Baby Comes First (9 page)

“Excuse me,” Mrs. Parker interrupted them.
“If Mr. Jamison is going to be here for a while, I could run out to
the grocery store to buy a few things. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes, that would be fine,” Hannah said.
“Thank you.”

After the front door closed behind Mrs.
Parker, Luke asked, “Is she working out all right?”

“Yes, she’s wonderful. Thank you again.”

He turned back to her computer. “A tablet
would be best,” he said firmly. “It would be more efficient for you
to have something portable, so you –”

She interrupted. “I’m not disagreeing with
you. You’re absolutely right. It would be more convenient. But I’d
prefer to use my computer so I don’t have to transfer files from
one machine to another. I’m only going to be lying down a few
weeks, so there is no need to get a new one.”

He frowned, considering the matter for a
moment.

“Humor me,” she said patiently. “Help me fix
what I have.”

#

Hannah smiled as she spoke, but her words
were firm, and Luke realized that he had overstepped her boundaries
again. They were no longer at the office, where he had the final
word. This was her house, her computer. He should respect her
wishes. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said gruffly.

He crawled under her desk to unplug the
various pieces of equipment, then rearranged them on the floor, so
she could use the computer while lying down. She lay horizontal
with her long legs bent and the keyboard resting on her thighs. The
monitor was to the side of the mattress, requiring her to twist to
look at it. “That doesn’t look comfortable,” he said. “The monitor
should be up higher so you can see it better. You need something to
set it on. Old phone books would help. Do you have any?”

“Yes.”

“Where are they?”

“In the kitchen, to the right of the
sink.”

Luke opened several cupboards until he found
them. He carried them back to the den and placed the monitor on top
of them. “There. Is that better?”

“Yes, thank you.”

He sat back on his heels. “Now, let’s see if
I can get it to work again.” She scooted out of his way, while he
reattached the cables and wires.

“I really appreciate your help,” she
said.

He pressed the power button, and the computer
screen lit up. “Success,” he said happily. “Now see if you can
access the Internet.”

“Yes, sir.”

The ironic note in her voice made him look at
her sharply. “What’s the matter?”

Her blue eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Nothing,” she said, trying not to smile. “I should be used to it
by now.”

“Are you saying I’m overbearing?”

She hesitated for a moment, then said primly,
“I plead the fifth.”

Luke laughed. She was too smart for his own
good. And too attractive for his peace of mind. Crawling around on
the floor with her lying on the mattress was giving him ideas.
Those long legs were driving him crazy. He looked into her eyes,
wondering if she felt any physical attraction for him at all, or if
he were merely imagining it.

She met his gaze for a moment, then looked
away nervously.

Have patience
, Luke told himself. He
needed to give her time to think of him as more than just her
boss.

She brought up a document file and then
checked her email. “Everything seems to be working fine,” she said
finally. “Thank you.”

He stood and brushed his hands on his jeans.
“Glad to be of service. Is there anything else you need?”

“I finished watching the movies.” She pointed
to the stack of DVDs beside her television. “Thank you.”

“Do you want any more?”

“Yes, but I found I want comedies rather than
dramas right now. I don’t want anything that will make me cry.”

“Is being pregnant like having PMS?” The
minute the words were out of his mouth, he regretted asking such a
personal question. It was just that Gloria had been at her worst
one week a month. He’d gone so far as to mark it on his own
calendar, to be prepared.

But she didn’t seem to mind the topic.
“Somewhat,” she admitted. “Once I start crying, it’s hard to stop.
I find myself weeping over the commercials for laundry
detergent.”

He smiled. He admired the way she could joke
about it. “I’ll get you more comedies. Is there anything else you
want -- any food you’re craving?”

“Like the proverbial pickles and ice-cream?”
She shook her head. “No, Mrs. Parker is doing an excellent job
taking care of me.”

“Good.” He glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was too early in the morning to invite himself for lunch, and he
was running out of things to say.

There was an awkward silence, then she said,
“Thank you for your phone calls.”

“You’re welcome.”

There was another silence. She said, “You’re
being very kind, and I appreciate it, but I must admit, part of me
is astonished. Why are you being so nice, spending so much time
with me? I know you have important cases and work to do.”

Yes, but he found himself thinking about her
more and more. He shrugged. “Maybe I have ulterior motives.”

“Like what? Your bringing me movies to watch
isn’t going to make me come back to work any sooner.”

He had aroused her curiosity; that was
progress. “No, but I’m not thinking about work.”

She frowned. “What are you thinking
about?”

He debated for a moment, then decided to be
honest. “I’m thinking about getting married.”

She gasped. “To whom?”

“To you.”

She laughed nervously. “If this is some kind
of joke, I don’t -- I -- You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?”

She motioned to her stomach. “I’m pregnant,
for one thing.”

“I know, and that’s the main reason why I
think we should get married. Your baby needs a father.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “This is
taking charity to an extreme level. Do you propose marriage to all
your pro bono cases?”

He supposed her sarcasm was justified. His
proposal had taken her by surprise. The idea surprised him at
first, too, but the more he considered it, the more he felt that it
was the right thing to do. The baby needed a father, Hannah could
use a husband, and as long as Hannah was his wife, he wouldn’t mind
marrying again. Hannah was so different from Gloria; he thought
they could be happy together. He said, “No, you’re the only one
I’ve considered marrying.”

“But why me? You don’t even know me!”

But I want to know you better
. He
tried to explain. “We’ve worked together for nearly half a year. I
know you’re hard working, intelligent, and we get along well. We
respect each other. I think that would be a good basis for a happy
marriage.”

“This is crazy.”

“Why?”

“People are usually in love with each other
when they get married.”

