Home for the Baby's Sake

by Christine Rimmer

  She gave him a slow smile. “Hmm. How ’bout a distraction from all the emotional turmoil you’re feeling that you actually understand pretty well, but still find hard to deal with?”

  “Was that a criticism?”

  “No, it was a compliment—to your ability to see through your own issues to the truth.”

  He scoffed. “Right.”

  “Roman. Focus. Do you want a distraction, or don’t you?”

  His big hand skated down her thigh and back up again, raising sweet shivers as it went. “Why don’t you show me exactly what you have in mind?”

  She eased her arm down between their bodies and wrapped her fingers around him. “Like this?” She gave a firm stroke. He thickened in her grip.

  “Yeah,” he said gruffly. “That’ll do just fine.”

  * * *

  The next day, Hailey left for the theater at eight in the morning. The Fall Revue was over, but the haunted house would be opening in less than two weeks.

  Roman kissed her goodbye at the door and missed her the moment she was out of his sight. She did that to him, made him want to be with her all the time. He didn’t let himself think about that too much—about how attached he was becoming.

  Sometimes the way he felt about her reminded him a little too much of how far gone he’d been over Charlene back in the day—only now, it was even worse. He not only wanted Hailey, he liked her. A lot. It bothered him how much.

  But then he reminded himself that Hailey was nothing like Charlene. Hailey was good—a good woman. She wasn’t trying to get closer to his wallet. All she wanted was him.

  Still, sometimes he was certain he wanted her more. And that seemed dangerous in ways he preferred not to think on too deeply. If she’d just marry him, he knew his apprehensions would fade. He could stop worrying about losing her.

  When a woman like Hailey said yes, she meant it. If she would only say yes, she would be his for the rest of their lives. Yeah, his previous marriages had ended in disaster. But it wouldn’t be like that with Hailey. Everything was different with her.

  He was in his office at eight thirty, trying to simultaneously entertain Theo and check email and messages, when his cell lit up with Hailey’s name.

  He answered with, “Missed me, huh?”

  “It’s only been half an hour.”

  “I know how you are. You get sad when I’m not there.”

  “Yeah, well. Aside from my devastation at being away from you for a whole thirty minutes, I talked to Rashonda.” How was it that just the sound of her voice soothed him?

  He was a goner for her, no doubt about it. “That’s the woman who helps you in rehearsals, right?”

  “Rashonda does a lot more than help in rehearsals.”

  “Noted.”

  “Da-da, hi!” Theo had grabbed onto his pants leg and was pulling himself upright. Roman gave him a wave as Theo made it to his feet.

  “That my favorite little guy?” Hailey asked.

  “How’d you guess?”

  “Put him on.”

  Roman put the phone to Theo’s ear and watched his eyes widen as he listened. “Lee-Lee!” he announced and then crowed with happy laughter. Theo loved Lee-Lee.

  Which was even more reason she should marry Roman immediately. He pulled the phone back and said to her, “So you talked to Rashonda...”

  “She knows someone who might be interested in the job as Theo’s nanny. Someone really good with kids, Rashonda said, and with great references. She won’t be available long. I’ll text you the number.”

  As soon as he hung up with Hailey, Roman called the prospective nanny. Lois Chetfield answered on the first ring and said she could come by in an hour for an interview.

  Roman knew Lois was the one as soon as he opened the door and saw her standing on the porch in tan pants, a dark-green shirt and practical-looking shoes. She was in her forties with a warm smile and sharp eyes.

  “You’re hired,” he said.

  Lois smiled patiently. “First, we should talk and then I want to meet your son.”

  So he went through the motions of interviewing her and watching her with Theo, who took to her right away, grinning and babbling at her in his mixture of short words and nonsense syllables.

  Lois stayed for over an hour, during which two of Ma’s friends came by to see how she was doing. Lois knew both women. They stopped and chatted with her as Theo sat in her lap, drooling contentedly, chewing on a rubber banana.

  Then Patrick came downstairs. It struck Roman anew how bizarre his life had become. Patrick Holland was staying in his house, sleeping in Ma’s room...

  Roman really needed not to think too hard about that.

  Ma’s two friends reminded him of chirping birds, all bright and chipper and fluttery as Patrick introduced himself. He led them upstairs for a visit and then walked them to the door when they left.

  A few minutes later, Lois left, too. Roman started contacting the references she’d given him. He got nothing but glowing reports of her nanny skills.

  It was probably the fastest nanny hunt in the history of child care. By noon, he’d called her back and hired her at the hefty hourly rate she required. Lois would start working tomorrow. She would take care of Theo from nine to five, weekdays. She was also willing to make herself available periodically on weekends and even to travel on occasion so that Roman could take Theo with him when he had meetings out of town.

  Two more of Sasha’s friends came by. Like the first two, they brought casserole dishes. It was the same routine as earlier. Patrick appeared and introduced himself, then led them upstairs.

  That evening, dinner consisted of the food brought by Ma’s friends during the day. Ma said she felt better and insisted on coming to the table to eat. Hailey was still at the theater, so it was Roman, Ma, Patrick—and Theo in his high chair.

