“Is she here yet?” Rainbow asked, which seemed a strange question with the bride standing right in front of her. “I think that’s so romantic the way—”
“You are not wearing flip-flops at my wedding.” Patty glowered at her sister.
“What? Oh.” Rainbow regarded her feet as if she’d never seen them before. “I’ve got pumps in my bag.”
“And your bag is where?”
“Uh. In my car.” Off she went.
“Let’s hope she doesn’t disappear. She vanished for five hours on Friday to go to Disneyland, only she didn’t tell anybody.” The amusement park was about half an hour’s drive to the north. “Fiona was bummed that her new aunt didn’t take her along, but I wouldn’t trust Rainbow with my daughter.”
“What was she talking about?” Bailey asked. “Is there someone else in the ceremony?”
Patty blinked. “Who else would be in the ceremony?”
She recalled the piano. “A singer?”
“You should dismiss anything Rainbow tells you unless it’s supported by a notarized document,” Patty responded. “Maybe she meant Fi. She and Darlene are meeting us downstairs. I hope my sister has the sense to do the same.”
“Things will come together,” Bailey assured her.
Patty glanced at an overhead clock. “Time to go down. Let’s get this show on the road.”
And quite a show it was, Bailey noted as they made their way out of the suite and along the hallway to the elevator. Patients out for a stroll from rooms in an adjoining corridor smiled and gave Patty thumbs-up, while nurses exclaimed over the dress. A couple of them regarded Bailey with dubious expressions. Recognizing the loudmouth from the cafeteria, Bailey pointedly ignored her.
Unfortunately, their presence served as a reminder that Bailey was about to march down an aisle in front of half the staff. That reflection dimmed some of the pleasure she took in helping Patty lift her skirt off the elevator floor and seeing the bemused reactions of passersby when they reached the ground level.
“Bailey! Bailey!” Up scampered a delightful little girl in a fluffy pink dress. With her brown hair cut like Patty’s and a matching circlet of flowers atop her head, Fiona was too precious for words.
“How’s our flower girl?” Bailey gave the little girl a careful hug.
“Pretty dress,” the child pronounced, examining Bailey’s finery. “But not as pretty as my new mom’s!” A powerful bond had already formed between Patty and Fi. Although Alec’s self-absorbed first wife was entitled to visit their daughter, she hadn’t showed up in months, Patty had mentioned.
If I had a little girl, I’d spend every possible minute with her. Except, Bailey reflected with a twist of sorrow, she did have a little girl and a boy, too, and she couldn’t afford to keep them.
“You both look beautiful,” agreed Darlene, a slender woman in her late-fifties.
“Thanks.”
Rainbow joined them, her flip-flops replaced by ridiculously high, sparkly wedges. “I’m here!”
“Welcome back,” Patty said.
Their brother, Drew, handsome in his army uniform, came to escort Darlene to her seat and then returned to accompany his sister. As planned, the bridal party gathered in a small room near the auditorium, out of sight until Jennifer cued them.
“Everybody’s seated,” the PR director announced. “Oh, my, don’t you all look gorgeous! Are you nervous?”
“Me?” Patty said. “Yeah, I’m afraid I’ll fall off these heels.”
Rainbow glanced at her feet. “They’re about two inches high.”
“That’s two inches higher than nature intended,” her sister shot back.
Jennifer peered into the hall. “Coast’s clear. Let’s go.”
They billowed out in their finery. Jennifer stuck her head into the auditorium to cue the pianist, and the music shifted into the melody that signaled the beginning of the wedding march. With a radiant smile plastered on her face, Rainbow disappeared through the door Jennifer held ajar.
“One down,” Patty said.
“Bailey!” cried Fiona with sudden fright.
“What, sweetie?”
“What if I trip?”
Bailey reached for her hand. “I’ll hold you.”
“What if I drop the flowers?”
“That’s good luck, remember? But only if it’s an accident,” she added as a precaution.
“Promise you’ll hold on to me?”
