Moments In Time: The Complete Novella Collection (27 page)

With every push, Melisa’s heart fell deeper
into the sea of his love. Together they rode the waves, until she
forgot there had been a time he wasn’t hers, a time she was angry
at him, a time she loved someone else. Right now, all that mattered
was them and nothing else.

She climaxed first and then he pulled her
from the table. He whirled her around and made love to her from
behind until he came, too. It was the most beautiful sex, because
it was finally stamped with the approval of their love.

“That was wonderful,” Heat said. He lifted
her right arm and kissed Melisa’s burn scar as Melisa cringed.
“You’re beautiful, all of you.” He got dressed and handed Melisa
her clothes.

Melisa didn’t try to hide the scar. She had
made peace with it. If it weren’t for the fire, they wouldn’t be
here. “Thank you for returning to me. And thank you for Mel’s
Delights.”

Heat brushed her damp her from her face.
“This is your place. I want you to be happy. I’m determined to
spend forever making you this happy. You’re worth it.”

Melisa leaned her head on his chest and
closed her eyes. “I’m happy just knowing you’re here to stay.”

“Forever, Mel. I never want to spend a
moment without you. Be my wife.”

Melisa registered the adoration in his eyes
through the curtain of her tears. “There’s nothing I want more than
to be your wife.” She blinked. “But let’s enjoy what we have now
first.” Until she was ready for marriage, she would move into
Carlene’s old apartment as planned.

“I don’t get why you won’t let Heat in
completely,” Carlene said as she and Melisa sprawled on the couch,
watching a romantic comedy. “You’ve been dating for four months and
he makes you so happy.”

Melisa shifted and leaned against the couch.
Carlene was right. Heat made her happier than she’d ever been in
her whole life. And he had given her the best present anyone could
have given her. Mel’s Delights was now officially hers again, and
she would forever be thankful for that. After the day he professed
his love to her, even if she did not exactly accept his proposal,
they were on cloud nine. A ring wasn’t necessary; they belonged
together. “I don’t see the rush. I love him. He loves me. Neither
of us is going anywhere.”

Carlene lifted her legs and placed them on
the coffee table, stroking her stomach. Six months into her
pregnancy and she was gorgeous. The hair she had never really liked
shone like spun silk, and her face was clear and glowing. “I think
there’s more to this. Is there... more to this, Melisa?”

Melisa sighed and switched off the TV.
Carlene was her best friend, and she had always felt guilty for not
sharing her darkest secret with her. She’d learned one important
lesson in the last year; the past has a way of catching up whether
you’re ready for it or not. It’s always just a matter of time.
“There
is
more.” Her shoulders sagged. “The reason I
couldn’t shake Heat off just like that after our one-night stand
was because the night we made love changed my life forever. We made
a baby.”

Carlene was quiet for a long time, staring
into space as she rubbed her tummy in circular motions. When she
spoke, her voice was low, as if she was afraid someone might hear.
“Where’s the baby?”

“He was adopted by a family in Madison. When
I found out I was pregnant, my mother sent me to Madison to live
with my aunt and have the baby there. When I returned a year later,
it was as if nothing had happened.”

***

Carlene urged Melisa to open up to Heat
about her secret for a whole week before she gave in. He deserved
to know, but during every dinner, while lying in bed after making
love, cooking together, going for walks, she tried to bring it up,
but the words never came, as if they were stuck somewhere in her
throat. She was terrified of the consequences.

“I have a feeling there’s something you’re
not telling me,” Heat said two weeks later when he picked Melisa up
for lunch. “Mel, is there something I don’t know?”

Melisa slipped her arm through his as they
crossed the road. Good thing he couldn’t see her face. Life was
funny like that: You spent years pushing something to the back of
your mind, trying to forget it, until something happened that
unlocked the door and suddenly, it refused to stay hidden anymore.
But if she told Heat what she hid inside her heart, it would change
everything. Ruin everything, maybe. Turn happiness into tragedy. If
she didn’t tell him, maybe he wouldn’t find out, and they could get
married and live a happy life together. She would have to pull
herself together before he read everything from her face. No, she
couldn’t tell him. She wasn’t ready. “Why would I hide anything
from you?”

