Baby in the Boardroom

by Michele Dunaway

  He shook his head. “I’m holding on to my anger by a thread. And I’m still trying to absorb this. You told me you were safe.”

  “I thought I was. I was on the pill. The doctor thinks it’s because I was taking antibiotics the week before we made love.”

  He turned the wood over and over in his hand. “So you’re sure it’s not Bill’s.”

  “There’s no way. I had a cycle in between. We hadn’t been sleeping together toward the end. I didn’t mean to get pregnant. It was an accident.”

  “And was it an accident that you forgot to tell me?

  How convenient.” He crushed the sandpaper and tossed it onto the workbench. “I deserved to know. I went to the hospital with you! You could have been losing my baby!”

  She didn’t know what to say. He was right on all counts. Invoking the “it’s my body” defense would be rude and insulting. “I had my reasons.”

  “It doesn’t matter what your reasons were. It’s my child and I should have been involved.”

  “I’m not having my baby live half the time with you and half with me.” She covered her stomach protectively.

  “Did I even suggest that? Already you’re on the defensive. I’m the one who’s been wronged here. You lied to me.”

  “I thought I was protecting you, saving you from an obligation you didn’t want. I had no idea how you felt about me—you lied, too.”

  Mitch put the block down and flexed his hands, stretching the fingertips upward and out. “I don’t think we should talk about this any further. Not now. I need to be alone.”

  “Mitch…”

  “Please go. Let me think. I gave you space this week end. Do me the same courtesy.”

  She stood there, aware that his anger was tightly contained. He turned his back on her. “I know where to find you,” he said.

  She didn’t like walking away, but she had dropped a bombshell. He deserved to be mad and she couldn’t fault him for wanting time. She would, too, under the circumstances. She climbed into her car, sat for a moment, then turned the key and drove away.

  MITCH STOOD in his shop another five minutes before he closed the garage doors and crossed the backyard to his house. He washed his hands, dried them and then sat down in front of his plasma screen, all on autopilot.

  Kristi Jensen was having his baby.

  He’d been the biggest fool on the planet. How could he not have seen this? When she’d turned up pregnant, he’d just assumed it was Bill’s. He should have asked. Should have at least suspected there might be a chance the baby was his.

  At least then he wouldn’t have been such a patsy, helping her out, pretending to date her, making it real, all while she was keeping a huge, life-altering secret from him. He was going to be a dad.

  Hell. What a mess. This certainly wasn’t how he’d expected to become a father. He’d figured he’d be married a few years and then he and his wife would decide to start a family.

  Surprises sucked. He wasn’t married, he was sort of dating Kristi—whose motivations for making things real he now questioned.

  His cell phone rang, and seeing Maria’s number, he flipped the phone open. “You have impeccable timing,” he said without preamble.

  “I called you at work to invite you to dinner this weekend and they said you’d left early. You never do that. Are you sick?”

  Maria had always been astute, and she’d given him the perfect excuse. He could tell her that he’d gotten the flu. But that would be another lie. He was tired of lies.

  “I found out today I’m going to be a father.”

  He heard her quick intake of breath. “Say what?”

  “I’m the father of Kristi’s child. Surprise.”

  “Holy Mary, mother of…” Maria’s voice drifted away and there was silence before she said, “Well, we obviously know when the happy event took place. But she’s just telling you now?” Her tone contained the same raw indignation that Mitch felt.

  “My thoughts exactly. She dropped the truth on me today. Less than twenty minutes ago, in fact.”

  “This is a shock.”

  “Tell me about it.” Mitch rummaged in his refrigerator for a cola. He popped the top on the aluminum can and took a long swallow. “I thought it was someone else’s. How much of an idiot am I? It didn’t even occur to me that the baby could be mine. I figured she’d tell me if it was, not wait until now. Not play all these games…”

  “I told you not to lust after her in the first place. Play with fire and you get burned.”

  “Thanks for the twenty-twenty hindsight. It’s quite helpful.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m not going to step aside. I want to be involved in my child’s life.”

  “Which is probably why she didn’t tell you.” Maria whistled low. “But she can’t deny you access to your child. The law won’t let her.”

  Mitch leaned his hip against the counter. “While that’s good to know, I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”

  “Mitch, whatever you do, you have to protect yourself.

  She’s only been with you because you’re convenient, not because she really loves you. You need to get yourself a lawyer before you talk to her again.”

  “That’s a little too mercenary for me. I know you’re only trying to protect me, but I’ll handle it. If I need legal counsel, I’ll get some.”

  “Of course I’m worried.”

  “And I love you for it. But I also love Kristi.”

  “How can you?”

  “Well, I’m furious, but my feelings haven’t changed. I don’t hate her. I understand how she thinks. Her father’s been after her to quit working from the moment she told him she was expecting, and she probably didn’t want yet another man trying to influence her decisions. She also may have been trying to protect me.”

  “I don’t see how that’s possible.”

  “If Larry Jensen knew I’d slept with his daughter he would fire me and make me so unhirable in this town that I’d need to move to find a job.” As Mitch talked to his sister, he began to see the bigger picture.

