I thought you said that you wouldn’t marry a man who didn’t love you.”
She rubbed his nose with hers. “But you do love me, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. Paige Summers, I love you. I love you. I love you.”
She melted against him, safe in his loving arms. “I know you do.”
“How did you know? I didn’t know for sure myself until a few hours ago.”
“You told me, silly man.”
“But I didn’t…I mean, I…when?” he sputtered. “I only told you a minute ago.”
“No, you told me this morning, before I went to sleep.” Paige kissed his chin, then his neck. “When you told me that I was so much a part of you that you’d die without me, I knew you loved me.” And she knew that he loved her for who she was and not the woman he’d once wanted her to be.
“I’ve been a slow learner when it came to the most important lesson of my life.”
At that moment, Walt Summers cleared his throat. Jared and Paige glanced at the open doorway where Dora and Walt stood, arm in arm, both of them smiling.
“How did you know I was in the hospital?” Paige asked. “Jared, you didn’t call them, did you?”
“Now, don’t go blaming Jared.” Dora came bustling into the room. “When we called around this morning and couldn’t find you two anywhere, I checked with Dr. Petrocelli.”
“I didn’t want you and Daddy to worry,” Paige said. “I’m doing much better. I haven’t had a contraction in over eight hours.”
Jared kissed Paige quickly, then stood, allowing Dora access to her daughter, but he kept a tight grasp on Paige’s hand.
“You were probably too little to remember, but the same thing happened with me when I was nearly seven months along with Bryant. I had to spend the next two months in bed, and your father wasn’t allowed to touch me.” Dora blushed. Walt cleared his throat. “But Bryant and I made it just fine, and so will you and your baby.”
“Jared and I are going to get married,” Paige told her parents.
“Just as soon as the doctor says Paige is well enough.” Jared squeezed her hand.
“So you finally realized that you loved our daughter.” Walt slapped Jared on the back. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever come to your senses.”
“Is that what we walked in on?” Dora asked. “Did he finally propose to you again?”
“No. I proposed to him. And he said yes.” Smiling with a happiness that made her radiant, Paige gazed adoringly at Jared. “He loves me, Mama. He really, truly loves me.”
Epilogue
Although disappointed that the wedding couldn’t be a large, elaborate affair at St. Veronica’s, Dora enthusiastically threw herself into preparations for a small, private ceremony on New Year’s Eve, working tirelessly with the wedding director Jared had flown in from Denver.
The living room in Jared and Paige’s condo had been stripped bare and decorated to resemble a tiny chapel. Gold and white dominated the scene, wit
h touches of forest green and hints of deep red. Candlelight illuminated the setting, and fresh flowers scented the air. A string quartet created a romantic atmosphere with their classical selections.
Reverend Archibald, in his impressive ecclesiastical robes, held an open white Bible in his hands. Looking out over the small assembly, he smiled. The guest list included Paige’s brothers and their dates, Dora’s sister and her family, flown by private jet from Mississippi, half a dozen Grand Springs’s Montgomery Real Estate and Land Development employees and Dr. Tony Petrocelli, his wife Bethany and their young son Christopher.
Greg Addison, handsome and debonair in his black tuxedo, stood at Jared’s side.
“Do you have the ring?” Jared asked his best man for the fourth time in five minutes.
“Yes, I have the ring.” Greg laughed. “I’ve never seen you so nervous. Calm down.”
“I’ve never gotten married before. Nothing has ever been this important to me. I want everything to be perfect for Paige.”
He had made a vow to God, one that he would gladly keep. For as long as he lived, he would love Paige and devote his life to her happiness.
Bryant and Austen escorted their mother down the aisle and to her seat. Dora wiped away her tears with a lace handkerchief Jared had presented to her that morning.
Kay Thompson preceded the bride down the aisle. Her off-the-shoulder, formfitting sheath of forest green shimmered in the candlelight.
The string quartet played the wedding march as her father led Paige down the aisle. Tears glazed the eyes of big, macho, retired Sergeant Major Walt Summers.
Happiness glistened in Paige’s eyes as she looked at her groom, perfectly attired in his black tuxedo. The double-breasted jacket, with satin lapels, and matching trousers had been tailored for an exact fit on Jared’s long, lean, powerful body.
Jared smiled at Paige, that devastating smile that always turned her knees to jelly. She loved this man with all her heart and soul, and God in his goodness had seen fit to bless them not only with their mutual love, but with the gift of their little Angela’s life.
Jared could not take his eyes off his bride. To him, she was the most beautiful creature on earth. Rare. Precious. A treasure without price.
Paige’s empire-waist, scoop-neck gown of cream silk duchess satin featured detailed embroidery of gold bullion, pearls, crystals, bugle beads and threadwork of varying textures. Heavy beadwork accented the elbow-length sleeves and the embroidered bodice.
“Dearly beloved,” Reverend Archibald said. Paige and Jared gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes. “We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony.”
The brief ceremony ended with a passionate kiss, then Jared swooped his bride up into his arms and carried her into the dining room, where a local caterer had set up the reception. Jared placed Paige on a cream-and-gold brocade chaise lounge and stood beside her, protective and possessive, as they greeted their guests.
Since Paige wasn’t allowed to travel and the couple would have to abstain from sex until after Angela’s birth, they had postponed their honeymoon.
Paige had taught Jared how to love, opening his heart to the wonder of life. And on their wedding night, alone in their home, Jared taught Paige a hundred and one ways a man and woman can make love.
* * *
Angela Dora Montgomery arrived at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, March 11, measuring twenty and a half inches and weighing eight pounds, two ounces. Except for the red fuzz covering her little round head, she was a carbon copy of her father. His eyes. His chin. His mouth, which promised a smile Paige said would one day be as devastating as his. Even her small hands and feet were replicas of Jared’s.
The delivery went smoothly, resulting in a tired but happy mother, an exhausted but exuberant father and a beautiful, healthy baby.
From the moment Angela wrapped her tiny hand around Jared’s big index finger, she captured his heart. She was the living, breathing proof of the passionate love that he and Paige shared. He had denied his feelings from the moment he and Paige met because he hadn’t believed emotions so powerful truly existed. But so fierce was the love he now felt for his wife and daughter that he wondered how he had ever lived without them.
While Paige held their newborn daughter to her breast, Jared wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulder, his big body a primitive symbol of his protection. Words were unnecessary. They exchanged a loving glance that said everything.
About the Author
Movies fascinated Beverly Barton from an early age, and by the time she was seven she was rewriting the movies she saw to give them all happy endings. After her marriage and the births of her children, Beverly continued to be a voracious reader and a devoted moviegoer, but she put her writing aspirations on hold. Now, after writing over seventy books, receiving numerous awards and becoming a New York Times bestselling author, Beverly’s career has become her dream come true.
ISBN-13: 9781460343180
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Beverly Barton for her contribution to the 36 Hours series.
Nine Months
Copyright © 1998 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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