Tony nodded and started to walk away. He stopped suddenly and turned around. If she lived to be a hundred, she doubted she’d ever see a more serious expression on another man’s face. Finally, he said, “There’s something I want to make clear. I didn’t marry you for the sole purpose of obtaining a higher position at the hospital. If I get the promotion, fine. If not, so be it. You aren’t the only one who’s adopting that baby. He’ll have my name, and he’ll be my son as well as yours.”
Moisture gathered in Beth’s eyes, a sudden quaking buzzing to her fingertips before heading for her knees.
“And for your information,” he said more vehemently than before, “I have no intention of seeing other women, discreetly or otherwise. So when you’re ready, I guess you’re going to have to let me know.”
When he walked away this time, he didn’t look back. Beth was left standing in the kitchen, her heart beating an erratic rhythm, her throat thick with tears, thinking that even angry and difficult, Tony Petrocelli was an incredible man.
* * *
“Where do you want these chairs?”
Beth glanced from Tony to all the clutter in his living room. Turning in a complete circle, she eyed the wicker chairs he and Martin Smith each held. Her gaze strayed to a sliding glass door facing the back of the house. Pointing, she said, “How about putting them on the patio for now?”
Settling Christopher in the crook of one arm, she slid the door open for the two men, but her eyes remained on Tony. He nodded politely, then carried the chair out to the patio, only to hurry out to the truck for another load of her things. She told herself she had no right to feel disappointed.
“Goodness,” she said to Chris after Martin and Tony disappeared around the side of the house. “Moving is hard work. But you were a very good boy today, weren’t you? I’ve never heard Mr. Willoughby speak baby talk before. The super in my building was obviously very impressed with you. I don’t suppose you were surprised.”
The baby looked up at her as if he was hanging on her every word. The strangest thing happened each time he did that. Her chest swelled up and her heart pumped softly, a smile of wonder finding its way to her lips.
Lowering himself into one of her own chairs on the patio, Beth continued to talk to Christopher. A lot of what she said was nonsensical gibberish, but he didn’t seem to mind, gazing at her as if he understood every word. He’d only been with them a matter of days, but Beth was already becoming familiar with what he wanted from the sound, pitch and vigor of his cries. He ate often, slept between feedings and was literally growing before her very eyes. This was one happy, healthy baby, if she did say so herself. In fact, the only time he was the least bit fussy was in the evenings.
Tony’s voice had been clipped, his words direct and precise every time he’d addressed her since yesterday. It seemed that neither of them knew how to break the barrier she’d erected when she’d informed him of her decision to sleep in the spare room.
“Your daddy and I need to talk,” she murmured. “Or he’s going to ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ himself right into a heart attack. Are you going to be like that when you grow up? Keeping everything bottled up inside until you’re ready to explode? If you ever need to talk about something, I want you to know that you can always come to me and I’ll always listen.”
Tony hoisted the wicker settee higher into his arms. Since he couldn’t see where he was going, he followed the sound of Beth’s voice. It was incredible, crisp and clear as a mountain stream one minute, smooth and sultry the next, inviting always. This was their third day as husband and wife, and although they weren’t exactly experiencing wedded bliss, they were both cordial and polite, which was still one helluva long way from what he wanted. What they needed was an icebreaker, or, better yet, a long, hard night of lovemaking. Yeah, that would definitely break the ice once and for all.
“It looks like this is the last of it,” Martin said, placing a glass-and-wrought-iron table between the two chairs.
Tony came to with a start. Dragging his gaze from Beth, he reached for his wallet. “I appreciate all your help, Martin.”
“We both do,” Beth said, looking up from the baby in her arms.
Tony understood the softening in Martin’s eyes. After all, Bethany had that effect on a lot of people. The other man accepted the bills and quietly said, “No problem. I’ve got to keep busy or I’ll go crazy. A man can’t just sit around and wait for his memory to return.”
