by Carol Devine
This kiss was just as special.
She helped him off with his shirt. He made her stand to take off her dress, lifting it from where it pooled on the floor and hanging it for her.
Her underclothes took a much longer time. She wasn’t nearly so gentle or patient with his. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to mind.
Who was this man she married, the father of her child?
She lay under him and he had such a look of love in his eyes. Katie’s eyes. Meg recalled the church with its stained glass windows and candlelight. Private and pretty, she couldn’t imagine a better setting for such a solemn ceremony. Except maybe here, on their bed, the two of them naked before God.
The joining was a ritual, familiar and warm. They had built a foundation, a foundation that hadn’t been wrong, human though it was. It carried them along and brought them to this point, this place, this moment of truth, the joining of two into one.
Trading breath, she pressed herself closer to him, heart to heart, flesh to flesh. There were no more secrets between them.
Except one. It was conceived that day, a secret to them both.
When Meg found out, Jack was at her side in their bathroom, intent on the little white stick that was supposed to turn a certain color to indicate the result of a home pregnancy test.
She really should have suggested he drink a couple of cups of coffee before helping her do this, Meg thought. “What color is it?”
“It’s blue,” he said, consulting the box that had held the test.
“Is that positive or negative?”
“According to the directions, it’s positive. Is that good?”
She nodded. “Positive is very good. It means I’m pregnant.”
He looked stunned. “Sit down. No, wait. Don’t move. Let me get some pillows.”
“Pillows?”
“Pillows and blankets. Are you sure you feel okay? I thought pregnant women threw up all the time.”
Meg wanted to laugh. She didn’t dare. She had never seen him this anxious, even when Katie was sick. “Pregnancy rarely makes women feel sick all the time. Sometimes it happens in the morning, but some women never feel sick at all. I didn’t when I was carrying Katie.”
“I missed that. I don’t want to miss any more. Now you get back into bed and I’ll bring you breakfast. You’re supposed to stay off your feet, right? And where’s Katie? She needs to be told. It’s going to take her time to get used to the idea of having a brother or sister.”
“We have quite a few months, Jack, to help her get used to the idea. I also think it might be nice if we got dressed first.”
“Are you sure it’s positive?” He scanned the test directions again. “Blue means we’re having a baby?”
“I’m positive it is positive. You’re going to be a father again.”
“I never held Katie when she was a baby. What if I’do it wrong?”
“You won’t.” The man looked so worried, Meg rose and pressed the entire length of her body against his. “As a matter of fact,” she whispered brazenly into his ear, “I’ve never met a man who does it better than you.”
“Meg, I wasn’t talking about that.”
“I was.”
“You were?” He gripped her upper arms, holding her back. “But we can’t.”
“I don’t know about you, buster, but I’m not going without. Not for months on end.”
“Won’t it hurt the baby?”
“And here I thought you knew everything there is to know about the inner workings of a woman’s body. No, Jack, making love won’t hurt the baby.”
“What about you? I don’t want to do anything that might hurt you.”
“Haven’t you heard what happens to a woman’s libido when she’s pregnant? It goes sky high. She becomes insatiable.”
“Insatiable?”
“It’s true,” she said, nodding. “At least at this moment, it’s true. It would be extremely unhealthy for me to hold back.” She walked her fingers up his chest and rose on tiptoe to kiss him.
He lifted her and settled her on the bed. “Unhealthy, huh?” The box that held the pregnancy test went flying. “And here I thought I was the insatiable one in this marriage,” he growled, nibbling her ear.
“Well, I’m going to give you a run for your money. Besides, I want to celebrate. What better way is there to celebrate having a baby than practicing to make another one?”
“Another one? I haven’t even gotten used to the idea of this one yet.”
“This is just a practice, remember?”
He smiled his smuggest smile. “You know how I love to practice.”
Afterwards, they rested side by side on the bed with her head pillowed on his shoulder. Eventually, Meg lifted her head to better see his face. “Which do you want, Jack, a boy or a girl?”
“Funny you should ask. I was just thinking about that.”
“I thought you might be. So which is it?”
“I just want the baby to be healthy, Meg, and for you to be all right. But what about you? Do you have a preference?”
“I’ve already given you a daughter. I’d like to give you a son.”
A look of pain crossed his face. “I don’t know. I don’t know what kind of father I’d be to a son. I’m afraid I might expect too much.”
“You’d be a very good father to a son, just like you are with your daughter.”
He laid his hand on the side of her face. “Where do you get your faith, Meg?”
She laid her hand on the side of his face. “My faith comes from you, Jack, by way of Katie and the baby and the many people you yourself have given hope to, especially the children you’ve helped around the world with your foundation.”
“But you didn’t know about that part until later. I can’t help but wonder why you even gave me a second chance. You couldn’t know how it would all turn out in the end.”
“I wouldn’t change a moment of how we came together. I learned what love is, and what it really means. So have you. And I certainly wouldn’t have you any other way.”
Meg and Jack Tarkenton
Announce the Birth of Their Son
John Bertram Tarkenton III
Date of arrival: July 30 5:24 p.m.
Length: 21 inches
Weight: 7 lbs. 9 oz.
ISBN : 978-1-4592-5818-1
THE BILLIONAIRE’S SECRET BABY
Copyright © 1999 by Carol Devine Rusley
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 USA
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention
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