Her Pregnancy Surprise (33 page)

“Don’t let your past color your future, friend,” Dex said. “You never pictured yourself as a husband, either, and here you are.”

Past? The comment puzzled Sara. Matt had said he’d grown up under the care of an uncle. Had something happened to put him off having children?

He turned and saw her, his slow smile turning her insides mushy.

“Come here, Mrs. Tucker, Dex was just telling me how envious he is of us.”

Dex raised his glass in silent salute. “I wish for you both a long and happy life together.”

“Thank you, Dex. I suspect I’ll see a lot of you over the years, seeing you and Matt are such good friends. You’ll always be welcomed in our home,” Sara said, stepping close to Matt as he put his arm across her shoulder.

“Hey, old friend, you picked a winner,” Dex said, clapping Matt on the other shoulder.

“Mom?” Amber joined them. She smiled at Matt and Dex. “It’s time to cut the cake you two, and then you have to get going. Your plane leaves in less than four hours.”

As she and her new husband went to cut the wedding cake, Sara made a mental note to ask Matt later about Dex’s comment. But there was too much going on now to have a discussion they probably should have had before.

When it came time to toss the bride’s bouquet, Sara flipped it over her head, right into the arms of her best friend from work. She laughed when MaryEllen looked right at Dex. Maybe Matt’s friend would be next to the altar.

A half hour later Matt told her it was time to leave. She found Amber and Jimmy near the edge of the group. She gave her daughter a big hug, then Jimmy.

“Be happy, Mom,” she said.

“Take care of her, sir,” Jimmy said to Matt.

Sara had to smile, touched Jimmy felt the need to be protective.

“I’m sure we’ll be as happy as you,” Sara replied.

Amber made a face. “At least you and your husband get to make a home together. Jimmy still thinks of the Army barracks as home, and it’s like he’s visiting at our place.”

“Hey, Amber, I explained. It’s not like it’s forever,” Jimmy protested.

“Honey, once this assignment is finished, he’ll be rotated stateside and you’ll be able to get a place together.
You return to Germany soon, don’t you?” Sara asked Jimmy.

“In a couple of weeks. Anyway, I’m with you this weekend, Amber,” he said, throwing his arm across her shoulders.

“There is that,” she said, smiling at him. Looking back at Sara, she said, “We’re fine. You have a great time in London. I know you’ve always wanted to see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and the Crown Jewels.”

Amidst a flurry of activity, Matt and Sara headed for their car. Their bags had been packed before the ceremony. They were ready to head to the airport—and their new life together.

The vague feeling of uncertainty had fled. Committed to making her marriage the best thing in the world, Sara looked forward to starting her life with Matt. Her rings shone in the light, the diamond and the plain gold circle. They were bound forever. She hoped they’d be as happy forever as they were this day.

It was morning when they landed in London, but Matt wasted no time in sweeping her into their hotel room, and into bed. His expertise in making love enthralled Sara. She had only vague memories of her first husband, but remembered none of the passion and delight she found with Matt. The long, lonely years had been worth the wait, she thought the next morning, relishing every moment of the night they’d shared. Rolling over in the big bed and finding him there was a pleasure she was sure to repeat for the rest of their lives.

He opened his eyes, drew her close and began to kiss her as if they had all the time in the world. Giving
herself to the joy of his touch, Sara knew she’d found her soulmate.

The days in London flew by. Sara initially had reservations about a working honeymoon, but Matt made sure he spent as much time as he could with her. When he was tied up with the client, the local firm had a secretary who offered to accompany Sara wherever she wanted to go. Being London-born and bred, Talia Cummings was the perfect guide.

Though she enjoyed seeing the sights with Talia, Sara loved the moments shared with Matt the most. They saw a show in the West End, took a horse ride in Hyde Park, viewed the crown jewels in the Tower of London, and ate cream tea every day.

“I could live here,” Sara said one afternoon as they were wandering through Harrods. “I love London.”

“There is still more to see. On our next trip, we can extend ourselves beyond the city,” he said. “I thought of transferring here—we could make it our home base for a few years.”

“I should love to see Stonehenge, and the Cotswolds and Hadrian’s Wall. Could we really live here? I’d get to see it all.”

“Not to mention Scotland and Wales.”

“Ah, no wonder you are the perfect man, you know how to please a woman.”

“Not only traveling, I hope,” he said, trailing his finger tips down her cheek. His touch had her forgetting the chess set she’d been examining and turn to him. Would he think her silly if she suggested they return to their hotel room in the middle of the afternoon?