“I don’t know,” Heat said, opening the door
of the pizzeria, which was a few blocks from Mel’s Delights. “I
can’t get rid of this feeling that something is wrong.”

Melisa shook her head and entered the
restaurant, headed for the booth in the back. On the days Heat was
off work, he often dropped by to take her to lunch.

They both sat and Heat reached for her
hands, kissed her knuckles. “You know you can tell me anything,
right?”

Melisa nodded. “Yes... of course.” She
disentangled her fingers from his and picked up the menu, flipped
the pages, even though she already knew the menu by heart.

Heat was silent for a while, watching the
top of her head. “You never gave me a good enough reason why you
won’t marry me. We love each other. I don’t see the point in
waiting. We’ve waited long enough to be together.”

A waitress in her teens appeared at their
table and took their orders.

When they were alone again, Melisa lifted
her gaze to meet Heat’s. “You’re right. I’ve never loved a man as
much as I love you. Let’s get married.” As she said the words, joy
of a kind she had never known flooded her heart.

What good would it do to tell him about the
baby who now belonged to someone else? If she told him, he might
never forgive her, and they would lose what they had found. It
would open wounds in Melisa that had never healed completely. The
first was from giving up her first child, and the second from
losing the baby she had made with Scott. If she told this secret to
Heat, she might never recover from the slap of the
consequences.

Only one thing remained for her to do. The
right thing. She would marry him and they would start a new family.
She would give him another child and they would have a good life.
Though her plans might sound selfish, they were best for
everyone.

***

Melisa and Heat didn’t waste any more time.
They got married two weeks later, in a small Vegas chapel with only
Carlene and Nick, Lucy, Josie, and a handful of Heat’s friends
present. Afterward, they honeymooned at Nick and Carlene’s
penthouse in Hawaii.

***

“I don’t feel like ever going back to
Serendipity.” Melisa stretched like a cat next to Heat. “I don’t
want this to end.” During their wedding and honeymoon, Melisa had
managed to keep her secret locked up. She was determined to start
fresh with the man she loved.

The lights were out and the spacious room
was illuminated by the moonlight, which spilled in through the
floor-to-ceiling windows.

Heat turned to face her and reached under
the covers, slipping his hand between her legs. “I can live without
the penthouse and all the luxury. But as long as I have this”—he
gently squeezed her clit—”I have everything. Let’s make this
another night to remember.”

That was all Melisa needed to ache for him
again. She’d lost count of how many times they had made love while
on honeymoon, but even though her body was sore and aching, he
never failed to turn her on. All it took sometimes was a touch or a
simple word. She squirmed as he moved his hand from between her
legs up to her breasts.

She was so prepared to start their life
together. She wanted to give him another child as soon as possible.
She had to find the perfect time to ask if he was ready, too.

“My mom does like you,” Heat said to Melisa
as they drove home from dinner.

His mom, Doreen Dane, who lived in Madison,
had surprised them with an early morning call to let them know she
was in Serendipity and asked to see them for lunch at the Lux.
Doreen loved to travel and spent perhaps only fifty percent of her
time in the U.S. When they got married, she couldn’t attend the
wedding because she was in India. Melisa had only met her briefly
once before she married Heat. This was the first time they’d seen
her as a married couple, and Melisa was uncomfortable.

“I got the impression she didn’t approve of
us. She was so critical of everything.” In truth, she’d given off
the vibe that she was above them, and everyone else.

“That’s just her. Mom always finds something
to complain about. But believe me, if she didn’t like you, you’d
know.”

“Why wouldn’t she stay with us, then?”

Heat lifted one hand off the steering wheel
and stroked Melisa’s hair. “That has nothing to do with you. When
she came to town, even before we got married, she never stayed with
me. My guess is she’s used to staying in hotels. Don’t worry about
it. Even if she didn’t like you, it wouldn’t matter, because I
do.”

