Accidentally Expecting

Miranda just bet she did. She had to be going nuts over there wondering what the heck was going on. “Does she know who you are?”

“I told her I’m a friend of yours from Chicago.”

“Yep, she knows.”

“What does she know exactly?”

“That you’re the baby’s father. She just doesn’t know who you are. At least, I hope she doesn’t.” She sat up and took a few shallow breaths. “I think I’m feeling better now.”

“You ready to get up?”

“I think so.”

He stepped into the bathroom and held out a hand to give her a boost from the floor. She grabbed it and rose slowly to her feet. She wavered a second, gripping his fingers. “Where do you want to go?” he asked.

“The recliner.”

With a hand resting on her lower back for stability, he walked her out to the chair. She sat down, leaned back and closed her eyes. She wasn’t looking so green any longer. It was the first time he’d seen her with no makeup, and he sort of liked her without it. She looked softer. And younger. Maybe even a little bit vulnerable.

And he intended to take care of her. This was exactly what he’d meant when he told her he wanted to be involved. He wanted to be a part of the entire process. Even the unpleasant parts.

He noticed her cup on the table. “Would you like more tea?”

“You don’t have to take care of me.”

“I know I don’t.”

For a second he thought she might argue, then she must have decided she didn’t have the energy. “Tea would be great. With a teaspoon of honey.” Eyes still closed, she gestured in the direction of the kitchen. “It’s in the cabinet above the coffeemaker.”

He grabbed her cup from the table. “I’ll find it.”

Like the rest of the condo, the kitchen was very clean and organized. That was one thing they obviously had in common. Clutter drove him nuts. His mother never had time for housework. She’d worked long hours, and when she finally did get home, cooking and cleaning were pretty low on her list of priorities.

She would open a bottle of wine, park herself in front of the television and chain-smoke until his father got home. How much she drank depended on how late he was out. He had a lot of evening “meetings” and often didn’t breeze in until after midnight.

Sometimes it was one bottle, other nights two. On a good night, she would pass out before his father returned, sparing Zack and his younger brother Richard from being jolted awake to the sound of raised voices. To hear his mother’s slurred accusations, and his father’s halfhearted, lame excuses.

On a bad night, the police got involved.

His mother’s second and third marriages hadn’t been much better.

He put the kettle on, dumped out the stale tea and fixed her a fresh cup. When he walked back into the family room she looked much better. In fact, he would go so far as to say she was glowing. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes bright. She looked… maternal.

He handed her the cup, making sure she had a steady grip before letting go. “You look as though you’re feeling better.”

“I am.” She sipped the tea and smiled. “It’s perfect. Thanks.”

He took a seat on the couch and glanced out the window. The moving van was still there, but Taylor, his sister-in-law and relocation coordinator, assured him she would have everything in order by lunchtime.

Miranda took another sip of her tea and set the cup down. “Nice place across the street.”

“Very nice,” he agreed. Smaller than he was used to, but it would suffice.

“Tell me you didn’t really just move there.”

Unfortunately he couldn’t do that. “I told you I wanted to be closer.”

“Yeah, but right across the street? Are you nuts?”

“Not the last time I checked.”

“We’ve talked every day for a month and you never once thought to mention it? I was thinking you would move to Dallas, or Fort Worth, even. I thought you would at least have to get in the car and drive to see me. This could be incredibly…awkward.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” It wasn’t as if he hadn’t expected this. He knew there would be an adjustment period while she grew used to the idea of having him around. He didn’t doubt that everything would work out. Given time, she would see things his way.

She may have been strong willed and determined, but so was he.

“That’s easy for you to say,” she snapped back. “You get to leave whenever you want. You can go back to Chicago or lecture. I’m stuck here. All my work, all my research material is in this house.”

“You make it sound as though I’m holding you prisoner. And I do have to point out that right now, you could use my help. At least until the morning sickness passes.”

She didn’t look convinced. “You don’t think it will be weird, us living so close?”

Across the street wasn’t close enough as far as he was concerned. He was determined, by the time this baby was born, to convince her to marry him. Preferably sooner than later. The only way he could do that was to spend as much time with her as possible.

He had every intention of seducing her, as well, although that part of the plan might have to wait until she was feeling better.

“You should have talked to me about this first,” she said. “We should have discussed it.”

“We did discuss it. I said I was moving closer, you said okay. In fact, at the time, I thought you sounded relieved that I was the one doing the relocating.”

He could see that she wanted to argue but couldn’t deny he was right. She had been relieved. And had he used that to his advantage? Maybe so, but he was only doing what was best for her and the baby. She needed him around, even if she wasn’t willing to admit it yet.

Instead, she tried a different angle. “I thought you wanted to keep this quiet. You don’t think people are going to see us together and catch on?”

“The house is under a different name, and I have my disguise.” He plucked the sunglasses from the front of his shirt and put them on then he tugged the baseball cap low over his eyes. “See.”