  Kristi was just as confused as he was. Twenty years of dating failures had broken her heart. She was afraid to trust again.

  “Are you there?” Maria asked.

  “Yeah. Sorry. I was thinking. Maybe this is what Kristi and I need to bring us together.”

  “You cannot be serious.”

  “I am. I know you aren’t her biggest fan and this is another big black mark against her, but she cares for me. I know she does. And all the secrets between us are gone.”

  Calm overtook him, replacing the anger. He had to believe Kristi had come to him because she’d decided over the weekend that she wanted to work things out.

  They’d had a lot of issues to wade through. Maybe it was time to strip everything bare and start over with nothing between them.

  “I’ll talk to you later,” he told his sister, hanging up.

  ALISON HAD ANSWERED Kristi’s call on the first ring. She’d listened to everything Kristi had told her and made the appropriate noises. “So what am I going to do?” Kristi asked.

  “You could just marry him.”

  That had Kristi’s attention. “What?”

  “Marry him. Your dad likes Mitch. He’s the baby’s father…”

  “Hold up.” Kristi stood and started pacing her kitchen floor. “I do not want to get married. We just made this dating thing real.”

  “Maybe you’ll have to skip the appetizer and go straight to the main course. You’ve already sampled the dessert.”

  Trust Alison to put things in such crass perspective.

  “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  “Kristi, no bad things in life are supposed to happen but they do. Mitch is the father. Marriage signifies commitment. He’s a good man. He’s crazy about you. Heck, you’re the girl of his dreams.”

  “What about what I want?”

  “Do you even know what that is?” Alison ask
ed the question Kristi had been wrestling with.

  “Yes. Love. Passion. Affection. Happily ever after…”

  Kristi’s doorbell rang. “Someone’s at the door.” She went to peer out the window. “It’s Mitch.”

  “Then talk to him.” And with that, Alison hung up.

  MITCH CLUTCHED the bouquet of roses in his left hand and rang Kristi’s doorbell again. His stomach churned and he rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension consuming him. He had no idea how this was going to play out.

  When she opened the door he noticed she’d changed into lime-green maternity yoga clothes that hugged her belly. Inside that bulge his child grew.

  “Hi,” Mitch said, placing the dozen red roses in her hands. “I’m sorry for my reaction earlier.”

  Kristi stepped aside and let him in. “Thank you. These are beautiful.”

  She closed the door and he followed her to the kitchen where she sniffed the flowers before retrieving a vase. “I haven’t had flowers in a while.”

  “Well, I aim to fix that.”

  Her eyes widened, and she stopped unwrapping the cellophane from the roses. “What do you mean?”

  He took a deep breath. “Kristi, I want you in my life. To say that I’m shocked by this turn of events is an understatement. But that doesn’t change how I feel. I’m angry, yes, but I still love you. I don’t think I could ever stop loving you.”

  Her lips trembled. He reached for her hands. “Both of us have come clean. We’ve stripped our souls bare. Maybe that’s what we needed. A fresh start.”

  “You still want to be with me?”

  “Why wouldn’t I? You’re wonderful and sweet. You have passion and drive. I’ve always admired you.”

  “I’m your dream girl,” she said quietly, looking down at her swollen belly.

  “You aren’t a dream girl. You’re real. You’re right here in front of me.” He let go of one hand to touch her cheek. “I can only pray that someday you’ll return my feelings.”

  “I don’t know. That’s what overwhelmed me this week end when your sister told me. I’m not even sure what love really is.”

  “You will be when you feel it.”

  “And what if I’m not? How can you stay with me when I don’t even know my own heart?”

  “I’m willing to risk it. You and I are good together. I care for you, and—”

  “I do care for you,” she inserted.

  “I know you do. Which is why I think we keep going the way we are. Dating. Feeling each other out. Doing what comes naturally.”

  She frowned. “You don’t want to marry me?”

  He smiled reassuringly. “I do. But not because you’re having a baby. Not because you feel pressured to do something you don’t want. I want you with me when you’re ready.”

  She broke into fresh tears and he cradled her in his arms. “Shh. It’s all going to be okay.”

  “You’re too good for me.”

  “Maybe,” he admitted with a grin, “but then I think you’re too good for me.”

  “Your sister hates me. So will your parents.”

  “They’ll all get over it. The only thing that matters is that I’m happy. And when I’m with you, I am.”

  He drew her closer and planted a kiss on her forehead. Her skin was soft beneath his lips. “I think we’ve survived our first two fights.”

  “Incredible.”

  “Yeah, it is. See? It’s all going to be fine.”

  KRISTI HOPED he was right. She’d been in volatile relationships, once in her early twenties, staying longer than she should before wising up and calling things off. This fight hadn’t been like that. They’d been mad at each other, but the anger had been diffused. They’d worked through things and at least come to a point where they’d found common ground.

  He loved her. His words had made her all warm and fuzzy. He’d understood that she needed time. He was a special man.

  She was connected to him in ways that she’d never been with anyone else. And she was having his child.

  They’d be forever linked because they’d created a life.

  The baby kicked, and Mitch’s hand dropped to her stomach. “Wow.”

  “He or she does that a lot.”