“I promise,” she said, suffused with tenderness.
Peering down into Fiona’s trusting brown eyes, Bailey felt an overwhelming rush of emotion. Who was going to be holding her children’s hands for all those years ahead? What if they were alone or frightened and there was no one to reassure and protect them?
Someday, they’ll be walking down the aisles at their own weddings, but I won’t be there. I’ll never see what kind of people they’ve grown up to become or whether I made the right decision.
She couldn’t bear not knowing whether they were safe and loved. She had to be there for them.
No matter what it cost or how much she had to sacrifice, she couldn’t give them up.
Chapter Nineteen
Jennifer gestured urgently. “Now, now!”
Embarrassed to have missed her cue, Bailey took a firm grip on Fiona’s hand and started forward. The door parted, and in they went.
The place was packed. Stifling a rush of panic, Bailey registered the faces of administrators, doctors, nurses, support staff, volunteers, all focused on her and Fiona. But they were safe, holding each other’s hands, and as the little girl proceeded solemnly forward, smiles bloomed in their direction.
Finally Bailey dared to glance ahead to the altar set up on the stage, and the two men standing there. Alec Denny, face alight with love, and Owen.
She’d never seen a man look so thoroughly masculine in a tuxedo. Against the severe black and white, he was like a flame with his russet hair and the intensity of his gaze. Oddly, she caught a flicker of uncertainty in his expression, and his mouth parted as if to frame a question.
For a moment, there was no one else in the auditorium. Only Owen, fixing her in the spotlight of his gaze.
Then she and Fi reached the low steps and climbed up. “Way to go!” whispered Rainbow as Bailey guided Fiona into position next to the maid of honor.
The music transitioned to the formal wedding march. Amid the rustles and sighs that greeted the sight of the bride, she caught a few low whistles and mutterings of “Go, Patty!” Ah, yes. Among the hospital personnel Bailey recognized a sprinkling of the bride’s old buddies from the police department.
Only her brother’s measured pace kept Patty from galloping down the aisle, but in due time, he handed her over.
Patty glowed as she regarded her groom. “Hey.”
“Hey, back,” Alec murmured happily, and pulled her into place beside him.
Beautiful as the ceremony was, Bailey found it hard to concentrate. She was too aware of Owen studying her—didn’t he realize everyone could see?—and of the implications of the emotional commitment she’d just made to the twins. It ran soul-deep, this love of her children that she’d tried so hard to dismiss. Maybe she’d regret this, she told herself. Maybe someday she’d discover how much she’d deprived them of, growing up with little money and no father, just as she had. Maybe, as Phyllis said, she was being selfish—although not for keeping them from her irresponsible, manipulative sister.
Would Owen ever visit them? Would they have red hair like his? Would anyone guess that they were related?
Bailey blinked away tears. She’d always known that whatever man stole her heart would leave a void behind. At least she had two angelic babies and a heart full of love to fill that emptiness.
Almost.
The sound of the minister introducing the newly wedded couple to their guests jolted Bailey from her reverie. Applause rang out, and into the aisle went the happy duo, arm in arm, with Rainbow and Fiona practically skipping
behind. Weighed down, Bailey had to hurry to keep up. She felt like a huge tortoise, waddling after them all by herself.
Wait a minute. Why was Owen still standing near the altar?
He held up his hands, quieting the crowd. “If you folks will bear with me for a moment, there’s a little more entertainment before you get to eat. Delicious as that cafeteria food is, I’m hoping you’ll indulge me.”
A scattering of laughter greeted this remark, and those who’d stood up sank into their seats again. Uncertainly, Bailey retreated toward the exit. Whatever fun and games Owen had in mind, she wasn’t in the mood.
“Whoa.” Bouquet raised, Patty blocked her path. “Don’t make me tackle you. It’ll look really weird with me wearing this fancy dress and you being pregnant and all.”
“What’s going on?”
“You’ll see.”
Puzzled, Bailey turned to face the stage. Owen, who’d taken a position next to the piano, was watching her with an unaccustomed air of vulnerability. What on earth did he plan to do?