Tony didn’t nod or shrug, because he couldn’t pretend to understand the kind of panic and fear and isolation a person with no memory would feel. Tony was more than six feet tall, but he still had to raise his chin slightly to look the other man in the eye. Martin Smith knew nothing about himself, but there was innate intelligence in those eyes.
He’d seen Martin’s eyes narrow shrewdly when Tony had instructed him to put Beth’s things in the spare room, but the other man hadn’t said a word. Sensing an unspoken alliance, Tony said, “Do you have time for a beer before you leave?”
Beth rose to her feet lithely and disappeared inside to get the drinks before Martin had had a chance to respond. If Tony had been looking, he would have noticed the subtle lift of Martin’s eyebrows. But Tony was too busy watching Beth’s retreat to pay attention to anything else. He’d never seen a more graceful woman, and he sure as hell had never wanted one more.
By the time he turned his attention back to Martin, the other man was staring at the backyard, his shoulders rigid. Tony tensed, automatically following the course of Martin’s gaze.
His property was on the outskirts of town, in the city limits but as large as a country lot. There were houses next door and across the street, but behind his yard there was only a meadow and a stand of pines, and beyond that, the mountains rose in the west. He’d purchased the property because it was on the edge of both worlds, having the convenience of the city and the view of the country. He saw nothing amiss in that view right now, but there was something about the look in Martin’s eyes that made him wonder where he’d been headed when he’d gotten in the way of that mud slide and ended up losing his past.
“What’s wrong?” Tony asked, instinctively lowering his voice.
Martin stared at the trees lining the meadow for a long time before answering. “I thought I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye.”
Tony stood perfectly still. “A movement?”
“I suppose it could have been a bird, or some other animal. But I think it was human. Does anyone live back there?”
“No, the land’s vacant.” Peering out over his property and beyond, Tony was reminded of the person several different witnesses had seen lurking around the hospital nursery. Unfortunately, no two descriptions were the same. Nobody could even say for sure that it was a man or a woman they’d seen. Still, the very idea that someone could be watching from behind scrub trees and bushes near his own house had his nerve endings standing on end.
“Where are you going?”
Tony answered without taking his eyes from the trees in the distance. “Maybe what you saw was a bird or an animal. Maybe not. I’m going to find out.”
Without a word, Martin was at his side. Stealthily making his way over the grass, Tony said, “Can you describe what you saw?”
Martin shrugged his massive shoulders, his eyes still trained on the landscape, his gait predatory, his voice low. “I don’t know. It was more a feeling than an actual sighting.”
There was something secretive about this man, and it wasn’t just his amnesia. Tony couldn’t help wondering just who Martin Smith really was, and what he’d done for a living before he lost his memory. Right now, Tony was glad the man was on his side.
It was dusk; shadows stretched across the ground and sounds hung in the still air. The dry grass crinkled beneath their feet, an occasional twig snapping against their pant legs.
At the property line, Tony stepped over a fallen log. He veered to the right of a dying birch tree, Martin turned to the left
. In the blink of an eye, something reared up beside Tony, sending him wheeling and stumbling backward. A huge owl took flight on a whoosh of air Tony could feel, the flap of wings rivaling the rush of blood pounding through his head.
Both men released the same expletive. Both raked their hands through their hair. Both slowly shook their heads.
Martin scowled, his expression full of self-reproach. “That was probably what I saw out of the corner of my eye. Sorry if I alarmed you. I seem to be jumping at my own shadow these days.”
Tony glanced all around him, trying to imagine how strange it would feel to know nothing about his past. Hell, he’d be skittish, too. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he said, “No problem. I’d rather be safe than sorry any day. Come back to the house. Beth will be bringing that beer any second.”
Martin raked his fingers through his hair one more time, his chest visibly expanding with the deep breath he took. “I appreciate the offer, but if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll just head for home.”