“No, not only traveling,” she replied, remembering their nights together. Could life be any more perfect? In the past were the worries she had about raising a child single-handedly, about where to live, how to afford basic necessities. The struggle had paid off, and now she was able to enjoy the reward. And what a reward it was. Matt and London.

Might as well be daring.

“Want to take a nap?” she asked provocatively.

He smiled that slow smile of his that set her heart to racing. “Sleepy?”

“Not exactly,” she said, her eyes holding his, seeing the spark of desire flare.

“Me, either, but I think returning to our room might be a very good thing.”

And so it proved to be.

Sara had never expected life to turn out perfect, yet their week in London seemed to be as perfect as could be.

She wished they could have stayed longer as they boarded the flight back to San Francisco.

“As a honeymoon, this couldn’t have been better,” she said, snuggling up against Matt as the plane taxied on the runway. “Are you serious about finding a place here?”

“It’s something to look into.”

What would she do about Amber?

“Actually, if I hadn’t had to work, it would have been better,” he said.

“A few hours here and there. I shopped which you don’t like, so as I said, perfect.”

“So I should plan to make myself scarce at suitable points on other trips so you can help the local economy?”
he asked, brushing his lips against her forehead. His hand tightened its grip on hers. “I wish we were alone on the plane,” he said, his dark gaze holding hers. “It’s a long flight to San Francisco.”

W
HEN
they landed at San Francisco International Airport, it was raining. They passed through customs with no problem and before long were in Matt’s sports car heading toward the city.

Sara was almost asleep. She had not slept on the long flight and now had been up more than twenty hours. How had Matt stood it when he’d returned from Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago? She’d have wanted to go straight to bed.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

He glanced at her. “Home, where else?”

“And that would be your place or mine?” Despite all the time they’d had since he’d proposed, no firm plans had been made on where they would live. First she’d rushed through the wedding, then getting her passport, wrapping up as much as she could at work.

Matt had been equally busy after being gone so long from his office. Then they’d taken off for London. How could they have left such a basic discussion remain in abeyance so long? Now the question had to be answered.

“My place tonight. Unless you’d rather go to yours.”

“I have a small bed,” she said, feeling a bit surreal. They’d been married a week and neither had seen the other’s bedroom. Did he have a huge bed, or a small single like hers?

“I have a king-size. We’ll have to squeeze into my
place until we find a place of our own. Unless you’d rather we squeeze into yours.”

Sara considered the prospects, neither a good choice. Her apartment was tiny. At least there were two bedrooms, so it offered a bit more room than Matt’s one-bedroom apartment. But she opted for Matt’s place. The bed was the selling point. They couldn’t both share hers.

Half an hour later he pulled into the parking garage beneath the apartment building. Sara was almost asleep and had to force herself out of the car. How long until she could be in bed?

They rode in silence up to his floor. At the door, Matt dropped the suitcases. He unlocked the door, and pushed it open, surprising Sara by sweeping her off her feet and carrying her across the threshold.

“Wow,” she said, laughing up at him.

“Welcome to our home, Mrs. Tucker,” he said, setting her on her feet and kissing her.

Sara’s fatigue fled instantly and she relished the kiss. Matt’s very touch was like magic to her. Winding her arms around his neck, she kissed him back.

When he ended the kiss, he quickly picked up their bags and closed the door to the world.

The next morning Sara awoke first. She lay snuggled against her husband, marveling at the changes in the last month. She still couldn’t believe she was married. That she’d been to London. Unfortunately honeymoons didn’t last forever. She had to get into work today. And she knew there’d be a stack of work awaiting. Her assistant didn’t have the experience to
deal with the more complex client books. And even the ones she could handle, Sara would still have to review and give her approval.

Slowly she gazed around the bedroom. It was spartan and austere. A bed, a dresser and a night table with a lamp. Would Matt mind when they got a place together if she made it a bit more homey? She didn’t like the cluttered look, but she did want a few pictures on the wall.

The view from his place was spectacular. Maybe that’s why he didn’t have pictures. He hadn’t put curtains on the windows. The panoramic view of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge was always a sight she’d never tire of seeing. She hoped they could get a similar view in their new apartment.

“Let’s pretend we didn’t get back last night,” Matt said softly.

She looked at him, thrilled at the desire she saw in his eyes.

“And?”