Melisa grinned. “You’re so good at making me
happy.”

“That’s because it’s my job, honey.”

Melisa exhaled. Nothing was better than
knowing she was at exactly the place in her life where she was
supposed to be. She loved Heat and he loved her. She just had to
win over her mother-in-law. Maybe she would be much warmer when she
came to their place for dinner, before she left town. “At least
she’s a far better mother than mine ever will be,” she said,
without meaning to say it out loud. “Sorry, I meant—”

“I know what you mean. Speaking of your mom,
have you thought about what we discussed last time? I think you
should go and see her, see if she’s all right. Maybe she’s changed
since the last time you saw her. It has been years.”

Melisa dreaded seeing her own mother, if she
could even call her that. She’d never been much of one. Her mother
had been an alcoholic for most of Melisa’s life, and most of the
time Melisa was the one taking care of her instead of the other way
round. She’d helped her into the shower, cooked for her, collected
the bottles from around the house at the end of each day. Was it
any wonder that when things got tough for Melisa, she too had
turned to alcohol? Thank God she was able to overcome the
addiction. “She called me last week.”

Heat pulled up in front of their house and
killed the engine. He had a frown on his face. “How did she get
your number?”

“Beats me.” Melisa shrugged. “Serendipity is
a small town full of people who love to talk.”

“What did she say?”

“That she wanted to see me. I refused. The
only reason she ever wanted to see me before was to ask for
money.”

The last time Melisa saw her mother was
three months after Scott died. She hadn’t even called to comfort
her daughter or come to the funeral. She’d just shown up out of the
blue and pretty much said Melisa should get over it, because that’s
life. People pack up and die, like Melisa’s father did when she was
five. Then she asked her daughter for money. That had been the last
straw. That day, Melisa swore she never wanted anything to do with
her mother again.

Heat placed a hand on her knee. “Babe, maybe
she wants to apologize.”

“There are people who are incapable of
saying the word
sorry
. My mother is one of them, believe
me.”

Heat leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I
don’t want you to be unhappy. If getting in touch with her would
upset you, then I understand.”

Melisa nodded. Thinking of her mother left a
bitter taste in her mouth. What mother had sex with a different man
almost every night while her daughter slept in the next room then
drank herself into a stupor?

Maybe some things, once broken, could not be
fixed. What if Heat felt the same about Melisa when he found out
she’d given away their child? Was she as bad as her mother had
been?

Melisa’s phone rang, and she forced her eyes
open and reached for it. Before answering, she glanced at the time.
1:00 a.m. “Hello.”

“Melisa, Nick here. The baby…” Nick’s
breathing was labored and he seemed to be having trouble getting
the words out. “The baby’s here.”

Melisa hopped out of bed and grabbed one of
Heat’s shirts. Her heart slammed against her chest, both from
excitement and fear. Having a baby was a miracle, but in her
opinion, it was also the closest some women came to death. She
wanted to be there for her friend. “Carlene’s in labor? Is she at
the hospital already?”

“No…yes. Everything happened very fast. She
had the baby already at home, and yes, now she’s at the hospital.
She’s asking for you.”

Melisa couldn’t stop the smile spreading
across her face as she buttoned the shirt that was too large for
her. “I’ll be right there. Nick, congratulations.”

“Thanks, Melisa. See you soon.”

Melisa dropped the phone and almost tripped
as she pulled on a pair of jeans. She looked forward to seeing her
friend’s little miracle. Even if it reminded her of what she wanted
most in her life… and what she had lost.

On the way to Serendipity Memorial Hospital,
she gave Heat a call so he wouldn’t worry if he got home early.

***

Nick was waiting for Melisa when she arrived
at the hospital twenty minutes later. His eyes sparkled and his
face was flushed with undiluted happiness.

Melisa gave him a quick hug and then he led
her to Carlene’s room.