“You did a DNA test.”
“Yep. He’s not the father of either of us.”
Erik’s lips spread into a relaxed smile as his hands reached for her stomach. “Thank God. I love you, and I love this baby—my baby, growing inside you, but the thought of that man’s blood running through his veins was tearing me up inside.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about it, any more. I’m just happy he’s dead, relieved that he can’t hurt me or you and Precious ever again.”
“Why didn’t you call to tell me?”
“I was going to that night when Bridget answered the phone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Robert and I kept it between us because we didn’t want to stir up the news surrounding Cassie’s death again. We just wanted to move on with our lives, and let you and Precious live yours. I’ve put it all behind me.”
His warm palm gently caressed her naked stomach. “But what about your real father? Don’t you want to know more about him, find out if you have family still living?”
“Robert is looking into that. It’s another story I suppose.” She sighed. “What about you, Erik? Have you put the tragedy of Cassie’s death behind you?”
He kissed her forehead. “I have. There’s nothing standing between us. No more doubts. No more anger. No more pain.”
“No more lies.”
“Just a bright and happy future with our daughter and our new baby.”
Michelle settled more comfortably into his arms again. “I really thought I’d lost you that night when Bridget answered the phone. I knew you would make love to a woman only if you were in love with her.”
“And that’s the honest truth, my angel.” Erik’s lips gently brushed the bridge of her nose. “I never touched Bridget Ashley.” He paused. “She told me what she said to you at the mall. I apologize for her unkind words.”
“You can tell her I say there are no hard feelings there. Everybody was competing for somebody else’s love. All’s fair in love and war.”
“Precious told me she had seen you that day at the mall. She showed me the doll you bought her. She also said you were getting fat, but I was too stupid to put two and two together. He smiled and pressed his palm against her as the baby leaped in her womb again. “He’s an active little fellow, isn’t he?”
Michelle chuckled and placed her fingers through his as she marveled at the constant thumping of their child inside her. “He’s happy to hear his father’s voice.”
“That must be it.” Erik smiled. “He probably wants to know what my intentions are towards his mother, and I don’t want to keep him waiting. We only have two weeks.”
“For what?”
“To get married before he arrives. I should also tell you that I’m returning to Granite Falls,” he said with a cautious tint to his voice.
“I know. Mrs. Hayes told me you put the Amherst house on the market.”
“It hasn’t sold yet. My parents want Precious and me to move in with them, but I went ahead and put down a deposit on a home in Granite Falls. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I was hoping we’d get back together eventually, and I wanted you to have your own home. Perhaps I should have waited since you’ll have to give it your stamp of approval before we make any final decisions,” he added.
“Tell me about it.”
“It’s three stories. The third floor is ours, and it’s soundproof.”
She chuckled. “We need soundproof. I don’t know how I’m going to face my neighbors tomorrow. They’ve never heard these kinds of noises coming from this unit before. Well, not since I moved in here.”
Erik laughed. “I’m sure they’ll understand. Anyway, the house is on Crystal Lake. In addition to the master suite, it has seven bedrooms and six bathrooms, a white picket fence and a huge back yard for our seven children to play in.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Would you go with me, then? I know you have the center and the kids.”
“I’ll go with you.” Michelle brushed the pad of her thumb back and forth across his lips. “My work here is done. I got the kids a new center. I published my first book. My place is with you and our children. I love what I’ve already seen of Granite Falls. I want all our babies to be born and raised there. I’m ready for a fresh new start. Besides, their grandparents are there. I want Philippe and Felicia to play active roles in their lives.”
Tears filled his eyes. He drew her close and kissed her. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Erik, I need to tell you something, and I hope you won’t get mad at me.”
“Nothing could ever make me mad at you again.”
“Well, when we were in Granite Falls, I asked Precious about her maternal grandparents. She told me that her grandpa died before she was born, but that she doesn’t see her grandma because she’s sick. What’s going on?”