“And stay right here all day.” He drew her closer and kissed her, his hand moving over her, touching her as he’d done so many times during the last week. Every cell went on alert as his caresses turned bolder.

She laughed softly. “I’d love nothing more, but there’s work to be done.”

“I knew you’d say that.” He made no move to stop.

“But I don’t have to be there until nine,” she said suggestively and began to trace patterns against his muscular chest.

“Still too early,” he said before his mouth covered hers.

“We need to find a bigger place,” Matt said later as they prepared breakfast. Sara was trying to find enough food for a meal with the meager supplies in his cupboard. No eggs, cereal or fresh milk. She found some bagels in the freezer and made do with them and some of the cheese she found.

Matt made the coffee, bumping into her more than once. She couldn’t tell if it were deliberate or not, but didn’t mind a bit.

“Where do you want to live?” she asked.

“Here, only in a bigger place until we decide about London. I’ll check with the manager and see if there is something open on another floor.”

“And if not?” While she liked the idea of moving to London, she had asked him to take things slowly. She still had Amber to consider.

“Then we’ll have to locate another place. How about you? Suggestions?”

“Can we afford the Marina area?” She’d always loved walking over from her apartment to see the Bay. How terrific to live where she could see the view from her own home. But apartments and houses here were extremely expensive.

He looked at her consideringly. “Sara, I have enough money to assure we can live wherever you want.”

“Oh.” They hadn’t discussed finances. In fact they hadn’t discussed a lot of basic things. Time in the years ahead, she thought.

“I’ll check with the manager and if there’s nothing open in this building, we’ll branch out. I’d like to find a place quickly so we can combine households. It’s inefficient to have two separate places.”

“I know, I feel like I’m camping out, or on a
spend-the-night with a friend,” she said, reaching for a bagel as it popped up in the toaster.

“And how many spend-the-nights with a friend did you do?” he growled, stopping her hand and swinging her around to face him.

“None since Amber was born. But Jenny Knight and I used to take turns all the time in high school.”

“Girlfriends?” he said.

“You thought boyfriends?” she teased, surprised at the hint of jealousy that showed in his face.

“Why not, you’re beautiful, fun to be around, sexy, intriguing. Why wouldn’t the men be swarming at your feet?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Most men don’t swarm around a mother with a little child to care for.”

“Ah, then my timing was excellent—another week, what with Amber married off, and the swarm would have begun.”

She laughed and reached up to kiss him. She loved this wildly sexy man and his flattering speech.

A week away was either too much, or not nearly enough, Sara thought as she walked into her office at nine. She had more work than she thought she could ever get through. Maybe she shouldn’t have taken off until after the tax deadline. Time away from the office at this point hadn’t been such a great idea. Now she had to pay the piper.

“Ah, Sara,” Mr. Pepovich stepped into the doorway.

Sara smiled at her boss. “Hello, sir. Managed fine without me, I see,” she said, placing her purse in the top drawer as normal.

“Not at all, my dear. I’ve asked your assistant to
bring you up to speed as soon as you are ready. There’s probably more than you’ll be expecting, but to tell the truth there aren’t many accountants with the firm I trust as much as I do you,” he said. He glanced at the stack of folders on her desk.

“I hope you realize what a valued employee you are,” he said. A small smile touched his lips. “Actually, maybe it’s even better that I realize what a valued employee you are. I’m glad you’re back!”

“Thank you, it’s good to be back.”

Sara called her assistant in and they began to review what had transpired during the last week. Occasionally during the day, Sara would think back to the week in London. It already seemed like a dream. Only the stack of financial records in front of her seemed real.

Sara was still working at six that evening when her phone rang directly to her office. The switchboard had closed at five. This was someone who had her personal extension.

“Mom? I didn’t know if you were back or not. I left you several messages. Didn’t you get them?” Amber’s voice came across the line.

“Hi, honey. I haven’t been home yet. To our apartment, I mean. We got in last night and stayed at Matt’s place.” Sara leaned back against her chair, tired enough to call it quits, but with more she wanted to finish before calling it a day.

“Too late to call?” Amber said. “Was your flight late?”

Oops. No they had not gotten in too late to call, but any thought of contacting her daughter had fled when Matt had kissed her. How could a mother explain that?

“Sorry. Don’t worry, you can tell we got home safely. How are you?”

“Fine. Did you have fun?” Amber asked.

“Yes. London was magical.” She’d enjoyed every moment spent with her new husband.

