The Baby Surprise (14 page)

Over the past few weeks he'd come to believe that Paige had accepted what the test would prove. He realized now it wasn't the results that worried her so much as the repercussions.

And although Zach's heart was still overflowing with joy, as he watched Paige make her way back toward the house, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret that his happiness had caused her sadness.

The past two days had been a roller coaster of emotions for both of them. He'd barely had a chance to catch his breath between the highs and the lows, and he imagined it was the same for Paige. He just wished there was a way that they
could work through everything together, share the joys and the disappointments.

And then he realized that there was—and that the solution was actually very simple.

 

In the space of a few months, Paige's life had been turned completely upside down, but even more so in the past few weeks. And although she couldn't deny there was a part of her that wished Zach Crawford had never shown up at her door, she knew there could be no going back now. She had to accept the cards that fate had dealt her, play out the hand and move on.

The best way to do that, she figured, would be to go back to Syracuse and her job at Wainwright, Witmer & Wynne and bury herself in work until her memories of Zach and the pain of losing Emma finally eased—if they ever did. And the sooner she went home, the sooner the healing could begin.

She was packing her suitcase when Zach walked in.

Her fingers clutched the blouse she'd carefully folded, her white-knuckled grip showing no mercy for the delicate fabric.

She'd known this confrontation was coming, but she still wasn't prepared for it. She didn't want his platitudes or his pity.

But what Zach said was, “I think we should get married.”

Paige stared at him for a long moment, waiting for him to explain. Because the words, straightforward though they seemed, didn't make any sense to her.

But Zach didn't say anything else. He just stood there, waiting for a response, and she finally said, “Is this about last night?”

“It's not about last night.” He smiled. “Or not entirely about last night.”

“Because it's the twenty-first century,” she reminded him.
“And no one expects you to marry a woman just because you've had sex with her.”

“I'm aware of that,” he said drily. “In fact, I've had sex with plenty of other women before you came along without proposing to them.”

“So why me?” she asked him.

“Because it occurred to me that getting married would settle the issue of Emma's custody without having to battle over it in court.”

So his impromptu proposal wasn't really about their relationship at all—it was about Emma. And while the realization shouldn't have surprised her, she couldn't deny that she was a little disappointed.

She chided herself for the irrational and emotional response. Of course he was thinking of Emma. Everything they'd both said and done to this point had been about the little girl.

Everything except last night.

She pushed the thought aside. “Have you talked to your lawyer about this?”

“No. Why?”

She hesitated, but knew that she had to be honest with him. “Because the truth is, there probably wouldn't be a battle. With the DNA test confirming that you're her father, you have cause to overturn the court order granted to me.”

She'd known that from the beginning—it was precisely why she'd continued to deny that he was Emma's father for so long. Because conceding his relationship to the child would have hastened what she'd finally accepted was inevitable, and she'd just wanted to hold on to Emma a little longer.

As if he'd read her thoughts, Zach said, “I don't want to take Emma away from you, Paige.”

She blinked away the tears that stung her eyes. “And I appreciate that, but marriage…” She shook her head.

“What is it that you're opposed to—marriage in general or marrying me?”

“I've never really thought about getting married,” she admitted.

“You haven't dreamed of your wedding day since you were a young girl?”

“Maybe I dreamed of it when I was a kid,” she said, but thinking back, she honestly couldn't remember indulging in any kind of happily-ever-after fantasies. “But as I got older, the whole falling-in-love thing never held much appeal for me.”

“You've never been in love?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Any long-term relationships?”

She shook her head again.

“None?” he said, real surprise in his voice.

“Why does that seem so unbelievable?” she demanded.

“Because you're a beautiful, passionate woman.”

The intensity of his gaze told her that he believed the words he'd spoken, and he almost made her believe them, too.

She'd never cared if anyone thought of her as beautiful or passionate, and she'd never felt as beautiful and as passionate as she did when she was with him. But she pushed the memories and the yearning aside.

“I'm a family-law attorney,” she reminded him. “Maybe I've just seen too many marriages go bad to believe in happily ever after.”

“Or maybe your parents screwed up your perception of marriage.”

“Maybe. The only thing I really remember about their marriage is the fighting. I was seven when my mom left, and I was relieved, because I knew that I wouldn't have to listen to them yelling anymore.”

She hadn't realized until weeks later that the silence could be so much worse.

“Where's your mom now?” Zach asked.

“I have no idea,” she admitted. “I don't even know if she's dead or alive.”

He touched a hand to her cheek—a gesture of comfort that was somehow more arousing than soothing. “I'm sorry, Paige.”

