Stranger in my Arms

by Rochelle Alers

  “Hungry.”

  He pointed to the table in the breakfast nook. “Sit down and I’ll make you some café con leche.” They’d grown up drinking warm milk with a small amount of brewed coffee.

  Alex sat down. “Please don’t make it too sweet.”

  Gabriel flashed a lopsided grin in an unshaven face. “Is it because you’re sweet enough? Does Merrick think you’re sw-e-e-e-t?” he drawled, unable to resist teasing her.

  “Why don’t you ask him?” she retorted.

  A sobering expression came over Gabriel’s face. “I will when I see him again.”

  “He doesn’t frighten that easily, Gabe, so forget about trying to intimidate him the way you’ve done with a few of the other men I’ve gone out with.”

  Gabriel’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh, so you know about that?”

  “Know, Gabe. Some of them told me what you said to them.”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “I was just trying to protect my sister. Some of those clowns you called dates defied description.” He poured milk into a saucepan and heated it. “I was usually pretty good in sending them packing—all except for Duane Jackson. It took a face-to-face to get Mr. Hip-Hop Master to stop seeing you.” Alex’s jaw dropped as she stared at him as if she’d never seen him before. “Close your mouth, Alex. Yeah, I met with Duane.”

  “But you had no right to interfere in my affairs,” she spat out once she recovered her voice.

  Gabriel winked at her, smiling. “If I hadn’t interfered, then you wouldn’t be sitting here telling me that you’re planning to marry Merrick Grayslake.”

  A wave of heat stung her cheeks. “You’re right about that.”

  He cupped an ear with his hand. “Can I get a thank-you, Alexandra Cole?”

  “Like, thank you, Gabriel,” she drawled in her best Valley-Girl imitation.

  Alex thanked her brother again when he set a large mug with the steaming milk and coffee in front of her. She took a sip, moaning softly. It was perfect. The warm liquid slid down the back of her throat, heating her chest and belly. Gabriel filled his mug with coffee, joining her at the table.

  Her hand halted in midair as she attempted to take another sip of coffee. A young, very pretty woman stood under the arched entrance to the kitchen dressed in a gray sweatshirt, matching pants and running shoes. Her hair, secured in a single braid, fell over one shoulder.

  A mysterious smile softened Alex’s mouth. “Shame on you, brother,” she said softly in Spanish. “You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend.”

  Gabriel jumped up, his chair crashing to the floor in a loud clatter.

  “I’m not his girlfriend. We are colleagues.” Walking into the kitchen, the woman extended her hand. “I’m Summer Montgomery.”

  Rising to her feet, Alex leaned over the table and shook Summer’s hand. “Alexandra Cole. Your colleague’s sister.”

  Gabriel, righting his chair, pulled it out for Summer. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

  “No, thank you. I usually don’t eat or drink anything before jogging.”

  “What would you like for breakfast?”

  “Fruit, a slice of toast and decaf coffee.”

  Alex smiled at Gabriel. “If you’re taking orders, then I’ll have grits, eggs, bacon or sausage and biscuits.”

  He leveled a frown at her. “If you keep eating like that, I’m going to start to call you porky.”

  “Bite me, Gabriel Morris Cole!”

  “Sorry, sis, but I’ll leave that task to Merrick.”

  Alex stuck out her tongue at her brother. “You’re gross.”

  Summer pushed back her chair and stood up. “I’d like to complete my jog before the sun gets too hot. I’ll be back later.”

  Alex watched Gabriel watching Summer’s retreating figure, a knowing smile curving her lips. “She’s beautiful.” With her long hair, dark eyes and nut-brown coloring, Summer Montgomery looked exotic.

  “That she is,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “You like her, don’t you?”

  Gabriel didn’t meet his sister’s gaze. “Yes.”

  “Does working with her pose a problem for you?”

  “For me, no.”

  “What about her, Gabe?”

  “She’s reluctant.”

  “Does that matter to you?” Alex asked, continuing her questioning.