  Except for Theo, who chattered happily away at no one in particular as he stuffed bits of cooked vegetables and meat in his mouth, nobody said much for several minutes.

  But then Ma turned to Roman. “Matilda and Rose mentioned that you were interviewing for a nanny today.” Matilda Graves and Rose Sampson were the ones who’d shown up while Lois was getting to know Theo.

  “Her name’s Lois Chetfield,” he said. “I hired her. She starts tomorrow.”

  “According to Rose and Matilda, Lois is an excellent caregiver.”

  “I think she’ll work out fine, yeah. Theo warmed right up to her.”

  “I’m glad.” Ma hesitated before adding, “I’m not deserting you, Roman—or Theo, either. I will be stopping by often to spend time with you and my grandson. And whenever you need me, I’ll be right here in town. You only have to call.”

  “I appreciate that, Ma. Thanks,” he said, and meant it. Mostly.

  He slid a quick glance at Patrick and then back to Sasha. “So you two will be getting a place together?” he asked, as though he hadn’t already assessed the situation and realistically determined what was bound to happen.

  Ma and Patrick shared a long glance. They looked apprehensive, like they were afraid of his reaction to their plans. He supposed he couldn’t blame them. So far, his response to Patrick’s appearance in Valentine Bay had been less than reassuring. He knew he needed to do better, to accept that they were together and also that they actually seemed happy that way.

  “Yes, we are going to look for a place,” she said at last, “and we’re getting married next week, at the county clerk’s office. I want you to be there.”

  So, then. Just like that, they were getting married. Why couldn’t it be that simple between him and Hailey?

  “Roman?” Ma wore a worried frown. “Will you be there?”

  He realized she’d read his silence as resistance. “Of course I’ll be there—and, uh, congratulations.”

  His mother gave him a careful sm
ile and a regal nod. “I’ll invite Hailey, too, for our second witness.”

  “She would like that.” Roman spoke gently—he thought.

  But then Ma said, almost plaintively, “We just want to finally get started on our life together.”

  Across the table, Patrick doggedly speared a fork into his broccoli salad. He looked as uncomfortable as Roman felt, which had Roman thinking that for seven years after Irene died, when Patrick and Ma had every right to be together, she’d refused him. She’d told Patrick no because she knew that the mere mention of Patrick Holland made Roman’s adrenaline spike.

  Seven years was a long time and Roman needed not to be the guy who kept his mother from being happy. He was getting the picture that his animosity toward Patrick was unfounded, anyway. It was just the remnants of the terrified little boy he’d once been, a boy who felt his world crumbling and needed someone to blame.

  He set down his fork. “Okay, let me just say this. Ma, I want you to have what you want. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.” He turned to Patrick. “Until yesterday, I had no idea that what Ma wanted was you. That’s been a stunner for me, but I’m dealing. Make her happy. You do that, you’ll make me happy and we’ll get along just fine.”

  The knot of tension in Patrick’s jaw seemed to ease a little. “That’s more than fair,” he said. “I love your mother very much, Roman. Seeing her happy means the world to me.”

  * * *

  Later that night, in bed, Roman brought Hailey up to speed on the situation with his mom and Patrick Holland.

  “So you were right,” she said, marveling at how well he’d assessed the situation.

  “They’re getting married and getting a place together.” He pulled her a little closer and kissed her neck—using his teeth.

  “Ouch!”

  “That’s for sounding so surprised at how perceptive and intuitive I am.”

  She laughed. “Why do I have the feeling that anything I say right now is only going to get me into hot water with you?”

  He made a growling sound and nuzzled the spot he’d just nipped with his teeth. “Say I’m sensitive and deeply insightful.”

  She dutifully parroted the words.

  And he kissed her. The kisses got longer and deeper. By the time Roman turned out the light, Hailey was thoroughly satisfied and completely content.

  The next day, Patrick found a three-bedroom beachfront house that was available month-to-month. He and Sasha would move in on November 1 and start the hunt for a house they wanted to buy.

  Sasha healed quickly. A week and a day after her surgery, she and Patrick were married at the county offices in Astoria. Roman and Hailey served as their witnesses. Following the brief ceremony, the four of them shared a wedding lunch.

  Out in the restaurant parking lot a little later, there were hugs all around. Even Roman and Patrick managed a sort of half hug and a handshake. Finally, the bride and groom climbed into Patrick’s Jaguar XJ and took off for Seattle and a five-day honeymoon at the Four Seasons.

  Over the next few days, Hailey spent long hours at the theater. Every night, she came home to Roman and Theo—and yes. Roman’s house had very much begun to feel like her house, too.

  On October 29, the Valentine Bay Arts Council, in association with H&H Productions, opened the second annual haunted house at the Valentine Bay Theatre. The event ran for three nights, culminating on Halloween.

  Last year, the haunted house had been a big success. This year was even bigger. They had triple the number of visitors, resulting in three times more revenue than the year before.

  When Hailey got back to Roman’s after locking up the theater, it was after ten and Theo was in bed. Roman had ordered dinner from that great Italian place in the historic district. He’d gone all out, with tall, white candles, fancy plates and flatware and a beautiful bottle of wine from Tuscany.