The moment the pianist hit the opening chord, she recognized the melody. Out of all the songs Rodgers and Hammerstein ever wrote, this was her favorite, the most beautiful, the most heartfelt, the most inspiring.
And Owen was singing it directly to her. As if he didn’t care that half the hospital was watching. That word might leak out to the press. That people might scoff.
Overwhelmed, Bailey sank into an empty seat and got lost in the beauty of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
No matter what life brought, no matter how dark the storm, there’d always be a light at the end. If only it were true. If only he meant it. But you couldn’t trust hope. It squeezed your heart and made you imagine possibilities that would never come true. Not for you.
When his rich voice finished and the last chord died away, applause rocked the auditorium. Bailey heard cheers, most loudly from Patty and Alec. But of course this tribute was meant for them. How appropriate.
Owen had his hands up for silence again. When it fell, he cleared his throat. “Just one more thing. Begging your patience, folks. I’ve had a hard time getting a word in with Miss Bailey Wayne recently, so please forgive my taking advantage of this occasion. I assure you, I cleared it with the bride and groom first.”
What was he doing? Around the room, Bailey heard a stir of anticipation.
“There’s been an unfair rumor going around that Bailey’s just a surrogate who stole her sister and brother-in-law’s children.” Now Owen had the audience’s full attention. “Well, her sister tricked and lied to her. You see, my brother may be fertile when it comes to hatching plots, but not when it comes to fatherhood.”
Bailey’s jaw dropped. Was he really going to say this in front of everyone?
“I made a very personal donation to help my brother and sister-in-law have kids. But they deceived both Bailey and me. I didn’t know there was a surrogate, and she didn’t know that those babies she’s carrying are mine.”
A gasp skittered throughout the room. Even Patty and Alec were staring at him in shock. Apparently he hadn’t told them this part.
Which part had he told them?
Owen soldiered on. “They also broke their promise to pay for Bailey’s medical care. Instead, they gave her a place to live in what just happened to be the other half of my house. Then a funny thing happened.”
His gaze fixed on Bailey. She couldn’t have looked away if a bomb had gone off.
“You see, I fell in love with the lady, and I don’t like seeing her walk alone,” Owen said. “I think she should have someone by her side for, say, the rest of her life, and I think our children should grow up with two loving parents. Bailey Wayne, will you marry me?”
Around her, the auditorium had gone completely still. Staring at the man she loved through the flowers and ribbons, she asked the first question that popped into her mind. “You mean right now?”
He grinned, and she heard a few sympathetic chuckles in the audience. “Any time you want, sweetheart, although I was hoping to wait until we got a marriage license and a ring. Oh, wait.” He patted his pocket. “Already took care of that part.”
Then he did the second most amazing thing Bailey had ever seen. He descended the steps, took out a jeweler’s box and opened it to display a diamond ring that glowed almost as brightly as his eyes.
Right there in the aisle, in front of everyone, he got down on one knee. And the great Dr. Tartikoff proposed all over again.
Fiona, who’d been fidgeting on the sidelines, could contain herself no longer. “Say yes!”
Bailey’s cheeks burned. Leaning close to Owen, drinking in his very male scent, she felt his hair tickle her nose as she whispered, “Yes.”
His face lit with happiness. “You better mean that,” he whispered back.
“I promise,” she said.
He slipped the ring onto her finger, and then he kissed her hand. Around them, a cheer went up, with Patty yelling louder than anyone. “Yay for Bailey and Owen! Hurrah!”
As he helped Bailey to her feet, she was amazed to see the number of people hurrying toward them, laughing and calling out congratulations. Renée, of course, and Ned, who started pumping Owen’s hand as if trying to draw water from a well. Nora and her husband, Lori and Devina and Caroline, Dr. Rayburn, Dr. Forrest, Dr. Sargent and all sorts of other people crowded around. She’d had no idea she had so many friends. Well, some of them might be Owen’s friends, too. She’d had no idea they had so many friends.
