“REALLY?” Mary cried.
“Yes, really,” Julie, the nurse from the hospital, assured her. “Congratulations. And oh, by the way— congratulations, too, on getting married last weekend. We put the notice up in the doctors’ lounge. You should have seen Victor’s face. It would have curdled milk.”
“Oh, him!” she exclaimed dismissively. Victor was nothing more to her than a distant splotch on her past horizon. “Thank you so much for everything, Julie.”
“Honestly, it was my pleasure. We miss you, and we miss your hunky hubby picking you up every day. All the other nurses have quite a crush on him. I don’t, of course.”
Mary laughed delightedly, promised to meet Julie for lunch the next week, said goodbye and hung up. Then she hugged herself, looking around their bedroom. Chance had liked the peach-and-green color scheme, and the room had been spacious enough to move in his dressers and one of his bookshelves.
She had to find him. She straightened her rose-patterned skirt in the full-length mirror and waltzed down the stairs toward the back door. The smells of the Sunday dinner made her pause, and humming, she went to check on the large capon roasting in the oven. It was nearly ready. She tucked the foil-wrapped potatoes to one side and put the tray of crescent rolls in to bake.
Outside she went. Cassie and her father, Johnny, were playing a cutthroat game of croquet on the lawn in the same spot where the wedding had been held a week ago. In a nearby pavilion, Carmen and Wallis stretched out in lounge chairs, drinking wine and talking as they watched the game.
They waved at her, and she waved back as she hurried to the large shed where Chance and Tim were plotting on how to fix the damaged yacht Chance had bought from Harold Schubert. She didn’t quite understand yet how they were going to go about repairing the Gypsy Dancer. It seemed to involve bottles of beer and cans of soda, and many hours of talking in the shed. She suspected it might involve the professional help of a shipyard before it was over, but both Chance and Tim were enjoying themselves so much, she kept her mouth shut.
She waltzed up to the open doors and peered inside.
The thirty-foot yacht, cradled on the boat trailer, dominated the middle space of the shed. Chance, clad in a white shirt and tan trousers, was bent over a workbench against one wall, studying designs, while Tim hovered at his elbow. As if aware of her presence by some sixth sense, Chance looked up.
She never failed to be amazed at how he lit up when he saw her. He pushed away from the bench to stroll toward her, raking his hair back with one hand, while her gaze ran possessively down the length of his body, and she thought, You’re mine, you beautiful man.
He stepped out into the sunshine. “Hello, sweet-heart, is dinner ready? What can I do to help?”
She clasped her hands together. “Chance, I’m pregnant.”
He froze, staring at her incredulously. She nodded at him, beaming. Then his face ignited with joy, and with a war whoop he darted forward to swing her up. She threw her arms around his neck, laughing tearfully as he twirled her around.
“When did you find out?” he demanded.
“Just now, on the phone. Remember when I had to run errands this morning? I stopped at the hospital, and Julie had one of the technicians run a test just for me.”
“My God, you kept a secret!”
She lifted one shoulder, looking proud. “Well, for a couple of hours.”
He stopped and dipped his head for a long, deep kiss. She nuzzled against him, purring. “You precious, precious thing,” he whispered. “You’re my universe.”
Mary looked serenely up at the sky. She knew she was. He proved it in many ways every day. “You’re mine, too.”
“Oh, my God,” Tim said from behind them, “I’m going to be an uncle!”
They turned to look. His eyes were bugged out. Mary started to laugh again helplessly. “Don’t look so scared, honey. It’ll be all right.”
“I’m going to be a father,” Chance breathed. “I’m looking forward to every terrifying minute of it. Let’s go tell everybody now.”
Mary nodded and looked at the ground, expecting to be put down, but he held on to her tight. While Tim ran ahead, Chance stepped lightly around the corner of the shed and followed with a lilting step, dancing with her in his arms.
IMPRINT: e-book Sexy
ISBN: 9781460877784
TITLE: PERFECT CHANCE
First Australian Publication 2012
Copyright © 2012 AMANDA CARPENTER
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