He was quiet for a long moment and when she thought he would never answer, he said in a gravelly voice, “Cassie’s mother is in a mental institution in Connecticut.”
Michelle closed her eyes and her mouth. Anything she said would sound trivial.
“She’s been there for several years, long before Cassie died. She hears voices. After her father died, Cassie had to commit her to keep her from hurting herself. Anyway, shortly after Cassie’s death, I took Precious to visit her. It was horrible. Being in that scary depressing place and seeing all those sick people was too much for her. She had nightmares. I’ve never taken her back. But I still go down to see Sarah from time to time, even though she doesn’t know I’m there. She has no other family. Cassie was her only child.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Life’s a crapshoot and we have to play the hand fate deals us. I mean, you had a horrible childhood, but you survived to be here with me, give me a second shot at happiness.”
“Erik, I know that a special part of your heart will always belong to Cassie. I’m not jealous of that. I just want to know that I have the best and the most of what’s left.”
“You do, baby. I love you with all the rest of me.”
A warm satisfied smile spread across Michelle’s face. She was blissfully happy, fully alive, wrapped in the silken cocoon of Erik’s arms and his love. This time forever.
***
One week later…
Clothed in her wedding gown, Michelle stood on the master suite balcony of her new home that overlooked Crystal Lake and the White Mountains in the distance. Her heart flooded with happiness as her ears were bathed in the soft music and lively chatter of the wedding guests waiting downstairs.
She’d had the choice of getting married in a church, but she’d chosen to exchange her vows in her new home—the place where her children would laugh and play and bring her joy beyond comprehension, the place where she would grow old with Erik by her side.
“You are an absolutely beautiful bride.”
Michelle turned at the sound of her brother’s voice. He looked dashing in his black and white tux, but she… “I’m big and fat,” she said, resting her hand on her stomach.
“Looking at you from the back, nobody can tell you’re pregnant.”
“So should I walk backward down the aisle?”
Robert chuckled as he stepped out onto the balcony beside her. “Backward, forward, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I walk you down the aisle. Pastor Dixon is here. Erik is getting anxious, and so are the members of your bridal party. They want to know if a wedding is really happening today.”
Michelle smiled. It was a family wedding with Robert giving her away, Philippe serving as Erik’s best man, Precious as her flower girl, Yasmine as her maid of honor, and Felicia insisting on being her bridesmaid. Their guest list was small, but it included the Rogers family who lived next door, and of course Erik’s childhood friends—the three remaining members of the Granite Falls Billionaire Bachelors Club—Bryce Fontaine, Massimo Andretti, and Adam Andreas. They had all readily accepted her as the newest member of their small circle.
“Let’s get the wedding started,” Michelle said, slipping her hand inside the crook of her brother’s arm. “I don’t want to be Michelle Carter any longer.”
“Then let’s go make you Michelle LaCrosse,” Robert said, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
Just the sound of that name made Michelle tingle inside and out. She was once Erik’s secret bride. Today, she was his very public, happy, pregnant bride.
As she passed the huge bed where she and Erik would consummate their marriage later tonight, Michelle felt the familiar powerful throbbing in her body. They hadn’t made love since the night they’d found their way back to each other. They both wanted to wait until they were remarried.
In just a few minutes, they’d have full blessings to enjoy each other again as man and wife. For some reason it seemed to her that when a man and a woman committed their lives to each other, their lovemaking became so much more satisfying.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Michelle bolted up in bed as a sharp pain ripped through her lower abdomen. She took deep steadying breaths like they’d taught her in the childbirth classes.
Erik sat up next to her. “What is it, baby?” He switched on the bedside lamp then searched her face in a flash of worry.
“I just had a contraction, I think.”
“Is this your first one?” He caressed her back and shoulders with his big warm hands.
“I had a couple earlier, shortly after we made love.”
He smiled. “Lovemaking does hasten labor. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Well, they weren’t that bad, but this one cut deep and hard.”
“How long ago did you have the last one?” He helped her lie back against the pillows.