Tony shot the other man a quizzical look he didn’t stick around long enough to see. “Don’t you want a ride back to your place?” Tony called to Martin’s back.
The other man turned around but didn’t stop walking. “The hike will be good for me. Besides, it looks as if you could use a little time alone with your wife.”
Tony stared at Martin’s back for a full five seconds before starting off toward his own house. What very well could have been Tony’s first smile of the day tugged at his mouth. Martin Smith may not have known who he was, but he was incredibly astute. He was also right. Tony did need to spend a little time alone with Beth. She’d said she wanted to get to know him before inviting him into her bed. He happened to believe a bed was the perfect place to get to know each other, but this was her call. He wanted her, but he had to let her play it out her way. Still, a little icebreaker couldn’t hurt. Unfortunately, he was fresh out of ideas.
He barely noticed the first few drops of water that soaked into his jeans, but when others began pelting his shirt and face, he stopped in his tracks. Within seconds he was surrounded by a cool spray of water and a chi-chi-chi, chi-chi-chi sound coming from ground level. It was eight-thirty. His sprinkler system had burst on, right on schedule.
“Tony, you’re getting soaked to the skin. How do I turn it off?”
He’d been about to make a mad dash for dry ground, but the sight of Beth standing on the patio changed his mind. She was wearing pale yellow cotton slacks and a matching shirt. Two long-necked bottles were balanced on a tray in her hand. Even though her clothes were wrinkled and disheveled from her unpacking, she managed to look elegant. Then she tipped her head to one side and he knew her elegance came from the inside.
Concentrating on taking a deep breath, and then another, he said, “I don’t want you to turn it off.”
“Are you crazy?” she called.
“Maybe.”
The smile on her lips found its way to her voice as she said, “I see. Are you going to stand beneath that spray all night?”
Tony thought about telling her that this was hardly the first cold shower he’d taken in the past two days, but his gaze took in the infant seat on the table behind her, and he had a better idea. It looked as if Christopher was napping. Evidently the sprinkler system and his new son both had perfect timing.
“Actually,” he said, taking a few steps toward Beth, “I was thinking that you might want to join me.”
Outwardly, Beth didn’t move, but inside she felt something shift and slowly give way. She thought of the short, polite conversations she’d had with Tony since yesterday. Now she realized that he’d probably been on his best behavior. She had no word for the way he was acting right now, although she didn’t believe for a second that it was an act.
His features were always striking and strong, but never more than at this moment. His black hair was shiny and wet; beads of water clung to his cheeks and ran down his neck. The spray plastered his white shirt to his body, making the material appear to disappear, and the skin on his chest and abdomen was clearly visible through the translucent layer.
She liked Tony this way, wet and playful and inviting, and very nearly took him up on his offer. The side of her that wanted to join him had always appalled her parents, and while she couldn’t quite bring herself to take that first step, she found herself wishing she could. “Why do you want me to join you underneath the sprinklers?”
He took another step, but only one. “It occurred to me that we don’t really know each other very well.”
She’d told him the same thing only yesterday, word for word. Holding back a smile, she said, “Is that a fact?”
He nodded. “Oh, I know we’re practically an old married couple….” He let his voice trail away for emphasis. “But you probably have a million questions, so go ahead, I’m yours for the asking.”
Beth stared wordlessly at him. She’d come across a lot of men in her day, but she’d never met anyone quite like Tony. She knew darn well what he was saying. She had, after all, been raised in a family where words said one thing, and the tone of voice something else entirely.
“What?” he prodded. “Cat got your tongue? All right, I’ll go first.”
“No,” she said, interrupting him. “It just so happens that there is something I want to ask you.”
“Yes?”
His question was as transparent as his shirt. Arching her eyebrows, she said, “That water must be freezing.”
He took a few more steps but made no move to walk completely out of the spray. “Do I look cold, Beth?”
Beth swallowed and slowly shook her head, thinking the man knew exactly how he looked.
