The Baby Bet: His Secret Son (The Baby Bet #5)
Page 23
And he did.
Andrew captured Kara’s mouth in a kiss that tasted of tears. It was a kiss of commitment to forever, of love declared and love returned in kind. It was a kiss that erased the pain, the misunderstandings, the confusion and dark emptiness of loneliness.
It was a kiss that was eternal love—rich and deep and real.
Andrew nestled Kara against his body, savoring the feel of her pressed to him, inhaling her flowery aroma, drinking in the taste of her.
Kara splayed her hands on Andrew’s broad strong back, as she allowed her lashes to drift down so she might take deep within her the taste, the feel, the aroma, the very essence of Andrew.
Andrew raised his head just enough to take a sharp breath, then spoke close to Kara’s lips.
“I want you, my Kara,” he said, his voice raspy with passion.
“And I want you, my Andrew,” she whispered. “I truly—”
They both stiffened, then jerked apart as the sensual spell encasing them was broken by the sound of a wailing baby.
“Nice timing, kiddo,” Andrew said dryly, then smiled. “Hold that ‘I want you’ thought, Kara. I believe our son is making his presence known.”
Kara laughed. “I’d better go check on him, but I’ll definitely hold the thought in question.”
“We’ll check on him,” Andrew said, slipping one arm around Kara’s shoulders. “Together.”
When they entered the nursery and crossed the room to stand next to the crib, they exchanged smiles as they saw that the baby had fallen back to sleep.
“Hey, little guy,” Andrew said. “Did you call this meeting to order or not?”
“Not,” Kara said. “He changed his mind.”
“Margaret told me you were going to bring him home in that baseball uniform he’s wearing,” Andrew said quietly, his gaze riveted on the sleeping infant. “I nearly lost it right there in front of her and Robert when I heard that.”
“I’m going to keep that outfit for him in his treasure box when he outgrows it,” Kara said. “Someday we’ll explain to him how he came to have it. It will be a very special story.”
“Kara,” Andrew said, shifting his gaze to her. “How would you feel about changing the baby’s name?”
Kara frowned. “But you said you were honored that he was Andrew Ralph—”
“I am,” Andrew interrupted. “What I’m fumbling around about here is that I want to adopt him, make him legally my son, just as you’re legally his mother. His name could be Andrew Ralph MacAllister Malone.”
“Oh, Andrew, yes, that would be wonderful. I’ll telephone my social worker tomorrow and ask her how we should proceed.” She turned to look at the baby. “Do you hear that, Andy? We’re going to be Malones, as well as MacAllisters. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”
“Speaking of names,” Andrew said as they left the nursery. “It’s about the dog. This is a boy’s buddy, you understand. It can’t have a name like Fluffy, or Muffy, or Twinkie.”
“Twinkie?” Kara said with a burst of laughter.
“Definitely not Twinkie,” Andrew said. They entered Kara’s bedroom by unspoken agreement. “It’s got to be something like Butch, or Zeke, or Zack, or—”
“Shut up,” Kara said, encircling Andrew’s neck with her arms.
“You want to name Andy’s dog Shut Up?” Andrew said, raising his eyebrows.
“No-o-o,” Kara said, then outlined Andrew’s lips with the tip of her tongue. “I want you to hush, not talk, not think. Just make love to me, before Andrew Ralph MacAllister Malone decides he’s hungry.”
“I can handle that, Mrs. Malone-to-be,” Andrew said.
“I’m sure you can, Mr. Malone,” Kara said.
Then no more words were spoken, because none were needed as their hearts sang a litany of everlasting love.
The announcement in the Ventura newspaper regarding the engagement of Kara MacAllister and Andrew Malone was picked up on the wire services and printed in papers all across California.
A spring wedding was planned, the announcement said, and it would be a private affair with only members of the family in attendance. The couple would reside in Ventura, and their house was currently under construction. The couple would be joined in the large home by their son, Andy, their dog, Zork, and their cat, Twinkie. The pets would temporarily live with Mary and Ralph MacAllister, the bride’s parents, who moved back to Ventura from Florida.
Andrew received a telegram from Clara that said that someday she might have the courage to ask his and Robert’s forgiveness, but she was concentrating now on learning how to be at peace with herself and find happiness on her own. She was extending her best wishes to Andrew and Kara on their pending marriage, and also to their son.
“I hope she makes it,” Andrew said to Kara, nodding in approval after reading Clara’s telegram aloud. “If Clara finds even half the amount of happiness that I have, she’ll be doing just fine.”
He shifted his gaze to the baby, who was nestled in the crook of his arm as they all sat on the sofa in Kara’s living room.
“Right, Andy?” Andrew said. “Everyone deserves to be happy.”
Andy burped.
“He has spoken,” Kara said, then laughed.
Her laughter was infectious, and Andrew laughed with her, the joyous sound filling the room to over-flowing and dancing through the air on magical golden sunbeams.
THE BABY BET: HIS SECRET SON
Copyright © 2000 by Joan Elliott Pickart
ISBN: 978-1-4603-6295-2
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