She wrinkled her forehead. “About eight minutes.”
“Eight minutes? We have to leave for the hospital right away, Michelle. They’re too close for comfort.”
“Okay, you’re the expert here.” Michelle allowed him to help her out of the bed and over to her dressing room where he helped her pick out a skirt and a shirt.
“You’d better wake Yasmine,” she said. That should make her happy, she thought of her best friend and Lamaze coach who’d accompanied her to Granite Falls for the big day. She’d brought Peter along to keep Precious company, only to find out that Jason Rogers, the little boy who lived nearby was fierce competition for her attention.
“And leave a note for Mrs. Hayes to make the kids banana pancakes, and to set up the tent in the backyard,” she told Erik.
“You expect Mrs. Hayes to put up a tent?” Erik asked on a chuckle as he walked into his dressing room.
Michelle giggled. “I see what you mean. But I promised they could pretend they were camping in the woods.” She wished she’d hired the servants Erik had suggested.
“They’ll have to wait.” Erik crossed the floor and pressed one of the buttons on a wall. “Yasmine, wake up, Sleepyhead. It’s time.”
“Now?” a drowsy voice came through the intercom. “It’s two o’clock in the morning. Why can’t Michelle have the baby during the day like normal people?”
“I heard that,” Michelle yelled. “You just wait—Aw…” she wailed as another contraction hit her.
Erik rushed to her side. He held her, and helped her breathe through it. He shook his head, his eyes dulled with worry. “They’re less than five minutes apart. Come here.” He led her over to the double king-size bed, laid her down, and pulled up her skirt.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking to see how much you’re dilated.”
“Right, you’re a doctor.” She smiled, leaned back against the pillows, and let him do his job. She knew he was worried about her delivery, because according to him, her pelvis was too narrow, and her uterus was tilted backward, which would make childbirth difficult. Even though he was quite capable of delivering his child by himself, he was more comfortable at the hospital in case there were any complications.
“Six centimeters,” he said pulling down her skirt and helping her back on her feet.
“What does that mean?”
“That our baby is in a hurry to get here. Your water will probably break soon.” He looked around the room. “What do I do?”
Michelle rolled her eyes and shook her head. He’d just checked her, and now he was at a loss as to what to do next. “I can’t believe how nervous you are. You do this everyday, for crying out loud.”
“It’s different when it’s your own.”
“Whatever,” she murmured. “Just grab my bag.”
“Push, darling, push. I can see his little head.” Erik’s voice hummed with excitement, but his hands were shaking. This was his baby. The child he had fantasized about taking from Michelle’s body time and time again.
“I can’t.” Michelle squeezed one of Yasmine’s hands while her friend dabbed at the beads of sweat on her forehead with the other. She was never going to do this again. There had to be an easier way to bring children into the world.
“You promised me a houseful of babies. So give me my child, Michelle. I want my son,” Erik called from between her legs as he tried to clasp his hand around his child’s slippery head.
“Come on, Michelle, just push, girl. It’ll be over soon,” Yasmine chimed in.
“Okay, Okay. Just one more.” Michelle took a deep breath and pushed with all her strength. She felt a powerful relief between her thighs, as if she’d just pushed all her vital organs out with that bigheaded baby. She fell back weakly against the pillows.
Erik cupped his palms. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the tiny body slid into his hands. “It’s a boy. It’s a boy. I have a son.” His heart swelled with emotion as he gazed into the little irritated face.
The attending nurse held the baby while Erik cleaned out his mouth. Once that task was completed, the baby let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Sounds like a LaCrosse,” Erik stated on a grin. He walked around to the head of the bed and placed his son into its mother’s waiting arms. “Here’s your firstborn, Michelle.”
Completely exhausted and drenched in sweat, Michelle wept as she cradled her squirmy, red-faced little baby boy in her arms. “Oh, Erik, he’s beautiful.”
“No, Michelle. He is Erik Philippe LaCrosse, the third.”