Thinking of Matt made her warm all over. She pushed aside the folder she’d been working on. It could wait. As soon as she was finished talking with Amber, she was heading home.

“Want to get together for dinner or lunch or something?” Amber asked.

“Is something wrong?” Sara immediately switched back into Mom mode.

Amber laughed. “No, Mom, nothing’s wrong. I want to hear all about being married and your honeymoon in London, that’s all. Of course, if you can’t spare the time, I’d understand.”

“Lunch tomorrow,” Sara said firmly, marking it on her calendar. She remembered Friday was the day Amber didn’t have classes. “Meet me at the Pelican Room on Montgomery Street at eleven-thirty and we’ll beat the rush.”

“Okay. Tell my new dad hi for me.”

Sara smiled at the nonsense. She could just imagine Matt’s face if Amber really started calling him Dad. He’d said he couldn’t picture himself as a father. She couldn’t either. He was too exciting and free a man to be a father who played ball with his kids, or attended school functions.

Matt stood at the window gazing out at the Bay. It was dark, after six, and where the hell was Sara? He’d tried her office number earlier, but it only rang and rang. Obviously the switchboard had closed for the
night. But if she was going to work late, she needed a cell phone or something so he could reach her.

And she needed to remember she was married now and had someone worrying about her when she wasn’t where he thought she should be.

There would be a period of adjustment for them both. She worked long hours at tax time, she’d told him that. But hearing it and experiencing it were two different things.

He wanted her home with him.

He’d have taken her with him to work if he could have done so.

First thing tonight, he wanted to discuss her giving up her job so they could be together when he was free. No time like the present to quit. There was plenty to do with finding a new apartment and getting settled. He still wanted to make London their base, but she’d asked for time—still watching over her daughter. But Amber was married and he suspected didn’t need her mother’s watchful eye. It wouldn’t be long before Sara would want to move. He could be patient in the meantime.

He heard the key in the lock. His feeling of anticipation soared. Turning, he crossed the room swiftly, flinging wide the door, and looking at her.

She was so beautiful his teeth almost ached. She smiled broadly and stepped into his arms, lifting her mouth for his kiss. Wildly Matt wondered if she’d be willing to postpone dinner while they detoured through the bedroom.

“I thought you were never coming home,” he said a few moments later when Sara shrugged out of her coat, dropped a heavy briefcase on the chair.

“I still have tons of work to do. But I wanted to
get home to you,” she said, brushing his cheek with her fingers.

He caught her hand and kissed her palm, needing some contact with her. He’d never expected to feel this loss when she was absent. Nor feel connected somehow when she was with him.

“I don’t have any more food in the house tonight than we did this morning. We’ll have to go out to dinner,” he said, hoping she’d rather order in.

“Is that your normal way, eat out all the time?” she asked, kicking off her shoes.

“Yeah, works for me.”

“Well, now you have a wife who enjoys cooking, so we don’t have to go out all the time. I want to change my clothes before we do anything,” she said heading for the bedroom.

If she had to get out of those clothes anyway…

He followed her into the bedroom.

Some time later Matt drove to a small Chinese restaurant on Lombard Street.

As they were eating, Sara said, “I have to stop by the apartment and get some more clothes. Amber called today. She’d left some messages on my machine. I need to check and see if anyone else called.”

“Fine.” As long as she didn’t stay at the apartment, they could stop there as often as she wanted. He liked having her in his place. And in his bed.

“We also need to stop at the supermarket for some food,” she added.

“Tonight?” he asked.

“Yes. What were you planning to have for breakfast if we don’t get something?”

“We could eat out.”

“Are you made of money?” she asked.

Matt went quiet. They’d never discussed finances in any detail. He suspected Sara hadn’t a clue how much money he did have. Aste was a huge success. He and Dex and Tony had made millions the first five years in business. And he had not spent much of it. Even if he quit work today, he’d have enough invested to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

He reached for her hand.

“Sara, I have enough money to cover any expenses we come up with. If we want to eat out every meal, we can. If we want to hire a cook for our meals, that’ll work. If you want to cook, that’s fine by me, but only if you want to.”

She stared at him for a long moment, then shook her head.

“I’m not sure I can comprehend that,” she said. “For so long I’ve pinched pennies to make ends meet. It was so hard when Amber was little. We didn’t live in a nice neighborhood or have enough money for the toys I wished I could have given her. Sometimes I had to walk to school and then to work because I couldn’t even afford bus fare.”