Marriage of Inconvenience

“I see,” Bill said slowly, clearly not seeing a thing.



“I’m pregnant,” Jamie announced.



Bill grinned, then turned to Rich. “But you offered me Seahawks play-off tickets to take her to dinner, and that wasn’t more than two months ago.”



“You paid him to take me to dinner?” Jamie muttered under her breath.



“What can I say?” Rich teased. “I was young and foolish.”



“This is all rather sudden, isn’t it?” Bill continued, choosing to ignore the whispered conversation between Rich and Jamie.



“Not really,” Rich answered. “We’ve had a fourteen-year courtship.”



“Fourteen years!” Bill looked astonished. “It seems congratulations are in order. I’m very pleased for you both.”



“Thank you,” Jamie returned graciously.



Bill left the office then, and Jamie whirled around to face Rich. “You told him we’re married!” she cried.



“You mean we’re not?”



“Rich, we can’t tell your coworkers and not our families.”



Rich hadn’t given the matter much thought. It had happened spontaneously. But if a husband had just learned he was about to become a father, he should be able to tell someone, and in this case Bill was that someone.



“Since you told Bill,” Jamie said, pacing his office, “then I should be able to tell someone, too. Agreed?”



“Agreed.” Personally Rich could see no harm in letting the news out. Especially when revealing the truth might actually help him achieve his goal.



Jamie reached for his phone, hesitated momentarily, then sighed deeply and punched out a phone number. Rich had no idea who she was calling. It didn’t matter.



While she was waiting for whomever she’d phoned to answer, Rich moved behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. He closed his eyes and reveled in the emotion he experienced as he held her tight. He wondered how long this euphoric feeling would last. All day? A week? A month? Deep down, he began to doubt it would ever entirely leave him.



So this was love. This feeling of warmth and fullness. The sensual alertness. This knowledge that the woman you loved more than life itself was giving birth to your child.



Rich rubbed his cheek against the side of her neck. She smelled of wildflowers and spring.



“Mom, it’s Jamie.”



Rich tensed. She’d asked to tell one person and she’d decided to tell her mother. Rich didn’t know Doris Warren well, but what he did remember of her wasn’t reassuring. She loved to gossip. Except she didn’t call it that, as he recalled. Doris networked.



“Jamie,” Rich whispered in her ear. “You’re sure you want to do this?”



“Mom, I’m calling because I’ve got some fabulous news.”



“Jamie?” Rich was in a panic.



“I’m pregnant.”



He couldn’t hear Doris’s response, but he knew from the loud, squeaking sound that came from the receiver that Jamie’s mother was more than a little surprised.



“The father?” Jamie repeated. She twisted around and grinned sheepishly up at Rich. “That’s not important. What is important is that after all these years, you’re finally going to be a grandmother.”



“Go ahead and tell her,” Rich whispered. Good news, especially news this wonderful, was meant to be shared. Now that Jamie was pregnant—and now that the situation between them had changed—Rich certainly didn’t plan to maintain the confidentiality of their marriage. He couldn’t see the point. He was too proud to keep Jamie’s pregnancy a secret.



“Yes, Mother,” Jamie returned, nodding absently. “Of course, I will. No…no, not yet.”



Listening to only one half of the conversation put him at a distinct disadvantage, but Rich didn’t mind. He was far more interested in spreading kisses along the side of Jamie’s neck.



“Of course I’m sure. One of those home pregnancy tests…. Yes, Mother. Listen, I have to go now, I’m already late for work. Yes, I’ll call later. Yes, I promise.”



Rich’s teeth caught hold of Jamie’s earlobe. Her response was immediate; she went weak in his arms. Rich had never felt more powerful in his life.



“Rich,” she chastised softly.



“Why didn’t you tell her we’re married?”



“I couldn’t… Rich!” She swatted him playfully, but he couldn’t make himself stop nibbling her neck.



“Why couldn’t you tell her?”



“I … I thought I’d break it to her gently. A little at a time.”



“So you started by telling her you’re pregnant?” He found her reasoning a bit irrational, which wasn’t typical for Jamie.



“If I told my mother we were married, she’d say something to your parents. We both know she would. Mom’s like that.”



“Yeah.” But somehow the prospect wasn’t as intimidating as it had been when Jason had broached the subject earlier.



“It’ll cause problems.”



“No, it won’t,” Rich said. He reached for her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “Because I won’t let it.”



Jamie glanced regretfully at her watch. “Let’s discuss it later. I’m late.” She seemed as reluctant to leave as Rich was to let her go.



“Meet me for dinner tonight?” Rich intended to make reservations at the best restaurant in town.



“What time?” Jamie asked.



He tried to judge when he’d be finished, but he had no way of telling. “I won’t know until later.”