“I didn't tell you so you'd feel sorry for me.” She moved away, because she needed a clear head to continue this conversation, and Zach's nearness never failed to cloud her mind. “I just wanted you to understand why I haven't been looking for some idealized, romantic notion of love.”

“Does that mean you'll consider my proposal?”

She sighed. “The thing is, if I had thought about getting married, I certainly wouldn't have thought about marrying someone with a career in the military.”

“I'm not asking you to follow me around the country,” he told her.

She turned back. “You're not?”

“No. If it was what you wanted—if you were planning to marry me because you were desperately in love with me and couldn't bear for us to be apart—” his tone was self-deprecating “—then I wouldn't object. But I understand why you want Emma to have a real home and a stable environment.”

“So we would be married, but Emma and I would still live in Syracuse?” She looked to him for confirmation.

He nodded. “Or Pinehurst, or wherever you decided was best for your career and for her.”

“It seems as if you've given this a fair amount of thought.” She couldn't keep a note of sarcasm from creeping into her voice.

“I'm sure there are a lot of details I haven't considered,” he admitted, “but the most important thing seemed to be to ensure that Emma will always be with someone who loves her.”

“I can't believe I'm even having this conversation,” she said. “It's crazy and impulsive and—”

“We could make it work, Paige,” he said, sounding as if he really believed it.

“How do you know?” she challenged.

“Because we've been living together for a few weeks and managed to tolerate one another fairly well.”

“A few weeks is a far cry from ‘till death do us part,'” she pointed out.

“And because we generate some pretty impressive sexual chemistry together that will undoubtedly help smooth over the rough spots,” he continued.

“People don't get married just because they have great sex,” she countered, although she found herself thinking that there might be fewer divorces if they did.

“And because we both want what's best for Emma.”

She sighed, unable to dispute that one. But she still couldn't help but wonder what he would get out of the arrangement he was proposing.

“I just don't understand why you would choose to marry me. You have to know that I would keep Emma with me for no reason other than that you'd asked.”

“Being my wife and Emma's stepmother will help ensure that she stays with you if anything happens to me.”

She didn't want to consider the possibility that something might happen to him, that Emma could lose her father as abruptly and tragically as she'd lost her mother. But his casual comment reminded her of the inherent risks in his occupation and reinforced her determination to do what was best for Emma.

“And besides that,” he said. “
I
want to get married.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “I'm not committed to bachelorhood. I just never met a woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Because whenever I thought about getting married, I thought about what my parents have—that deep and abiding forever kind of love.”

“You were lucky to be given that kind of example,” she told him.

“I know. And I didn't want to settle for anything less.”

“And yet you're willing to marry me.” She was still skeptical, still wary and surprisingly tempted.

His only response was a half smile. “So what do you say?”

She'd have to be crazy to accept.

She'd have to be crazier to refuse when he was offering her everything she wanted. To keep Emma. To be part of a family. To be with Zach.

Because after spending last night with him, she knew that she did want to be with him. That one night wasn't nearly enough.

She took a deep breath, blew it out. “I guess I say—when's the wedding?”

N
either of Zach's parents batted an eye when he confirmed that he was Emma's father nor when he informed them that he and Paige were planning to get married. In fact, his mom's immediate response was to comment on the opportune timing of the announcement.

Apparently one of the reception halls in the winery had been booked for a surprise fiftieth-anniversary party, but the children who'd planned the event had been the ones surprised when they learned that their parents had flown off to a Caribbean island to celebrate the occasion in private. Which meant, Kathleen explained to Zach and Paige, that the room was available, the flowers already ordered and the caterers arranged. All they needed was a minister.

When Zach protested that they didn't want to make a big fuss over the occasion, his mother managed to look both furious and so incredibly wounded that he immediately excused himself to call Reverend Lamont, the minister who
had officiated at all family events dating back to his baptism thirty-seven years earlier.

Confident that her son was taking care of that detail, Kathleen turned her attention to her future daughter-in-law.

“I don't imagine you packed a wedding dress,” she said.

The bride-to-be, still reeling from her impulsive acceptance of Zach's proposal, hadn't had a chance to catch her breath, never mind think about what she would wear for the wedding.

“No,” she acknowledged. “But I don't need anything fancy.”

“I'm not suggesting that you need a cathedral-length train or a hoop skirt, but a bride—even one getting married on only a few days' notice—deserves a new dress for her wedding.”

Then, before Paige could even begin to formulate a response to that, Kathleen said, “Let me do this for you, Paige. Please.” And there was no way she could refuse.

Of course, she hadn't anticipated that Zach's mother's seemingly innocuous request to go shopping would turn into a capital-
e
Event. But when Paige met Kathleen in the kitchen the next morning, Lauryn and Jocelyn and Hayden were there, too.

“Wednesday mornings are my day off,” Lauryn said.