“What was your question?” he asked, his voice dipping ever lower.
The second shake of her head was barely discernible, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Did you mean it when you said you would wait for my invitation?”
A familiar heat pulsed through Tony. Relying on instinct alone, he strode out of the soft spray of water, stopping just outside the sprinkler’s reach. “Yes, I did, Beth.” Sensing that it was important to let Beth set the pace, he held her gaze and added, “Although I have to say it hasn’t been easy. Did you mean it when you said you wanted to get to know me better?”
He stared at her. She stared at him and slowly nodded.
“You know what we’re doing, don’t you?” she asked.
Tony knew what he was doing.
“We’re using the classic pause, ponder and parley tactic.”
He couldn’t help himself. He had to ask. “The pause, ponder and parley tactic?”
“Yes. We’re very likely doing it for the same reason.”
“You think so?”
“Mmm-hmm,” she replied. “But from very different vantage points, with very different outcomes in mind.”
Tony didn’t bother telling her how smart she was. He was too busy concentrating on the sensation, the need, taking hold deep in his body. Not even the cold water could stop it. Unfortunately, he’d just agreed, again, to wait for her to invite him into her bed. For the first time in his life, he wished he would have been born into a less honorable family. If he had, he’d walk over to her, swing her into his arms and carry her straight to his bed.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, imagining what he’d like to do with her there. “I think we both have the same outcome in the back of our minds right now, don’t you?”
He watched her wet her lips, his gaze trained on her mouth as she said, “I do want to get to know you better, Tony.”
He took another step closer. “I’d love to hear how you propose to do that.”
“The first thing we need to do…”
“Yes?”
Beth shook her head once to let him know that he couldn’t rattle her. “As I was saying, the first thing we need to do is rearrange our work schedules.”
“Our work schedules?”
She nearly laughed out loud at his obvious baf
flement. “I’ve spoken with Mrs. Donahue about this, and it’s very important that you or I be with Christopher most of the time. I’d like to scale back my workload to every other weekend. Does that sound all right with you?”
“I see no problem with that.”
“Good. I’ll speak with someone in Human Resources at the hospital tomorrow. Also, Mrs. Donahue wants to get started with the home study, the next step in the adoption procedure, as soon as possible.”
“Anything else?” he asked.
“I still have to tell my family about you and Christopher, but I have a feeling that once we begin the home study, everything else will fall into its rightful place.”
“And do you see the physical aspect of our marriage falling into its rightful place, too, Beth?”
She hesitated a moment, watching his expression. This was it. The moment when she said “Yes, I’d like to go to bed with you” or “No, I’m sorry, but I’m not ready.” This was definitely it. Do or die. Beth knew what she wanted, and it had nothing to do with dying.
After allowing herself a long look at the width of his shoulders and the breadth of his chest visible through his wet shirt, she placed the tray on the patio table. And nodded. She hadn’t planned to. In fact, she’d planned to wait, to guard herself against getting hurt. But part of her didn’t want to wait, had never wanted to wait. She wanted a real marriage, and she wanted it to begin right now.
“Yes, Tony. I see the physical aspect of our marriage falling into place, too.”
He seemed to be holding perfectly still, his eyes on her. “Do you see it happening anytime soon?”
She nodded again. “I was thinking along the lines of right now.”
“I’m not going to ask you if you’re sure.”
Watching him take the last step separating them, she believed him.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why?” he asked.
When she shook her head, he said, “Good, because I’m sure enough for both of us.”
She didn’t know what she’d expected, but it wasn’t the slow descent of his mouth and his soft kiss on her cheek. Holding perfectly still, she closed her eyes. There was something incredible about the brush of a man’s lips on a woman’s cheek. In her experience, it was something few men bothered with. She waited to see what he would do next, half expecting him to cover her lips with his. Instead, he pressed a kiss close to her ear and whispered, “Let’s take Christopher inside.”
Marriage by Contract Page 10