A shrill whistle cut through the noise. Patty. “Okay, everybody, let’s hit the cafeteria! I’m starving.”
“Sounds good.” Owen slid his arm around Bailey protectively. “Isn’t it clever the way I wangled a free engagement party?”
“With bear claws,” she added. “Can we have those at our wedding, too?”
“We can have an entire bear if you want,” he teased.
The rest of the evening passed in a happy blur. Afterward, Bailey was too tired even to think about packing, so she spent the night at Renée’s. On Sunday, Ned showed up with a pickup truck. He and Owen and a couple of other guys moved her back to the house on Morningstar Circle, and they all celebrated with a pizza party.
Then, finally, Bailey spent the evening in Owen’s arms, still trying to absorb the fact that he really, truly belonged to her.
TO SOFTEN THE MEDIA STORM that Owen had feared, he and Bailey authorized Jennifer to issue a press release on Monday stating the basics of his paternity, the ways that she’d been ill-treated as a surrogate, their unexpected falling in love and their engagement. Understandably, Bailey refused to have anything to do with reporters, but Owen fielded questions when the press showed up.
He was pleased that the media reps, instead of acting nasty, seemed to relish the love story aspect. As for Phyllis, she apologized to her sister on the air but seemed miffed that Bailey had gotten engaged without telling her. Owen could only shake his head at the woman’s arrogance.
To be on the safe side, he retained a family attorney on behalf of Bailey and himself. She assured him that, whatever games Phyllis or Boone might try to play in future, she would take steps to make sure the Storeys could never get their hands on the twins.
At work, the hospital buzzed with good feelings. On Thursday, when he and Bailey managed to eat lunch together, people kept stopping by with congratulations. “I feel like a celebrity,” Bailey told him in wonder. “Guess you’re used to it.”
“I’m used to people respecting me, maybe admiring me,” Owen conceded. “But not so much liking me.”
“You’re nothing like your reputation,” Bailey told him.
“That’s not entirely true. Let’s just say I earned my bad rep the hard way, and now I’m un-earning it the easy way.” Owen reached across the table to cup her hand. “Thanks to you.”
“My pleasure.” The joy radiating from her made him feel goofy and grateful all over again.
That afternoon, Owen was surprised to receive
a call from Dr. Cole Ratigan, who had turned down the position of head of the men’s fertility program. “Still got an opening? Winter’s coming and I’m thinking it might be a lot more pleasant in California than Minnesota,” the man said cheerfully.
“You bet.” Elated, Owen filled in some details before asking the obvious question. “To what do I owe this welcome change of heart?”
“Frankly, I hated turning down the chance to run part of your program, but I heard you were a real SOB to work with,” Cole responded. “Now I understand you’ve turned into Prince Charming. I figure the truth has to be somewhere in between.”
“I’m only an SOB on alternate Wednesdays,” Owen said. “Good thing today’s Thursday.”
“I’ll make sure to take Wednesdays off.”
That was great news for their patients, for the program’s reputation and for the fact that it gave Jennifer a new angle to release to the press. Owen sent her, Mark and Chandra emails, along with one to Alec Denny that probably wouldn’t get read until he returned from his honeymoon. He and Patty had gone to Las Vegas to see the shows and indulge at the buffets.
There was one more thing Owen needed to do before he felt comfortable moving on with his life. Due to his tight schedule, it took until the following Saturday before he was finally able to visit his brother, who’d been returned to Southern California. Owen had to show ID at the jail, sign in and wait a couple of hours with a group that ranged from glum, gray-haired mothers and nervous young women to men sporting shaved heads and tattoos.
Behind a glass partition, Boone held himself tightly. The orange jumpsuit gave his skin a yellowish cast, especially the bruising around one eye.
“Saw you on the news,” Boone said through the connecting phone, which they had been warned was monitored. “Good luck to you and Bailey. Guess I sort of played Cupid.”
The Surgeon's Surprise Twins Page 18