“I woke up with a sore throat,” Jocelyn explained, with a conspiratorial wink that belied her words.

“I'm playing hooky,” Hayden said unapologetically.

So the five women piled into Jocelyn's Expedition and headed into town.

It was an ambush, and Paige realized she should have expected it. Because although Zach's mother and sisters had seemed to not only accept his decision to marry but also be thrilled about it, they were obviously just waiting for an opportunity to get Paige alone to demand to know what was really going on.

Except that it quickly became apparent to Paige that what was really going on was simply a shopping trip.

Their first stop was at a little café not unlike the one where Paige had enjoyed countless weekend brunches with Ashley and Megan. While they fueled up on lattes and chocolate croissants, the women talked about various dress options—white versus cream, long versus short, satin versus lace, veil versus hat.

There were so many choices and so many different opinions being bandied about that Paige's head was spinning long before they walked into the bridal boutique.

As Zach's sisters each took off in a different direction in search of the perfect dress for Paige, Kathleen touched a hand gently to her arm. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess I'm just a little…overwhelmed.”

“I never thought—I was so excited about doing this for you, it didn't occur to me that it wasn't my place, that this was something you should be doing with your own mother.”

Paige looked away. “My mom walked out on my dad and I when I was seven.”

“I'm sorry,” Kathleen said.

She just shrugged.

“What about your dad? Will he be coming to the wedding?”

Now she shook her head. “I haven't seen him in fifteen years.”

Though she tried to sound nonchalant, she knew that Zach's mother wouldn't understand, as Kathleen's frown proved. “Why not?”

“He's a busy man.”

“Too busy to take a few days for his daughter's wedding?” she asked incredulously.

Paige was embarrassed to admit that he wouldn't take a few hours for her wedding if he was in town, much less leave
wherever he was currently posted to witness an occasion that had absolutely no bearing on the security of the nation.

She wished her family was like Zach's, but they weren't. She'd come to terms with that fact years before, but she still didn't know how to explain the reality to her future mother-in-law.

“He's stationed overseas right now,” she said, because, as far as she knew, it was the truth. “He wouldn't be able to get a few days, especially not on such short notice.”

“Is there anyone else you wanted to invite?”

She shook her head again. She'd called both of her cousins to tell them of her plans, but she knew that it was out of the question for either of them to make the trip to California. “My cousin Megan just had her first child, and her sister Ashley is in the final stages of her pregnancy, so neither of them is able to travel right now.”

“Well, no matter,” Kathleen said decisively. “Because you're part of our family now.”

The tears that she'd promised herself she wouldn't cry filled her eyes, and Paige had to swallow the lump that sprang up in her throat before she could speak. “Thank you.”

Kathleen gave Paige a quick hug.

Then Jocelyn returned, her arms full of something huge and billowy and white, and the moment was broken.

Paige eyed what looked like miles and miles of lace with skepticism, but she gamely agreed to try it on.

Several minutes later she stepped back out into the main part of the dressing area.

“I feel like the abominable snow monster,” she said, following the signal of the saleslady and climbing onto the dais in the center of the room.

“You look like an abominable snow monster,” Hayden admitted.

“Who picked that out?” Lauryn wanted to know.

Jocelyn sighed. “I did.”

Her sisters both stared at her in shocked disbelief.

“It's a Rodney Harbinger,” she said, tossing out the name of an up-and-coming local designer who had recently been at the center of all kinds of media attention.

“It's a harbinger of disaster,” Hayden declared.

Jocelyn glared at her.

“But part of the fun of shopping for a wedding dress is trying on all kinds of styles,” Lauryn said, clearly trying to keep the peace between her sisters. Then she pushed another dress on Paige.

They were in the boutique nearly four hours, during which time Paige tried on eleven different dresses before she found one that actually made her think
This might be it.

When she stepped out of the dressing room and all of Zach's sisters breathed a collective sigh, she knew she was right. But it was Kathleen, who had picked out the simple, strapless column of ivory silk, to whom she looked for confirmation.

Her eyes misty with tears, Zach's mother nodded.

 

Zach was a little worried about how Paige would fare on her shopping trip. Not that he didn't think his mother and his sisters were the best, but all of the women in his family had strong personalities, and for an only child like Paige whose upbringing had been so very different from his own, he wasn't sure she would come away from an all-day outing with the same impression.

But when he sat down across from her at the picnic tables that had been weighted down with platters of burgers and fries and salads to feed everyone who had gathered for the post-shopping feast, she smiled at him, and in that moment, he realized his mother was right.

He had fallen in love with the woman he was going to marry.

He picked up his glass of wine and took a long swallow.
He was still trying to get his head around that revelation when Jocelyn spoke up from the end of the table.