  Shifting slightly, Gabriel stared at Alex. “No. I can’t change how I feel about someone just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “We’ve agreed to take it slow and see what becomes of it.”

  “That’s the same thing Merrick said to me. And now I have to plan a wedding.”

  Gabriel held up a hand. “Back it up, Alex. No one said anything about getting married.”

  “Don’t you want to get married? Start your own family?”

  “I don’t consciously think about it.”

  “You didn’t answer my question, Gabriel.”

  “And I don’t intend to answer it, Alexandra.”

  “You don’t have to,” she said smugly. “And because you’re being evasive tells me that you do.”

  “Just because your fairy godmother sprinkled you with fairy dust, it doesn’t mean it will happen to me.”

  “It’s going to happen, Gabe,” Alex predicted. The expression on Gabriel’s face when Summer walked into the kitchen was one she’d never seen before, and Alex had seen her brother with enough women to know this one was different.

  A frown appeared between Gabriel’s eyes. “Next you’re going to tell me that you can read palms.”

  Alex clapped a hand over her mouth at the same time she pushed back her chair. She made it to the half bath near the pantry just in time to purge the contents of her stomach. Morning sickness had attacked with a vengeance.

  Alex waited for the sleek jet to touch down on the private airstrip before turning on her cell phone. She pressed a button. “I’m on the ground,” she said when hearing Merrick’s greeting.

  “I’m waiting by baggage claims.”

  She’d called him earlier that morning from Logan Airport to let him know she’d chartered a private jet to return to D.C. She’d been one of ten passengers on the flight that made for an interesting and entertaining experience.

  She deplaned and made her way down the gangway, through a long corridor that led to a waiting area for commercial departures. Navigating her way through the crowds, she found herself in baggage claims.

  “Looking for someone?” whispered a familiar voice close to her ear.

  Turning around, she tilted her head and smiled at Merrick. She handed him her carry-on. “Yes, I am. And I believe I just found him.”

  Wrapping his free arm around her waist, Merrick dipped his head and kissed her. “Welcome home.”

  Alex wound her arm around his waist inside his jacket. “Please get me out of here before I pass out.”

  Merrick led her toward the automatic doors. “Are you feeling all right?”

  “It’s the crowds.”

  “Do you want to wait here, or come with me to the lot to pick up my truck?”

  “I’ll come with you.” She’d never felt bothered by crowds, so Alex assumed it was an idiosyncrasy attributed to her being pregnant.

  Alex lost track of time. She knew she was back in her Arlington condo, but other than that she caught glimpses of the world going on around her whenever she stayed awake long enough to eat and go to the bathroom. She woke several times during the night to find Merrick in bed with her. They talked, but she couldn’t remember what they’d talked about.

  “What day is it?” she mumbled, her face pressed to the pillow.

  “Sunday.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Eight twenty-two.”

  “At night?”

  “No, baby. It’s morning.”

  Rolling over on her back, she smiled at Merrick leaning over her. She combed her fingers through the crisp hair on his chest. “What happened?”

  “Nothing earth-shattering o
r catastrophic since you went into Sleeping Beauty mode.”

  She gave him a shy smile. “I’m sorry I wasn’t very good company.”

  Straddling her body, Merrick supported his weight on his forearms. “We’re not together to become each other’s entertainment. You were exhausted, so you slept.”

  “I think it’s the baby that has me so sleepy.”

  Merrick moved off her, and sitting back on his heels, he splayed a hand under her hips and relieved her of her nightgown. “Let’s see what we have here.”

  Embarrassment washed over Alex, bringing a burning heat that began in her face and spread lower. She attempted to cover herself with her hands. “No, Merrick.”

  He brushed her hands away with the ease of swatting a gnat. “It’s too late to act innocent, querida. I’ve seen, touched and tasted everything you have.”

  Alex closed her eyes, shutting out his intense stare. “Please leave me some pride, Merrick.”

  His hands moved up between her thighs. “You’re hardly going to be thinking about pride when you go into labor and your knees are spread east to west.”