He dismissed her argument. “What most people
call love is a combination of infatuation and hormones. And judging
from the divorce rates, it isn’t a very reliable means of choosing
a marriage partner.”

“But surely you and your wife --”

“No, we may have thought we were in love at
the beginning, but it didn’t last,” he said flatly. “We tried, but
I don’t think either one of us was pleased with what we had. At
first, I hoped that children would make a difference, but we were
unable to have children, and then Gloria became ill. At that point
it didn’t matter how I felt – she was my wife, and it was my duty
to take care of her.”

He frowned, remembering those dark days.
Gloria had hated being ill, and she’d resented him for being
healthy. Nothing he did was enough to make her happy. When she
finally passed away, his first feelings had been of relief,
followed by the grieving.

Hannah interrupted his memories with a quiet,
“Just because you and your wife weren’t happy, doesn’t mean that
love isn’t real.”

“Marriage is a social contract between two
people: nothing more, nothing less. If two people enter the
contract without false assumptions and expectations, the happier
they’ll be.”

“That’s a cynical view.”

“It’s a realistic one.”

Hannah sighed. “Perhaps you’re right, but I
want to believe that love is possible.”

“If you believed love was possible, you would
still be waiting for it,” he countered. “Instead, you decided to
create your own family without a man at all. That tells me that
you’ve given up your dream of some man falling madly in love with
you.”

Hannah stiffened.

“Am I right?”

She avoided his question. “Why I chose to
have a baby, is irrelevant. And if I was considering marriage, what
makes you think I’d want to marry you?”

Touché
. Luke could tell she was going
to be a tough sell. What had seemed so logical to him the evening
before on the airplane, now seemed like complete vanity on his
part. And his timing was terrible. He should have waited another
week or two to mention marriage. He’d been impatient and most
likely ruined his chances by rushing her, but he refused to give up
without a fight. He said, “It’s a logical win-win situation. You
get a father for your baby, and you can stay home to raise it. You
could go to graduate school.” Luke watched her closely, trying to
gage her reaction.

She paused, as if tempted by the idea. Then
her eyes narrowed. “And what would you get out of it?”

“Companionship. Children. A family.” He
looked deep into her eyes. “I’m lonely, Hannah.”

“Then why don’t you start dating, join a
singles club, or put out an ad on one of those singles sites?”

“Why should I when I’ve already found what I
want?”

She was silent for a moment, digesting this
information, then said, “What a minute. You said children. More
than one. That means you’d want to sleep with me, too.”

He nodded, amused by her heightened color.
“Most married people do.”

“I know men and women view sex differently,
but are you saying you’re attracted to me? You want to sleep with
me?”

He could tell she found the idea alarming. He
had negotiated enough settlements to know when it was time to back
pedal. “I’ve handled this all wrong,” he said calmly. “I should
have given you more time. I shouldn’t have sprung the idea on you
so suddenly.” He’d wait until she had time to think about his
proposal before mentioning sex again.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I can tell
you right now what my answer –”

“No,” he interrupted, holding up his hand.
“Don’t say anything yet. Think about it, first, for at least a
week. Marriage is serious business, and I want you to give my
proposal serious consideration.”

“Thinking isn’t going to change my mind.”

But it might. As long as she didn’t
absolutely refuse him, he had a chance. Luke reached down and
kissed her briefly, gently on the lips. She was startled, but she
didn’t pull away. That was one thing in his favor.

She watched him warily, her blue eyes cloudy
with confusion.

He said, “Think about it, Hannah.
Please.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

After he left, Hannah couldn’t think of
anything else. Marry Luke Jamison? Either he was crazy for asking
her, or she was crazy for considering it. Maybe they were both
crazy.

She lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling,
wishing she knew what to do.

Ever since he’d said a baby wasn’t something
to buy at a grocery store, she had felt guilty.

A child should have two parents. She didn’t
need to read psychological studies to know he was right. Maybe she
had been selfish to create a child, knowing that she would be the
only parent.

Now Luke was offering her a chance to make
things right -- to give her child a complete family.

The baby stirred, stretching and pushing a
foot up by her ribs. She gasped at the pain. She rubbed and patted
her stomach to encourage him to shift to a more comfortable
position. Finally, after a minute, he moved, making it easier to
breathe.

If only she had a crystal ball and could see
the future. Some children did well with only one parent, but others
suffered. She would hate to turn Luke down and then, years later,
wish she had married him.

She thought of her own father, and remembered
the times he’d spent extra time with her -- teaching her how to
ride a bicycle, taking her to the circus, working with her in the
garden. Her father had taught her how to play basketball and told
her she was pretty when she went through the gawky teenager
stage.

She wanted all that for her baby, as
well.

But marrying Luke Jamison -- that was a
daunting prospect. They were beginning to build a friendship, which
could be the basis for a partnership, but she wasn’t sure she liked
him well enough to risk living with him.

He had a quick temper, and he was overbearing
at times. Pig-headed might be a better description.

But she was no doormat. She knew how to stand
up to him.

But did she want to? She didn’t want a
marriage where she and her husband argued all the time.

Then again, she thought, he had been sweet to
take her to the hospital, and the past few days, he had done
everything he could to make her bed rest comfortable -- hiring Mrs.
Parker, bringing her movies.

Underneath his gruff exterior, he was a good
man, trying to do what was right.

But she didn’t want to be one of his charity
cases. He had said that when Gloria was ill, it had been his duty
to take care of her. Would he think it was his duty to take care of
her? What kind of marriage would that be?

I’m lonely Hannah
.

His words seemed to vibrate through her. She
was lonely, too. Ever since her mother had gone into assisted
living, her house had seemed too big and too quiet. She could only
imagine how empty it would feel to have a spouse die. Even if his
marriage had not been a happy one, the loss would be
devastating.