  She was tired but feeling pretty great about a job well done. And Roman was wonderful, listening attentively while she talked about how cute the kids were in their Halloween costumes, how they all loved to scream their heads off when a vampire rose from a coffin or a skeleton dressed in rags popped out of a hidden alcove. She bragged shamelessly about how much money they’d made.

  He raised his wineglass in a toast and suggested, “Marry me. You can have the theater.”

  Her heart kind of twisted. He was an amazing man in so many ways—thoughtful and generous and gorgeous and so very good in bed.

  But, come on. How many proposals was she going to get without the three most important words in them?

  Should she go ahead and say it first, hope he would finally take a hint if she just put it right there? I love you, Roman. Do you feel the same about me?

  She set down her own glass of wine in order to resist the temptation to upend it over his thick head—and it was right then, as she considered dumping her wine on him, that the scary truth of what she’d just admitted bloomed within her.

  I love him.

  She truly did. There was no more slowing it down, waiting till later to examine her true feelings. She loved him.

  He was her guy, her person. She loved him in the deepest way, and she wanted to be with him. She might even be willing to say yes to him, take the leap and marry him, though they hadn’t been together for all that long and a step as serious as marriage shouldn’t be entered into hastily. A decision to get married could not be rushed.

  Still. She wanted to be with him and, even in the short time they’d been a couple, she’d come to count on his presence in her life, to look forward to coming home to him after a long, challenging day at the theater. Already she couldn’t imagine her world without him in the center of it.

  He mattered to her. So much. She loved him, she did.

  But she didn’t want to say yes to him now, not like this, when she was kind of pissed off and a little bit sad that he couldn’t just relax and let things happen naturally now and then. He had to wrestle every situation into complete submission.

  Well, she’d never been all that good at submitting and she wasn’t starting now. It was too soon for marriage. Really, what was the big rush?

  Just in case he hadn’t heard her the other times she’d said it, she reminded him, “I would never get married for a theater, Roman—not even the Valentine Bay Theatre. I really wouldn’t.”

  “I want us to be together.”

  “We are together.” Sometimes she felt a little guilty about how “together” they were. She didn’t spend enough time with Harper anymore. Lately, she only saw her sister at the theater. She felt neglectful, leaving her best friend and virtual twin living all alone at the family cottage.

  Yeah, it had been bound to happen eventually. They each needed to have their own lives, to follow their own paths, or whatever.

  Still.

  She’d fallen for Roman so hard and so fast. She needed to slow him down a little, catch her breath. Give them both time, let this amazing connection they shared ripen.

  Like fine wine from Tuscany.

  He was watching her closely. “I’m blowing it, huh? Next time there needs to be a big rock and me on my knees.”

  She picked up her wine again. Alcohol solved nothing, but sometimes a girl needed her wine. She resisted the urge to take a giant gulp and sipped slowly as she chose her words with care. “It’s not about the ring or you getting down on one knee. It’s really not, Roman. We need more time before we make that kind of decision.”

  “I don’t. I’ve already made my decision. I want a life with you. I want to get going on that.”

  She gestured with her glass—at the dinner he’d laid out with such care, at his house where she pretty much lived now, at him and her and Theo sleeping upstairs in his crib. “We do have a life. I love what we have. There’s nothing to ‘get going’ on. We are already ‘going.’ We’re together and I want us to stay th
at way, keep working together, supporting each other, building a life, you and me.”

  “And how long is that going to take—until we’ve supported each other enough, worked together enough, built enough of a life that you’re willing to walk down the aisle to me?”

  “Um, a while. It’s not a race, Roman. It’s a process.”

  “A process. That’s one of those words people say when they’re planning to drag something out.”

  “I’m not dragging anything out.”

  “Great. Because I want to firm this thing up.”

  “Firm it up?” Now she was gritting her teeth so hard, she wondered if her back molars would crack. “Roman, love isn’t a business deal.”

  “Maybe it ought to be. A business deal makes sense. It’s an honest transaction.”

  “And love isn’t? What is going on with you, really? I don’t understand you sometimes. You’re the most terrific guy in so many ways and then you...”

  Wait a minute.

  Why was she lecturing him?

  More important, why was she holding out on him?

  No, she wasn’t going to marry him. Yet. But someday, yes. Someday—and not all that far in the future—she really did see it coming. The two of them.

  Together.

  As wife and husband.

  So what could she do right now to ease his mind a little? What could she do to encourage him to have a little patience with the process?

  Even if he couldn’t make himself say the important words, she could give them to him. She could open her heart, let him in, let him see how important he was to her.

  She drew in a slow breath and made herself say it. “I love you, Roman. You’re the guy for me. I love you very much.”

  The look on his face right then? Priceless.

  For a moment she saw all the sides of him. The sexy, powerful, often overbearing man; the scared little boy exiled from the only home he’d ever known; the loving son and father—and the Roman who held her close in bed, the Roman who ordered Italian for ten o’clock at night and put out the white tablecloth and candles and poured the good wine, because no matter when she got home from work, he wanted her to have a great meal and a chance to tell him all about her day.