attention, and him just taking off for work instead of giving it to her.”
Callie nodded, finally feeling she was getting the picture. It did fit, now that she thought about it. And at some point, when she felt comfortable enough to do it, she was going to bring it up to him and challenge him to change his ways. Just not right now.
Grant seemed to have a strange way of dealing with his grief. Besides the way he acted with Molly, there was the fact that there were no pictures of his first family here in his apartment. She’d searched every room. There wasn’t a sign that he’d ever been married before and had a child. And yet, Jan’s presence hung over the place and haunted the hallways. She wondered if she would ever get used to that.
But all in all, her relationship with Grant was good and just seemed to get better and better. She enjoyed her work. It was odd having Grant as a boss when she also had his ring on her hand. She knew everyone else was gossiping about it behind her back. She didn’t mind. If it gave them entertainment, let them speculate. She was just concentrating on doing a good job and doing the best she could for Tina and Molly at the same time. And, of course, getting pregnant.
Was that ever going to happen? It had been over a month now and still nothing. She was beginning to worry. What if their happy ending was out to lunch?
“Don’t worry,” Gena told her. “Just relax and let nature take its course. You’re not a teenager, you know. Your body is used to its barren state. It’s going to have to jog itself into a new mode of being and that might take it a little time. It could happen at any moment now.”
Gena was prophetic-and Callie was pregnant, and probably had been when they were talking about it. The little stick in the pregnancy test told the tale.
But by the time she’d done the test, she’d known for over a week. Her swollen breasts had given her the first clue. And then it was as though she could feel her body adjusting to the presence of new, growing life inside her. She felt as though her pelvic bones were loosening, getting ready to accommodate seven or eight pounds of bouncing baby boy or girl. Her skin felt more sensitive. And her stomach felt queasy.
It was all very exciting and wonderful and she wished she could share it with Grant. But she didn’t want to tell him just yet. Despite the fact that this was exactly what he was waiting for, she didn’t know how he would react. After all, if she told him she was pregnant, would he withdraw? Would his work become more important than she was? And most of all, would he quit wanting to make love with her?
She didn’t want that. It made her face burn to admit it, but she loved how he loved her. His rough hands on her soft skin, the feel of his hard, exciting body, the thrust, the cry, the almost animal-like intensity of the need for him, the incredible climax, and then it all dissolved into a tangle of arms and legs and hot, sweet skin and she could close her eyes and rest on his chest and pretend that he loved her. That time of the night was the best time for her. She’d never known this kind of body hunger could even exist. She didn’t want it to end.
She kept remembering what he’d said that first time in Santa Talia.
I hope that did us some good…We’ll have to keep trying…
She knew him so much better now and she could tell that he had a sort of affection of some kind for her. And she thought it was pretty obvious he liked making love. But if he had this guilt thing going about Lisa, might he not have something similar about Jan? What if he decided he couldn’t justify making love with someone who wasn’t Jan now that there was no need for it?
That night, lying with him in his bed, she knew she wasn’t being fair to him. She listened to his even breathing. He was a good man. He deserved to know. It was only right she should tell him. She would do it the next night, she decided, as she slipped out of his bed and made her way back to her own room.
That put her on pins and needles for most of the day. She got home a little early and fixed a special dinner and set the table with candlelight. And then she waited.
When he finally came in, he barely looked at her and was clearly distracted.
“I’ve got a business trip,” he told her. “Sorry it’s so sudden. I’ve got to go to Madrid. Negotiations on the property acquisitions are falling apart and I’ve got to go see if I can put Humpty Dumpty together again. I may be gone for more than two weeks.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry, Callie. I know it’s a bad time. But there’s no choice. I have to go.”
Reaching out, he drew her close and kissed her lips. That almost made up for the news he’d just given her, because he never made spontaneous gestures of affection like that. She was thrilled and happy for the rest of the evening.
But she didn’t tell him her own news. She decided that would have to wait until he was back from Europe. Knowing that the child he yearned for was actually on the way might make it that much harder for him to leave, and this trip was obviously important to him.
No, she would wait. She held her secret close inside and enjoyed thinking about how happy he was going to be when she finally told him.
CHAPTER NINE
TINA died peacefully early on a Monday morning. Callie was by her side. She didn’t cry. She had already cried buckets over the last few weeks and she had to maintain a cheerful front for Molly.
Luckily Molly didn’t notice that much was different. She hadn’t seen her mother much except for quick visits to the hospital for weeks and then asleep from the doorway once she was home. She was getting used to life with Callie and Nadine, the nanny Grant had hired, filling the caretaking slots. So it didn’t seem odd to her when she and Callie packed up all her things to move her to the penthouse. It was just another adventure.
The funeral was on Thursday. It was sparsely attended. Tina didn’t have a wide circle of friends. Gena came and Callie appreciated that. Grant tried to make it, taking a midnight flight from Madrid, but his plane was delayed and he only arrived for the tail end of the service. Callie took one look at him coming in through the arched doorway and all the emotion she’d held so tightly controlled let go as though a dam had been broken. She dissolved into tears and he reached her quickly, taking her into his arms and holding her tightly against his chest, rocking her and murmuring comfort. She couldn’t seem to stop crying but she loved the way he held her.
She regained control as they drove back to his apartment. By the time they were at the front door, she was herself again, quietly telling Grant about how the last few days had gone. He listened sympathetically as he pushed the button to open the door. They both entered, lingering in the entryway, and suddenly a youthful screech filled the air as Molly came hurtling toward them on her little chubby legs.
“What the…?”
Grant turned toward Callie, astounded.
Callie caught Molly up in her arms and hugged her tightly. She’d agonized over whether or not to take her to the funeral, but in the end, she’d decided not to. She was just too young to deal with whatever hints she might have picked up on as to what the ceremony was about. So she’d left her at home with Nadine.
“Hello, pumpkin,” she said to her now. “Were you a good girl while we were gone?”
“She was just fine,” Nadine said, walking toward them with her awkward walk and warm, generous manner. “Did you have a good trip, Mr. Carver?”
Grant was still in shock from finding Molly ensconced in his home. Callie saw it in his face and bit her lip, wishing she’d warned him. But it was too late now.
He muttered something in response to the nanny, but his gaze was on Callie, and she could see that he wanted answers. She was about to hand Molly back when the little girl lunged toward Grant.
“Da Da!” she cried, using the name she’d been using for him from the first. Her face was filled with delight and her little arms stretched toward him.
It took both Callie and Nadine wrestling with the child to get her back under control and out of the room. When Callie came back, Grant was waiting for her, his eyes ice-cold.
“What is Molly doing here?” he asked softly.
Callie sighed. She felt as though she were wilting. After the funeral and everything else from the week, she didn’t have much in reserve for arguing. Turning, she looked him straight in the face.
“I was hoping I would come up with a good way to tell you about this, but I just haven’t had the time to think