  She opened her eyes and slapped at his hand. “Stop!”

  He cradled her mound. “It’s too late for that, beautiful.”

  Alex closed her eyes again, enjoying a touch that was as soft and gentle as a butterfly’s gossamer wings. His fingers trailed over her belly, breasts, throat and around the outline of her ears. He’d become a sculptor, committing every dip and curve to memory.

  “What are you doing to me, Merrick?”

  “Making love to the mother of my child.”

  “Are you happy about the baby?”

  He smiled. “Very, very happy.”

  “I’m not marrying you because I don’t want to be a baby mama.”

  Merrick’s smile faded. “Then why are you marrying me?”

  Alex rested her hand alongside his stubbly jaw. “I love you.”

  Merrick wanted to tell Alex that he would marry her even if she didn’t love him; there was no way he was going to father a child and not become a part of his child’s life.

  “Do you want a son or a daughter?” Alex asked after a comfortable silence.

  Nuzzling her neck, Merrick pressed a kiss under Alex’s ear. “It doesn’t matter.”

  It didn’t matter to Merrick whereas she secretly wanted a girl. A little girl she would dress in frilly clothes, share tea parties, shopping sprees and intimate secrets with. She wanted for her daughter what she’d shared with her mother.

  “Do you feel like going out for breakfast?”

  Excitement fired the gold in her eyes. Merrick had mentioned food, which had become her number-one priority. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

  Merrick slipped off the bed and swung her up in his arms. “We’ll save time if we share a shower.”

  Alex looped her arms around his neck. “Do you think we can take time to do something else?”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, not breaking stride.

  “You know.”

  Merrick stopped several feet from the bathroom. “I know what?” Pressing her mouth to his ear, Alex whispered what she wanted him to do to her. Easing back, gray eyes flattening with an unreadable emotion, Merrick shook his head. “None of that until you see the doctor. I don’t want anything to happen to you or our baby.”

  “Couples make love right up until the time a woman is ready to give birth.”

  “What if you’re not one of those women, Ali?”

  “And if I am, are you going to wait around for nine months and take care of yourself?”

  His eyes widened until she saw glints of blue in his silver gaze. “And why not?” he asked glibly. “It won’t be the first time.”

  Alex affected a saucy smile. “If it comes to that, then I’ll do it for you.”

  Merrick stared at the woman in his arms, shock freezing his features. With whom had he fallen in love and committed his future to? He knew life with Alexandra Cole would never be boring, but he hadn’t realized it would also be fun.

  Alex shocked her parents when they walked into their kitchen early Friday morning to find their eldest daughter sitting at the table eating a bowl of oatmeal.

  David’s dimpled smile deepened the network of tiny lines around his obsidian eyes. “I told you we should change the locks,” he said to his wife.

  Alex waved her spoon. “If you change the locks, then you’re going to have to change the alarm’s security code.”

  Serena smiled at her daughter. “Never mind your father. He’s as fussy as an old settin’ hen, but he knows he loves it when his children come back home.”

  David leaned over and dropped a kiss on Alex’s damp hair. “Speak for yourself, Mrs. Cole. Hi, baby,” he crooned in the same breath.

  Alex patted his arm. “Hi, Daddy.” She smiled at her mother, who’d come over to hug her. “Hi, Mom.”

  Serena sat down beside her daughter. “What time did you get in?”

  She and David had gotten used to their four children coming and going at odd times and hours. They would be there, then hours later jetting off to another state or country. Gabriel had become the most stable of the quartet. He loved teaching and living in Massachusetts. Even though Alex had purchased property in Virginia, she continued to travel—first for her education and now with her career.

  Serena had come to realize that Ana and Jason were the least independent of her four children. And because they were twins, albeit fraternal, it would be difficult for them to sever the connection that began in the womb.

  Alex swallowed a mouthful of cereal. “I got in after one.”