“Don’t worry about it. Come to my place when you’re through here and we can decide then.”



Jamie left a few minutes later.



* * *



Rich didn’t know how her day went, but his was a total waste. More than once he found himself staring into space, dreaming of Jamie and his child, plotting how to convince her to make their marriage real.



His day wouldn’t have been so chaotic, though, if he hadn’t been at meetings for much of the afternoon. He’d be taking notes, and before he realized it, his mind would wander to Jamie. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, not a few stolen moments out of a hectic work schedule. At the end of the day, he longed to hurry home and find her waiting for him. It was easy to envision walking in the front door after a long day at the office and having Jamie there to greet him. Jamie and their son.



That warm feeling returned, and Rich knew he’d been lost in another world again. Luckily, he hadn’t embarrassed himself at any of the meetings.



At seven that evening, when he’d finished at the office, he hurried out the door. Bill and a couple of the other engineers invited him for a drink, but Rich declined. He knew they were eager to hear the details of his marriage, but he was in too much of a rush to get home.



Home to Jamie and his new life. His real life. Now all he had to do was convince her how much he loved her….



* * *



Jamie opened the door and smiled.



“Hi.”



If he didn’t know better he’d say she seemed almost shy. “Hi, yourself. How are you feeling?”



“The truth?”



Rich nodded. Of course he wanted the truth. He remembered she’d told him about the dizzy spells and nausea attacks. He’d listened, but in his excitement had forgotten.



“Don’t look so worried,” she said, laughing gently. “I feel fabulous. Wonderful. I’ve been walking on air all day.”



“Me, too.”



“I should never have told my mother, though,” she muttered.



If he didn’t kiss her soon, Rich decided, he might lose his mind. “Why’s that?” he asked, although he agreed with the sentiment.



Not giving her a chance to answer, he took her in his arms. His mouth met hers, and they strained against each other. Eager. Hungry. The kiss moist and hot. Before he could question the wisdom of his actions, he was unfastening her blouse. He’d freed four tiny buttons before he had the presence of mind to hesitate.



“Rich?”



“Do you want me to stop?”



“I …don’t know.”



His hand cupped her breast, which was sheathed in a pale cream teddy.



“I thought you’d be starved by now,” she murmured hoarsely.



“I am,” he said, kissing her once more. Slowly. Thoroughly. Until there could be no doubt of what he wanted. “But it’s you I’m hungry for.”



“What…about dinner?”



“Later,” he whispered, easing the silk blouse from her shoulders and reaching for the zipper at the back of her skirt. “I need you, Jamie.”



“I need you, too. Oh, Rich, I need you so much.” Her voice was a fleeting whisper.



Rich tracked a row of kisses down the side of her neck. “Is this what you want?”



“Yes…”



He dipped his tongue into the hollow of her throat. “How about this?”



“Yes…”



He eased the straps from her teddy over her shoulders, blazing a trail of warm, moist kisses toward her breast.



The sound of the doorbell went through him like an electric shock.



Jamie tensed. “I … I’m not expecting anyone,” she said, picking up her blouse and pulling it on.



“Don’t answer it,” Rich said urgently.



Whoever was at the door must have heard him because the buzzer sounded again in a long, angry blast.



“I’ll get rid of whoever it is,” she muttered, buttoning her blouse as fast as her fingers would cooperate. She hurried to the door and checked the peephole, then groaned.



“Who is it?” Rich demanded.



Jamie closed her eyes. “My mother.”



Eleven



“What are we going to do?” Jamie cried, looking at Rich. She’d been an idiot to announce her pregnancy to her mother, but Jamie had been so excited and happy. Keeping such wonderful news to herself for even a minute longer than necessary was just too hard. Rich had apparently felt the same way, because he’d told a coworker.



They’d both agreed weeks before not to tell anyone about their marriage or the pregnancy until Jamie was five or six months along and her condition was obvious. All of that had flown out the proverbial window when Bill Hastings had stepped into Rich’s office.



If Rich had found it necessary to announce their marriage, then surely she was entitled to tell someone about the pregnancy. So Jamie had done what came naturally; she’d called her mother.



“I don’t think we have much of an option,” Rich said calmly. “Open the door.”



“But…” Once again the doorbell buzzed, now in short bursts. There wasn’t time to argue, but the prospect of facing her mother filled Jamie with dread.



She opened the door. “Mother,” she said, her voice unnaturally high. “This is a pleasant surprise.”



Doris Warren’s face revealed dismay. Slowly her gaze traveled to Rich, her eyes widening.



“Hello, Mrs. Warren,” Rich said.



“Rich.” She nodded stiffly in his direction, then turned to Jamie, her mouth tightening. “You didn’t return a single one of my calls, Jamie Marie Warren.”