“What are you guys doing about a honeymoon?” she asked.

All other conversations around the table ceased, and Paige's panicked gaze collided with his across the table.

Obviously this was a detail neither of them had considered, maybe because they both saw their marriage as a way of giving Emma a stable family and hadn't really looked beyond that. Not that he hadn't thought about it, but he hadn't made sharing a bed a condition of their marriage because he was confident that it would happen naturally.

But to his family—who didn't understand the real rationale behind their hasty union—a wedding required adherence to certain traditions, of which a honeymoon was one.

“Well, actually—” Paige began.

And Zach decided to let her take the lead on this one because his brain was suddenly locked on the fantasy of a honeymoon with Paige. A private villa on a tropical island…or a secluded cabin deep in the woods. He wouldn't care where they were, so long as he could spend hours making love with her.

“—we've decided to wait on that.”

“But why?” his middle sister demanded.

“Because Zach only has a few more weeks' leave and we feel it's important to spend that time with Emma.”

“I can understand why you wouldn't want to be gone for two weeks,” Lauryn said. “But surely you could take a long weekend somewhere.”

“Maybe we will,” Zach finally spoke. “When we get back to Pinehurst.”

“But if you took it while you were here, we could look after Emma,” Hayden pointed out.

“Paige has family in Pinehurst,” he reminded them.

“So where are you planning to spend your wedding night?”
Jocelyn taunted. “In separate guest rooms across the hall from one another in your parents' house?”

“Stop teasing your brother,” Kathleen said, setting another platter of burgers on the table.

“But our opportunities are so few and far between these days,” Hayden pointed out.

“And if you keep this up, you're going to make Paige have second thoughts about marrying into the family.”

“If Paige was that easily intimidated, she would never have boarded a plane to come out here in the first place,” Jocelyn declared.

“What about the guest house?” Hayden suggested.

“The guest house?” Paige echoed, obviously struggling to follow the circuitous conversation.

“For your wedding night,” Lauryn explained.

“I think that's a wonderful compromise,” Kathleen agreed. “Close enough that you won't worry about being away from Emma but with enough distance to give you some privacy.”

Zach didn't know what to say, how to refuse. And the truth was, a little bit of privacy would mean he could spend hours making love with Paige without worry of any interruption.

A quick glance across the table at Paige's flushed cheeks confirmed that she was having similar thoughts and eased some of Zach's concerns about her reasons for agreeing to marry him.

Maybe he'd been thinking of Emma when he proposed, and maybe Paige had been thinking of Emma when she accepted, but there was something more between them than their mutual love for the little girl, which gave him hope it might grow into love for one another.

 

After dinner, after everyone else had gone home and Emma was asleep and his parents had wandered down to check on things at the winery, Zach and Paige sat out under the stars with a bottle of merlot and Emma's baby monitor.

“Are you sure this is your first marriage?” she asked him.

His lips curved. “I think I'd remember if I'd been married before.”

She sipped her wine, taking a moment to savor the flavor, before she asked, “So why are your parents not questioning this?”

“Do you think they should?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “Especially considering all the questions they had about Emma.”

“They were understandably surprised and more than a little disappointed that I'd fathered a child out of wedlock.”

“So why are they not surprised that you're marrying a woman you've known only a few weeks and who isn't even the mother of your child?”

“Because they like you,” he said simply.

Her response was an unladylike snort.

“Or maybe they're just relieved that they won't lose the deposit they paid to the caterers for the anniversary party,” he offered as another alternative. “Or maybe they can just tell that we're desperately in love with one another.”

“Could you be serious for a minute?” she demanded, annoyed that her heart had actually skipped a beat in response to the mention of “love.” He was only kidding—she knew that. And yet his words underscored her biggest concern about their impending marriage—that they were doing this for all the wrong reasons.

“I could,” he agreed. “But it seems that you're being serious enough for both of us.”

“Ashley and Megan both had questions. A ton of questions,” she told him.

He refilled their glasses. “What kind of questions?”

“What's the hurry? Why do we have to get married now? Why do we have to get married in California?”

“I should have realized that they would want to be at your wedding.”

Paige shrugged. “Of course, that's not possible for either of them right now.”

“We could always have another ceremony when we get back to Pinehurst,” he offered.

“One wedding is quite enough.” She tapped her finger on the base of her wineglass.

“What else is on your mind?” Zach asked.

It was unnerving how easily he seemed to tune in to her thoughts sometimes. On the other hand, his question gave her the perfect opening. She'd debated with herself for hours about whether or not to bring up the subject, but with their wedding only a few days away, she knew she couldn't postpone any longer.

“I think we should have a prenup,” she said.

The glint of amusement in his eyes faded. “Why?”