She's Having My Baby!

She watched him eat through narrowed eyes. She couldn’t let his opinion stand as though it were proven fact. “Have you ever considered that the flaw might reside in your uncle, and not the institution of marriage?” she asked him crisply.

“Of course. I’m not naive.” He looked up and met her gaze.

As usual, that set off a tingle of reaction that she was beginning to wonder about. She could see that he was about to come back with something he obviously considered a zinger, but suddenly he hesitated. He seemed to remember that he was trying to charm her, not browbeat her, and he smoothly shifted gears.

“All this is just my opinion, of course. I know you’re married, and for all I know, you may be quite happy with that situation. It seems to agree with you just fine. You’re certainly blooming.”

Maggie blinked. Two years a widow and he didn’t know it. Well, that just about took the cake. It was beginning to look as if she wouldn’t dare go on maternity leave. He wouldn’t recognize her when she tried to come back.

Kane went on talking, but Maggie was having trouble following what he was saying. The food was delicious, but she couldn’t eat more than a few tiny bites, and she spent most of her time pushing food around on her plate with her fork, hoping he wouldn’t notice how little she was consuming.

She was getting very nervous. She had to find a way to tell him about her pregnancy. She’d tried once, but he hadn’t let her get her sentence out. She had to do it. Now.

“Mr. Haley,” she said when he’d paused for more than a few seconds. “There’s something I really have to tell you.”

“Say, look at the time,” he said, glancing at his watch. “We’d better get back to the office. We still have that contract to get out before five.”

She opened her mouth to try again, but he was already sliding out of the booth and reaching to help her. It was too late to do it now. Maybe back at work would be better anyway.

Chapter Three

But it wasn’t. Once Maggie and Kane were back in the office there were a thousand things that had to be taken care of right away, and there was the contract, and the phone kept ringing. And all the time, the phrase beat like a drum at the back of her head—you’ve got to tell him, you’ve got to tell him.

But there didn’t seem to be any time, and she was growing desperate. Any moment he was going to look at her and notice she was pregnant. After all, he was the expert, wasn’t he? That almost made her laugh, but she held it back, knowing any laughter now would easily turn to hysteria. She had to get this done.

And then he cornered her in his office, and she knew it was too late.

“Maggie,” he said, her name curling off his tongue in a way that made her shiver. “Come here and sit down.” He gestured toward the little couch against the wall, near his floor-to-ceiling bookcase. “I want to talk to you.”

Her mouth was dry as she lowered herself to the leather cushion. He’d noticed. She was sure of it. Oh, why hadn’t she had the nerve to tell him sooner?

He dropped down to sit beside her. Reaching out, he took one of her hands and held it between his, looking deeply into her eyes.

“Maggie, I’m glad we got to know each other better today,” he said softly. “That’s very important to me.”

She nodded, though she didn’t know why. Heart in her throat, she waited. Was this about her pregnancy or not?

“Because now that we are…well, a bit closer,” he said, his eyes smiling. “I feel that I can confide in you.”

Not. This was something else. Her heart did a flip. Something else. Something he wanted from her. What on earth…?

“I would like to presume upon our fledgling friendship and ask you to help me with something very personal.”

Oh my. She didn’t like the sound of this at all. “Mr. Haley, I don’t think I’m the one for the job,” she said so quickly, her words tumbled over each other. She tried to pull her hand from between his. “Really. I’m not too good at personal things.”

He smiled warmly, though he wouldn’t let her hand go. “You know, that’s one of the attributes I like best about you. You’re usually all business.”

“Yes,” she agreed, clinging to hope. “That is good, isn’t it?”

“Usually. But right now, I’ve got a very big problem and I’m afraid I really need you to help me with it.”

“Oh.” Hope was fading.

“If it will help you to treat it like a business problem, why don’t you do that? Take mental notes or whatever. Keep your perspective.”

“I…I’ll try.”

“This is going to sound crazy. I can’t really go into all the details right now and explain everything. You’ll have to trust me. There’s a logical explanation.” He hesitated, then plunged on, staring earnestly into her eyes. “The fact is, someone in this building is pregnant with my baby. And I need your help to find her.”

“Pregnant?” she whispered, stunned. Had she heard right? “How? I mean, wouldn’t you know who she is?”

He shook his head. “Artificial insemination,” he explained curtly. “It was a big mix-up. That was why I wanted to get in touch with the fertility clinic I asked you to call. It happened there.”

“Oh.”

The room was beginning to spin. It started very slowly, but she noticed right away. And at the same time, there was a strange buzzing in her ears. A funny little tune was playing in her head. “No, no, no, no,” seemed to be the words.

“Maggie,” he implored, holding her hand tightly. “I want you to know I’ve tried to do this on my own, but I’ve struck out every time. I really need your help.”

“No, no, no,” sang the little buzzing noise, and she realized she was holding her breath. What would happen if she let it go?

“You know a lot of the women here,” he was saying. “I’m sure you could get a line on who she might be.”

She tugged on her hand again, and he finally let it go, distracted by the plans he was making.

“Now, she should be about five months pregnant….”

She shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. “No, no, no,” she said softly, as though she could ward off the truth with the chant.

He looked at her strangely, but he was caught up in his agenda and didn’t realize her reaction was so strong. He didn’t seem to see that her eyes were slowly filling with tears.

“If you could just ask around, talk to some of the women you know, see what you can find out about anyone who might be five months pregnant….”

She sobbed. It came out involuntarily, like a big hiccup. He stopped dead and stared at her. She rose shakily from the couch. Tears were spilling from her eyes.

“Maggie,” he said, surprise in his voice. He reached for her. “Why, what’s wrong?”

The telephone rang. She turned as though to answer it, reacting automatically, and he let her go, though he followed her. She picked up the receiver and handed it to him without answering it herself. “It’s for you,” she said in a broken voice.

Confused, he took it and said, “Hello?” and before he could stop her, she was dashing from the room, and then onto the elevator and the doors were sliding shut.

Kane caught Maggie just before she reached her car. At first he thought she had herself under control again, but when she turned her tear-stained face up and he looked into the tragedy mirrored in her damp blue eyes and saw the way her lower lip was trembling, something skipped a beat near where his heart should be, and he felt an overwhelming urge to take her in his arms and comfort her.

“Maggie! What on earth?”

He resisted the impulse to pull her close, but he did take hold of her shoulders, holding her there and looking down at that beautiful mouth he was suddenly aching to kiss. Just for comfort, of course.

“Maggie, tell me what’s wrong. Did I say something? Or do something?”