  As David filled a carafe with water to brew coffee, he narrowed his gaze. There was something different about Alex, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

  “If you came to hang out with Jason and Ana, then you’re out of luck. They’ll be in Los Angeles until next week.”

  Alex stared at her father, then her mother. “I didn’t come to see them. I came to talk to you.”

  David felt his heart lurch; he mumbled a silent prayer for strength. “What about, cookie?”

  Alex smiled. It’d been years since her father called her that. “Please sit down, Daddy.”

  Resting his left hand over his chest, long, slender fingers outstretched, David shook his head. “If what you’re going to tell me is going to hurt my heart, then I’d rather not hear it.”

  “Sit down, David,” Serena urged quietly.

  Waiting until her father sat beside her mother, his right arm draped over the back of Serena’s chair, Alex said, “I’m getting married.”

  “When?”

  “To whom?”

  Serena and David had spoken in unison.

  Alex smiled at Serena. “When? As soon as you can get the family together.” She angled her head, grinning broadly at her father. “His name is Merrick Grayslake.”

  David’s expression did not change. He’d complained about his children not getting married, but now that Alexandra had expressed an interest in changing her marital status, he didn’t feel the joy he thought he would’ve felt.

  “Why the rush, cookie?”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Serena gasped, her eyes widening with each passing second while David jumped and pumped his fists in the air.

  “Yes! Yes!” he shouted, cutting a dance step around the kitchen. He came back to the table and pulled Alex from her chair. He swung her around and around until both she and Serena screamed for him to stop.

  “David! You could hurt the baby,” Serena chastised angrily.

  He set Alex gently on her feet as he managed to look contrite. “I’m sorry, cookie. It’s just that the news that I’m going to be a grandfather is the best that I’ve had in a very long time.”

  “I thought winning a Grammy as Producer of the Year was the best.”

  “Oh, hell no,” he said in protest. “The day your mama told me that I was going to become a father tops the list. Kno
wing that I’ll be a grandfather comes in at number two.”

  Serena got up, filled a glass with orange juice and placed it in front of Alex. “How far along are you?”

  “I just made seven weeks.”

  “Did you see a doctor?” Serena asked, continuing her questioning.

  “Yes. He says everything looks normal.”

  “How and where did you meet this Grayslake dude?”

  Alex rolled her eyes at her father. “He’s not a dude, Daddy.”

  “If he’s not a dude, then what is he? A she?”

  “Mommy, can you talk to your husband?”

  Serena leveled David a knowing look. “Please, darling. This is serious.”

  “So am I, Serena. Don’t I have a right to know something about my future son-in-law?”

  Alex took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Daddy, you and I will talk later, because Mom and I need to plan a wedding.”

  David ran a hand over his close-cropped silver hair. “Okay, cookie. When are you going back to Virginia?”

  “Sunday night.”

  He nodded. He was outnumbered two to one, so he knew when to retreat. “Just remember to save time for your old man.”

  “I will, Daddy.”

  David filled a mug with coffee and walked out of the kitchen; an indescribable feeling filled his chest; there was going to be a wedding on the property of his Boca Raton estate for the first time; somehow he’d thought his sons would give him grandfather status, but it appeared as if his globe-trotting, art-loving daughter had beat them to it.

  It no longer mattered because now his brothers would have to stop teasing him about his marriage-phobic children.

  Chapter 22

  Merrick’s arrival in Boca Raton coincided with two inches of rain that delayed flights into and out of Florida. He and others waited more than six hours before boarding a jet scheduled to land at the Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport. He’d called Alex to inform her that he would be late, followed by a call to the hotel where he’d made a reservation to inform them of his late arrival.

  Alex had insisted he stay at her parents’ house, but he rejected her offer, preferring instead to reserve a suite at a nearby hotel chain. Merrick reassured her that there would be other occasions, after they were married, when he would willingly accept his in-laws’ hospitality. After all, he was a stranger, a man who would marry their daughter and change her name from Cole to Grayslake, a man who had no known relatives with whom to share the joy of his upcoming nuptials.