  The baby shifted, and then all was still. “Probably going to sleep,” Mitch observed.

  A lump formed in Kristi’s throat. Mitch would make a great father. “Kiss me.”

  Mitch gazed into her eyes, uncertain he’d heard her correctly. “What?”

  “Kiss me. Make me feel sparks. Show me that some how we’re going to be okay.”

  Mitch touched her face before kissing her gently. Heat pooled low.

  “I’m not fragile.” She moved his hands to her breasts. She needed him. “Touch me.”

  “They’re bigger.” His voice grew husky.

  “More sensitive, too.” She put her hands in his hair and lowered his head so she could kiss him more thoroughly.

  “The doctor said—” Mitch began, but Kristi led him to the bedroom.

  “There are other things we can do,” she said. Mitch’s only answer was a pleasurable groan.

  “Stay the night,” she asked much later, after they’d gotten up and had dinner. “Sleep with me.”

  “Okay,” he agreed.

  He curled her to him, and Kristi listened as his breathing became slow and regular. She felt safe and secure in his arms.” You’d never hurt me,” she stated.

  He stirred. “Not intentionally.”

  Her baby kicked, as if recognizing his father’s voice. The jab pushed against Kristi’s stomach, directly under where she’d placed her hand. It was as if the baby was saying, “Come on, Mom, get a clue.”

  Tears formed in her eyes and she asked another question. “Do you think how you feel could be enough for both of us?”

  Mitch propped himself up on his elbow so he could face her. “I do.”

  She placed her hand on his cheek. The baby moved again.

  “I saw that,” Mitch marveled.

  “He or she’s awake,” Kristi said.

  He was fascinated with watching her stomach. “Amazing that this is mine.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

  “I’m sorry I was such a jerk earlier today.”

  His apology touched her, and called forth something from deep inside. “I do want you involved. Don’t leave me.”

  “I won’t. I can stay. We can continue this until you’re ready to stop. Then we’ll make arrangements.”

  That wasn’t what she meant. “No. I mean promise me that no matter what happens down the road, you won’t leave me. Everyone does.”

  “We’re friends. I’ll always be here.”

  “I want more than just friendship.” As she said the words she realized she’d never been more certain of anything in her life. He covered the hand on his cheek with one of his own. “Mitch Robbins, will you marry me?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mitch stroked her hand tenderly. “You aren’t ready. You’re saying things in the heat of the moment.”

  Kristi had put herself out there and she bristled. “That’s a lie and we said no more of those. I know what I want and I know exactly what marriage entails.”

  “I do want to marry you.”

  “Then why haven’t you said yes?”

  “Because you’ve changed your mind so quickly. You weren’t certain what you wanted a few hours ago. What if your dream guy’s waiting just around the corner?”

  “He’s not there. Tonight I realized that my dream guy’s been right in front of me all along.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am.”

  “Then yes. I would love to marry you.” As Mitch said those words and sealed his fate, the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. Things between them were going to be okay. “I’ll make you happy,” he promised.

  “I believe you.” Tears shone in her blue eyes, and he wiped one away before leaning over to kiss her. His sweet
kiss morphed into a dedicated plunder of her mouth.

  “Where do we go from here?” Kristi asked once they’d finally come up for air.

  “We sleep.”

  “And then tomorrow?”

  He heard her hesitancy. She wondered if he’d back out. “We’ll discuss all the important details. A ring.

  An engagement announcement. A wedding. The future.

  We’re in this together. You, me and baby.”

  “I promise I’ll try to make you happy, too. At least I can give you companionship.”

  She’d already given him a lot more—she’d given him hope.

  For Mitch had discovered something tonight. He dropped a kiss to her lips, which she eagerly returned.

  Kristi Jensen truly did love him. She just didn’t realize it yet.

  THEY WERE MARRIED in July, the earliest Emma Jensen and Sue Ellen Robbins could get an acceptable wedding ceremony together. Kristi had been fine with something simple in the courthouse, but had given in to the wishes of both sets of parents, who really wanted some sort of cleric officiating.

  She and Mitch chose to have the ceremony and the reception at the Jensen estate. And Mitch’s family priest, after rushing the required marriage classes, had performed the nuptials in Emma’s rose garden. Even Mother Nature had cooperated, providing a perfect day.

  “You seem happy,” Alison said later, coming into Kristi’s childhood bedroom so she could help Kristi change into traveling clothes. Kristi’s parents had given her and Mitch an Alaskan cruise for their honeymoon, and the charter jet would depart for Vancouver once Kristi and Mitch arrived at the airport.

  “I am happy,” Kristi replied, shedding the white tulle headpiece and matching silk, knee-length dress. A thin gold band had joined the diamond solitaire she’d been wearing on her left hand for weeks. “I still don’t believe I’m married.”

  “He’s a good man.”

  “He is.” Kristi laid the dress on the bed. “Thank you for being here,” she told Alison.

  Alison wore the sleeveless sheath designating her maid of honor and only bridesmaid. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

  Kristi held up her hand, admiring the beautiful diamond, which reflected the early-evening sunlight. Up until the “I do’s,” she’d been afraid the wedding wouldn’t occur.